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Science fiction and fantasy are genres where almost anything can happen — as long as the author can make it seem plausible, and as long as it's part of a good story. But that doesn't mean there are no rules. If anything, the fact that these genres are so wide open mean that there are tons of rules out there, some unspoken and some written in black and white. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5879434&view=rss&microfeed=true The Guardian books podcast asked some of science fiction's leading lights to speculate about where the genre is heading in the future. And one major question that came up was, "Why is science fiction growing so rapidly in popularity?" Over on his own blog, podcast participant Damien G. Walter offers one explanation: Science fiction is a literature of change, which is the perfect reading material in a rapidly changing world. "The faster the world changes, the less familiar it feels, and the weirder it becomes, the more impossible the task of directly describing our experience of it." More »
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Everybody always says that every story idea has been done before - which is totally not true, because nobody's done a "nuns raise an ostrich to be the perfect killer" story before. But even if a story idea has been done to death, you can always make it fresh and brilliant all over again, by adding just two little words: "in space." More »
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Good news! Walter Mosley, best known for his Easy Rawlins novels, will be publishing more science fiction next year — he has a series of SF novellas coming from Tor, whom he describes as "THE science fiction publisher." They'll be packaged as one or more flipbooks. More »
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If you love both literary fiction and "genre" fiction, and want to be able to read inventive new takes on both things, then you'll welcome a new literary annual called Unstuck that aims to blur the lines. More »
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This week sees the release of Colson Whitehead's zombie novel Zone One, and he's been doing a slew of interviews in which he affirms that reading science fiction and comic books (especially H.P. Lovecraft) made him want to be a writer. More »
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Lately it seems like a lot of the freshest genre works are mash-ups of well-worn ideas. Whether it's "police procedural with elves" or "superhero movie with Cold War intrigue." But why do some genre mashups rule, while others fail horribly? More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5802089&view=rss&microfeed=true The Guardian's book section has been running a slew of interesting and thought-provoking articles about science fiction books, including excerpts of rare interviews with Isaac Asimov and Douglas Adams, great authors choosing their favorite books, and a terrific China Mieville profile. Well worth checking out. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5802152&view=rss&microfeed=true Amazon.com has been redefining the way you buy books for ages now — and next up, they may be publishing the books you read, as well. Amazon Publishing just launched its fourth and biggest imprint, Montlake Romance. And the company has already said it plans to move beyond romance into other genres, including science fiction. More »
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We need a sexy new genre to replace all the tired old hybrids. Vampire love stories? That hot, sticky vein is tapped out. Zombies+literature? Long since decapitated. Whatever-punk? As Dirty Harry might say, we're not feeling lucky. More »
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Do authors and publishers have an obligation to make it clear to readers up front that a newly published book is actually one of the middle books in an ongoing series? More »
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Britain's BBC 2 had a whole evening of book-related programming in celebration of World Book Night, including the promisingly titled The Books We Really Read: A Culture Show Special. So why did the featured books not include genre fiction? More »
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Acclaimed science fiction and comics writer Warren Ellis just signed a two-book deal with Mulholland Books to publish two novels, starting with The Gun Machine in 2012. To celebrate, he explains why science fiction and crime fiction are the same. More »
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Back when I was Literary Fiction guy, I had a conversation about books with a girl I knew who was, if not exactly well-read, did certainly read books regularly. In the course of the conversation I mentioned Don DeLillo and Dave Eggers, and she referred to them off-handedly as "people no one had ever heard of." It was at that point I realized how thoroughly we lived in different worlds. More »
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Alastair Reynolds has a PhD in astronomy and has a background in space science — but the Terminal World author doesn't like to use the term "hard science fiction" to describe his work. Talking to Locus Magazine, he explains: More »
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Margaret Atwood used her Twitter account to look for graphic designers to make "1930s Weird Tales"-style illustrations for her new book about science fiction, In Other Worlds. More »
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In an era where small publishers are struggling and take fewer chances, Small Beer Press is a marvel, putting out strange stories that other publishers rejected. In a new article, Small Beer's Kelly Link and Jedediah Berry explain their philosophy. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5744104&view=rss&microfeed=true When reprinting visions of the future (or the futuristic present) published in the 1990s, how do you update them? So much has changed, in technology as well as society. Ammonite author Nicola Griffith has some thoughts on this dilemma. More »
