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SF

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

Shelve It Under “Caribbean”: On Karen Lord’s “Unraveling”
Fionn Mallon reviews Karen Lord's new book, "Unraveling."
Fionn MallonSep 7, 2019
- Around the World
- SF
No Monster Story Ever Stays Static: “American Monsters Part I,” Edited by Margrét Helgadóttir
Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock is haunted by "American Monsters Part I," a new anthology edited by Margrét Helgadóttir.
Jeffrey Andrew WeinstockAug 31, 2019
- Around the World
- SF
Burning Down the House: Flying Lotus’s “Flamagra” Summons a Fire It Won’t Put Out
The crucial thing to say about Flying Lotus’s music in general, and “Flamagra” specifically, is that it relentlessly generates speculation.
Max SuechtingAug 24, 2019
- Music
- SF
Magical Maps and Island Utopias: On G. Willow Wilson’s “The Bird King”
A metatextual bildungsroman about religion, war, and love, “The Bird King” enriches the genre of historical fantasy.
Rachel CordascoAug 17, 2019
- SF
“The Lord of the Rings” as Lodestone: On Dome Karukoski’s “Tolkien”
The new biopic “Tolkien” is perhaps best understood as a prequel to “Lord of the Rings” — that is, to the film adaptations themselves.
Brian KennaAug 11, 2019
- Film
- SF
A New View of the Fey Things: On “The Big Book of Classic Fantasy”
"The Big Book of Classic Fantasy," by embracing the strange and the esoteric, shows that classic fantasy has always been a more complex imaginative space
Ethan DavisonAug 10, 2019
- SF
Wonderful Chaos: On “Home Remedies: Stories” by Xuan Juliana Wang
Carol Muske-Dukes tries out “Home Remedies” by Xuan Juliana Wang.
Carol Muske-DukesAug 7, 2019
- Fiction
- SF
It’s All Part of the Plan: On Brian Evenson’s “Song for the Unraveling of the World”
Adrian Van Young reviews “Song for the Unraveling of the World” by Brian Evenson.
Adrian Van YoungAug 5, 2019
- Noir
- SF
Such Abnormal Activity: On “The Best of R. A. Lafferty”
Matt Keeley reviews a new short story collection by the late R. A. Lafferty.
Matt KeeleyAug 3, 2019
- SF
Experiments in Postcapitalism: On Dempow Torishima’s “Sisyphean”
Dempow Torishima’s “Sisyphean” is a mosaic novel that combines elements of irrealism, bio-horror, biopunk, fantastika, and techno-absurdity.
D. Harlan WilsonAug 3, 2019
- Around the World
- SF
Even Further Afield: On Charlie Jane Anders’s “The City in the Middle of the Night”
“The City in the Middle of the Night” is both a sprawling epic and an urgent exploration of the political exigencies of the Anthropocene.
Rebecca EvansJul 27, 2019
- SF
Dispatches from the Future of a New China
“Broken Stars” gives voice to an eclectic group, serving as a who’s who of SF authors, critics, and other anchors in China’s burgeoning SF culture industry.
Nathaniel IsaacsonJul 20, 2019
- Around the World
- SF