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SF

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

Wherever You Go, There You Are: Finding and Losing Oneself in “Invisible Planets”
Virginia L. Conn visits "Invisible Planets," a collection of Chinese SF stories and criticism edited and translated by Ken Liu.
Virginia L. ConnJul 20, 2019
- Around the World
- SF
Past and Pastiche in Howard A. Rodman’s “The Great Eastern”
Brian Evenson finds Howard A. Rodman’s sprawling, engaging novel "The Great Eastern" “a kind of return to what adventurous literature used to be.”
Brian EvensonJul 15, 2019
- Fiction
- SF
Grim Hints and Nervous Portents: On Dennis Etchison
The late horror author’s vivid snapshots of bleak Southern California suburbia.
Rob LathamJul 13, 2019
- SF
Writing in the Shadow of “V”: Adventures in Speculative Fiction with Stephen Graham Jones
A lively interview with Bram Stoker Award–winning author Stephen Graham Jones on his turn to speculative fiction and genre.
Billy J. StrattonJul 13, 2019
- SF
A Different Handmaid’s Tale: On Joanne Ramos’s “The Farm”
Joanne Ramos's "The Farm" doesn’t always make it easy to classify who is the oppressed and who is oppressor, and this is one of the book’s strengths.
Hayley PhelanJul 13, 2019
- Fiction
- SF
“Nonexistence Seems Preferable”: Post-Truth, Feed Identity, and the NPC Afterlife in Neal Stephenson’s “Fall; or, Dodge in Hell”
“Fall; or, Dodge in Hell ” is a superior successor to “Reamde” and a worthy if imperfect addition to the Waterhouse-Shaftoe stories.
Jonathan P. LewisJul 7, 2019
- SF
Stonewall, Before and After: An Interview with Samuel R. Delany
Alex Wermer-Colan interviews sci-fi legend Samuel R. Delany about queerness, history, literature, and identity as the author moves into his late career.
Alex Wermer-ColanJul 6, 2019
- Gender & Sexuality
- SF
We Are Going on an Adventure: On Adrian Tchaikovsky’s “Children of Ruin”
Gerry Canavan reviews Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Children of Ruin," the sequel to his 2015 novel "Children of Time."
Gerry CanavanJun 29, 2019
- SF
The Wide, Forbidding Cosmos: The Weird Fiction of John Langan
John Langan’s latest collection of weird fiction is a fresh waypoint, if not a landmark, in his creative journey.
Paul StJohn MackintoshJun 16, 2019
- SF
Parallel Deterioration: On Brian Evenson’s “Song for the Unraveling of the World”
In “Song for the Unraveling of the World,” Brian Evenson renders the world as a place of infinite and paralyzing delusion.
Nathan Scott McNamaraJun 14, 2019
- Fiction
- SF
Navigating the Dark Corners: Karen Russell’s “Orange World and Other Stories”
Claire Kim looks at the alluring, dark tales in Karen Russell’s new short story collection, “Orange World and Other Stories.”
Claire KimJun 13, 2019
- Fiction
- SF
The Warmth of “New Suns”
John Rieder reviews "New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color," edited by Nisi Shawl.
John RiederJun 4, 2019
- SF