SF

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

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  In the Year 11945 No One Really Dies Without a Reason: On “NieR: Automata”

  Why are we so fascinated right now with technological utopias predicated on the rise of artificial intelligence?

  Ernesto OyarbideMay 26, 2018

  • SF

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  The Dark Forest and Its Discontents: Cixin Liu’s “Death’s End”

  Peter Berard reviews the final book of Cixin Liu's "Remembrance of Earth’s Past" trilogy.

  Peter BerardMay 19, 2018

  • Around the World

  • SF

• A New Hope, Ambiguously

  There is a stately elegance to all the stories collected in Vandana Singh’s “Ambiguity Machines and Other Stories.”

  Matthew CheneyMay 19, 2018

  • SF

• For the Purposes of Education as Well as Recreation: Historical Notes on “The Handmaid’s Tale (Special Edition)”

  None of the adaptations of “The Handmaid’s Tale” have yet found themselves able to include the actual ending of the novel.

  Gerry CanavanApr 28, 2018

  • SF

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  In the Habitations of Specters: On Stephen Graham Jones’s “Mapping the Interior”

  Readers can feel confident following Stephen Graham Jones into the dark and obscure landscapes of his fiction.

  Billy J. StrattonApr 21, 2018

  • SF

• Mutate or Die: Eighty Years of the Futurians’ Vision

  As writers, artists, literary agents, and editors, the collective effect of the Futurians after their dissolution in 1945 was magnificent.

  Sean GuynesApr 14, 2018

  • Politics

  • SF

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  Where Have We Come From? Where Are We Going?: Identity and Self in Ann Leckie’s “Provenance”

  Glyn Morgan on Ann Leckie's "Provenance."

  Glyn MorganApr 7, 2018

  • SF

• Here’s to Unsuicide: An Interview with Richard Powers

  "We came into being by the grace of trees." Everett Hamner talks with Richard Powers about his latest novel, "The Overstory."

  Everett HamnerApr 7, 2018

  • Fiction

  • SF

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  The Bureaucratic Fantasies of Renee Gladman’s “Houses of Ravicka”

  Part of the intelligence of “Houses of Ravicka” is how Renee Gladman shows that the administrative and welfare state can be a site of fantasy and nostalgia.

  Aaron WinslowMar 24, 2018

  • SF

• Solarpunk: Against a Shitty Future

  We need new stories for uncertain times. Is Solarpunk what we’ve been waiting for?

  Rhys WilliamsMar 10, 2018

  • SF

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  Apocalypse Soon

  Jessica Langer on Jeff VanderMeer's "Borne" and science fiction in the 21st century.

  Jessica LangerMar 10, 2018

  • SF

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  Dwelling in the Upside Down: On “Stranger Things 2”

  "Stranger Things 2" feels less like a tribute to old films, less nostalgic, and more a cautionary historical fiction focused sharply on the near future.

  Stefanie SobelleMar 9, 2018

  • SF

  • Television