Thursday Throughput: Arrakis, New Caprica, and Us
In the decades to come, we’re going to learn a lot about alien planets. It would not surprise me at all if we found ones like New Caprica or Arrakis.
Tagged: science fiction
Short Story: Back to School
School had been out for a long time; longer than Jack could remember. He wasn’t sure why they’d had to stay away. But he was excited to be going back.
Tenshot: The Three Body Problem Trilogy
I recently read this trilogy by Chinese science fiction author Cixin Liu
“Annihilation” Movie Review
One of the best films of the first half of the year, a sci-fi/horror mashup, is now available on streaming and disc.
An Economist Nitpicks Sci-Fi: Foundation and Chaos
In which an economist looks at one of the seminal science fiction works of the 20th Century.
Films That Could Have Been
There are far too many science fiction films that left us asking: what happened? Thankfully, three recent documentaries get to the bottom of it.
Book Review: Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
In a sense, it is the perfect speculative fiction novel, even as it pays unspoken homage to a similarly-themed book by very different authors from thirty-eight years ago.
Book Review: Elysium by Jennifer Marie Brissett
Picking a book at random from the “Hey check this out” list works out very well, at least this time.
What Kind of Film is Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium
Mordecai Wiczyk of Media Rights Capital thinks that Elysium has an insurance policy to help boost ticket sales despite its disadvantages (including an R rating, no 3D version, etcetera). That potential upside is the relatability of the...
The Illustrated Man
My dad foisted Dandelion Wine on me when I was young and still homeschooled. It was to be, appropriately enough, the first book in my list of self-imposed summer reading. His copy was old, and...
An Ambiguous Utopia
I just finished The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin, and despite the fact that I am probably not going to contribute much to the body of criticism surrounding it, I wanted to write...
“The Space Traders”
For those following the faux-controversy surrounding Barack Obama’s relationship with Derrick Bell, here’s a copy of Bell’s infamous short story, “The Space Traders.” As far as science fiction goes, it’s a pretty crummy read,...
“That’s What I Know, That’s What I Am”
Mr. Kain has graciously invited me to start posting on the main page here at the League, so a more official introduction is probably in order. Instead of writing about where I live and what...
The Adventures of the Delineator: The Mark of the Assassin
~ by Jon Stonger From the Logs of Captain Dave: “Get the money upfront,” hissed Doc hissingly in my ear. We were sitting in a shady bar on the second planet in the Scorchemal...
The Adventures of the Delineator: They Lost my Luggage?
~by Jon Stonger This is the first in a selection of short stories from The Adventures of the Delineator. These tales follow the clueless Captain Dave as he guides the small crew of the...
Walker Percy’s Galaxy Quest
“[I]t is an established fact that a preponderance of religious imagery or an avowed religious intent can go a long way toward mitigating the science-fictional taint, which also helps explain the appeal to mainstream...
Science in Sci-Fi film
John Holbo has a veryy good post up trying to classify the various types of science-fiction films by their approach and attitudes toward science. He lists quite a few – 1) pro-science/pro-rationality 2) anti-science...
