One Fan’s History — Badges? We Don’ Need No Steenkin’…(Part One)
Every con has a name badge, and most of them are well designed, like a little piece of art. Badge collecting is a great way to save convention memories
A Baaaad Case of the Warm and Fuzzies: H. Beam Piper v. John Scalzi
From time to time I make halfhearted efforts to like the things everyone else seems to, like The Beatles. In the same spirit I occasionally apply myself to classic science fiction. I recently dug into Little Fuzzy, the much-loved novel by H. Beam Piper.
Interview with SFWA Grand Master Robert Silverberg
Today we are joined by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) Grand Master Robert Silverberg. Mr. Silverberg writes speculative fiction that travels where he wants it to go, pushing aside the traditional limitations with which many writers confine themselves. He has written countless novels and works of short fiction, and his list of non-fiction books is staggering. Mr. Silverberg has been so prolific that his total word count rivals the quantity of stars in the galaxy.
A Science Fiction Timeline: Yesterday and Tomorrow
A timeline of the development of science fiction, from one fan’s viewpoint.
“Will people be in costume?” How mainstream media sees SF fans.
Maybe it’s time for fans to relax about how the mainstream media sees us. We do sort of rule the world.
A Fan’s History, Part the Next….
Fan Fahnestalk takes us through dead tree ‘zines, ‘live pixel’ zines, IBM Selectrics, toner feel and more in this personal fan history.
IT’S (NOT) ROCKET SCIENCE: Does Science Fiction Matter?
It sure does to me. It’s the reason I worked on Apollo. When President John F. Kennedy gave his “We choose to go to the Moon” speech at Rice University in Houston, Texas in September of 1962, […]
What is the Vampire of Science Fiction?
I’m not talking about the salt vampire of Star Trek or anything so literal. I’m talking about vampires in the sense that they fill fantasy and horror in a continuing and ubiquitous fashion despite being […]
Crossroads: I Spy, with My Little Eye…Espionage in Speculative Fiction
Hello and welcome to August! I was away for much of July on a “blogging vacation”, and I very much missed you and our ongoing genre mash-up conversation while I was gone. Now that I’m […]
Interview with Science Fiction Legend Ben Bova
Today we are joined by science fiction legend Dr. Ben Bova. Ben has served as an editor of both Analog Science Fact & Fiction and Omni magazines. He has written over 120 books of fiction […]
A Fan’s History – Part 4 – A Visit with Heinlein
Let’s give cons a rest for a bit and talk about one of science fiction’s greatest writers. Terms like “greatest writers” are usually somewhat subjective, but in this case my opinion is backed by a […]
Liftoff Scratched for SF Authors Stamps
The countdown has been halted for issuing U.S. stamps honoring science fiction authors, which initially was set for July. According to Linn’s Stamp News, a weekly publication devoted to all things philatelic, the U.S. Postal […]
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 […]
Electrons for Everyone
As I sit wandering the internet for fresh tidbits of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, I find them flourishing everywhere. Perhaps flourishing is not the right word. Flourishing leads me to images of well-manicured flower […]
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.
The Iron Man Cometh
Welcome internet traveler. I will be stockpiling neatly organized bits into a collective known as a blog along this portion of your journey. Do not fear for your personal safety, as I will take great […]
Amazing News, Friday, April 12, 2013
The Eaton Science Fiction Conference at UC Riverside commenced yesterday; Amazing Stories has been carrying advertising for the program for the past several months. This years headliners are Larry Niven, David Brin and Gregory Benford […]
No. 12 Alfred Elgin van Vogt, Weapons Masters, and The Big Three.
$1995.00. For 15 pages. That’s how much a copy of A. E. van Vogt’s speech, Tomorrow on the March, goes for today. He delivered this speech as the guest of honor at PACIFICON, July 4, 1946. […]
Lost In Space! Reviews of Unknown or Underappreciated Books Post #5 The Apocalypse Troll by David Weber
Hello and welcome to what will be an occasional feature on my blog! So – what, exactly, do I mean by ‘unknown or under-appreciated’? To put it simply – not everyone is a Kevin J. […]
Amazing News March 21, 2013
Our Own Felicity Savage is profiled in Lightspeed Magazine Shared Worlds, the Teen Writing Camp has launched its registration drive The April issue of Playboy has a story featuring the Manana Literary Society, a writer’s […]
No. 10 Robert Heinlein, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and Self-Reliance
No. 10 – 2013Mar10 – Robert Heinlein, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and Self-Reliance. As a Navy man, Heinlein recruited Isaac Asimov and L. Sprague de Camp into working at the Philadelphia Navy Shipyard. […]
Crossroads: Riding into Space – Westerns and Speculative Fiction
March is here, and that means it is time to move into a new Crossroads series. For some reason, March always brings to mind melting snow, spring’s inexorable creep across the plains, cold mountains withstanding […]
Crossroads: Is this a Kissing Book? SFF’s Relationship with Romance
Whenever I think of speculative fiction’s relationship to romance, I am always reminded of that scene in The Princess Bride where Fred Savage’s character interrupts his grandpa and – voice dripping with scorn – asks: […]
No. 6 – Theodore Sturgeon, The Next Question, Well-Meaning Scientists and The Evil They Can Cause.
2013 Feb 10 – Theodore Sturgeon, aka/Edward Hamilton Waldo, is best remembered for asking “What’s the next question?” In some portraits, you’ll see Sturgeon wearing a “Q,” with an arrow pointing forward, suspended from a […]
Apollo’s Outcasts Brings Back the Space Adventure
Finally, we have an author not afraid to approach fresh innovative science fiction with an old-school style. Apollo’s Outcasts by Allen Steele is an inspiring throwback to the youthful excitement of space travel carved out […]
Lost In Space! Reviews of Unknown or Underappreciated Books: #2 Emergence by David R. Palmer
Hello again, and welcome back! So – what, exactly, do I mean by ‘unknown or underappreciated’? To put it simply – not everyone is a Kevin J. Anderson or David Weber or Eric Flint or […]
About Author
Latest Posts
Recent Comments