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

Feeling the Fear of Difference: Celebrating “A Wrinkle in Time”
A symposium on Madeleine L’Engle’s classic YA fantasy.
Cecil Castellucci, Cecilia Latiolais, Eric L. Tribunella, Hope Larson, Jonathan Alexander, Julia WaltonMar 8, 2018
- SF
- Young Adult & Children’s Literature
The Bard of Auburn: Getting Weird in the Long Valley
Scott Bradfield on Clark Ashton Smith.
Scott BradfieldMar 3, 2018
- SF
No Follow-Through
“Star Trek” seems paralyzed by the idea of doing the one thing the fans of the series actually want.
Gerry CanavanFeb 17, 2018
- SF
- Television
Listening to the Dolphins: Leo Szilard on Nuclear War
When a nuclear physicist turns to fiction.
Duncan Alan HoladayFeb 15, 2018
- SF
- Science & Technology
Make This a Different Future: Reproductive Futurism and Its (Dis)contents
On Rebekah Sheldon's "The Child to Come: Life after the Human Catastrophe."
Veronica HollingerFeb 3, 2018
- Literary Criticism
- SF
At Parties, Hoping Someone Would Bring Up the War of 1812: A Conversation with Damien Ober
Steph Cha talks to Damien Ober about his life, his process, and “Doctor Benjamin Franklin’s Dream America.”
Steph ChaJan 31, 2018
- Fiction
- SF
Breaking the Habit of Whiteness
“Race and Popular Fantasy Literature” offers a devastating case against fantasy.
De Witt Douglas KilgoreJan 20, 2018
- Literary Criticism
- SF
The Re-Re-Rewriter: Octavia E. Butler and the MAYBE Book
A new book on Octavia Butler and her lost manuscripts.
Rebecca J. HoldenJan 13, 2018
Thinking Weirdly with China Miéville
On two recent books dissecting the works of China Miéville.
Zak BronsonJan 13, 2018
- Literary Criticism
- SF
How to Read Star Wars
"Star Wars is sacred to millions, and millions are blind to Star Wars." M. W. Lipschutz on the 13 ways of reading the franchise.
M. W. LipschutzDec 22, 2017
“The Last Jedi”: Saving Star Wars from Itself
By connecting female representation to values that challenge toxic masculinity, "The Last Jedi" supplants the franchise’s hero worship with compassion.
Dan Hassler-ForestDec 22, 2017
- Film
- SF
“A Field of Strangeness”: Anna Kavan’s “Ice” and the Merits of World-Blocking
Tyler Malone praises the “world-blocking” technique of the mysterious classic “Ice” by Anna Kavan.
Tyler MaloneDec 19, 2017
- Fiction
- SF