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Heart of Darkness author Joseph Conrad co-wrote a science fiction novel with modernist godfather Ford Madox Ford: The Inheritors, in which people from the Fourth Dimension scheme to occupy the Earth. And it's available via Project Gutenberg! [Guardian] More »
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When there are so many beautifully written books out there, why would we choose to read books with cranking plots and clunky prose? Laura Miller's essay about the allure of bad writing is well worth checking out. [Salon.com] More »
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Japanese literary darling Haruki Murakami and fantasy author China Mieville have a lot in common: their use of language, their thoughtful creation of a "secondary world," and more. So why don't people read both? Eric Rosenfield wants to know. More »
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One of the interesting things about science fiction is the way it straddles the division in between art and science. Fiction is an art. Science is, of course, science. So what do you get if you make art about science? More »
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What's the difference between mysteries and science fiction? Not as much as you'd imagine, says Michael Marshall Smith who's written both. More »
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A while back, Charles Stross published a spirited critique of steampunk, saying "there's too much of it" and it's suffering from "second artist effect." Now Aurorarama author Jean-Christophe Valtat explains why steampunk and "Teslapop" are more relevant than ever. More »
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Science fiction and fantasy books for younger audiences are booming — but they still mostly feature white heroes and are aimed at white audiences. So Stacy Whitman is launching Tu Books, a new publisher of multicultural children's and young-adult SF. More »
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It used to be, science fiction took place in the future and fantasy in the past. But lately, more science fiction takes place in the past. So we can't help wondering whether there'll be more fantasy set in the future. More »
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Can you name the 10 greatest science fiction novels by women authors published in the past decade? That's a meme that's been making the rounds, in response to a perceived increase in the marginalization of women in SF. More »
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If you're dealing with a world where magic is real, you can just go nuts, right? Wrong, argues Shadowrise author Tad Williams. In fact, you should use magic sparingly, and keep your world as grounded as possible. More »
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No, that's not Kirk squaring off against his transporter duplicate: It's a scene from William Shatner's Spaghetti Western, White Comanche. A new DVD set is full of Trek stars' cowboys-and-Indians adventures, which really feel like lost Star Trek episodes. More »
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It's hard enough to define science fiction — but what makes for truly great SF? What's the crucial element, the X-factor? TimeSplash author Graham Storrs argues it's all about exploring who we are as humans. More »
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We're in the middle of a flood of literary novels that play with science fiction ideas right now. What's causing it? And how can science fiction benefit from all of this fresh energy? More »
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We all go through tough times, but science fiction can be a big help in getting us through the worst of it — maybe more than other genres, argues geek blogger Being Ruth. Here are a few reasons why. More »
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Science fiction is the literature of our times, the fuel of our imaginations and the source of our favorite imaginary worlds. But what do we mean when we talk about "science fiction?" Here are some of the many definitions. More »
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The weird thing about The Sorcerer's Apprentice is, it takes more trouble to give a pseudo-scientific explanation for its goings-on than most science-fiction films nowadays. And the Apprentice's science-geek chops are foregrounded. It's a fantasy that loves science. Spoilers ahead. More »
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Once upon a time, science fiction and horror were both pulpy genres, in both books and movies. But now, science fiction has its own bookstore section, and SF films are huge blockbusters. How did SF beat horror, Cinematical asks. More »
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An Edgar Award-nominated mystery author has just sold her first zombie novel — and it's being published by Harlequin's speculative fiction imprint Luna. Could Sophie Crane's Aftertime be proof that genre-mashups are the new genres? More »
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Hugo Gernsback didn't just pioneer the term "science fiction" — he insisted on a visionary philosophy, in which SF became the literature of predicting technological change. Ars Technica has a fascinating profile of the father of the genre. More »
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What sort of speculative fiction content appeals to literary writers and editors? Clarkesworld's Ryan Britt talked to editors at lit-mags Conjunctions and Opium, and a few literary authors. The key? Taking the speculative elements seriously, without too much earnestness. [Clarkesworld] More »
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Paul Di Filippo, whose Steampunk Trilogy originally made me fall in love with the subgenre, surveys the state of steampunk literature, and he is pleased. In his witty essay, he points to Monty Python's Terry Gilliam as a steampunk progenitor. More »
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Last night, the Food Network's "Sugar Impossible" challenge involved making a four-foot-tall sculpture illustrating a science-fiction theme out of pure sugar. And it had to have moving parts. Sugar robots, aliens and weird mutants competed for a $10,000 prize. More »
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