Science Fiction – Page 3

Science Fiction still Alien to Some Authors

By Bjorn Munson | September 19, 2019September 17, 2019 by Bjorn Munson

I mentioned on Tuesday that my office is geeky enough to spontaneously start talking about constructed languages. As an inveterate geek who can pass as a “muggle,” I’m well acquainted with the concept of downplaying any connections to nerd/geek culture. My reluctance to unfurl my own weird flag has waned greatly over the past 15 years or so, but I understand that reticence. Sarah Ditum, writing in the Guardian, details how authors have historically, and…

Various and Sundry

Worldcons and World Conquest (by way of Pop Culture)

By Bjorn Munson | August 27, 2019August 25, 2019 by Bjorn Munson

I’ve never been to a Worldcon, but I’m thinking I ought to for when it’s in my backyard. George R. R. Martin, however, has been to just about every Worldcon he could for several decades running. This year’s WorldCon is in Dublin, so the Irish Times caught up with him and he mused on WorldCons and fandom and all sorts of things. If you want more of Martin musing on his career and art, you…

Writing

@#$% yeah I’m going to post about Harlan Ellison

By Bjorn Munson | June 29, 2018June 29, 2018 by Bjorn Munson

Harlan Ellison, a writer with a more than active imagination and an activist for writers, died peacefully in his sleep yesterday. he was 84. You can see write-ups in Variety and the Los Angeles Times. A brief, but excellent remembrance is from Mark Evanier, who knew him for almost 50 years. I think he put it best when he said: Harlan was a writer who made other writers proud to be writers. He goes on to……

Various and Sundry

All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by… and maybe some deflector shields

By Bjorn Munson | May 2, 2018May 2, 2018 by Bjorn Munson

Rockets and starships and especially naval ships getting spacefaring analogues occupy my thoughts from time to time. Okay, a lot of the time. I know I’m not alone in this gentle obsession, so it was nice to come across this lengthy article by Jeff “Hageshii01” Venancio all about military ship types in actual naval history and how they’ve been applied in science fiction settings. This is probably a good time to mention that, if you…

Various and Sundry Writing

The Clarke Centennial

By Bjorn Munson | December 16, 2017December 16, 2017 by Bjorn Munson

100 years ago today, in a small town in England, Arthur Clarke was born. Perhaps he’ll always be best known by the public at large for 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is certainly how I was first introduced to his work. Later, when I had a chance to delve deeper into my Dad’s collection of 50s paperbacks, I came across Childhood’s End and later still, “The Star” — a very short story that nevertheless haunts…

Writing

Going Faster than the Speed of Light with Imaginary Numbers

By Bjorn Munson | April 14, 2017April 14, 2017 by Bjorn Munson

For many of us writing science fiction, a common decision point is how hard or soft we should make the world(s) we’re building. A perennial area is whether we allow faster-than-light travel or not (i.e., warping, folding space, entering stargates, traveling through hyperspace, etc.). Scientist and science fiction author Catherine Asaro explains her own journey in coming up with a way to have interstellar ships that can move at the speed of narrative without willfully ignoring…

Writing

Space Opera Tropes

By Bjorn Munson | September 12, 2016September 12, 2016 by Bjorn Munson

Speculative fiction writer Charles Stross has written a blog post about space opera clichés which has been brought to my attention by one of the denizens of MOSF. I haven’t read too much of Charles Stross, though I like his imaginative and subtly disturbing short story, “Rogue Farm.” It sounds like he enjoys being a bit harder with his sci-fi and space opera than some, which comes through in this list. For that reason, I…

Writing

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Tag: Science Fiction

Science Fiction still Alien to Some Authors

Worldcons and World Conquest (by way of Pop Culture)

@#$% yeah I’m going to post about Harlan Ellison

All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by… and maybe some deflector shields

The Clarke Centennial

Going Faster than the Speed of Light with Imaginary Numbers

Space Opera Tropes

Recommended Reading: The Hugo Awards and the Pop Culture Zeitgeist