Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) is the first modern science‑fiction novel.

H.G. Wells’s Time Machine (1895) pioneered travel and alien invasion tropes.

Jules Verne’s 1863 story Five Weeks in a Balloon introduced early speculative adventure.

20th‑century sci‑fi explored capitalism, communism, nuclear threats, racism, and pollution.

Late 20th/early 21st‑century sci‑fi shifted to ecological crises, transhumanism, and AI.

Contemporary sci‑fi increasingly focuses on gender identity, trans identity, and intersectionality.

Women authors like Winterson, Jemisin, Butler, Jones, and Russell shape modern sci‑fi.

Authors of color such as Okorafor, Liu, El Sayed, Jemisin, and Wells gain prominence.

Lack of diversity in sci‑fi films limits imagination of future with people of color.

Snowpiercer features racially diverse characters and reflects contemporary world in its future setting.

Saudi Arabia’s first sci‑fi conference highlighted women pioneers and 30‑year progress.

Arabic sci‑fi roots trace to medieval philosophers Ibn Sina, Ibn Tufail, and Ibn Nafis.

Modern Arabic sci‑fi includes Tawfiq al‑Hakim’s In a Million Years and Journey to the Future.

Arab world’s sci‑fi market grew 400% post‑COVID, with 8,000 Arabic titles.

Speculative fiction expanded into comics, video games, and choose‑your‑own adventures, influenced by Marvel.

Interdisciplinary collaboration between authors and scientists is emphasized in the Dartmouth Speculative Fiction Project.

Short‑fiction sci‑fi is in a golden age, with Nebula, Hugo, and Locus finalists.

Tech‑based fiction reflects real‑world tech scandals and societal fears, gaining popularity during Trump era.

Adaptations of sci‑fi works like Dune, Foundation, and Binti broaden audience reach.

Indie and self‑published authors democratize sci‑fi, allowing diverse voices without major houses.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) is the first modern science‑fiction novel.

