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Month: February 2016

The Milky Way’s Photo Close-Up

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Milky Way

If you’re wondering what sort of psychedelic visuals we’re looking at here, it is the Milky Way in amazing detail. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) made these pictures public announcing the completion of its huge galaxy survey, with the help of a really strong telescope in Chile. “The APEX telescope in Chile has mapped the full area of the Galactic Plane visible from the southern hemisphere for the first time at submillimeter wavelengths — between infrared light and radio waves — and in finer detail than recent space-based surveys,” the ESO’s release says. “The pioneering 12-meter APEX telescope allows astronomers … Read more

Announcement: Angel & Griff, by Ethan Stone

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Angel & Griff

QSFer Ethan Stone has a new sci fi book out: A meteor strike is about to change Angel Mocavo’s life forever. Angel is lost and has been since the death of his husband, Dante. A camping trip is supposed to clear his mind but instead he’s thrust into a battle between forces he never knew existed. Griff, a man unlike any Angel has met, makes him see and feel things he thought he never would again. When Griff’s life is in jeopardy Angel will have to decide if he’s going to risk his own safety or remain in the life … Read more

For Readers: Your First Time

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Dancers of Arun

There’s so much LGBTIQ fiction in the world now, but I remember a time when such books, especially in speculative fiction, were few and far between. One of my first such reads was The Dancers of Arun, by Elizabeth K. Lynn. At 15 or 16, it contained a sex scene that made me cream my pants. It was amazing to see a gay character portrayed in a fantasy novel at the time. So my questions today: How did you first find LGBTIQ speculative fiction? And what was the first book you read in one of those genres? Writers: This is … Read more

For Writers: Writing Bi Characters

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bisexual

Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Amelia Bishop: I’d like to ask about bisexual romance. One issue is, when the characters are in a different gender pairing, the readership for m/m is not interested. I’ve written bisexual characters plenty of times, but I always skip the m/f scenes, and I tend to focus on the m/m. Part of that is just that I know my readers are primarily m/m readers. But obviously, the characters are still bisexual no matter what type of relationship they’re currently in. So I’d like to talk about exploring what makes something bisexual, in terms of … Read more

Review: Untouchable, by LV Lloyd

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Untouchable, by LV Lloyd

I just finished a book I’d been planning to read for a long time – LV Lloyd’s “Untouchable”. It’s a space opera, and the fifth book in Lloyd’s Aurigan series. It’s also the first full-length book I have read by Lloyd. I really enjoyed the book. In a nutshell, it’s about several “oms” (Aurigan parlance for homosexual) on the patrol ship Qatar. The story opens with a bang – with one of them on trial for raping a minor, the son of his best friend. Then it spins back to the situation that resulted in the trial, and off we … Read more

Is This The End for Bananas?

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I love stories like this – what happens if bananas go extinct? Plot bunnies released into the world… In the mid 1900s, the most popular banana in the world—a sweet, creamy variety called Gros Michel grown in Latin America—all but disappeared from the planet. At the time, it was the only banana in the world that could be exported. But a fungus, known as Panama Disease, which first appeared in Australia in the late 1800s, changed that after jumping continents.The disease debilitated the plants that bore the fruit. The damage was so great and swift that in a matter of … Read more

Announcement: Wolf, Becoming by Rory NiCoileain

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Wolf, Becoming

QSFer Rory NiCoileain has a new paranormal book out: Volyk learns very young that he has to hide what he is—oboroten’, shape-shifter—after his father is killed and skinned by a hunter, and the pack that takes in his pregnant mother is hostile to his kind. When Volyk is ordered to fight the pack’s beta to prove his fitness, but instead obeys his hormones and tries to mount him, he’s declared an abomination and forced to flee. Ilya, too, hides a secret. Being young and gay in modern Russia is dangerous, and he knows it. But the truth eventually gets out, … Read more

For Readers: Alien Shifters

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alien shifter

Today’s reader topic comes from QSFer Richard Wood: Has any one read any LGBT SF in which an alien shifter can assume any shape at all? A shifter version of the Octopus ability to imitate its surroundings? Could be either the close to ultimate enemy or an alien policeman/detective able to track any criminal. Historically the former but it could also be treated as the latter. It’s an interesting question. I love blending genres, and this one blends at least the idea of paranormal shifters with sci fi, even if the shifting is done by a scientifically explainable method. Writers: … Read more

For Writers: Do LGBTIQ Characters Make a Fantasy “Gay”?

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Gay Fantasy

Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Amos Cassidy: Why can’t we have LGBTIQ storylines and characters in “mainstream” fantasy? Until recently we categorised our fiction as Dark Urban fantasy, but its becoming clearer and clearer that we may be swimming in the wrong pool. Does having LGBTIQ main characters as part of your fantasy cast automatically make your fiction queer sci fi? And if so is it better to just leave the “mainstream” pond behind completely? Join the chat

Is This Robot Cool? Or Scary as Shit?

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Boston Dynamics has impressed the internet for years by showing off its robot technology which is stunningly and sometimes terrifyingly lifelike. Its mechanized canines and big cats have been shown prowling the forests and running in unison, allowing us to imagine a someday era when these robots will be regular inhabitants of our world. Their latest creation Atlas, is shown in a new video in which it navigates a treacherous outdoor wintry landscape and is then put to the test lifting boxes. This time, one of Boston Dynamics’ employees tests the robot by knocking the boxes out of its clutches … Read more