Tag Archives: realism

On The Uses Of The Fantastic

Posted on September 15, 2018 by

For purposes of this discussion I am defining “the Fantastic” as that which is understood by both artist and audience as being a purposefully introduced counterfactual element.  I am going to take a moment to unpack that before I proceed. … Continue reading →

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The City & The City

Posted on May 11, 2018 by

China Mieville’s 2009 novel The City & The City is a true masterpiece. It won a lot of awards, which I realize will turn some people against it, but even a blind hog finds a truffle now and then. Now, I … Continue reading →

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That is not dead which can eternal lie…

Posted on January 18, 2018 by

Perhaps it was the smoke on the horizon that turned the setting sun into a dropped blood orange, or perhaps it was the pus-slimed wound in the his side, but the King was coughing–quietly, almost apologetically, a diametric opposite from … Continue reading →

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You Won’t Understand A Word That’s In It But You’ll Write It All Again Before You Die

Posted on December 26, 2017 by

I’m going to rant here. Fantastic literature is not the “easy setting”. The particular spark that set me off today was an argument about The Last Jedi, but it’s an issue that has bothered me for a while now. Fiction … Continue reading →

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Where your eyes don’t go a filthy scarecrow waves his broomstick arms and does a parody of each unconscious thing you do

Posted on October 2, 2017 by

Science Fiction is a lot less Weird than it used to be. I am using Weird here is a particular philosophical sense (in the vain hopes that one day “Weird in the sense of Burnett” will become a common phrase … Continue reading →

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It’s Personal Every Time

Posted on August 10, 2017 by

I have been using Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited to listen to audiobooks recently.  Now, you can search for e-books that are both KU eligible and have an audio version available, but if there is a way to search for books where … Continue reading →

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A Walk To The Edge Of The World

Posted on July 16, 2017 by

O, spirit, I can feel you watching me. The voice that speaks from the sky–the Nar Attor–said that one would be sent to watch over me. I am Thangorr, of the Grey Mountain People.  Have you heard of us? No? … Continue reading →

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