A Fan’s History – Conventions (Part 2)
This blog is not a fan history, although I will cite some fan history. There are actual fanhistorians who guard our culture. If you want to read about early fan history, see the following books: […]
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AFTER THE CON: Derby City Comic Con 2013 Report
Louisville, Kentucky has grown by leaps and bounds when it comes to conventions. Just a few years ago, the only Con I was aware of in the area was Wonderfest– a great model-making convention/flea market […]
Evolution of an Otaku: Conflict of Identity
If you had asked me at the age of fourteen if I considered myself an otaku, I would have raised one snarky eyebrow at you and said, “Obviously.” And it was pretty obvious, too, what […]
Sam Gunn – What a Character
As a master of expressing the true nature of human existence through realistic characters who strive to succeed for the betterment of man in a world often ruled by power hungry individuals, Bova remains true to form with the Sam Gunn character.
ASM Blog Horde Interview with Matt Mitrovich
Welcome to the Amazing Stories BLOG HORDE INTERVIEWS! The ASM Blog Horde is a diverse and wonderful species. I have the privilege of talking with all of them, and I get to share those chats with […]
A Fan’s History, Part 1
I’m going to assume that you are a science fiction reader of some kind, since you’re here at Amazing Stories magazine’s website. Are you a science fiction fan? (I’m going to abbreviate it “SF” to […]
Finding a Path to the Stars at the 2013 Campbell Conference
Friday, June 14, 2013, arrived without much fanfare. My yard gnomes were chained and securely staked in my garden, while the lazy, overweight alligators lounged at the edge of the moat with their mouths open, […]
Ciencia ficción desde el extremo occidente
Ciencia ficción desde el extremo occidente En el año 2002, se publicó en el Perú un volumen que recopilaba una serie de cuentos fantásticos escritos por Rodolfo Hinostroza. Tuvo a bien publicarlos bajo el título […]
Save Our Stereotypes
I don’t want to destroy the damsel in distress. I don’t want to destroy the sleeping beauty. Or the femme fatale. Or the pollyanna. Or the ditz. Or the girl next door. I watch attempts […]
Star Trek- Communism in Space?
I’ll start this week’s thought-provoking commentary with a statement: I like Star Trek. Mostly. I’m no Trekkie/Trekker, but I greatly enjoyed TOS and TNG. DS9 had a few good moments. I refused to watch Voyager, […]
The Artful Collector: On Sensitivity to Negative Reviews
How many times have we read negative reviews by (mainly) newspaper- employed critics about books or films in the science fiction/fantasy genre that either were completely off base, once we read the book, or which […]
“I Cannot Live Without Books”
The genre of science fiction followed Thomas Jefferson’s famous quote “I cannot live without books” by almost a century, but what does the rest of his message mean to today’s fandom?
Deep in the Heart of Texas, Part 1
Before I really get into the meat and potatoes of this entry, allow me to apologize for being absent a few months. Since some readers might know me – which on this website may not […]
FEMME FATALES: The Most Overused Device in Modern SFF?
Of late, I’ve been reading a lot of articles that hint at a simmering feud between men and women in Science Fiction & Fantasy fandom. Accusations of Sexism and Misogyny have been flying. Some very […]
Conventional Wisdom
Any hobby worth its weight in storage space should have a convention. For example, comic book fans have gathered famously during the years in ever-larger facilities with agendas that have expanded to multi-media-focused events with […]
The Cautionary Tale of ZellaCon -or- How to Hoax and Still End Up Hosting a Convention
Once in a while, I enjoy a good hoaxing. I’ve done Hoax Newsletters (https://efanzines.com/DrinkTank/PorkAuthority.pdf) and various Hoax bids, notably the Hollister WorldCon Hoax (https://www.bovil.com/Conventions/hollister2008/PachecoProgress1.pdf) and AhwahneeCon (https://www.bovil.com/Conventions/ahwahneecon/HalfDome2.pdf) which were both great successes when all was […]
A Case for Courtesy
The controversy over the SFWA Bulletin that erupted from the SFWA forums onto the wider internet this week brought to mind something that’s been bothering me for quite some time. The total lack of courtesy […]
MCM Expo (Comic-Con) Part Deux
I was recently in London – less than a week ago to be exact – and had the great pleasure of once again attending another MCM Expo at the Excel Centre in east London. It […]
Have Literary Luddites Taken Over SFF Fandom?!
For the past year, I’ve been doing the indie thing- writing and self-publishing my own novels on Amazon, B&N, etc. During that time I’ve learned quite a lot and have come to the conclusion that […]
Kids & Cons
With summer upon us, it’s convention time here in my neck of the woods. And while I’m not that big of a fan of cons, I do try and treat my little nerdlings to one […]
The Trouble With Definitions; or, Not All Anime Fans Watch Hentai
[Author’s Note: The following post discusses hentai, which is a type of animated pornography. No lewd images are present; however, there is a link to an erotic woodblock print. The author asks that readers use […]
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.
Superheroine Movie
Imagine the teaser trailer. Peeks at the iconic costume, a villain’s growled one-liner, the title looming suddenly out of the darkness with THIS CHRISTMAS or SUMMER 2014 beneath it. Imagine the interviews in Entertainment Weekly: […]
A Tale of ConQuesT, Magic, Mystery, and Mayhem
While riding my keyboard and mouse across the infinite electronic pathways of the world, I discovered something quite surprising. At first when I stumbled upon it, I sloughed it off as just another coincidence. But […]
The Artful Collector: Are Conventions Good Places to Find Art? (Part 3)
Throughout the 1990s, while weekend antiques and craft fairs, and even Ren Faires, were drawing tens of thousands of attendees each weekend, SF cons were still deliberating the good of “one day memberships” and advertising […]
The Artful Collector: Are Conventions Good Places to Find Art? (Part 2)
Once upon a time, science fiction and fantasy conventions were great places to find, and buy, original art – and, in time – reproductions of art created by the best professional illustrators in the field […]
Why I Don’t Like My Heroes
When I first started out as a published writer of science fiction in 1978 and sold my first novel in 1979, I started going to local and national science fiction conventions. Mostly I felt it […]
Don’t Quote Me on This, But…
Quoting lines from science fiction can be expected amongst the members of fandom. But getting it right is vital to your nerd credibility.
Who Do You Blame in a Science Fiction World?
Blaming someone for something is part of human nature. Domestic Batterers blame their victims. Evangelists blame the devil, or sometimes God for bad things happening. Even Christians often blame God, remarking “How can God let […]
The Artful Collector: Are Conventions a Good Place to Buy Art? (Part 1)
Well . . . .Once upon a time, and by that, I mean Art Collecting BDE (before the digital era) local, regional and “world” SF/F conventions were not just good places to find great SF/F […]
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