As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

science fiction

The Midweek Mingle

by

I’ve been to a lot of conventions over the years, on both sides of the table. And doing that, I’ve met a lot of convention organizers. I count some of them among my acquaintances, and some of them among my friends. But either way, we talk to each other, and the conversation often turns to the inevitable topic of their particular SF/F convention. Now, you should know that I live in Washington, which I considered as a whole to be a very liberal state. All about freedoms and rights and all that. We’ve legalized same sex marriage, and have some … Read more

Announcement: The Secret History of Another Rome, by Bear

by
The Secret History of Another Rome

QSFer Ruff Bear has a new Sci Fi book out: In the mid-2600s, Ranulf becomes Supreme Pontiff of the Empire of Rome at Alexandria, a patriarchy run by priest-bureaucrats called Librarians. After twenty-two years on the throne, Ranulf’s memories flood back to him, from the time he moved to Alexandria with his mother to his present situation resulting from his choices, his training and his relationships. Ranulf’s life has been a quest for truth, not the half-truths of the Librarians and their Secret History, but an understanding of how action rather than static dogma is the path to the future. … Read more

Announcement: Desert World Allegiances, by Lyn Gala

by
Desert World Allegiances

DSPP author and QSFer Lyn Gala has a new sci fi book out (second edition): Livre once offered Planetary Alliance miners and workers a small fortune if they helped terraform the mineral rich planet. People flocked to the world, but then a civil war cut the desert planet off from all resources. Half-terraformed and clinging to the edge of existence, Livre devolved into a world where death was accepted as part of life, water resources were scarce and constantly dwindling, and neighbors tried to help each other hold off the inevitable as the desert fought to take back the few … Read more

The Midweek Mingle: The BSB

by

“You got your sci-fi in my QUILTBAG+ manifesto!” “You got your QUILTBAG+ manifesto in my sci-fi!” And that, my friends, is the gist of the Midweek Mingle (I promise, this’ll be the only post with an intro like this.). Every Wednesday, I’ll be bringing you posts on bringing in the QUILTBAG+ community, both into your writing and into the sci-fi and fantasy community we all know and love. But enough of that. Let’s get into the meat of this.   For several years now, every time I go to Radcon, I’ve been on panels about gender and sexuality, or building … Read more

Announcement – Pandemonia: Combustible, by Darcy Abriel

by
Pandemonia: Combustible

Amber Quill Press author and QSFer Darcy Abriel has a new sci fi book out: Earth of 4035 is a wasteland populated with sectors of penal colonies, seeded through the generations by its life-long inhabitants of criminals, lunatics, political prisoners, and DNA-spliced mutants, all ruled by a powerful conglomerate of scientific researchers called the Nucleate. One such sector, Pandemonia, is situated on the former European continent in the vicinity of Paris, now a hunting ground of a world gone horribly awry. Drayce Eth, of dragogen-spliced DNA creation, rules one quandrant of Old Paris with a strong hand. He has never … Read more

Announcement: Taijiku, by Elizabeth Andre

by
Taijiku

Elizabeth Andre has a new sci fi book out: Angela’s past is more than a little rocky, and that rocky path has led her to finish up her juvenile detention sentence on the Yemaya, an alien underwater ship devoted to observation and research. Part of its maintenance crew, at the bottom rung of the status ladder, Angela doesn’t see much excitement forthcoming. But that was before encountering the fearsome Taijiku or meeting her crew mate Stella, leaving Angela with a completely different problem and unable to say which is the greater challenge: giant sea monsters or falling in love. Excerpt … Read more

Sci Fi Futures – Near or Far?

by
Her

Today’s topic – how do you like your sci fi – near or far? There are a lot of great stories out there that take current trends and extrapolate them into the near future. The film “Her” was one of these that I really enjoyed, because it had that “just-around-the-corner” feel, like it could actually happen within a few years. I loved this film’s ideas of how we might soon interface with tech. Then there’s a branch of sci fi that’s set so far in the future that it’s no longer recognizably connected to our present – or is in … Read more

The Most Mind-Expanding Lesbian Science Fiction Books

by
Nicola Griffith

Writer and Editor Nicola Griffith calls out some her favorite lesbian sci fi novels (note – the original post is from 2013): From MP: I was wondering if you would be willing to recommend good lesbian science fiction novels. I find those are hard to come by. I am sure you’ve been asked this before but I haven’t found a post about this in your blog. If I missed it, I apologize. I have finished all the Aud books. I’m starting Slow River. And congrats on becoming an American citizen. Thanks for the congrats. I’ve just got my passport: now … Read more

Announcement: Quinn’s Gambit, Bellora Quinn and Angel Martinez

by
Quinn's Gambit

QSFer Angel Martinez and Bellora Quinn have a new fantasy book out: AURA – the Agency for Unnatural Resettlement and Assimilation It’s a weird job, but somebody’s got to do it. A magical catastrophe tears the fabric of reality, causing unpredictable holes between worlds through which anything might fall—elves, centaurs, trolls, yeti. The brave officers and employees of AURA struggle daily to help the lost and injured, and contain the irretrievably violent while their research staff scramble to find a way to reverse the effect. Anything can and does pop through into the human world, sometimes with disastrous and deadly … Read more

“Mnevermind” Trilogy by Jordan Castillo Price

by

Here’s my review of the first book in the trilogy: This is an urban science fiction story, about a man named Daniel, who works in a memory modification adventure agency, kind of like in Total Recall, but cooler—because Daniel’s gay. Yes, gayness makes everything cooler. The plot revolves around a glitch Daniel’s experiencing in one of his “love programs”—there are many hilarious moments concerning this plotline. I don’t get to read a lot of humorous MM, but JCP is a master of the dry wit. The story takes on an interesting dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream quality, reminding me of Inception. In some moments … Read more