Category: Writing
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Retro-Review: Rogue Moon
Imagine there was a novel which combined James Patrick Kelly's amazing short story "Think Like a Dinosaur" with Alastair Reynolds's brilliant novella Diamond Dogs. Imagine that novel was written in 1960 by a respected and influential science fiction author, editor, critic, and teacher with multiple Hugo and Nebula awards to his credit. Now imagine how…
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Movie Review: Arrival
Short version: it's great, go see it. Long version: I confess I was a bit worried when I got tickets to this movie. When I heard that Ted Chiang's great story "The Story of Your Life" was being made into a film I was very pleased and excited . . . but then I saw the…
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PhilCon 2016, Featuring ME!
This weekend I'll be attending the venerable PhilCon science fiction convention, at the Crowne Plaza hotel in scenic Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Here's my schedule of events: Friday, November 18, 8:00 p.m., Plaza III: Utopias That Make Us Cringe — I'll be moderating a panel on utopian societies in science fiction that don't actually seem very…
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The Worst Science Fiction Writer Ever
The time has come to talk about the worst science fiction writer in the history of the field. I'm not talking about any obscure pulp-era hacks, or nameless amateurs chronicling the exploits of Ensign Mary Sue. I'm talking about a writer whose ineptitude has been splashed across movie screens for everyone to see. George McFly,…
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Science to the Rescue!
In the past I have mentioned my love of doing research and my focus on getting things right in my writing. Along the way I've pointed out how frustrated I get when moviemakers don't bother trying for accuracy. Well, it turns out I'm not alone. The mighty National Academy of Sciences apparently also makes angry…
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My Three Questions
I'm not a very spontaneous writer. If I depend on inspiration it won't turn up at the moment I need it. I have to put a lot of mental brute force into creating stories. Over the years I've developed a set of questions which must be answered before I can write a story. These may…
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Nostalgie du Geek: Opening the Traveller Box
My roleplaying game life began with Dungeons & Dragons, because that was the only roleplaying game there was back in the summer of 1977. But that changed very quickly. That same year, Game Designers' Workshop published the first science fiction roleplaying game: Traveller. I got my copy of Traveller some time in 1978, possibly at…
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The Long History of Spin-Offs
It is practically a cliche to complain that modern movies and television are creatively bankrupt. I won't argue the point. But one piece of evidence often used to support that notion is the reliance of Hollywood and TV on spinoffs — shows or movies built around characters introduced in another show or movie. Trouble is,…
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That Show I Watched
This week marks the 50th anniversary of two science fiction icons. One is me, the other is Star Trek. Since we're practically twins, I feel as though I can be brutally honest about the show, the universe, and what has become of them. First of all, it always surprises me how unfamiliar people are with the…
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The Joy of Research
My name is Jim, and I'm addicted to doing research. There. I've said it and I'm not sorry, either. When I'm cured of this addiction just put me in the ground because I'm done. How bad is my research addiction? Let me tell you my shame. For a while I played an online game called…
The Cambias Digression 