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The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin – A Review for #VintageSciFiMonth

By John Folk-Williams

The Dispossessed

For me, Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Dispossessed is a treasure — along with The Left Hand of Darkness and The Lathe of Heaven, I think, her finest work in science fiction. It brings together so many of her themes in a complex story that is beautifully written and deeply engaging. Themes like coming home, […]

Filed Under: Vintage Science Fiction Tagged With: anarchism, capitalism, exile, exploitation, language, poverty, rebellion, science, society, Ursula K. Le Guin, utopia, wealth

Philip K. Dick on What Is Science Fiction? #SciFiMonth

By John Folk-Williams

Philip K. Dick What Is Science Fiction

Philip K. Dick on What Is Science Fiction? continues an occasional series exploring how writers have thought about their craft and what it means. Instead of looking for pedantic definitions, I’m examining the ideas about science fiction that some of the best writers have offered, not as definitions but as reflections on their chosen genre […]

Filed Under: SciFiMonth, What is Science Fiction Tagged With: activism, alternate worlds, future history, Philip K. Dick, science, sff writing, vision

Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky – A Review

By John Folk-Williams

Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky

In Adrian Tchaikovsky’s tour de force, Elder Race, we first encounter Lynesse (Lyn), Fourth Daughter of the tough minded Queen of Lannesite, climbing the steep rugged slopes of a mountain to call forth a powerful wizard. As only the fourth daughter, Lyn is never taken seriously, but she is determined to change that by destroying […]

Filed Under: Secondary World Fantasy Tagged With: Adrian Tchaikovsky, communication, fantasy, language, magic, science, science fiction, technology

These Lifeless Things by Premee Mohamed – A Review

By John Folk-Williams

These Lifeless Things by Premee Mohamed

There is a moment in Premee Mohamed’s brilliant novella, These Lifeless Things, when the narrator, an anthropologist exploring a post-apocalyptic landscape, says in frustration with her “hard” science colleagues that there is more than one way of knowing. That gets to the heart of this absorbing narrative. She has found a treasure in the ruins […]

Filed Under: Post-Apocalytic, Reviews Tagged With: alien life forms, city, human survival, knowledge, narrative, post-apocalytic, science

The Listeners by James Gunn

By John Folk-Williams

The Listeners by James Gunn

Picking out a message among innumerable signals or “voices” is the work of SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and it’s the theme of James Gunn’s The Listeners. This is a first contact story from 1972 that Carl Sagan credited as one of the most influential in helping to launch SETI on an international scale. […]

Filed Under: Reviews, Vintage Science Fiction Tagged With: alien civilizations, first contact, James Gunn, religion, science, seti, The Listeners

Science Books for Science Fiction Readers

By John Folk-Williams

Imagined Life science book for sci-fi readers

Science fiction has offered inspiration for many a scientific career, but the opposite is also true. Cutting edge science stimulates good fiction as well. Here are four science books for science fiction readers that provide the practical basis for visions of the near and far future. Each of them summarizes knowledge needed to think about […]

Filed Under: Reviews, Science and Related Books for SFF Readers Tagged With: antimatter drive, exoplanets, science, science fiction, space colonies, space travel, technology

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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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