Critter Notices
Critters is 30!
Last November, Critters turned 30 years old! Wow! Thanks so much to all of you, who've made it such a resounding success!
FEATURED BOOK
Weekly Notes
Notes for 25-Mar-2026...
And this week the Critters Fund Drive is sponsored by...
THE SCIENCE OF MIDDLE-EARTH by Henry Gee
ReAnimus Press Store: www.ReAnimus.com/1383
Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp//?tag=critters3a-20
(available in paperback)
This page-turning, fun and accessible book by Henry Gee, a senior editor at Nature, gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at the science behind the magic in J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy classics THE HOBBIT and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Learn how dragons breathe fire, the hidden high-tech of the elves, how orcs reproduce, why seeing-stones work, whether balrogs have wings, and much much more about the magic found throughout Middle Earth. Gee's writing style is accessible and delightful, and he makes a great case that "Tolkien's own worldview was closer to the true spirit of science than that held by many who propose to promote the public understanding of science."
Review from Scientific American:
How did Frodo's mithril coat ward off the fatal blow of an orc? How was Legolas able to count the number of riders crossing the plains of Rohan from five leagues away? Could Balrogs fly? Gee, a senior editor at Nature (who says he read The Lord of the Rings about once a year between the ages of 10 and 25), elucidates and expands on the scientific aspects of J.R.R. Tolkien's world in this fascinating book. Many commentators have noted Tolkien's use of philology and cultural history to create believable languages for his elves and orcs. Now Gee shows how scientific precepts can make the wonders of Middle-earth even richer.
[Disclaimer: Ye Olde Critter Captain also runs ReAnimus Press, sales from which help him keep Critters going as a free site.]
-+-
Thanks for the donations, folks! We are 15.1% of the way to the fund drive goal with contributions from 34 donors, leaving about $5900 to go.
Thanks especially to
Edward Moore
Mae Carmel Walters
Philip Lindeman
for their recent donations to help keep Critters going. Much appreciated!
Stats by month...
Jan: $749.29 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, exceeded by $166.29 for the month
Feb: $181.72 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $401.28 for the month
Mar: $124.56 received toward $583 monthly fund drive goal, short by $458.44 for the month
=> short by $693.43 of annual fund drive goal to date (and $2300 shortfall from last year)
[See https://www.critters.org/donate.php for more information.]
-+-
Woohoo! Congratulations to...
- Renan Bernardo, who reports "My novella Disgraced Return of the
Kap's Needle is a Nebula Award finalist for Best Novella". {This
novella was heavily crittered back in the day and it was here
that its early drafts were formed, so thank you to all Critters
who helped me honing it back then.}
- Russell Weisfield, whose (Critter'd) short story, "Lying About
the Signs" is now out in the current issue of The Colored Lens.
- Holly Hefner, whose (Critter'd) short story, "The Lady of the
Lake" is now out in the current issue of The Last Girls' Club.
Please report your Woohoo!s via the www.critters.org/telldaworld.ht web page.
-+-
This week's Most Productive Critter award, for 4 critiques (at time of judging), averaging almost 400 words each, goes to...
Robert Harpold
To redeem an MPC, visit: www.critters.org/usempc.ht
Congratulations! To everyone else -- Crit early and often!
(For an explanation of the MPC award, see the www.critters.org/award.ht page.)
-+-
Recommended Reading...
One of the best writing books - Secrets from the 6-time Best Editor
Hugo Award Master, Ben Bova: THE CRAFT OF WRITING SCIENCE FICTION THAT SELLS
https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1144
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Critters Workshop
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This week we have... [get from https://www.critters.org/private/mss.php ]...
Title Author
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Week of 25-Mar-2026 (Crits due 1-Apr-2026):
F The Queen's Hairdresser Kate Wooderson -#32137
SF The Ember Path Chapter 4 D.G. Appeldoorn -#32138
F The Last Starkeeper, Chapters 1-3 Diana Allgair -#32139
F The Song of the Trees Craig Borri -#32140
F If You Can't Have Love Russ Gartz -#32141
F Test Shoot Bobby Rivera -#32142
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended books on writing:
THE CRAFT OF WRITING AND SELLING SCIENCE FICTION by Ben Bova
ReAnimus Press Store: https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1144
Amazon: https://Amazon.com/dp/B006MAZPEI
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SPECULATIVE FICTION OPENINGS By (Critter member) Robert Qualkinbush
https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1184 | https://Amazon.com/dp/B007O272ZI
STAYIN' ALIVE - A WRITER'S GUIDE by three-time SFWA President Norman Spinrad
How things really work in the art and commerce of publishing
https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1179 | https://Amazon.com/dp/B007SIC4I8
EXPERIMENT PERILOUS: THE 'BUG JACK BARRON' PAPERS by Norman Spinrad
(A 99cent essay on SF and writing)
https://ReAnimus.com/store?item=1180 | https://Amazon.com/dp/B007MF3MS8
Because you might enjoy it... IN HOLLOW LANDS by SOPHIE MASSON
Lured into the world of the magical korrigans, young twins may never break their enchantment
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1415
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pieces up for critique in other workshops...
