Let's Get Off This Rock Already!
An Author's Adventures in Space Travel, Science Fiction, and Worlds Beyond
When we last saw the Next Generation crew on the big screen, they took over from Captain Kirk with an awkward, confused, ultimately anticlimactic passing of the torch. Not the film debut they deserved. Thankfully, the next movie got things on the right track again—and boy is it a movie. It's got action! It's got... Continue Reading →
Anyone who has worked retail knows that the customer is often wrong. By extension, the market is often wrong. Nowhere is that truer than at the box office, where a copy-paste rehash can rake in billions if it pushes the right buttons, while audiences turn up their noses at works of genuine beauty and creativity.... Continue Reading →
Welcome back, everyone! This week's entry will be a little lighter on text and heavier on visuals---which, judging by the success of my previous posts on AI-generated art, ought to be a popular decision. But this time I aim to focus on a particular theme. You see, ever since I was a kid, I've been... Continue Reading →
As much as I love indie books, they're a minefield. You never know what you're going to get in terms of quality. I've had some books that started promising, then turned into total slogs; I've had others that were actually pretty solid. The novel I'm reviewing today definitely falls into the latter category---in fact, it... Continue Reading →
An intelligence operative investigates a planet where three hundred million people died on the orders of their enigmatic ruler. As he explores the archives of the fallen regime, he comes face to face with an evil that survived the catastrophe. (Science Fiction/Horror) (Complete)
Post by Nic Quattromani: I’ve discovered a surprising craving lately, for straightforward—perhaps derivative—storytelling. Of course I appreciate sleekly inventive settings and genre deconstructions as much as the next nerd, but the problem is that that’s all we’ve been getting lately. Nowadays, to follow in the footsteps of another work is looked down upon as trite,... Continue Reading →
Post by Nic Quattromani: All right, a few weeks ago I discussed the anthology Galactic Empires, and now I shall talk a bit about the trope behind it: the galactic empire. It is one of my favorite tropes of all time. Few other sci-fi backgrounds offer such rich possibilities for adventure and intrigue on an... Continue Reading →
Post by Nic Quattromani: Well, here's the second part of my review of Neil Clarke's Galactic Empires. Here I will tackle the book's latter twelve stories, twelve tales of weirdness and wonder, and try to make sense of how this anthology fits together, if it does at all. “A Cold Heart” by Tobias S. Buckell: When... Continue Reading →
Post by Nic Quattromani: I’m quite fond of tropes. Yes, when overused they can flatten a story, make it a bland template more than a work in its own right (looking at you, Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars), but nevertheless they provide a tremendous library of ideas, stories, and tools spread across literary space, which... Continue Reading →
