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The story of an author meeting his own fictional characters is a common one — and usually it becomes some kind of metafictional meditation on the nature of authorship and what it means to be a fictional character. But what if that fictional character comes from a weird post-apocalyptic world, and it was kind of a shitty story? More »
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Sometimes it seems like science fiction, and especially fantasy, are genres that lend themselves exclusively to trilogies and long-running series. But some of the greatest writers in speculative fiction have only written standalone novels, not series or trilogies. More »
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Maureen McHugh's latest short story collection, After the Apocalypse (Small Beer Press), is a dark look at what the next century might hold for ordinary people. Known for intense, character-driven work in novels like China Mountain Zhang and Nekropolis, McHugh makes even the most extraordinary circumstances feel as real as blood. These nine stories take place in a world that has been ravaged by prion diseases and economic collapse, even as it enters a new age of artificial intelligence and green biotech. You won't be able to forget the people you meet there. More »
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For the first time in ages, Publishers Weekly's list of the year's top 10 books (of any genre) includes a science fiction title, Maureen McHugh's new story collection After the Apocalypse. Over at Genreville, PW's Rose Fox lists her top SF/fantasy books of the year, including McHugh's — and all six of them are from small presses. Also notable: three out of six are short story collections rather than novels. Chances are, you haven't read all (or any) of these titles yet, so this is a great chance to add to your "to read" list. [PW] More »
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Right now, you are reading a piece of social media. That means it's designed to be passed around on social networks - though it appears on io9.com, can easily be transplanted to Facebook, Twitter, Stumble Upon, and dozens of others. Or it can be converted to email or a text message you can pass along to people who've never heard of io9. That's the difference between traditional print media and social media - the former requires you to seek out a publication to get information, whereas the latter requires you to be part of a social network. Many argue that this is a form of media that has never existed before, and that it's about to change not just the gadgets we buy, but the very fabric of our culture - how we communicate who we are, and how we remember our history. More »
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If you believe in reading short fiction for pleasure, you're condemned to frequent disappointment. Most short fiction, even the good stuff, is... laborious. So when reading the anthology Eclipse Three, you may be startled at the unexpected sensation of enjoyment. More »
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Need a quick dose of weird, brainy science fiction but don't have time to commit to an entire short story collection? Then consider a new kind of book, from Aqueduct Press, which you might call a short story single, with an A-Side and a B-Side (though both stories get an A from this reader). Plugged In contains "The Man Who Plugged In," by L. Timmel Duchamp and "Kingdom of the Blind" by Maureen McHugh. Both authors were guests of honor at Wiscon in May, and I grabbed a signed copy at that event. We hear that it will soon be available from Aqueduct. Here's what awaits you. More »
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The coolest near-future story I've read recently is now available online, as a free download. Maureen McHugh's story "Interview: On Any Given Day" wraps genetic engineering and future youth subcultures into a story that's alternately funny and super-disturbing. The story's faux-interview format and weird little hyperlinks add to the feeling that you're consuming a piece of medium-high culture from a future world where genetic tampering has led to some horrendous side effects, including a new sexually transmitted disease. Spoilers ahead. More »
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