Millions of stories are told set in the “real world,” and no one complains they are less than satisfying because the world hasn’t ended yet.
The Maya Myths Review
Matsumoto's retellings of Maya mythological stories are more like plot summaries than any effort to really capture the feel and emotional context of the myths and stories involved. If writing down an oral story robs it of life, she gives us only the bones, not even the full corpse.
Science in Science Fiction
this post explores the importance of getting little details right, consideration of the audience in the inclusion of such details, and the role of science in, well, science fiction.
We Review
We effectively captures that sensing of creeping dread which accompanies the gradual erosion of the individual into a single United State. After being oppressed by both the Tsarist and Soviet regime, Zamyatin knew tyranny from both sides of the circle.
Self-Assembly and Repair for In-Situ Resource Utilization
This review will address the state of the art in self-assembly and self-repair technologies and understanding, with an emphasis on applicability to a durable space presence and space resource extraction and utilization.
The Narrow Road Between Desires Review
What’s missing from The Narrow Road Between Desires is not conflict, or higher stakes, but a point. It never gives the reader an answer to the question “why am I reading this story?”
A Story Start: Engineer’s Fairy Tale
I don't know if or when I might sit down to finish it, but it's been some time since I shared a story here on the site, for which I feel a bit guilty. Even though it's not finished, I think this is the kind of piece which will get your imagination going.
Avtandil’s Quest Review
If you were intrigued by my review for The Knight in the Panther’s Skin, but struggled with reading English translations of Rustavelian quatrains, Buell’s retelling is an excellent opportunity to approach the story in a different way.
Character Consistency
Change is hard. There’s a reason “change management” is an entire field, one in which many organizations repeatedly fail. In that sense, an effective character arc can be thought of as a novel-length project in character change management.
The Wayfinder Review
What many people might consider to be reasons to put the book on their reading list were reasons I hesitated to put Adam Johnson’s The Wayfinder on mine, and I hesitated again before picking up the book to read. I was not entirely wrong.
