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sSo Daddy Warpig is busy attempting to shake the pillars of heaven. But come on, guys. Let’s be honest here. Lots of comments are coming through disagreeing, but Daddy Warpig is still talking to a mostly friendly audience. The Castalia Blog is the heart of the pulp revolution; even as many people object, more agree. […]
PODCASTS: Daddy Warpig, JimFear138, Declan Finn, and Nick Cole!
Monday , 27, March 2017 Comment 6 CommentsThe book connoisseur podcasting scene has really blossomed this year. The best thing about it is that you can get the latest information that not even the blogs have managed to nail down yet! These are great shows. If you have’t given them a shot already, now’s a great time! The JimFear138 Podcast Ep.45 ft. […]
It is a great day, a glorious day, a day for Daddy Warpig to once again SHAKE THE PILLARS OF HEAVEN! Everything you know about “Genre” is wrong. Okay, maybe not you. You’re an unusually intelligent and attractive individual, who has risen above the petty restrictions which bedevil lesser minds. But those other guys—PHEW!—do they […]
SENSOR SWEEP: Emotionless Covers, Deeper Resonance, Inflammatory Posts, and Secretive Enclaves
Monday , 27, March 2017 Sensor Sweep 18 CommentsScientology (First Things) Science Friction — “Although some science-fiction writers, such as Isaac Asimov and Jack Williamson, considered it a scam and criticized it as unscientific, others—including John W. Campbell, the editor of Astounding, the most influential science-fiction magazine of its day—seemed convinced of its importance and validity.” Appendix N (Jon Del Arroz) Retro Review: Tarzan Of […]
He spent weeks in the shadows, running from the enemies who had finally caught up with him. He begged his confederates for help, only to be turned away. At last, the pursuers cornered him in the basement of an abandoned building. There was a muzzle flash and a deafening report. Some time later, he awakes. […]
The feels? They’re hurt! The natives? They’re restless! The shark? It’s totally jumped. And through it all there is this insistent pulse: the call for a leader. The desire for a consensus. The wish for things to be simpler than they really are. The demand that we carve out a side, don a jersey, put on […]
Kairos: “Tor Books knows that The Corroding Empire isn’t a counterfeit meant to ride on the coattails of their success. It’s a parody in the venerable literary tradition of calling out emperors with no clothes. It also stands as a solid sci-fi novel in its own right, and even surpasses the subject of its lampooning, as […]
The Atomic Age Narrative: The History of a Subculture
Sunday , 26, March 2017 Uncategorized 17 CommentsFor the past few weeks, I have highlighted opinions masquerading as criticism that are at best highly suspect from the view of 2017. One history of science fiction and fantastic fiction in general that is a joy to read is Lester del Rey’s The World of Science Fiction (Del Rey, 1979). Lester del Rey (born […]
Author Earnings recently released their statistics for 2016 book sales. As industry hands and book reading fans poured over the results, one of the more interesting facts is that science fiction sold the least of all the major categories. This is not a surprise to those who have been following the shrinking sales of the […]
I really did love getting gaming magazines back in the day. Dragon. Space Gamer. Autoduel Quarterly. JTAS. Challenge. Roleplayer. Somehow I seemed to get more mileage out of a pile magazine articles than I did from a big production hardback gaming supplement. Maybe that’s because the writers tended to put stuff together from things they […]
As the genre wars rage on, cool headed fans are stepping up to smooth things over. The subtext of some of this is, “ah, we’re not brutish and nasty like some people. We are not doctrinaire like those other sorts of fans. We don’t mistake our personal preferences for objective fact. We don’t poo poo […]
GUEST POST: An Alternative to Science Fiction’s Axis by Alexander Macris
Tuesday , 28, March 2017 Jeffro Comment 5 CommentsI recently read an essay by Jeffro Johnson about the term “hard sf” and it prompted me to think through whether or not I agreed with the use of that term. I concluded I don’t. So I propose that the “hardness/softness” axis be replaced with a pair of axes, “internal consistency” and “level of imagination.” […]