Category Archives: Genre Observations

Critical discussion of genre fiction, focusing on trends in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Analysis of genre trends and writing.

CROSSROADS: Literary Fiction vs Speculative Fiction – Round Infinity!


Even though I’m theoretically on a blogging vacation, I’m still doing the weekly Crossroads series over at Amazing Stories. This week, we’re continuing May’s exploration of the intersection between mainstream literary fiction and speculative fiction, and to that end I … Continue reading →

Aside | Posted on May 16, 2013 by | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

CROSSROADS: Magic Realism and Negotiating the Unreal


Welcome to Thursday, folks. Somehow, no matter what I do, this day just keeps coming around. Weird, huh? Well, Thursday’s mean that it’s time for another one of our weekly Crossroads posts over at Amazing Stories, and this week we … Continue reading →

Aside | Posted on May 9, 2013 by | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

CROSSROADS: Satire and the Fantastic


It’s Thursday, so that means it is time for my weekly Crossroads post up at Amazing Stories. This week, I’m rounding out April’s exploration of humor and speculative fiction by discussing satire and its relationship to the fantastic. (DISCLAIMER: If … Continue reading →

Aside | Posted on April 25, 2013 by | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Speculative Fiction 2012: The Best Online Reviews, Essays & Commentary Now Available

Posted on April 25, 2013 by

So here’s a bit of really cool news: today marks the pub date for Speculative Fiction 2012: The Best Online Reviews, Essays and Commentary, edited by Justin Landon of Staffer’s Book Review and Jared Shurin of Pornokitsch. This is awesome … Continue reading →

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CROSSROADS: The Importance of Parody for Speculative Fiction


Hello, everyone! Since today is Thursday, that means it is time for our weekly Crossroads post over at Amazing Stories. Continuing with April’s humor theme, this week I look at how speculative fiction uses parody to subvert and challenge the … Continue reading →

Aside | Posted on April 18, 2013 by | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Bioshock Infinite and the Components of Video Game Storytelling

Posted on April 17, 2013 by

On March 26th – while still caught up in the throes of a nasty cold – I dragged myself out to my local GameStop and bought Bioshock Infinite. I started playing that same day, and finished the game (the first … Continue reading →

Posted in Genre Observations, Reviews, Video Game Reviews, Writing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

CROSSROADS: Absurdity in Space


And now, for something completely different… It’s Thursday, and that means that this week’s Crossroads post has gone live over at Amazing Stories. Continuing with April’s “humor” theme, I take a look at the most significant humorist in speculative fiction’s … Continue reading →

Aside | Posted on April 11, 2013 by | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Comparison of Two Complaints: The Hugo Awards vs The Clarke Awards

Posted on April 9, 2013 by

With the announcement of the Clarke Award shortlist closely following that of this year’s Hugo nominees, award kvetching season is well underway. For a great round-up of the discussions on both awards, I recommend Cora Buhlert’s posts here and here. … Continue reading →

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‘Tis the Season: What Good are the Hugos?

Posted on April 2, 2013 by

Saturday’s announcement of the 2013 Hugo Award nominees has done what it always does: On the one hand, nominees and their friends were (justifiably) pleased, happy, and excited to be so honored. On the other hand, certain corners of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Genre Observations, Random Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Speculative Fiction 2012 Contributors Announced!

Posted on March 23, 2013 by

With this cold I’ve got, I’m a little late bringing you this exciting news (but better late than never…): Over at The Staffer’s Book Review, Justin Landon and Jared Shurin (from Pornokitsch) have announced the lineup of contributors to Speculative … Continue reading →

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