Blog Archives

Tags are useful, but incomplete. To help you (and me) keep track of some of the ongoing themes, issues and analysis in science fiction, I present this  partial and ongoing index. I will update and link back to it whenever it is appropriate: Decline and Fall of Science Fiction Chatter Before the Coup: 1991 in […]

If the eye could see the demons that people the universe, existence would be impossible. — Talmud, Berakhot, 6 So, over the past few weeks, we’ve gotten a good look at lies, damned lies and maybe even a few “statistics.” Now I’d like to return attention to The Man in the High Castle, with those […]

“Don’t you see? It’s Galaxy-wide. It’s a worship of the past. It’s a deterioration – a stagnation!”- Foundation, Isaac Asimov There is a natural, even reasonable resistance among those who appreciate Blue SF to want to defend it, but not at the cost of honor. Science Fiction itself, however, indicates that this concept is not […]

The blue versus pink science fiction and fantasy divide has been a big topic for 2015. It has the appearance of a rift of the making for the past 15 years. Actually, you can find origins for it in the 1930s. The big factional dispute was between the weird and science fiction fans. Robert E. […]

The conspiracy theory of society…comes from abandoning God and then asking “Who is in his place?” -Karl Popper, Conjectures and Refutations, as quoted in Foucault’s Pendulum, Umberto Eco I started with the concept of counterfeit antiques (and historicity) a few weeks ago, and last week I glanced at the importance of counterfeit religion in Asimov’s […]

“Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.”- Salvor Hardin, Foundation, Isaac Asimov As the Galactic Empire collapses, the best and earliest seed planted for re-establishment of civilization is religion. Specifically, a religion that is based on science (such as atomic power) so that its miracles and promises are immediate […]

I consulted the I Ching before writing this starter’s guide to The Man in the High Castle. It presented me with Hexagram 14. All things come to the man…in a high position. – From Hexagram 14, I Ching Never let it be said that the ancients have no sense of humor.

The Lord of the Rings has Sauron. Thomas Covenant has Lord Foul. Taran has Arawn. Every fantasy has a particular villain; even the more muddled “realistic” fantasies (which are, in fact, merely a different kind of fantasy – one in which suffering is more common, and joy less common, than in regular life) of Joe […]

A week ago, Tanith Lee passed from this mortal coil at age 67. It is a shock as 67 does not seem old in this day where hitting 90 is almost commonplace. Tanith Lee has been a fixture of fantasy and horror as long as I have been reading those genres. She was part of […]