Language is connection. Luckily—given that there are over seven thousand languages on Earth, not counting the fictional ones—communication is still possible without sharing one. In fact, sometimes a difference of language can lead to a more complex connection than a shared language. Below are five times when different languages are used in interesting ways. The
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If you’ve read my work, you probably know that I love speculating about different types of consciousness and architectures of sentience. I’m fascinated by the potential for minds that might compare with or surpass our own. Often, when people think about other forms of consciousness, it’s all lumped into “AI”, however there are a plethora
While the wolves of the Green Creek series are strong, capable killing machines (when the situation calls for it), they are also angsty, a little dumb about a lot of things, and tend to snap and snarl when things don’t go their way. So, what better way to celebrate my werewolves than to talk about
Few TV writers’ names are as marquee-friendly as ‘Gene Roddenberry’. In that original Star Trek title sequence, his screen credit zooms in before even William Shatner’s. In 1985, he became the first ever TV writer to be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Ask any keen TV watcher who Gene Roddenberry is
I’ve been asked to tell you about my favorite time travel novels, films, and TV shows. You likely know my favorites. I’m not going to come at you with Terminator. Or Back To The Future. Or Groundhog Day. Or Planet Of The Apes (either the Heston or Wahlberg installment will do). Or even 12 Monkeys.
The latest and quite frankly epic trailer for Andor, the latest Star Wars series to drop on Disney+, is here and with it comes a new date for its release – 21 September. The first two episodes were supposed to land on the streaming platform on 31 August, so we have to wait an extra three
The future might be a dark and terrifying place, at least according to the classics of science fiction. But what makes a dystopia truly terrifying? Reality. The most horrifying books of the genre have accurately predicted the more terrifying aspects of modern life and our near future, including mass surveillance, war, and environmental catastrophe. Crafting
I wrote ION CURTAIN on and off over a few years. That’s unusual for me—as a full pantser/organic author, if I start writing a story and take a break, likely, it’d never finish. In ION CURTAIN, the story’s scope changed as I developed as an author, read things that blew my mind, and played or
When I first began writing my adult fantasy debut, Silk Fire, I attended a workshop on worldbuilding taught by award-winning author N. K. Jemisin. She encouraged fantasy authors to build worlds from the bottom up, explore how differences in geology, weather, and biology could all affect the culture of a fictional society. For example, in
If you ask someone the difference between fantasy and science fiction, odds are that they’ll hark back to the classic definition: the former is impossible, whereas the latter is possible but implausible. However, this definition is not only very old, but it’s so broad that it’s of little use to anyone. So I find myself
One of the many categories of shiny objects my magpie brain insists on collecting is fictional games. Here are five of my favourites! Tak I would be lying if I didn’t say that seeing Kvothe get whomped at the strategy board game Tak in Patrick Rothfuss’s The Wise Man’s Fear was my favorite part of
I started writing The Ragwitch when I was 20 years old, early in 1984. It was the second novel I started, and the first one I managed to finish. It took me a long time, longer than any novel I’ve written since, and was eventually published first in Australia in early 1991. When I began
An assortment of sci-fi and fantasy books, TV, cinema and games I’ve recently enjoyed, some made recently, some not so much… Dune (2021) Denis Villeneuve’s take on Frank Herbet’s seminal sci-fi classic isn’t its first adaptation, but despite a soft spot for David Lynch’s version, I’d say it’s much the most successful. Partly that’s because
It’s a bit of an understatement to say worldbuilding is a big deal in fantasy fiction. But what first comes to mind when you hear the phrase “worldbuilding”? Is it an inked map with pointy mountains, dashed lines for a country’s borders, and more tea stains than a kitchen countertop? Or is it something more
If there’s one thing publishers, authors, and readers agree on, it’s that everybody loves a series. The characters you’ve grown to admire, the world you’ve learned how to travel without asking for directions, the best hole-in-the-wall tavern selling deep-fried lembas on a stick – why would you ever leave? But I also love trilogies, which
Fantasy author Sharon Shinn once told me that all authors have a “thing” they write about. “Your thing,” she said, “is death. And what comes after.” Okay, fair. I grew up on Beetlejuice and the Addams Family and Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, so my sense of the macabre and my sense of humor are often indistinguishable.
