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Hugo Rant Redux
Last September I posted an opinion piece in which I lamented the fact that World Science Fiction Conventions, since 2001, no longer reliably produce a Hugo award for best Science Fiction novel. There was a fairly spirited (for here) discussion regarding the relative merits of ensuring that SF retains a presence in the novel category…
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There’s a “Zion’s Friction” Joke in Here Somewhere
Michael Weingrad, director of Judaic Studies at PSU, has an essay up at Jewish Review of Books discussing why he thinks Jewish authors are well-represented in most genera except for fantasy. To put it crudely, if Christianity is a fantasy religion, then Judaism is a science fiction religion. If the former is individualistic, magical, and…
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Amnesia of the Future
Christina writes book reviews for STACKED. She somehow managed to grow to adulthood without ever seeing an episode of Star Trek. Thus, when she decided to review Wil Wheaton’s Memories of the Future: Volume 1 she also decided to watch each TNG episode covered in the book before reading the corresponding chapter. Now that she’s…
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The SF-Reading Toolkit
BoingBoing pointed to this essay by Jo Walton, discussing the mindset required to read and enjoy science fiction. She talks about the necessity of knowing what it’s acceptable to skim, such as not needing to know how a tachyon drive works, just that its ability to move you faster than light is important to the…
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Mooving Out
O*W*C member Joy V. Smith has a “flash fiction” piece up at Every Day Fiction. “Here’s the family’s file, Ken. Elmer Boardoff has a small dairy farm.” Jeff passed the file to his colleague. “His wife, Elsie, however, got their milk from the famous E line cows — the regular ones; apparently the chocolate flavor…
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Book Review: BSG Official Companion Season Four
Following is a guest review by our resident BSG fanatic, John DiPalermo. The book is Battlestar Galactica The Official Companion Season Four and a review copy was provided to us by the publisher. Battlestar Galactica The Official Companion Season Four by Sharon Gosling Reviewed by John “Battlestar New York” DiPalermo I need to start this…
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2010: Living in the Future
Years ago, Daniel Sinker bought a children’s book at his town library’s book sale. Written in 1972, it had been withdrawn from the library’s collection by the mid-80s, when I picked it up. I’ve somehow managed to hang onto it for 25 years and now, suddenly, here we are: 2010. I’m reproducing this long out-of-print…
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New “Laundry” Story at Tor.com
The Tor site has a story by Charles Stross set in the “Laundry” (Atrocity Archives/Jennifer Morgue) milieu, in which something that definitely isn’t Santa comes down the chimney. All bureaucracies obey certain iron laws, and one of the oldest is this: get your seasonal leave booked early, lest you be trampled in the rush. I…
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The Thing from Another Point of View
Peter Watts has a story in Clarkesworld Magazine which revisits The Thing from the Thing’s viewpoint. It’s rather unsettling, particularly given the alien’s belief that assimilating humans is doing them a favor. I was so much more, before the crash. I was an explorer, an ambassador, a missionary. I spread across the cosmos, met countless…
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“Midnight Girl” Available for Free Download
Award-winning author Will Shetterly (Dogland, Elsewhere) recently wrote a “vampirish” YA novel about Cat Medianoche, a girl who discovers on her fourteenth birthday that both sides of her family are part of an ancient war and that each group sees her as the key to their victory. Your dad used to be the spooky-mysteries TV…