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sci fi

Announcement: The Klockwerk Kracken, by Aidee Ladnier

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Klockwerk Kraken

QSFer Aidee Ladnier has a new MM Sci Fi book out: When the right space pilot walks into his bar, a desperate bartender uses all his wiles (and tentacles) to talk the man into business and his bed–but the spacer is still enslaved by his past and isn’t sure he can deal with a two-armed lover, much less one with six. When the supply shipments stop coming, Teo Houdin needs all his tentacles to keep his waystation bar open. Facing a riot by thirsty miners stranded in the backwater of the galaxy, Teo helps a greenie space pilot buy a … Read more

News: The Sexual Future is Here

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Lovely

These days, everything we own is becoming “smart” – from the smart watch, smart TV, and smart fridge, to the smart fitness tracker and smart glasses – so it should come as no surprise that now smart wearable technology is coming to sex toys too. Meet Lovely, a penis ring now on Indiegogo that does way more than just vibrate – its built-in sensors send data to an accompanying smartphone app in order to track your sexual performance, give you tips on what you could do better next time, and count how many calories you’ve burned. Made from medical-grade silicone, … Read more

Announcement: Hedon, by Jason Werbeloff

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Hedon

QSFer Jason Werbeloff has a new sci fi book out: In 2051, the Bhutanese Empire rules post-apocalyptic Shangri with iron-fisted Buddhist compassion. Happiness is compulsory, but making everyone happy isn’t easy in an overpopulated world. Breeders are ghettoed, homosexuality is mandatory, and Shangrians’ happiness levels are strictly monitored by hedometers implanted in their heads. Become depressed, or feel too happy without helping others feel the same, and The Tax Man will get angry. Very angry. Gemini and Cyan, winners of the pregnancy lottery, are on the run. Cyan can’t fall pregnant, and Gemini is addicted to the Experience Machine. Will … Read more

Discussion: Creating Alien Races

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Alien

Today’s topic comes from QSFer Theo Fenraven: “How does one go about inventing a believable alien race? Where do you start? What resources do you tap?” For our purposes, it seems to me that there are two competing parts to this discussion. On the sci fi romance side, it’s necessary to have an alien race that isn’t TOO different, so they can still interact with, and fall in love with, humans. On the more strictly sci-fi side, the idea that an alien race evolving from a separate ecosystem on a planet hundreds or thousands of light years away would end … Read more

The Hidden Gay World of Star Trek

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Charlie Logan - photo by Matt Baume

What’s great about imaginary futures is that they’re places of potential, an escape to a place where where everything’s better, or sometimes worse. And whatever problems we have today have all been solved. Or maybe exacerbated. My guest on this week’s Sewers of Paris (a podcast about entertainment that changed the lives of gay men) is Charlie Logan. He’s the founder of the Pink Parties, a regular series of huge queer nerd gatherings that are timed to Seattle’s biggest comic and videogame conventions. Charlie started throwing Pink Parties as a way to find other gays who shared his love of … Read more

Announcement: Song of the Navigator, by Astrid Amara

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Song of the Navigator

QSFer Astrid Amara has a new sci fi book out: Tover Duke’s rare ability to move anything instantly across light-years of space makes him a powerful, valuable asset to the Harmony Corporation, and a rock star among the people of the colonies. His life is luxurious. safe. Routine. He has his pick of casual hookups passing through Dadelus-Kaku Station. His one brush with danger of any kind — the only bright spot in his otherwise boring life — is Cruz Arcadio, a dark-haired, hard-bodied engineer whose physical prowess hints he’s something much more. When a terrorist abducts Tover, hurling him … Read more

Announcement: Invisible 2, Various Authors

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Invisible 2

QSFer Angelia Sparrow has an essay in a new book about representation in science fiction and fantasy: In addition to 19 personal and powerful essays about representation in science fiction and fantasy, this also includes an introduction by award-winning author Aliette de Bodard, as well as a list of all the suggested books and stories from the comments and conversations online. Plus cover art by Mark Ferrari. Among other things, the authors talk about the portrayal of asexuality, the intersection of different aspects of identity, the treatment of Native Americans in fiction, myths and assumptions about military life, Princess Leia … Read more

Announcement: Lonely Shore, by Jenn Burke and Kelly Jensen

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Lonely Shore

QSFers Jenn Burke and Kelly Jensen have a new MM sci fi book out on 5/25: Zander and Felix return today in the second book in the Chaos Station series, Lonely Shore, by Jenn Burke and Kelly Jensen. All they can do is live day to day… Felix Ingesson has returned to his duties as the Chaos’s engineer with Zander Anatolius, his ex-boyfriend-turned-broken-super-soldier, at his side. Hope means something again. But there’s nothing Felix can do to battle the alien poison flowing through Zander’s veins, or his imminent mental decline. With each passing day, the side effects of Zander’s experimental … Read more

Announcement: Keep the Stars Running

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Keep the Stars Running

QSFer Lexi Ander is in a new sci fi anthology: Space is not always filled with adventures and glory. Not everybody goes racing off to battle evil and save the galaxy. Between the rebels, pirates, royals, and spies are the everyday people who work hard just to get by and ensure everyone gets home safe. Less Than Three Press presents a collection of tales about the ordinary folks who keep the stars running. » The Prince and the Programmer by Cassandra Pierce » The Aurora Conspiracy by Lexi Ander » About a Bot by Andrea Speed » Flight Risk by … Read more

Mixing Sci Fi and Fantasy

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Sci Fi Elf

Some of my favorite sci fi authors often throw in a dash of Fantasy. Look at Anne McCaffrey’s Pern books, which included dragons (albeit genetically created ones). Or many of Sheri Tepper’s books, that create a Fantasy-like setting in a post-apocalyptic world. I even wrote an “elf in the future” story that I hope to get published one of these days. When it’s done right, I LOVE mixing these two genres. But it’s not always done right. So what do you think? Do elves, dwarves and wizards have a place in Sci Fi? Or do you prefer your science fiction … Read more