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Amazing Cities in Science Fiction – 2

By John Folk-Williams

Terminal World - Cities in Science Fiction

Cities in science fiction stories often go well beyond the background of action. They set conditions that powerfully influence the choices characters have in their lives and the way they think about themselves. The four cities I’m highlighting in this post not only shape the lives of their inhabitants but also stand out as great […]

Filed Under: SFF Cities Tagged With: Alastair Reynolds, Becky Chambers, China Miéville, city, dystopia, ruined earth, society, technology, William Gibson

Amazing Cities in Science Fiction – 1

By John Folk-Williams

Cities of science fiction - We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

We have all been dazzled by the artists’ visions of great cities in science fiction movies, like Metropolis, Things to Come, Blade Runner, The Fifth Element, the cities of Star Wars, Trantor in the TV series Foundation or the glimpses we’ve had of Gallifrey in the later Doctor Who stories. But I’m more interested in […]

Filed Under: SFF Cities Tagged With: Alastair Reynolds, alien life forms, China Miéville, city, civilization, Foundation, Isaac Asimov, revelation space, Yevgeny Zamyatin

Fables of Need: this census-taker by China Miéville and The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati

By John Folk-Williams

This Census-Taker by China Mieville

I’m not sure what leads me to link these two books, as different and far apart in time as they are, but China Miéville’s this census-taker (2016)and Dino Buzzati’s The Tartar Steppe (1938) strike me as fables of human need. I’m not even sure what I mean by that, except that each book tells a […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Fiction, International Speculative Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: boyhood, China Miéville, Dino Buzzati, fable, glory, magic, military, mountains, The City & The City, trauma

Fantasy City: The Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz

By John Folk-Williams

The Street of Crociles by Bruno Schulz

Bruno Schulz’ The Street of Crocodiles (1934), translated by Celina Cieniewska for a 1989 edition, is one of those completely original works that defies categorization. I guess I would call it fantastika. It’s a linked collection of stories about a boy’s view of his Polish hometown filtered through the adult mind of an amazing writer. […]

Filed Under: Fantasy Fiction, International Speculative Fiction, Reviews, Science Fiction in Translation Tagged With: Bruno Schulz, China Miéville, city, fantastika, fantasy, transformation

The Art of Unseeing in China Mieville’s The City & The City

By John Folk-Williams

The City & the City by China Mieville The Art of Unseeing

The City & the City by China Miéville takes the form of a murder mystery amplified by Miéville’s unique ability to find richly suggestive fantasy metaphors about our world. This one is about the art of unseeing or seeing only what you are permitted to recognize in the midst of the doppelgänger cities of Besźel […]

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: China Miéville, city, invisibility, metaphor, mystery, seeing and unseeing, The City & The City

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Something is struggling to be born in this damaged and inspiring world, and I believe science fiction and its speculative cousins are helping us figure out what it is. It’s pushing the imaginations of fiction writers to bend and twist familiar forms to try to capture the forces that are hurling us into a barely conceivable future. This blog is my small way of exploring the half-perceived … Read More about About

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Reading: "Fear chews at you, though, and some artists don’t even realize they’re experiencing it until it overwhelms them." Business Musings: How Writers Fail (Part 2): Fear (Established Writer Edition) https://shar.es/afm95x via @KristineRusch

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Reading "His politics ..: in opposition to empire, racism, poverty, patriarchy, Christian dogma, and the emerging global capitalism of his time." William Blake: The Remarkable Printing Process of the English Poet, Artist & Visionary https://www.openculture.com/2022/05/william-blake-the-remarkable-printing-process-of-the-english-poet-artist-visionary.html via @openculture

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@LindaNagata is a writer I discovered last year, and have not looked back. Whether it’s SF or fantasy, she is a go to author on my short list. Check out her upcoming “Needle,” the third in the Inverted Frontier series. #writingcommmunity https://twitter.com/LindaNagata/status/1525939289866981376

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So—amidst all the grimness of the world—I have a new book coming out. NEEDLE is the third volume of my far-future series, Inverted Frontier. It’ll be out on July 12, with gorgeous cover art by the amazing Sarah Anne Langton (@xHelloSarahx).
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