Usually fans of mystery novels are in it for, you know, the mystery. That means being presented with a crime, shown the clues, and following along with (and trying to outguess) the whoever passes for a detective in the story as they figure out who did it and why. But not always. Sometimes a writer makes […]
In a few weeks, the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) will present the Hugo Awards—probably the best known honor in science fiction and fantasy. In name, other SFF awards are more abstract—the Nebula Awards, from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SWFA)—or straightforward—the World Fantasy Awards. The Hugo is named for Hugo Gernsback, […]
Alfred Bester was a pioneer of the science fiction field, and he’s got the legacy to show for it: he was the ninth named SFWA Grandmaster, he’s in Science Fiction Hall of Fame, he even had a character named after him on Babylon 5.
It’s March 2015, and I am standing on the bridge of a starship. The crew work stations look worn, the walls are covered with warning signs, and the grated floor looks like something designed to be functional. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that I was standing on a real ship, hurtling through space. Instead, I am on […]
