In fact, far greater fractions of today’s world oligarchy are old money inheritance brats, or hedge parasites, or casino mafiosi, petro-princes and the like – elites who are all considerably more discreet and secretive than […]
Robert Charles Wilson has been writing science fiction since the publication of his first novel, A Hidden Place, in 1986. His novels include Darwinia, Blind Lake, and Spin, which received numerous awards including the Hugo Award, the Grand Prix […]
If a book can be delivered at Warp Speed, you won’t be reading it any time soon – you might not even know what “any time” is anymore!
Today’s Big Idea is short… but is it sweet? Joe R. Lansdale’s collection title promises that Things Get Ugly, and maybe, sometimes, that’s the way it should be. JOE LANSDALE: Things Get Ugly has […]
I am a co-author of this paper, “Science opportunities with solar sailing smallsats,” announcing “Project Sundiver”… offering a wide suite of potential fast interplanetary missions that could accelerate far faster than today’s rockets can manage, by swooping […]
It’s not coming, it’s already here. Robert Heinlein wrote a story called The Year of the Jackpot in which all the shit hits the fan, it wasn’t about climate change, but 2023 is definitely it. […]
Is this worth pondering as another worry on our plate? A year or so ago astronomers were saying “Don’t worry (much) about Betelgeuse going supernova any time soon,” despite the earlier nerves set off by […]
UAPs are not alien space vehicles and they never will be.
When was Science Fiction first established? In 1926…and not before.
(The SETI Institute has issued a carefully evasive position paper on the topic, essentially saying “we’ll stay in our lane.”) Sure, a majority have already been explained by careful analyses of receding jet engine exhausts […]
Hugo Awards Finalist list published, then rescinded
It is no secret that the three traditional ink and paper SF magazines, Asimov’s, Analog, and Fantasy and Science Fiction, are in deep trouble, and perhaps not as obviously so are the main online SF […]
I’ve been swampd with interviews on Artificial Intelligence and writing missives to try (in expected futility) shining some light amid the shrill, panicky harrangues out there. Few seem to grasp that we’ve created a vast, […]
I have a major piece about Artificial Intelligence under submission to some zines. It details the many simplistic stances about AI – either pessimistic or pollyanna – now pushed by some of the smartest folks on Earth… all […]
It’s a special talent to write in a language that you’ve learned along the way. In this Big Idea for author Yukimi Ogawa’s new collection of short stories, Like Smoke, Like Light, she explains why […]
Sometimes, it takes more than one try to really nail down a story. In author Jean Marie Ward’s case, the third time was the charm, resulting in her new novel, Siren Bridge. Read on to see […]
Sometimes, a “big idea” is a collection of smaller ideas, which, when grouped together, are greater than the sum of their parts. Dorothy A. Winsor knows a little about this, and in this Big Idea […]
Don’t judge a book by its cover. Or in this case, don’t judge a monster by its mushrooms. Author William C. Tracy’s Big Idea brings us back into The Biomass Conflux series with his newest novel, To […]
Following up on my last posting on advances – and worries – about Artificial General Intelligence…. Peter Diamandis’s latest tech blog is regarding AI and ethics. As you know, it’s a topic I’ve long been engaged […]
There’s no time like the present when it comes to making positive change. That’s certainly the case for author Lisa Brideau regarding policies on climate change. Follow along in her Big Idea to see how […]
Dragons! Everybody loves them and they wing their way into all sorts of places in the fantasy genre. Author L.R. Lam was determined to find a fresh spin on the familiar creatures, however, and […]
Science Fiction has always been dying, but it ain’t dead yet!
Been taking a break from the tsunami of “AI stuff” – pokes and pods about the Chat GPT and the absurd “moratorium petition” and such… and also from the USA’s insane political meltdown. At a time when […]
This is an updated repost of this post from 2021 and this one from last year, which a lot of people found helpful. ETA: This post is now also available in Chinese on Weibo, thanks […]
I became a writer and not a lawyer after a summer in Mexico. I came a novelist of notorious literary and political note in Britain when BUG JACK BARRON was denounced in Parliament and lived […]
Some stories beg to be written, and sometimes characters do the same. In author Kat Howard’s case, she intentionally left a door open for her character to walk through so she could write her again. […]
As I prep for a (hopefully) minor medical procedure, here’s an early weekend posting, to keep y’all from going too ravenous! Here’s an article about phosphorous recycling – including pee-recovery, in the New Yorker. “Rich Earth’s […]
The Victorian Era is a world we think we know… but as Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold tell us in this Big Idea for Death By Silver, beneath what we think we know is a […]
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