SF | Los Angeles Review of Books

SF

"The function of science fiction is not always to predict the future but sometimes to prevent it." — Frank Herbert

Ride or Die? Mark Bould and the Fast-and-Furiocene
Alison Sperling makes her way through “The Anthropocene Unconscious,” the new book by Mark Bould.
Alison SperlingJan 15, 2022
- SF
Magic, Mermaids, and the Middle Passage: On Natasha Bowen’s “Skin of the Sea”
Black feminist scholar and merwomanist melusine Jalondra A. Davis reviews Natasha Bowen’s “Skin of the Sea.”
Jalondra A. DavisJan 6, 2022
- SF
Is Geoengineering the Only Solution?: Exploring Climate Crisis in Neal Stephenson’s “Termination Shock”
Rebecca Evans reviews Neal Stephenson’s latest, “Termination Shock.”
Rebecca EvansJan 3, 2022
- SF
Fear Is the Mind Killer; What Enlivens the Mind? — “Dune”’s Alt-Victimhood and Radical Nonviolence in “Nausicaä”
Jerrine Tan compares “Dune” to “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.”
Jerrine TanDec 21, 2021
- SF
Repetition, with a Difference: On “Deathloop”
By assimilating gameplay repetition into its story, “Deathloop” hints at resolving the dissonance between game form and narrative form.
Nathan WainsteinNov 20, 2021
- SF
An Offbeat Ghost Story: On Priyanka Champaneri’s “The City of Good Death”
“The City of Good Death” deals in stereotypes related to India, but it also vividly presents the life of the characters in its lush prose.
Suparno BanerjeeNov 14, 2021
- SF
Whither Harmony Square?: Conspiracy Games in Late Capitalism
Today’s conspiracy fantasies come from a world where we feel that we are trapped in a game we can’t win. Can counter-conspiracy games be the antidote?
A. T. Kingsmith, Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Max HaivenNov 13, 2021
- SF
A Revisionist Mythos: Frankenstein Versus Cthulhu
New novels by Kim Newman and Michael Shea illustrate the power of popular myth.
Rob LathamNov 6, 2021
- SF
Nine-10ths of a Triumph: On John Steinbeck’s “Murder at Full Moon”
Although not the werewolf novel it was initially reported as being, “Murder at Full Moon” is something even better: a metafictional novel with teeth.
Jess NevinsOct 31, 2021
- SF
The Tyranny of Neutrality in “AI 2041”
Virginia L. Conn reviews the new collection of scientific fiction from Chen Qiufan and Kai-Fu Lee, “AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future.”
Virginia L. ConnOct 30, 2021
- SF
The Future Is Always with Us: On Jennifer Marie Brissett’s “Destroyer of Light”
Steven Shaviro reviews the new novel by Jennifer Marie Brissett, “Destroyer of Light.”
Steven ShaviroOct 16, 2021
- SF
Five Questions for V. Castro Regarding Her Novel, “The Queen of the Cicadas”
Daniel Olivas asks Latinx horror writer V. Castro about her debut novel, “The Queen of the Cicadas.”
Daniel A. OlivasOct 2, 2021
- SF