Crone

December and January are traditionally lighter months for publishing, but February is ramping things back up again—just in time for picking out a book for your Valentine (or yourself)! Romance is a theme this month—but you’ll also find space adventures, inter-dimensional hijinks, magical libraries, monsters, and more.What Makes Immortal Longings an Epic Fantasy? | io9 InterviewImage: Thomas & MercerThe Bad Weather Friend by Dean R. KoontzA man who’s having a string of bad luck inherits an unlikely champion: an…

May’s new book releases bring favorite genre staples like dragons, rebellious magic users, space heroes, and time travelers—but also fierce mermaids, reinvented gods and legends, queer cyberpunk detectives, moody personal AIs, and so much more. Add five or 10 or 54 to your reading list!Spoilers of the Week May 16-20Image: Head of ZeusCity of Last Chances by Adrian TchaikovskyThe Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author returns to fantasy with this tale of a magical, cursed city on the brink of revolution. Read an excerpt…

The first season of Disney+ series Willow is over. If you watched, you no doubt have questions about some of the season’s final moments, and are wondering if it’s been renewed for season two yet (it has not). If you didn’t watch, maybe you’re now thinking, “They made a Willow TV show?” Both of these are completely valid points of view, and showrunner Jon Kasdan is more than happy to talk about of them.io9 spoke with the executive producer of the show via video chat this week and we really got into the weeds. We talked…

The magic got intense in the season finale of Willow.Image: LucasfilmThe first season of Willow is over and the first thing to say is “I want more.” While the final episode brought this season’s stories together in a completely satisfying, entertaining way, the lore of this franchise and world is so vast that even without this episode’s big cliffhanger, these characters and actors are simply begging to be on screen more. So we’ll put that energy out into the universe as we dive into the final episode of the season, but…

The finale of Willow is upon us.Image: LucasfilmIt’s all come down to this. The first season of Willow ends next week and after a very juicy cliffhanger this week, we have no idea what’s going to happen. But, thankfully, we talked to the people who do.Before the Disney+ series premiered, io9 was given the season’s first seven episodes to watch before conducting interviews with the cast and crew. And after seeing the end of episode seven, “Beyond the Shattered Sea,” and knowing no one would ever spoil anything, we asked…

Time to go under the mountain and investigate some mysteries on Willow.Image: LucasfilmOn last week’s Willow, the Bone Reavers spoke about the horrors of the underground mountain home of the trolls called Skellin, and I really, really wanted to see it. Thankfully, just one week later, this sixth episode of Willow did just that as Kit and Willow were captured by trolls and the rest of the team went into Skellin to find them. Turns out thatSkellin, as scary and evil as it might be, is much more important to the story than…

What magic will happen in the Wildwood?Image: LucasfilmIf you’ve been watching and enjoying Willow, this week’s episode was one you’d been waiting for. Not because there were any huge story revelations, though there were a few. And not because there were massive action set pieces, though there are some. No, it’s because Willow finally earned an episode to sit back and give us some massive character payoffs. Because, honestly, while the show on its own is good, it’s the truly excellent characters that elevate it even…

Well, that doesn’t look good. Image: LucasfilmElora Danan has been captured by servants of the Crone, an unspeakable evil that threatens to destroy the world. They mean to banish Elora’s soul for all eternity, completing the task the evil queen attempted in the original film. So it’s up to Willow and his friends to go after her. But first, how about a nice leisurely chat? Let’s talk about the uneven but ultimately crucial third episode of Willow, “The Battle of the Slaughtered Lamb.”Though the previous episode left us on…

Willow is back on Disney+Image: LucasfilmAt least they aren’t going to Sauron it. Willow, the Disney+ series that’s the long-awaited follow-up to the 1988 George Lucas/Ron Howard film, is finally here and during the first episode, a mystery emerged. One fans have been thinking about for decades. What happened to Elora Danan?Elora Danan, of course, is the baby from the first Willow: a young girl prophecized to defeat the evil Queen and who Willow and his friends swear to protect. A baby who, at the end of the movie, is…