Tag Archives: worldbuilding

Fancast Spotlight: Dennis Frey Books

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Cora

After the Hugos is before the Hugos, so here is another Fancast Spotlight for your consideration. For more about the Fanzine/Fancast Spotlight project, go here. You can also check out the other great fanzines and fancasts featured by clicking here. … Continue reading →

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Non-Fiction Spotlight: Story Matrices: Cultural Encoding and Cultural Baggage in Science Fiction and Fantasy by Gillian Polack

Posted on September 15, 2022 by Cora

After the Hugos is before the next Hugos, so I’m continuing my Non-Fiction Spotlight project, where I interview the authors/editors of SFF-related non-fiction books that come out in 2022 and are eligible for the 2023 Hugo Awards. For more about … Continue reading →

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Fancast Spotlight: Worldbuilding for Masochists

Posted on November 2, 2021 by Cora

Even though I recently announced the new Semiprozine Spotlight series, I’m still featuring fanzines and fancasts, too. And therefore, here is the next entry in the Fancast Spotlight project. For more about the Fanzine/Fancast Spotlight project, go here. You can … Continue reading →

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Retro Review: “Exile” by Edmond Hamilton

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Cora

Now that we’re waiting for the finalists for the 1945 Retro Hugos to be announced, let’s take the time to look at some of the finalists for previous years of Retro Hugos. I’ll start off with “Exile”, a science fantasy … Continue reading →

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Cozy Space Opera, Cozy Mysteries and the Domestic Sphere

Posted on August 31, 2018 by Cora

At Strange Horizons, Joyce Chng hosts a round-table about domestic space opera, featuring Ann Leckie, Jennifer Foehner Wells, Judith Tarr and Foz Meadows. It’s a great discussion and I urge everyone to read it. Now domestic space opera is a … Continue reading →

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In Defence of Wallpaper Science Fiction

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Cora

A few days ago, Paul Weimer pointed me on Twitter to this post by Charles Stross in which Stross laments the current state of the science fiction genre, because a lot of SF writers these days focus more on plot, … Continue reading →

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How to dispose of German politicians, the craziest football match of the year and some writing and genre links

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Cora

This is how we dispose of politicians in Lower Saxony: David McAllister, minister president of Lower Saxony (in case anybody is wondering about the name, McAllister’s parents are Scottish), and much of his cabinet went for a ride in a … Continue reading →

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Worldbuilding, speculative noir and a public service announcement

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Cora

If you’re a self-publisher, please consider taking part in the Taleist 2012 self-publishing survey. For more information, visit the Taleist or David Gaughran’s blog. Julie Ann Dawson of Bards and Sages has a great post on worldbuilding and plausibility in … Continue reading →

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How SFnal is Spy Fiction?

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Cora

The King of Elfland’s Second Cousin has a very insightful post about the connection between science fiction (and urban fantasy for that matter) and classic spy fiction, which draws on Darko Suvin‘s theory of cognitive estrangement, as outlined in Metamorphoses … Continue reading →

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