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Elves in Black Leather

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OK, time to turn our eyes to the dark streets of Urban Fantasy. I typically like my fantasy served High (the full-on world building kind of High, not the drug-induced version, though in all fiarness, I do have to say I’ve never tried it), But I also enjoy a good urban-based fantasy story at times – the oft-mentioned “Larque on the Wing” comes to mind, or the “Man of His Word” series that terry Brooks eventually merged with his “Shannara” series. Balancing the elements in an urban fantasy can be tricky – making fantasy characters seem “real” in present day … Read more

Writing the Future

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Andrew Sullivan at the Dish flagged this great piece by David Mitchell: When you’re writing about the future, you simply try to work out what people in that future point will be taking for granted. In The Bone Clocks, there are two future sections. 2025 one is only about 11 years away–there’s just a few gizmos about the place and we’re basically there already. In the 2040s, however, more dramatic changes have taken place. There’s no more oil–or very little oil left. So you think about what people at that point will be taking for granted about travel, about the … Read more

Two Species of Mankind: The Rich and the Poor

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The idea for today’s post is from QSFer Thea Nishimori: “A lot of people were talking on the earlier post about the growing socio-economical divide, but what about how that will influence intelligence in the future? If you’re born poor, you can’t get a good education or job; you are more likely to turn to drugs and/or alcohol, which destroys brain cells; ergo your children are born into poverty with lower IQs… a vicious cycle creating almost two different species.” Hmm… as a sci fi/social evolution concept, I really like this idea. Its been explored before in sci fi, at … Read more

Book Review: Assimilation, Love & Other Oddities, by Lyn Gala

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Ondry and Liam have settled into a good life, but their trading is still tied up with humans, and humans are always messy. When political changes at the human base lead Ondry to attempt a difficult trade, the pair find themselves entangled in human affairs. Liam wants to help the people he left and the worlds being torn apart. He also wants to serve Ondry with not only the pleasures of the nest but also by bringing human profits. Ondry has no hope of understanding human psychology in general, he only knows that he will hold onto his palteia with … Read more

Traditional Shifters

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Today’s topic comes from Angel Martinez: “Traditional shifters and why people have forgotten them”. By traditional shifters, I’m guessing she means werewolves and the like – creatures that appeared in films and novels before the last 10-20 years? I love a good werewolf tale as much as anyone else, and remember the days before Teen Wolf and Twilight when werewolves were something to fear, not objects for teenaged (and adult) lust. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. :) I remember when I first saw An American Werewolf in London. I must have been close t0 16 at the time, … Read more

Announcement: Greenwode and Shirewode, by J Tullos Hennig

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QSF’er J. Tullos Henning has two re-releases coming out soon: GREENWODE Book One of The Wode by J Tullos Hennig DSP Publications 978-1-63216-437-7 Paperback 978-1-63216-438-4 eBook B00I8PEYWE audiobook The Hooded One. The one to breathe the dark and light and dusk between…. When an old druid foresees this harbinger of chaos, he also glimpses its future. A peasant from Loxley will wear the Hood and, with his sister, command a last, desperate bastion of Old Religion against New. Yet a devout nobleman’s son could well be their destruction–Gamelyn Boundys, whom Rob and Marion have befriended. Such acquaintance challenges both duty … Read more

My Favorite Dragonriders

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I just saw the news (in EW, of all places) that there’s finally going to be a Dragonriders of Pern movie. I am thrilled, elated, and scared. This series is one of my most beloved in the sci fi realm – I started reading it in my early teens, and fell in love with it. My mom had this bookshelf in our third bedroom, next to where the dogs were crated at night. The shelves went up and up and up to the ceiling in the tiny home, and about in the middle were her two shelves of sci fi … Read more

Announcement: Idolatry, by Rebecca Cohen

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QSFer Rebecca Cohen has a new Fantasy out called Idolatry: Upon taking the throne as High Lord of Katraman and Liege of Scura, Lornyc Reagalos’s focus on rebuilding one city and reassuring another leaves little time for his husband, Methian. Added to that, he must contend with the unexpected revelation that his grandfather, Romanus, set up his own religion and named an enigmatic figure called The One as its deity. Through some twisted interpretation of the signs left by Romanus, the Cerulean Cult comes to believe Lornyc is their god and invites him to sanctify the Cult as part of … Read more

Will Anarchy Ever Be a Viable Option?

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Will anarchy ever be a viable option? In my heart, I’m an anarchist. I don’t like people who try to control others or tell them what to do. I have no desire to impose my will on anyone, and I don’t want anyone attempting to impose their will on me. However, I’m realistic enough to recognize anarchy would not work in our current society. Left to their own devices, I’m sad to acknowledge many people would take the opportunity to exploit others in every imaginable way. That’s where the human race stands at the moment. Without the threat of consequences, … Read more

The Science in Sci Fi

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Today’s topic comes form QSFer Angel Martinez: “The need for science in SF.” I know what she means. I see a lot of “sci fi”, especially in the cross-over romance category, that uses sci fi as purely a backdrop – throw the two protagonists on a space ship and you’ve got a sci fi story. In sci fi, the science should be more than just a back-drop – it’s almost another character. Sure, you can write a compelling romance that is set in a future world. But if that future world itself is not compelling and built on a solid … Read more