The Sky Tree: Upon the Shoulders of Shopping Mall Proprietors
Who stole the future and put a shopping mall in its place? The tallest freestanding tower in the world dominates the Tokyo skyline, but falls far short of touching the stars.
Finity by Felicity Savage
Raphaella Chang woke up with an advertisement tattooed on her face. She remembered orbiting the pop-up booth on the high street, taunting her friends, the promise of free painkillers. She dragged herself to the bathroom, […]
Living With the Nazis
With its haunting portrayal of the unthinkable, Fatherland sired (ha ha…) the alternate history sub-genre one might call: “What if … the Nazis won?”
A Post-Apocalyptic Christmas
Felicity Savage recommends some SFF classics for your reading pleasure on Christmas.
A Review of Dangerous Women, an Anthology Edited by Gardner Dozois and George R.R. Martin
I was absolutely delighted when I received a review copy of the highly anticipated Dangerous Women. Dozois and Martin have produced a blockbuster anthology with an all-star lineup of authors.
Hoodwinked! A Review of the Forever Gate Compendium by Isaac Hooke
Don’t overthink this one. Don’t analyze it. Just enjoy
What’s the Trouble With Selfies? Speculative Fiction and the Mirror Effect
Are speculative fiction’s attempts at promoting diversity working? Take a selfie to find out…
A Tale of Storyfail: A Review of One’s Aspect to the Sun by Sherry Ramsey
One’s Aspect to the Sun, by Sherry D. Ramsey, isn’t a good book. It isn’t even an interestingly bad book I might enjoy in a “hated it but it made me think” way.
Omnivores In Space
when I read, I notice what people are eating. This is one of those little clues that can tell you a lot about how a fictional world is constructed and how its author sees it.
Battle Fever J! This Is Why I Love Japan (and You Should, Too)
Battle Fever J was a forerunner of the Power Rangers: four guys and a girl in superhero suits, saving the world from “the mysterious deity Satan Egos.”
Halloween in Japan
In Japan, Halloween is pumpkins and ghosts, just as Christmas is Santas and reindeer.
A Review of Flashback by Dan Simmons
This book kicks posterior. It’s a wild turbo-boosted ride through a shockingly plausible dystopia.
A Baaaad Case of the Warm and Fuzzies: H. Beam Piper v. John Scalzi
From time to time I make halfhearted efforts to like the things everyone else seems to, like The Beatles. In the same spirit I occasionally apply myself to classic science fiction. I recently dug into Little Fuzzy, the much-loved novel by H. Beam Piper.
Classic Science Fiction: The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
The pope emeritus has written a letter to prominent Italian atheist Piergiorgio Odifreddi, rebutting Odifreddi’s critique of Benedict’s theology. And in it he displays an appreciation for science fiction.
Why Doesn’t Science Fiction Care About the Threat of Nuclear Apocalypse Anymore?
Nuclear weapons, of course, are another story. The book you should be reading right now, if you care even a little bit about, er, not getting mushroom-clouded or dying a horrible death from nuclear fallout, is Command and Control, by Eric Schlosser.
Why Science Fiction Has a Troubled Relationship With Utopias
Maybe it’s time to donate to SETI … and vote for politicians who believe that Gross National Happiness is less important than Gross National Aerospace Investment.
Thin Men with Yellow Faces: NOT a Dark Tower tie-in!
There are two broad strains of horror fiction. One assumes that the world is falling apart, and depicts that process. The other assumes that the world is eternal, and depicts it falling apart.
Carniculture in Science Fiction and Real Life
Like going on a brewery tour, except at this farm, the vats are full of meat.
The Language of Scandal: Why Do Speculative Fiction Writers Love Disgusting Scatological Insults?
Why has this man been labelled “a poo-flinging chimp,” among other, less printable things? I have an idea or two (a rare occurrence, I know, I know).
Is Science Fiction Fundamentally Retro?
Jaron Lanier says science fiction is fundamentally retro. Is he right? Do SOOPER SPACE ROCKETZZZ run on Ribena?
Grouchy Bestselling Authors Hamstring E-Book Market. In Other News, Dog Bites Man.
Bestselling mystery / thriller authors Keigo Higashino and Jiro Asada, with five other popular genre writers and mangaka, have been embroiled for the last three years in a complicated series of lawsuits against “jisui” scanning companies. These jisui companies operate custom digitalization services.
Marketing As A Metafictional Tool: Harnessing the Power of Misdirection
Deliberate misdirection is a writer’s tool that also deserves a place in the marketer’s toolkit. Here’s how writers can colonize the search page, where the reading experience ought to start.
Who Killed My Little Pony?
I used to play with My Little Ponies. I hated dolls, kept my hair short, wouldn’t wear dresses, but even I was susceptible to the unbearable cuteness of My Little Pony. For a while I […]
Love Thine Enemy: A Review of Interrupt by Jeff Carlson
Let’s get one thing out of the way up front. I am crazy about Jeff Carlson’s writing. I even tipped him as my favorite lesser-known SF author in a recent interview here on Amazing Stories. Tying that hangman’s noose a bit tighter, I stated at the time that I thought Carlson’s best work was still ahead of him.
Is the Hulk Catholic?
This is a post for the writers. And for readers who enjoy a bit of a rant. Warning: contains religion.
How Science Fiction Fans Can Save America
Will you stand for something? Or settle for anything?
The Cost of Transformation: A Review of North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud
What do you say to a man who’s fresh out of jail, whose wife has been sleeping around and who doesn’t know his daughter anymore? What do you say to a kid living alone with […]
Weeaboos of the Renaissance
Weeaboos? Weeaboos? If you don’t know what a weeaboo is, you probably aren’t one. If you’d rather be quite sure, visit this link and play weeaboo bingo with yourself! The checklist to the right is […]
Erring On the Side Of Love: A Review of The Melancholy of Mechagirl by Catherynne M. Valente
Catherynne M. Valente’s new collection teems with floating lanterns and fox spirits, gods and baku and bears and animated calligraphy brushes, all revolving around the recurrent figure of a Western woman dreaming about a country she can never quite reach, even when she’s there.
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