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

More Than the Belgian Poe: The Overdue Return of Jean Ray’s “Whiskey Tales”
Jean Ray is canny in his writing of the uncanny — he is aware of the pitfalls of the genre and almost always manages to avoid hyperbolic verbosity.
Leonid BilmesMar 2, 2019
- Around the World
- SF
Speculating on the Blockchain Beyond Cryptocurrencies
Blockchain developers often invoke sci-fi to describe the technology, but science fiction has been slow to explore blockchain with a few exceptions.
Andrew HagemanFeb 20, 2019
- SF
- Science & Technology
An Interview with Nick Harkaway: Algorithmic Futures, Literary Fractals, and Mimetic Immortality
Award-winning science fiction writer Nick Harkaway discusses his novel “Gnomon,” the relationship between technology and society, and his creative process.
Eliot PeperFeb 17, 2019
- SF
Posthumanism for Regular Humans Trapped in an Inhuman World: On “The Human Reimagined”
Aaron Winslow is stimulated by “The Human Reimagined: Posthumanism in Russia,” an “essential volume” edited by Colleen McQuillen and Julia Vaingurt.
Aaron WinslowFeb 12, 2019
The Intangible Thing That Makes Us Human
Gabino Iglesias reviews “Foe,” the latest novel by Iain Reid.
Gabino IglesiasFeb 6, 2019
- Noir
- SF
Pasadena on Her Mind: Octavia E. Butler Reimagines Her Hometown
The ways Octavia Butler depicted Pasadena offer a window into her own thinking, but also into the power of race and class in the city that shaped that life.
Carl AbbottFeb 2, 2019
- SF
A Future That Rests with the Fate of the Oppressed: On Rita Indiana’s “Tentacle”
Kristie Soares looks at sex work, race, and political struggle in the Dominican Republic to understand Rita Indiana’s new novel, “Tentacle.”
Kristie SoaresFeb 1, 2019
Becoming Alien: The Pioneering Vision of “Star Trek”
Erin Zimmerman thinks Star Trek can teach us a thing or two about life on Earth.
Erin ZimmermanJan 12, 2019
Magic Carpet Rides: Rock Music and the Fantastic
The long and complex relationship between fantastic fiction and rock music.
Rob LathamJan 9, 2019
- Music
- SF
We’re All Dürt Würkers: Grady Hendrix’s Heavy Metal Horror
Grady Hendrix’s “We Sold Our Souls” pokes subtle fun at heavy metal and its self-seriousness, but also embraces that seriousness as a platform for critique.
Sean GuynesJan 9, 2019
- SF
Hard Time: On Joyce Carol Oates’s “Hazards of Time Travel”
Alexander C. Kafka ventures through Joyce Carol Oates's latest novel.
Alexander C. KafkaDec 17, 2018
- Fiction
- SF
Little Book with Big Ambitions: Rita Indiana’s “Tentacle”
Rita Indiana's "Tentacle" takes on environmental disaster, queer politics, race relations, and the legacy of empire in a brief 160 pages.
Ellen JonesDec 13, 2018