In the mystery workshop - https://critique.org/mystery :
T The Legacy Program Chapets 1 & 2 M Paul Whelan -#32103
In the script workshop - https://critique.org/script :
SC It Happened One Christmas Robert W. Ross -#31694
In the kids workshop - https://critique.org/kids :
YS The Adventures of Jack, The Rabbit Emmanuel Agyei-Boatey -#31578
In the western workshop - https://critique.org/western :
W Good Land for Dying Kristen Vanderhoof -#32003
In the romance workshop - https://critique.org/romance :
R Embermarked, Chapter 10-12 Natalie Kalinowski -#31927
In the photo workshop - https://critique.org/photo :
PH A Building By Kanda River Nattamon Montriwat -#32096
In the apps workshop - https://critique.org/apps :
GM Uptown Valkyries Arthur Sankey -#31757
In the website workshop - https://critique.org/website :
WW Charles Gull creative projects blog and website Charles Gull -#31783
In the critters workshop - https://critique.org/critters :
F The Queen's Hairdresser Kate Wooderson -#32137
SF The Ember Path Chapter 4 D.G. Appeldoorn -#32138
F The Last Starkeeper, Chapters 1-3 Diana Allgair -#32139
F The Song of the Trees Craig Borri -#32140
F If You Can't Have Love Russ Gartz -#32141
F Test Shoot Bobby Rivera -#32142
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You might also like... THE CRUSADES by ROBERT SILVERBERG
The story of the world history-changing wars between Christianity and Islam from a master writer.
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1619
Standard notes:
HELP:
If you need help with anything, see https://www.critters.org/help -- there
are FAQs and a form to ask questions.
HELPING CRITTERS:
Critters is donation funded & volunteer run, so if you'd like to
help out with our current fund drive or otherwise, please visit
https://www.critters.org/donate.php -- Thanks!!
HOW TO SEND CRITIQUES:
Remember to send the critiques directly to me, critters@critique.org, so
I can forward them to the authors _and_ give you credit for your effort.
Please send only one critique per mail message (makes it easier to
archive). Please make sure the "#" symbol and manuscript number are in
the email Subject: line, like Subject: #1234. (Conversely, if you want
ol' Aburt to personally read the message, i.e., it's _not_ a critique,
don't put a "#" in the subject or I won't see it. Also -- put my current
anti-spam code word in there: see https://www.critters.org/antispam.ht .)
You may also send your critiques via https://www.critters.org/webcrit.ht .
Note that all critiques will be available to everyone to read the next Saturday.
DIPLOMACY:
Remember, authors and critiquers, we're all friends here. Be polite. Be
considerate. Be tactful. You can say you thought a story was drivel in a
courteous way. Try to point out the good and the bad; offer alternatives
if you can. Never, ever, attack the author -- only the story. Authors:
Remember that some reviewers may lack tact. Try to be understanding,
but if you get any that you feel are just plain mean-spirited, too short
to be of any use, or too "feel good," let me know and I'll withhold the
reviewer's "credit" for that story and/or cajole them into something
more insightful. See https://www.critters.org/diplomacy.ht for more...
CRITIQUE LENGTH:
If you want to send a short critique that you know is too short for
credit (200 words or less of your own meaningful content) please put
"NC#" in the Subject (NC=No Credit, like Subject: NC#1234) -and- say
something like "not for credit" inside your critique. (Remember also that
for MPC purposes, a critique must be 300 words or more.)
CHATTING:
Comments -other- than critiques (such as discussion of the critiques,
or Woohoo! announcements, or chit chat) should be posted to one of the
official Critters discussion forums (See the https://www.critters.org/newsgroups.ht
web page for full info, guidelines, etc.) Don't post stories or critiques
(mail those to critters@critique.org).
QUOTING:
Please pare the ms. down if critiquing in-line (don't quote the whole ms.!).
Other format rules are at https://www.critters.org/format.ht .
EVERYTHING'S ON THE WEB:
Past reviews are on the web page. The current week's manuscripts are
also there, as are prior mss. and even some rewrites. There's a Master
Page Index (site map) with tons of links to common items.
AUTHORS:
Authors for this week -- if you aren't getting email'd critiques from
me (as they come in) within a couple days -- ask me and we can verify
I'm sending them to the correct address. (Send me a phone# in case I
can't get email to you.) Check the format of your story ASAP to make sure
it's all there and readable.
EMAIL ISSUES:
If you want to change your email address or preferences (# mss. emailed,
SF/F/H type, or whether you get the huge critique batches at week's end),
point your browser to https://www.critters.org/admin.ht . Please don't
ask me to do this by hand, it's quite a chore! (E.g., if you're going
on vacation and want to suspend mail from me -- do this before/after
your trip.)
BACKUP SITE:
If you're unable to reach www.critters.org to get manuscripts, I've set up
an emergency backup site at https://backup.critters.org where you can get the
week's manuscripts (but not much of anything else :-). Speaking of backups --
don't forget to back up your own manuscripts so you don't lose them!
QUITTING:
If you want to quit or go inactive, drop by https://www.critters.org/admin.ht .
DONATIONS:
Critters is funded by donations, so visit https://www.critters.org/donate.php
if you'd like to help out.
Because you might enjoy it... THE MAMMOTH PROJECT by CRAIG STRETE AND TERRY IZUMI
Young Nina and Keita have to save a herd of... Mammoths?! and a tribe of Native Americans and a... Cyber Mammoth?!
https://reanimus.com/store/?item=1632
--
You received this email message because you signed up for the Critters
Writers Workshop. If you want to stop getting these emails, please visit
https://www.critters.org/email.ht .