Category Archives: Fictional Worlds

“Just Enough Light: Some Thoughts on Fantasy and Literature,” the 2021 Tolkien Lecture by Guy Gavriel Kay

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

I was pleased last week to watch the 8th annual J.R.R Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature, an annual lecture on fantasy literature held at Pembroke College, Oxford, this year broadcast online. The Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature was established in … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian literature, Fictional Worlds, News & Links, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged Adam Roberts, fantasy literature, Guy Gavriel Kay, J.R.R. Tolkien, Kij Johnson, Lev Grossman, Marlon James., speculative fiction, Susan Cooper, Terri Windling, The Tolkien Lecture, V.E. Schwab | 11 Comments

“Inventing a Universe is a Complicated Business”: Ursula K. Le Guin’s Introduction to the Hainish Cycle

Posted on May 17, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

I have always loved Ursula K. Le Guin‘s Earthsea Cycle and have mused once about whether I liked Ged or Arha better. Though Earthsea suits me as a fantasy reader, I recognize that Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Memorable Quotes | Tagged fantasy, Rocannon's World, Science Fiction, The Dispossessed, The Earthsea Cycle, The Hainish Cycle, The Left Hand of Darkness, The Tombs of Atuan, The Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin | 5 Comments

Why Did Star Wars Stick? #MayThe4thBeWithYou #StarWarsDay

Posted on May 4, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

As much as we wonder about it, it’s a question that is not perfectly easy to answer. Cheesy lines, over-the-top acting, zippers up the back of the monster’s costume–how many films just like it have found their way into the … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Reviews | Tagged #MayThe4thBeWithYou, A New Hope, Dune, film, George Lucas, J.R.R. Tolkien, Larry Niven, May the Fourth, myth, mythopoiea, Ringworld, Ron Howard, Science Fiction, Star Wars, That '70s Show, The Force Awakens | 16 Comments

Affirming Creation in the Lord of the Rings #earthday

Posted on April 22, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Perhaps it isn’t that surprising that J.R.R. Tolkien’s books are so environmentally sensitive. Like Sam Gamgee, Tolkien loved things that grow and good tilled earth. He loved walks–long walks beyond his garden through English towns and villages and vast, untouched … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Reflections | Tagged creation, creation care, Earth Day, environment, fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien, Legolas, literature, Lord of the Rings, Matthew Dickerson, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Treebeard, WWI | 6 Comments

The Pretty Cool Imaginative World-building in Margaret Cavendish’s Pretty Terrible “Blazing World”

Posted on February 16, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

Margaret Cavendish’s The Description of a New World, Called The Blazing-World is just terrible. For me, anyway. It is an important book in feminist history and natural philosophy and, I would argue, the development of science fiction. Except for experts … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Reviews | Tagged 17th Century Literature, Margaret Cavendish, speculative fiction, The Blazing World, utopia | Leave a comment

“War! What is it Good For?” Guest Co-Host Session on “Pints with Jack” about the Fifth Letter of The Screwtape Letters on Extremism and Spiritual Life during a Pandemic

Posted on November 4, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

Recently, I had a great sit-down with Matt from the Pints with Jack podcast to talk about the fifth Letter of The Screwtape Letters. I love doing this show–not just because I get to talk about great books, but because the … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Original Research | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet, Pints with Jack, Ransom Cycle, Ransom Trilogy, The Screwtape Letters | 8 Comments

“The Cosmic Preface,” Guest Skype Session on “Pints with Jack” about the Ransom-Screwtape Preface

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

I’m pleased to announce that I recently joined David Bates on the Pints with Jack podcast. I love doing this show–not just because I get to talk about great books, but because the hosts have managed to produce a great … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Original Research | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet, Pints with Jack, Ransom Cycle, Ransom Trilogy, The Screwtape Letters | 5 Comments

Roundtable about Upcoming Online MA Literature Courses at Signum University (Full Video) #Tolkien #Chaucer #EddicPoetry #Vampires

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

As some of you know, I have been an online professor even before this current moment of remote emergency education. As I have blogged about it a few times (see here and here), many know that I teach with Signum … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, News & Links | Tagged Angela Carter, Anne Rice, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charlaine Harris, Dead Until Dark, I Am Legend, Interview with the Vampire, J.R.R. Tolkien, John Garth, online teaching, Richard Matheson, Roald Dahl, Signum University, Tolkien's Worlds, vampires | 5 Comments

Roundtable about Upcoming Online MA Literature Courses at Signum University (Aug 14th, 2020, 10am EDT) #Tolkien #Chaucer #EddicPoetry #Vampires

Posted on August 10, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

Nnedi Okorafor Deep Future Story for the Moment, Binti

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

What a discovery Binti has been for me! In Binti (2015), Home (2017), and The Night Masquerade (2018), Dr. Nnedi Okorafor has given us a living, vibrant, complex character in literary SF prose. Binti is the award-winning novella of a young African woman … Continue reading →