Content Warning: Graphic Depictions of Nature Let me paint a scene. It’s 2017 and I’m in a courtroom in Pasadena, California, trying the country’s first lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson for selling baby powder with asbestos in it. We’re seven weeks in. The defense has an expert on the stand. I’ve cross-examined her before, know
For those of you who stared in wide-eyed awe at the haunting 2021 movie adaptation of Dune, with its vast starships, miniscule killer drones, and sophisticated survival suits, it is sometimes a shock to discover that the novel on which it is based was published as long ago as 1965, four years before humans landed
Molly and Gene Myers rescued Cory and kept him safe from those who wanted to use his remarkable knowledge and power for their own ends . . . and in doing so, they rediscovered themselves and fell in love with a remarkable child.Now, in Our Child Of Two Worlds, Cory and his new family are
The latest poster and trailer for Netflix’s sci-fi adventure movie, The Adam Project, really hit on those Amblin vibes as Ryan Reynolds travels from the future to meet his younger self. Check out the trailer here… <span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”></span> The Adam Project sees time-traveling pilot teams up with his
What makes a character interesting? Is it their flaws, their limitations? Nobody likes perfect characters who can do everything and handle any problem. This wasn’t always how it was though. There was a time, during the days of daring pulp adventure, when amazing protagonists dominated the genre. From Doc Savage to John Carter to Tarzan,
Vampires are back, baby! I know what you’re thinking – “Hang on, vampires went away?” Yes, apparently, they did and how I know that is I’ve recently read two articles explaining that in the worlds of both books and TV/film, they’re back! Now, seeing as I have a new book out that sort of features
Fantasy and science fiction are the genres where we can imagine absolutely anything – so why don’t we more frequently imagine matriarchal societies as the settings for our stories? The good news is that within the matriarchy-centered novels that do exist, there’s something to please everyone. Do you prefer your fantasy novels as long as
I do love a premise that burrows into your mind and lingers. One that nags at your subconscious because, even though you know it’s fiction, the ideas are so plausible, you can’t help thinking they might actually come true… It’s something I aspire to in my own writing, and the following are great examples. Jurassic
‘Strong female protagonist’ is the latest hook the industry loves to paint over its new creations, often with all the finesse of an exhausted day-laborer at the end of an eleven-hour shift. Many times it simply consists of trading out one icon for another in lieu of any real character development: the crone becomes a
I’m a survivor, and by ‘survivor’ I mean coward. I’ve never found a danger I couldn’t avoid. I’m an author, not a stuntman. Insert your best Leonard McCoy impression here. My favorite way to deal with danger is to make it up and then inflict it on some poor unsuspecting soul (preferably someone who doesn’t
Check out our exclusive video of author Ben Aaronovitch talking about his favourite characters in his bestselling Rivers Of London series with the book’s audio narrator Kobna Holdbrook-Smith while… on a river in London! Watch our exclusive video here… <span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”></span> This year marks the 10th
As a massive fan of gothic horror both in fiction and film, it’s a tough question to answer when asked to choose my top few. Considering gothic horror fiction has existed in one form or another for 250 years since Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, there’s a lot to choose from. Horror film is
If something is supernatural, you can pretty much just hand it over to me immediately because I love paranormal worlds. I’m pretty ride-or-die about my favourite paranormal romance or fantasy books, but that’s not the only place I love to find sexy vampires and witches. Here are my top five sexy vampires and witches in
When I think about my favourite movie psychopaths, my mind, like many, jumps instantly to the likes of Hannibal Lecter. Or Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. Or Kevin Khatchadourian in We Need To Talk About Kevin. Tom Noonan’s portrayal of Francis Dolarhyde in Manhunter still haunts me. If you think of real-life serial killers, you can very quickly rattle off a few names like Manson and Bundy and Dahmer and Gacy… Feels