Top Post de las Últimas Semanas de Septiembre
Estos son algunos de los post más populares de este mes.
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Scide Splitters: Unidentified Funny Objects 2 edited by Alex Shvartsman
If done well, an anthology is like a box of chocolates filled with a variety of delectable confections. Granted, there are bound to be a few flavors you are not partial to, but on the whole, the selection is delightful. When not done so well, you end up with something a little more like Monty Python’s Whizzo Chocolates, getting a mouthful of Crunchy Frog or Cockroach Cluster….
Fall 2013 anime preview
There’s a veritable stampede of sf headed your way this coming season: 25 series to choose from!
Ooky Spooky Animanga Part I: Vampires
Autumn in New England serves to transport me immediately into a Halloween world – where one finds Vampires. In Anime!
AMAZING NEWS: 9/22/13
What Would You Expect From Amazing Stories? Amazing News, That’s What!
Scide Splitters: How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
I am not tasked with determining the level of Science Fictionness of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe. Scide Splitters is far more concerned with whether or not the book makes us laugh – and it does.
CARLOS DANIEL VÁZQUEZ – Axxón- por M. C. CARPER
An interview with Argetinian illustrator CARLOS DANIEL VÁSQUEZ
Farm Animals, Singing, Time and the Excellence in SF Denialism Award
A new award for special kinds of (non) science fiction.
Discovering Science Friction: Snark Week 2013
Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives could easily have been made into a Syfy Channel movie (if they’d used lower resolution cameras, thrown in a former 1980s TV star and some cornball music).
Sexual Harassment at Science Conventions: Who Let the Dogs Out?
This is partially in response to K. Ceres Wright’s recent blog entry, “Having a Sexual Harassment Policy is not Enough”, but from an entirely different angle. I think that what’s happening at science fiction conventions […]
Review: Destination: Planet Negro
It’s 1939 America and the Black community’s greatest minds are searching for the solution to the “Negro Problem.” One answer? Build a spaceship, fill it with all of America’s Negroes, and fly to Mars, with […]
There’s Something About Night Vale
If you are a citizen of the internet – and especially if you are a Tumblr user – you have picked up on the recent hype about Commonplace Books’ year-old podcast, “Welcome to Night Vale.” […]
Scide Splitters: The Goliath Stone by Larry Niven & Matthew Joseph Harrington
Larry Niven has a long history of successful collaborative fiction and The Goliath Stone is no exception. I expect, however, the reception of this novel will be mixed because the authors dared blaspheme one of […]
Scide Splitters: The Humans by Matt Haig
Horace Walpole, the eighteenth century British writer and politician, once wrote, “The world is a comedy to those that think; a tragedy to those that feel.” It is a truth that makes writing humorous fiction […]
Dirk Gently Revisited
Back in 1978, a young comedy sketch writer sent a script to the BBC’s flagship SF show, Doctor Who. Far from setting hearts fluttering with excitement, its demands for special effects such as time sinks, […]
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, […]
Scide Splitters: Bill, the Galactic Hero by Harry Harrison
I was first enticed to read Bill, the Galactic Hero, Harry Harrison’s darkly humorous take on military SF and space opera, by the funny illustration on the cover of the book (see right). I was […]
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 Ghost of Towel Day Yet to Come: A True Story (sort of)
WHOOSH… A vaguely familiar sound woke me and I sat up in bed. “What’s that noise?” I asked. “It’s a deadline,” said a translucent Douglas Adams, who for some reason was sitting in a chair […]
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.
Scide Splitters: The Flying Sorcerers by David Gerrold & Larry Niven
One of the challenges of being a fan of humorous science fiction is finding enough quality material to satisfy the appetite, so it is always a pleasure when I find an older book that I’ve […]
Hide and Seek with Marvin the Martian
Ignorance is never better than knowledge. – Enrico Fermi When I was just a little tyke, driving to Logan Airport in Boston meant, as today, enduring the unavoidable traffic jam. Conversing in the family car […]
Crossroads: Satire and the Fantastic
NOTE: This week’s essay is actually an adapted form of an essay from December 18, 2012 that was originally published at The King of Elfland’s 2nd Cousin. Some changes, however, have been made from the […]
Remembering a Ghastly Legend
Lawson Deming gave us the friendly neighborhood vampire Sir Graves Ghastly, the horror movie host who helped many young impressionable fans enjoy old time science fiction and horror.
Crossroads: The Importance of Parody to the Speculative Fiction Genre
Last week, we talked about how every piece of humorous speculative fiction inevitably gets compared to Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. But as I outlined, Adams’ comedy of the absurd operates very […]
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.
CROSSROADS: Right Place, Time, and Tech – The Hitchhiker’s Guide
Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy trilogy (itself spread across five books with a six written by Eoin Colfer), with its friendly, green warning against panic, casts a huge shadow over the field of […]
Anime roundup 4/7/2013: Stop the World, I Want To Get Off
First, a little awards news: Nominees for the Seiun for Best Media (roughly equivalent to Hugo nominees for Best Dramatic Presentation) include two anime series, Bodacious Space Pirates and Eureka Seven AO. E7AO is a […]
Scide Splitters: Shh! It’s a Secret by Daniel M. Kimmel
First contact stories are among the most fertile ground for science fiction humor. They make excellent vehicles for looking in the mirror for a good laugh. In his first novel, Shh! It’s a Secret, Daniel […]
CROSSROADS: Make ’em Laugh – Humor and Speculative Fiction
Hello, folks! Now that I’m back on my feet, I find that April’s here. A few days ago was April 1st, also known as April Fool’s Day. And while I may not be clever enough […]
About Author
Chris Gerwel is a science fiction, fantasy, and horror writer. Raised in New Jersey, he spent ten years in Central & Eastern Europe in the market research industry, and today when he isn’t reading or writing speculative fiction, he works in the software industry. He lives in northern NJ, with a beautiful wife and a rambunctious puppy, and also writes the weekly blog The King of Elfland’s 2nd Cousin.
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