Reading Time: 9 minutesDid you know that Amazon has a list of the top-selling and free sci-fi and fantasy books? Here are the top ten — and my takes on each of them.
Free Friday: Today’s top free Amazon sci-fi and fantasy books for Mar. 12, 2021 Read More »
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe British Fantasy Society announced the winners of the 2020 British Fantasy Awards yesterday, and RJ Barker’s The Bone Ships was selected as the best fantasy novel of the year.
Reading Time: 3 minutesNASA has been releasing photos as they arrive from Mars and they are awesome.
The first Mars photos from Perseverance are here Read More »
Reading Time: 4 minutesTo understand ourselves and our place in the universe, “we should have humility but also self-respect,” the physicist writes in a new book.
Ten ‘Keys to Reality from Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek Read More »
Reading Time: 3 minutesWhile more progress is being made all the time in artificial intelligence, some scientists and philosophers warn of the dangers of an uncontrollable superintelligent AI.
Reading Time: 2 minutesThe U. S. Postal Service announced its new lineup of stamps for 2021, and sci-fi legend Ursula K. Le Guin is the latest addition to the Literary Arts series.
Sci-fi legend Ursula K. Le Guin to get her own postage stamp Read More »
Reading Time: < 1 minuteEvery Thursday, Epic offers a PC game for free. Yesterday that was Stardock Games’ Galactic Civilizations 3, a critically-acclaimed, popular game that’s like Sid Meier’s Civilization, but in space. Other differences include the fact that you can play the game in multi-player mode, battling your friends for control of the galaxy. That’s nice, considering that,
Galactic Civilizations 3 is free from Epic this week Read More »
Reading Time: 4 minutesI just finished “Renna’s Crossing” by Geordie Morse and was surprised, and humbled, by the author’s approach to gender issues.
‘Renna’s Crossing’ is a progressive, magical coming-of-age story Read More »
Reading Time: < 1 minuteGrist, a publication that focuses on climate, sustainability and social justice has announced a contest for short stories that focus on climate change. Entry is free, the deadline is April 12, and the short stories should be between 3,000 and 5,000 words in length. “We’re embracing the opportunity to look beyond the confines of the
Cli-fi short story contest offers $8,700 in prizes Read More »
Reading Time: 22 minutesHave you ever stared at your screen or typewriter or notebook and couldn’t force yourself to write? I have, and here’s what I do to fix it.
Reading Time: 3 minutesIf you haven’t seen this excellent movie yet, go watch it on HBO Max, then come back. I’ll wait.
3 questions I still have after watching ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Read More »
Reading Time: 4 minutesI came for Tony Shalhoub and I was not disappointed.
Reading Time: < 1 minuteYesterday’s directive promoting the use of nuclear power in space, including in low Earth Orbit, presents lots of interesting plot possibilities for thrillers.
Space-based nuclear reactors a boon to thriller writers Read More »
Reading Time: 6 minutesA very, very long list of ways to show emotion through body language or actions.
Reading Time: 10 minutesPre-made book cover sites offer low-cost, professional-looking covers for independent authors.
Where to find low-cost, pre-made covers for spec fic books Read More »
Reading Time: 8 minutesOnce upon a time, there was a virtual world that was almost, but not quite, completely unlike 1500s England. The assassin peered out from the window overlooking Leadenhall Street. It was mid-day and there were plenty of targets. Local residents, mostly, but also a fair number of tourists and would-be adventurers looking for quests. The
Reading Time: 2 minutesUpdate: Netflix is not picking up Away for a second season. I have to be honest. I’m not really the target audience for Netflix’ new science fiction drama, Away. Yes, it’s about humanity’s first manned mission to Mars. And yes, it stars Academy Award-winning actress Hilary Swank. Both of those things are great. But it’s
Reading Time: 3 minutesBBC America just released the first video previews of “The Watch,” a series based on Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels, and it’s not looking at all like what people were expecting.
Preview: BBC takes on Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Read More »
Reading Time: 3 minutesWhat if “The Office” was staffed by vampires? Here’s the answer, folks.
Pandemic Bingewatch: ‘What We Do In the Shadows’ Read More »
Reading Time: 2 minutesA new virtual reality camera was successfully delivered to the International Space Station today and will allow the astronauts to film spacewalks in VR.
Reading Time: 4 minutesOur master list of best resources for writers of fantasy, horror and sci-fi.
Reading Time: 4 minutesLast Friday, billionaire inventor Tony Stark — I mean, Elon Musk — showed off progress on his latest project, the Neuralink.
Six things we will do with Elon Musk’s Neuralink, according to sci-fi Read More »
Reading Time: 2 minutesTerry Pratchett is one of my all-time favorite authors, and even though he died five years ago, a new book is now out, a collection of never-before-published short stories he wrote for local newspapers back in the 1960s and 1970s.
Reading Time: 2 minutesSci-fi and fantasy author Brandon Sanderson’s 13 hour-long “Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy” lectures are up on YouTube.
Brandon Sanderson’s writing lectures are free on YouTube Read More »
Reading Time: 2 minutes‘Oumuamua, a weird interstellar object that was discovered passing through our solar system in 2017, might be alien after all.
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAccording to new research, it’s possible that we could have wormholes large and stable enough for humans to be able to travel to distant stars.
Wormhole travel could be possible, scientists say Read More »
Reading Time: 2 minutesLiving on the surface of the Moon, or of Mars, is dangerous. The lack of a protective atmosphere means that radiation is a constant hazard, for example. Lava tubes can be the solution, scientists say.
Lava tubes on the Moon and Mars could be our future homes Read More »
Reading Time: < 1 minuteNetflix’s new show “Away”, the first 10-episode season of which drops Sept. 4, takes a realistic, personal approach to the first manned trip to Mars.
Reading Time: 2 minutesWireless power transmission is the future, but there are a lot of technical challenges to overcome.
My vision of the future is wireless, and we’re one step closer Read More »
Reading Time: 2 minutesNew York Times bestselling author N. K. Jemisin’s short story Emergency Skin was named the winner of the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Short Novelette.
N. K. Jemisin’s Short Story Emergency Skin Wins 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novelette Read More »
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine, wins the 2020 Hugo Award for best novel.
A Memory Called Empire Wins the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novel Read More »
Reading Time: 4 minutesHere are my top 14 reasons to try Google Docs, if you’re not using it yet.
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA couple of people in this group have talked about Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Calculating Stars. The book won the 2019 Nebula Award for Best Novel, the 2019 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, the 2019 Hugo Award for Best Novel, and the 2019 Sidewise Award for Alternate History. If you saw Hidden Figures
Reading Time: 5 minutesHere’s our list of great online resources and websites for speculative fiction authors.
Reading Time: < 1 minuteSubmit your book excerpt Do you have a fantasy, horror or science fiction book that just came out, or is about to come out? Send us an excerpt of your book, with an illustration, and links to where people can find out more.
