Tag Archives: Science Fiction

What I Want from AI

Posted on November 2, 2023 by Brenton Dickieson

Artificial intelligence is all the rage these days. While there is good reason to doubt the truthfulness of the title, GenAI–generative artificial intelligence–public attention is deeper than the media, either the social or unsocial kind. In my world, writers, artists, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged Age of Ultron, AI, Artificial Intelligence, curiosity, ethics, GenAI, Inquiry Studies, Iron Man, J.A.R.V.I.S., Marvel Cinematic Universe, Science Fiction, Teaching, UPEI | 6 Comments

Living in a World with Octobers: An Anne of Green Gables Greeting from Prince Edward Island

Posted on October 25, 2023 by Brenton Dickieson

It is another gorgeous and breezy October day here in Prince Edward Island. Our Autumns usually begin about the third week of August: the evenings turn cool while fine days are punctuated with ocean storms. An early tilt to Fall … Continue reading →

Posted in L.M. Montgomery, Reflections | Tagged Anne of Green Gables, Anne With an E, Bruce Cockburn, fairy tales, fantasy, fantasy studies, Kevin Sullivan, L.M. Montgomery, Literary Theory, Lucy Maud Montgomery, myth, Prince Edward Island, Science Fiction | 7 Comments

Why Did Star Wars Stick? #MayThe4thBeWithYou #StarWarsDay

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Brenton Dickieson

As much as we wonder about it, it’s a question that is not perfectly easy to answer. Long before technologically precise blockbuster films, Star Wars had cheesy lines, over-the-top acting, and zippers up the back of the monster’s costume. How … 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 | 4 Comments

A Rationale for Teaching C.S. Lewis’ Fiction in The Wrong Order

Posted on March 29, 2023 by Brenton Dickieson

I am in my sixth year of teaching “The Fantasy and Science Fiction of C.S. Lewis” at The King’s College in New York City. I inherited this online course from Dr. Sørina Higgins, who followed the original mind behind the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Dante, liberal arts, lion the witch and the wardrobe, literature, Narnia, Reading, Science Fiction, Teaching, The Ransom Cycle, The Screwtape Letters, theology, Till We Have Faces | 19 Comments

Thoughts on Classic and Contemporary SF vs. Fantasy Hugo Best Novel Award Winners while Failing to Write a Review of a Great Book that was not Nominated

Posted on December 14, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb Series is a discovery from my stint as a Hugo Award panellist in 2020 and 2021–the years that Gideon the Ninth (book 1) and Harrow the Ninth (book 2) were nominated. As much as I loved these books–and … Continue reading →