The Speed of Science
Science deals with a lot of high speed phenomena, like the speed of sound and the speed of light, which can make the topic seem fast and exciting. We also see science news on tv […]
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Ready When You Are, JJ
They’ve really done it now. It’s over. First George Lucas sold Luke, Obi Wan, Princess Leia, Han and all the others into eternal indentured servitude on the Disney Plantation. Lucas, once a man with ideas […]
Science Fiction Poetry
Unlike most of the other bloggers here at Amazing Stories, I’m just a fan-girl. Not a writer. And I don’t claim to be a particular expert on anything (except maybe Hildegard von Bingen and Baroque vocal music […]
Steve Stiles A Retrospective
Steve Stiles is a living double entendre: not only does he draw icons of the field, he is an icon of the field. If brushing twilltone off your lap after reading is a familiar experience, […]
Time Travel Defined: A device for repairing a poorly thought out plot. Usually.
Time travel is one of those devices that seems to turn up eventually in most long running Science Fiction shows, particularly in the later seasons when they’ve worked out their main story arc already. I’ve […]
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.
Crossroads: A Genre Darkly
World-building, extrapolation, analogy, conceptual breakthrough, thought experiment – these are science fiction’s basic methods. Other genres might occasionally borrow them, but SF has sharpened them to a razor’s edge. So what happens when this set of tools works alongside the themes, styles, and plot structures of noir?
Weird Tales For Winter
If you’re anything like me, you have long since exhausted the established canon of weird, speculative, and mainstream horror fiction. You’ve read every Stephen King novel in triplicate, and are starting to wish that […]
Audio column #1: “An Introduction….”
Greetings! This is the Science Fiction audio section of the Amazing Stories Blog section. In it you will see a great deal of interesting and unique information. “But what,” you ask, “is Science Fiction audio?” […]
Life on the Fringe
Fringe finished it’s five year run the ot her night and I am grieving it’s loss. At the same time though, as I watched the two hour finale, I was left with a deep sense of […]
A Defining Moment for Science Fiction
The word Science Fiction is recognizable to the average fan, but the definition can be indistinguishable from other genre and cause confusion. Perhaps from the standpoint of the fandom, this vague categorization is by design and allows readers to broaden their focus.
I Like Science Fiction, It’s Got Like Giant Robots and Stuff, Right?” Science Fiction’s Self-Esteem Problem Part II: You Actually Read That Crap?
“I Like Science Fiction, It’s Got Like Giant Robots and Stuff, Right?” Science Fiction’s Self-Esteem Problem Part II: You Actually Read That Crap? Science Fiction has never had an easy time with the literary establishment. […]
Scientists and Stereotypes
Older male (check), glasses (check), white lab coat (check). A scientist! Even without the funny hat or breaker full of red liquid, everyone recognizes the stereotype. Stereotypes can be based on a nugget of truth […]
Science Fiction Poetry
Unlike most of the other bloggers here at Amazing Stories, I’m just a fan-girl. Not a writer. And I don’t claim to be a particular expert on anything (except maybe Hildegard von Bingen and Baroque […]
Doctor Who and the Strange Victorians
Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction can exist in the real world, or create hermetic worlds of their own. Which is to say genre fiction can follow the rules of the real world, or make its […]
A Conversation about Cheating with My Time Traveling Future Self by Pornsak Pichetshote
There are things that titles tell you. A title like “A Conversation with My Time Traveling Future Self” says “Expect science fiction comedy played against a hilarious relationship situation.” That’s what I had in my […]
Crossroads: What is Noir, Anyway?
Before we get into a discussion of how speculative fiction approaches noir, let’s start by discussing just what the noir aesthetic really is.
No. 2 – Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Carter of Mars
Any SF library without Edgar Rice Burroughs and John Carter of Mars is hardly complete. Burroughs’ John Carter series captured the imagination of many noted SF writers, like Ray Bradbury, early in their youth. As […]
Attention Grabber
The single most important step for a reader is the initial act of choosing what to read. After that, everything else is just a formality of literary cultivation. You read, you absorb and you grow. But it’s that first step that determines who you are as a reader. So, what books grab “your” attention?
“I Like Science Fiction, It’s Got Like Giant Robots and Stuff, Right?” Science Fiction’s Self-Esteem Problem Part I: Who Reads SF Anyway? Practically No One.
“I Like Science Fiction, It’s Got Like Giant Robots and Stuff, Right?” Science Fiction’s Self-Esteem Problem Part I: Who Reads SF Anyway? Practically No One. Science Fiction has a self-esteem problem. Almost from its beginnings, […]
Classic Science Fiction Science: Outland
The science fiction movie Outland has been described as a reimaging of the western classic High Noon set in space: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez2XfvN8XSc&version=3&hl=en_US] The setting is Io, which is the closest large moon of Jupiter, despite […]
Hollywood Loves “Remakes.” Sometimes Hardcore Fans Don’t.
The funny thing about movies is that liking or disliking them can become as political a process as anything else. In fact, sometimes I get a pretty strong sense of whether a movie will do […]
The Mirror of Our Dreams
There is a curious phenomenon not exclusive to science fiction fandom, it is prevalent in pop music worship and other places, by which those afflicted feel a need to establish rivalries. The Star Wars fan […]
Inoculate Against the Lurids: Language Is A Virus
I’m pleased to be participating at Amazing Stories by writing about pulps. But before jumping feet first into that discussion, it’s best to issue a warning: It’s always important for all participants in a conversation […]
There and Back Again, or, How I Got Scared Into Science Fiction
Science Fiction is one of the great loves of my life. I have spent some thirty odd years reading, critiquing, discussing, collecting, watching and dreaming it (I won’t talk about writing it, at least not […]
An Interview with K. D. Emerson
Adam Gaffen for Amazing Stories Magazine: Our first Interview is with K.D. Emerson, author of – well, let’s just get right into this, shall we? What is the title of your book? K. D. Emerson: Oooh […]
Who Cares About the Science in Science Fiction?
I do! Let me introduce myself. I’m an astronomer, a professor at the University of Wyoming, and a science fiction writer. I’ve been blogging for a number of years at www.mikebrotherton.com, primarily about the intersection […]
I Dreamed I Saw the Silver Spaceships
When people think about science fiction the first thing they usually visualize are spaceships (or green skinned women in shiny bikinis, but that may just be me). The spaceship has been a ubiquitous part of […]
Demolition
I was going to devote this initial essay to The Shaver Mystery, that forties phenomenon masterminded by Raymond Palmer which put science fiction for the first time (and not in an helpful fashion) under the […]
What SF Means To Me
I grew up watching and reading Science Fiction. Some of it was actually old by the time I had already been born, but it had a natural appeal to me when I was young. The […]
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