Let’s talk about maps for a moment. A fantasy staple since the year dot, the map at the front of the book is perhaps the most evocative element of a given genre epic. Your humble correspondent used to draw fantasy maps in high school (no, I wasn’t exactly knocking ’em dead with the ladies, why do you ask?). Granted, not every fantasy epic comes with a handy map. I can think of a few authors off the top of my head (Glen Cook, Joe Abercrombie, […]
On Catastrophe, Martian Potatoes, and Displaying Adaptability
I’m a firm believer in the First Paragraph Test. If you’re on the fence about a book, reading the first paragraph can be a good indicator of whether or not you should actually take the time to read it. “Hey, isn’t that like judging a book by its cover?” you may ask. Well, no, since an author often has little if any control over the cover. But the first paragraph, that’s where a smart author puts his best foot forward in an attempt to suck […]
On Virtual Perdition, Horrible Bastards, and Millions of Warships
William Gibson didn’t invent virtual reality, but he was arguably the first to introduce the concept to a mass audience. A generation later, the Wachowskis took the concept to the next level with The Matrix. And now, roughly a generation removed from The Matrix (and if that doesn’t make you feel old, then I’m not sure what will), science fiction has become so suffused with the concept that virtual reality has taken its place alongside rayguns and spaceships and bug-eyes monsters as a venerable trope-verging-on-cliche […]
On Betrayal, Whimsical AIs, and Special Circumstances
I’ve been reading science fiction since I knew how to read. I’ve immersed myself in utopias, dystopias, parallel universes, and alien mating rituals. I’ve stood on the shores of an inland sea on Mars, plunged into the swirling depths of gas giants, and hacked the operating system of reality. And after thirty years in this genre, I’ve come to one conclusion: I want to live in the Culture. Fuck the Foundation, fuck the Metaverse, fuck Mars, fuck the Federation, and certainly fuck the Sprawl. The […]