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Harry Harrison

harry harrison

Stainless Steel Rat Author Defects To Russia

Classic science fiction author Harry Harrison says America is becoming a totalitarian state, and praised Russia for its interest in literature, according to an interview published in the Russian newspaper Pravda. The Stainless Steel Rat author, visiting Moscow for a convention, said America violates its own constitution and behaves undemocratically towards the rest of the world, but any totalitarian regime "is bound to collapse sooner or later." He didn't actually praise Russia's government, but did say Russians are much more avid readers, and science fiction consumers, than Americans. But he criticized Russian science fiction for emphasizing ideas over action or characters. [Pravda]

anti-heroes

Why Do Anti-Heroes Rule Science Fiction?

The first time I ever read the word "anti-hero," it was in an article about science fiction, and it's always seemed a very science fictional type of word — like anti-matter, or anti-gravity. Science fiction has its share of one-dimensional white hats, but the characters who capture our imagination are usually the morally blurred rascals, who have their own best interests at heart. You never quite know what an anti-hero will do next. Here's our guide to the roots of science fiction's greatest anti-heroes. More »

repurposed spaceships

The Greatest Spaceships Made From Scrap

With the space shuttle program about to be retired, we need a new class of crewed ships for space exploration. But Congress may never cough up the money to build them. Luckily, science fiction teaches us that anything can be a spaceship: an old airplane, a World War II battleship, a fairground ride... or even some junkyard debris, as Andy Griffith shows in this clip. Click through for our roundup of the best repurposed and recycled spaceships. More »