Tag Archives: Science Fiction

The Sea a Sham Born of Uniformity: On Subverting the Normal with Gene Wolfe (Throwback Thursday)

Posted on October 11, 2018 by

This year I introduced an occasional feature I call “Throwback Thursday.” This is where I find a blog post from the past–raiding either my own vault or someone else’s–and throw it back out into the digital world. This might be … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, On Writing, Throwback Thursdays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

A Fatal Flaw in Contemporary Writing: Thinking About Identity in Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven (Part 2)

Posted on September 20, 2018 by

Earlier this week I put a review up of what I think to be a strong, engaging literary sf book, skillfully written to accomplish two things that many authors could not do. First, Emily St. John Mandel has created in Station Eleven … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian literature, On Writing, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven: A Brilliant Apocalypse with an Almost Fatal Flaw (Part 1)

Posted on September 18, 2018 by

From Mary Shelley to Margaret Atwood, I have a deep interest in women’s sf and speculative fiction. It is not just a question of perspective and hearing other voices. Rather, it simply that some of my favourite writers are in … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian literature, On Writing, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Why Did Star Wars Stick? #MayThe4thBeWithYou #StarWarsDay

Posted on May 4, 2018 by

It’s an interesting question. 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 Betamax bins of history? Yet, Star Wars lives–not only lives, but thrives, growing … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Madeleine L’Engle’s Remarkable Accomplishment in The Wrinkle in Time

Posted on April 9, 2018 by

By all accounts, the young Madeleine L’Engle did everything wrong. First, she was a woman writing in a man’s genre in the 1950s and 1960s—and writing soft SF under a feminine name without the ambiguity of initials to hide behind. … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Reflections, Reviews, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Octavia Butler’s and Robert Heinlein’s Rules of Writing

Posted on March 26, 2018 by

My most significant alien encounter this year has been in the science fiction of Octavia E. Butler. I have only dipped into her work, enjoying her Xenogenesis Trilogy (1987-89) and a collection of short pieces, Bloodchild and Other Stories (2nd ed., … Continue reading →

Posted in Memorable Quotes, On Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Leatherhead and Literary Coincidence, with C.S. Lewis and H.G. Wells

Posted on February 19, 2018 by

I encountered the town of Leatherhead first in H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds (1897). It is one of a dozen or so English place names that meant nothing to me as a young reader. As an adult, armed with an … Continue reading →

Posted in Lewis Biography, Original Research | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments