The Ink Readers of Doi Saket by Thomas Olde Heuvelt is something different is something different. And, for some reason, it’s a Hugo nominee, too. Near the end of the Mae Ping River in Thailand, a town plays a special role in an annual ritual that runs river long. Villagers will put their wishes in […]
The Water that Falls on You from Nowhere by John Chu is not Scifi
2014-09-25 · by ·
The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere by John Chu is not scifi. Clever, maybe, but Hugo worthy? There’s something clever about this story. Water that falls on you from nowhere…when you are fibbing. The conceit is the narrator is an in the closet gay, at least to his parents, and without the ability […]
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov: Modern Scifi Owes a Debt
2014-09-19 · by ·
I, Robot. Is there a selection from the golden age of science fiction that better epitomizes the era? There’s no doubt that Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot is a science fiction classic. Complete with the three laws of robotics, it casts a tall shadow over almost every work of science fiction, book or movie, and you hear […]
What Good Science Fiction Looks Like: A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
2014-08-13 · by ·
Vernor Vinge is brilliant and his A Fire Upon The Deep has got everything that really good science fiction should have. In his Zones of Thought universe, Vinge has divided the Milky Way galaxy into zones in which technology, thought, and intelligence increases the further you move from the galactic core. These zones–the “Unthinking Depths,” […]
Hugo Nominee: The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal
2014-07-30 · by ·
One of the podcasts I listen to in my spare time (or rather, while I’m mowing the lawn or doing laundry or in the car, because really: who has spare time?) is Writing Excuses, which includes Mary Robinette Kowal. She is the author of the Glamourist Histories, which I hear is something like Pride and […]
Brad Torgersen in the running for the Hugo
2014-04-22 · by ·
Last year, I made a fortuitous find at the Salt Lake ComiCon: Brad Torgersen. This year, Torgersen is getting some Hugo love, with two nominations. Nominated for the Campbell, Hugo, and Nebula—all in the same year (2012)—and 2010 winner of the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest, Torgersen’s science fiction is a breath of […]
Book Review | Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel by Susanna Clarke
2014-02-24 · by ·
Sitting on my shelf for well over half a decade, thick black and heavy, there was something oppressive about the cover that kept me away. Nearly ten years after publication, I finally cracked it, and I can’t figure out why I waited so long. Of course, everything looks different in retrospect, and I wish that […]
Review | After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall by Nancy Kress
2013-08-22 · by ·
It’s easy to see why Nancy Kress’s After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall has done well with science fiction’s premier awards. Winning the Nebula and the Locus for best novella and garnering a nomination for the Hugo, the story is equally intriguing and gripping. It’s too bad her story flops for failure to […]
