Dear readers, Merry Chrismakkuh! I hope this finds you well. We celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah around here, and the two rarely overlap, so this year has got me feeling especially grateful. I don’t say it often enough: Thank you for joining me on this publishing journey. It’s thanks to you I get to explore other worlds […]
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“Queen of Space” by Joseph Slotkin
A sci-fi short story by Joseph Slotkin, originally published in Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy, Aug 1954.
“Helen LaTour had the best hip wriggle in galactic Burleyque. In fact, it was so good she hipped herself smack into another dimension!…”
“Selling Point” by Norman Arkawy
A sci-fi short story by Norman Arkawy, originally published in Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy 1955.
“A new industry blossomed when U.S. Robot Company put their perfected models on the market. Perfected? Nobody had considered the one defect!”
The compelling case of split personalities in character-driven fiction
Moon Knight got me thinking about characters with split personalities in fiction. Here are my favorite fractured minds, what makes them compelling, and a short reading list for science fiction/fantasy readers and viewers.
“The Road Is Three”
Earth changed the day the invaders attacked, and even though they’re gone now, departed for reasons unknown, our world will never be the same.
Hard vs. soft magic systems in popular SF
In today’s guest column, space opera author Luke T. Barnett joins us to talk magic systems in science fiction and fantasy, illustrating the difference between hard and soft magic systems with examples from popular SF books and films.
“World of the Mad” by Poul Anderson
A sci-fi short story by Poul Anderson, originally published in Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy 1951.
“Langdon had found immortality on the planet Tanith. Naturally he wanted his wife to share it—if he could prevent her from going insane first….”
What’s the most terrifying time travel side effect?
Michael LaVoice joins us to discuss Simon Hawke’s unique spin on the time travel genre in his TimeWars series, and the many terrifying side effects of temporal disruption.
Wanted: Guest posts on SF books, topics and themes
Do you love reading sci-fi/fantasy books? Do you have a deep knowledge of the SF genre or history?
Goods news! The blog at mgherron.com is open to submissions from guest authors.
Four influential portal fantasy novels of the 20th century
Portal fantasy is escapism in the purest sense. I’m here to share four standout portal fiction novels from the 20th century. All excellent books you can follow down the rabbit hole.