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Speculative Fiction

Racial Resentment and the Scavenging Beast: On Erin E. Adams’s “Jackal”
Shannon Scott reviews Erin E. Adams’s “Jackal.”...
Shannon ScottJun 19
- Speculative Fiction
Out from the Shadow of the Vampire: On Chris McKay’s “Renfield”
Olivia Rutigliano follows the figure of Renfield from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel ‘Dracula’ through various adaptations, culminating in Chris McKay’s 2023 film “Renfield.”...
Olivia RutiglianoJun 15
- Film
- Speculative Fiction
Magic, Memory, and Myth: On adrienne maree brown’s “Fables and Spells”
Candice Thornton examines the magic, memory, and myth in adrienne maree brown’s “Fables and Spells.”...
Candice ThorntonMay 31
- Speculative Fiction
Fury Born from Helplessness: On Leopoldo Gout’s “Piñata”
Matthew James Seidel reviews Leopoldo Gout’s “Piñata.”...
Matthew James SeidelMay 27
Everyone Is Going Away: On Yuri Herrera’s “Ten Planets”
Mattia Ravasi reviews Yuri Herrera’s “Ten Planets.”...
Mattia RavasiMay 18
- Speculative Fiction
Vast Silences: On Victor LaValle’s “Lone Women”
John Edward Martin reviews Victor LaValle’s “Lone Women.”...
John Edward MartinMay 2
- Speculative Fiction
Science Fiction as Mode of Action: On MIT Press’s “Uneven Futures”
Roger Luckhurst reviews the new collection of essays “Uneven Futures: Strategies for Community Survival from Speculative Fiction” from MIT Press....
Roger LuckhurstApr 16
- Speculative Fiction
Who Owns Dungeons & Dragons?
Emily Friedman writes about intellectual property and Dungeons and Dragons....
Emily FriedmanApr 8
- Speculative Fiction
The Final Girl Returns Home: On Stephen Graham Jones’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper”
Justin Wigard reviews Stephen Graham Jones’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper.”...
Justin WigardMar 18
- Speculative Fiction
The Daughter Displaces the Island: On Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s “The Daughter of Doctor Moreau”
D. Harlan Wilson reviews Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s “The Daughter of Doctor Moreau.”...
D. Harlan WilsonMar 11
- Speculative Fiction
The World Beyond This One: On Robyn Maynard and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s “Rehearsals for Living”
Jenna M. Wilson reviews Robyn Maynard and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s “Rehearsals for Living.”...
Jenna M. WilsonFeb 25
- Speculative Fiction
A Revolutionary Hate to Salvage Utopian Love: On China Miéville’s “A Spectre, Haunting”
Hugh Charles O’Connell reviews China Miéville’s “A Spectre, Haunting: On the Communist Manifesto.”...
Hugh Charles O’ConnellFeb 18
- Speculative Fiction
Game Wonder: On FromSoftware’s “Bloodborne” and H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Haunter of the Dark”
Nathan Wainstein explores the aesthetic ambiguities of wonder in FromSoftware’s video game “Bloodborne” and H. P. Lovecraft’s story “The Haunter of the Dark.”...
Nathan WainsteinFeb 11
- Speculative Fiction
Dancing on the World’s Thin Crust: On the MIT Press’s Radium Age Series
Niall Harrison reviews three early-20th-century science fiction novels published as part of the MIT Press’s Radium Age series....
Niall HarrisonJan 21
- Speculative Fiction
Are You Living Your Best Multiverse Life?: An Interview with Jonathan Carroll
Evan Selinger talks with Jonathan Carroll about how to choose your best multiverse life in his new novel “Mr. Breakfast.”...
Evan SelingerJan 14
Does Horror Infect or Protect?: On Brandon R. Grafius’s “Lurking Under the Surface”
Jason Ray Carney reviews Brandon R. Grafius’s “Lurking Under the Surface: Horror, Religion, and the Questions That Haunt Us,” a nonfiction book that explores the relationship between horror films and biblical studies....
Jason Ray CarneyJan 7
- Religion
- Speculative Fiction
Hurray for Inventing New Genres or Whatever: On Dr. Moiya McTier’s “The Milky Way”
Joani Etskovitz explores the genres at play — from astronomy and mythology to self-help and romance — in Dr. Moiya McTier’s “The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy.”...
Joani EtskovitzDec 24, 2022
Pushing Against the Self in Fiction: A Conversation with Akil Kumarasamy
Mona Kareem talks with Akil Kumarasamy about her new novel, “Meet Us by the Roaring Sea.”...
Mona KareemDec 18, 2022
- Fiction
- Speculative Fiction
There Is No Escape: On Supergiant’s “Hades”
Vivian Lam explores how Supergiant’s “Hades” turns Greek myth into a subversive allegory of resistance....
Vivian LamDec 17, 2022
- Speculative Fiction
Ghost Stories Aren’t Dead: On the Anthologies “Even in the Grave” and “Other Terrors”
Lindsey Carman Williams reviews two new anthologies — Even in the Grave and Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology — that captivate the senses with fear, horror, and terror in every short story written by an array of talented ghost story and horror writers....
Lindsey Carman WilliamsDec 10, 2022
- Speculative Fiction
Police and Thieves: On Tony Gilroy’s “Andor”
Aaron Bady reviews Tony Gilroy’s “Andor,” streaming on Disney+....
Aaron BadyDec 8, 2022
- Speculative Fiction
- Television
Memento Mori: On Lauren Haldeman’s “Team Photograph”
Lee Thomas takes a look at Lauren Haldeman’s experimental graphic novel “Team Photograph.”...
Lee ThomasDec 7, 2022
The Fantasy Story as a Merciless Laboratory of History: On R. F. Kuang’s “Babel, or The Necessity of Violence”
Kurt Guldentops and Sungshin Kim trace the intellectual adventure that is R. F. Kuang’s “Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution.”...
Kurt Guldentops, Sungshin KimDec 3, 2022
- Fiction
- Speculative Fiction
No One Receiving: On Daniel K. L. Chua and Alexander Rehding’s “Alien Listening”
Patrick Valiquet responds to music theory’s close encounter with speculative realism in “Alien Listening: Voyager’s Golden Record and Music from Earth” by Daniel K. L. Chua and Alexander Rehding....
Patrick ValiquetNov 26, 2022