Dopes To Infinity
This man is the biggest rock star who never became a big rock star, but deserves to. I had to find some excuse to write about my love of Monster Magnet and by golly, I found one! Read on to discover what writers should learn from Dave Wyndorf & co. in this brave new world.
Girl, You’re In the Army Now
Why do authors write equal opportunities for women into fantasy worlds with pre-modern technologies and societies? Unless they are Terry Pratchett, they’re only making themselves look silly.
Your Majesty, I’m So Over You
Ranks and titles are powerful tools in the fantasy writer’s toolkit. What a shame they are used so unimaginatively in general. I offer some inspiration alongside your weekly dose of young fogeyishness.
The Fantasy of Fashion
The clothes make the fan. Is extreme fashion a form of fandom? I say yes, but hesitate to approve of it.
What’s Your Type?
Does fantasy fiction feed racism? An important distinction between literature and film is often elided. Arthur Conan Doyle on the classification of peoples and my thoughts on the Boston Marathon bombing.
All Aboard for Mars! A True Story
This is not fiction. Your mission, should you accept it, is to go to Mars and die there. I get a bit cynical about this sort of thing,
What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?
Why don’t American kids dream of being astronauts anymore? In Japan, interest in space is at a historically high level. I get slightly snarky about AKB48.
Zero-Magic Fantasy
Zero-magic fantasy is a growing subgenre. But can it ever rise above the level of thought experiment? And what are the tradeoffs?
The Meteor That Never Fell
Just kidding! Putin didn’t really ride that meteor! But it was an uneasy thing to watch, and it prompted uneasier thoughts about other things that fall, and why I crave stories with endings.
Writers Writing About Writers Writing About …
There’s something unseemly about writers who write about writers. Many of my beliefs about writing have changed since I was a pink-cheeked little colleen getting up early to write before school, but this is one […]
Foxes, Cultural Appropriation, and Japonisme
Here’s how to do cultural appropriation right. Look at the man and his fox bride; you can tell he loves her.
The Empty Art of Onmyodo
We’re all living on borrowed time, but it can take a fox to remind you that what you should fear most may be the very thing you desire. What does moe culture have in common with black magic? A lot, actually.
Brother, Can You Spare Ten Copper Jots?
Ridiculously well-thought-out currencies not visible in this cover art. Fantasy money has got more realistic in recent years. But how realistic can a currency get before it starts killing people?
Woman, You Make Me Sick and Other Adventures in Freefall
These offputting objects killed the novel. Let’s dance. ‘Cos it’s more fun reading in freefall.
Ora Pro Nobis. The Zombies Are Coming
Pope Benedict XVI stunned the world on February 11th by announcing his abdication. In related news on your Amazing Stories channel, the zombie apocalypse is coming. Even Snooki agrees! “One day, I know that the world is going to end with zombies.”
The Impossibility of Escaping the Palm of Buddha’s Hand
“Mortal, you have angered Shaka-sama and now Pigsy will eat your face.” This is one of the improbable lines that is never spoken in the foundational saga of Buddhist fiction. Many other improbable lines are. Further out on the improbability spectrum: Shingo Katori costumes up as a monkey.
The Chocolate Teapots of the 21st Century
Looking back at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear disaster of 3/11/2011, I ask more questions about Japanese robotics. Baudrillard and M. John Harrison are roped in to help. Also, we bought a Roomba.
The Galapagos Frontier Thesis
The formative American experience was the conquest of the western frontier. Would science fiction and fantasy exist without the frontier model? What does Japan’s parallel conquest of Hokkaido tell us about the legacy of colonial expansion?
The First Poem Written in Space
The real scandal is that it took anyone this long to write a poem in space. The solution is easy.
What is the Optimal Human Population? Lessons From the Novels of Stephen Baxter
Are there too many people on the planet? Science fiction bears much of the responsibility for spreading this meme, which can be unpleasantly tinged with racism. But now and again a great science fiction author develops a more inspiring and pro-human approach to the population question.
Why Doesn’t Fantasy Sell in Japan?
Epic fantasy is a hard sell in Japan. Why? A country so saturated in the fantastic seemingly ought to have an affinity for our beloved genre. But shared passions often get lost in translation.
The Elves of Japan
In Japan, even the elves are different. Fantasy novelist Satoru Sato has won a place in the postwar fantasy canon for his uniquely charming creations, the Korobokkuru.
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