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Content: Supplement
Sunday literature.
Culture
Sunday Literature: Tu Chien's Years, Huang Hua and Long Memories: A Review of Books by Tu Chien
He died, and there was a great book about him, and a great book about him.
Born in Hong Kong on February 19, 1935 (also known as February 19, 1934), Du Chin studied at Lingnan Primary School and St. Stephen's College in Hong Kong. He graduated from the Chinese Department of Sun Yat-sen University.
Du has been engaged in the editorial and translation work of newspapers and periodicals for 30 years. He has edited the monthly book “Open Volume ” and“ Readers ’ Friends ”. He is the author of “New Trends in Asian, African and Latin Literature ” (1976),“ Contemporary Foreign Writers and Works ” (1980), “The Night Voyage of the Book Sea ” (2 volumes, 1980, 1984),“ World Science Fiction ” (1992). He also translated several science fiction novels, including The Story of a Detective (1994), The Story of a Detective (2019), The Story of Three Generations (2014), Long Memories: The Eyes of a Teacher and Friends (2015), and translated several science fiction novels.
Du moved to Canada in his later years and died on July 23, 2022.
From Afro-Asian to Contemporary Foreign Literature
I have "Asian, African and Latin Literature New Trend", published by Hong Kong Wanyuan Book Company, this book from the left side, introduced the Asian, African and Latin literature, and it is rare to write a relatively mild, not too much ideological discourse.
From the illustrations in the book, Du Chen should have seen a number of foreign books before writing this book, including book reviews such as "Achebe's Novel Creation" and "Du Bois's Will", which discuss the more famous black writers, and scroll down a "text prison of a novel - this novel exposes the corruption of the police", from 1974 Nelson Marra The award-winning novel “The Bodyguard, ” and its associated spate of arrests, describes the repression of freedom of speech and the press by the Uruguayan police, as well as the repression of the literary and artistic world.
The incident has faded from the memory of ordinary literary readers, but Du Jian recorded it with a book review and became a page of literary history.
Towards the end of the 1970s, the tendency of the dogmatic left gradually faded, and Du Jian ’ s reading range became wider. Contemporary Foreign Writers and Works was published by the Hong Kong Ocean Arts and Culture Society, and its chapters were published in the magazine Ocean Arts and Culture.
Du introduced Graham Greene, John Cheever, Colette, Bertolt Brecht, Isak Dinesen, Nadine Gordimer, Ryuichiro Tanizaki and Ryuosuke Okawa, eight 20th-century writers who not only came out of the confines of Afro-Asian literature. As soon as the book is in hand, readers can enjoy the work from the two texts of the commentary and the translation. In “Contemporary Foreign Writers and Works, ” Du Jian chose to translate Ryuichiro Tanizaki ’ s“ tattoo ” and Ryuosuke Okawa ’ s “bamboo forest ”, both of which are popular and popular.
The South African female writer Gaudimet, introduced by Du Jian in the late 1970s, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991.
Book Sea Night Flight
"Book Sea Night Voyage" two episodes published by Beijing Sanlian, when there were many prints in mainland China, naturally has a certain influence, these two books seem to have opened a window for long-closed mainland readers.
Some of the book ’ s reviews have been found in The New Trend of Asian, African and Latin Literature and Contemporary Foreign Writers and Works. The book is mainly a collection of book reviews written by Du Jian in his spare time between 1974 and 1978.
As for "Book Sea Night Voyage II", the content is equally extensive, there is no less than, the second set of the epilogue, Du gradually explained his own ten years as a day of three paragraphs on the reading method:
"I read there is no shortcut, and will not" speed reading ", using a stupid way, the old man actually read the book, there is no other way.
I divide the time into three sections every day, to work a section, do work concentrate on other, the other section is translation and writing, people engaged in writing in Hong Kong, every day have to be a "reptile", write thousands of words, earn some manuscript money to earn a living, is the so-called book is only for the straw.
Only in the evening, I have my own time, from eight o'clock to two o'clock at night, I use to read the books I like to read, write what I like to write, these five or six hours are my most precious, but also I can control a period of reading and writing time. 」
In the second part of the book, Du Jian pointed out that the title of the book was Yan Qingshu (pen name Tang, author of "Jinling Spring Dream") in the illness, Du Jian wrote this book to commemorate the death of his friend Yan Qingshu.
Tang Tao wrote the preface to The Book of the Sea and Night Voyage II. At a glance, when he saw that the book was written by Zhang Dai (Zi Zongzi) and Ah Ying's The Book of the Night Voyage, Tang Tao, a veteran scholar of books, wrote:
"The Book of the Sea of Night Voyage, the Night Voyage Collection, and the Night Voyage Ship have a common meaning, suggesting that the author began his life of reading and writing at a time of silence and complete silence."
The first three books deal with this.
However, Zhang Zongzi has his own experience and opinions, which deserve our attention.
He said that the world is the most difficult to deal with, except for the night boat.
Yu Yao custom, the children of later generations, all do not read, after 20 years of learning as a handicraft, so the hundred works of acrobatics, occasionally have questions, such as "Yingzhou 18 bachelor, Yuntai 28 generals", one by one registration, the answer is like a "two-legged bookcase".
This kind of question and answer is often carried out in the night sailing ship. "Tang Tao also mentioned the funny story of a monk and a man in Chang Dai's" The Night Voyage Ship ", so let's not record it, and if you are interested, it is not difficult to find it.
Science fiction and detective fiction
In the 1990s, two volumes of The World Science Fiction Literary Landscape, published by the Modern Education Research Society and published by the Hong Kong Triumvirate of Detective Reasoning Novels, were the first books Du Jian wrote for young students to read.
According to Li Weicai in the book preface, the article in the "World Science Fiction Literary World" came from 1987 to 1988, and Du Jian was the "Strange Book Talk" column of the "Commercial Daily".
Watching H.G. Wells ’ s “The War of the Worlds ” and“ The Invisible Man, ” as well as Jules Verne ’ s works, Du recalls, was captivated by science fiction.
"World Science Fiction Literary Grand View" divides science fiction into four eras of creation, development, gold and innovation. The originator is "Frankenstein" author Mary Shelley (Mary Shelley), followed by Verne and Wales, and the development era has Huxley (Aldous Huxley) and George Orwell. Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert A. Heinlein and Frank Herbert, author of Dune, the era of innovation is even more grand, including Kurt Vonnegut, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, and Ballard. J. G. Ballard is one of ten.
Ni Kuang's novels are highly readable because of their dramatic plot arrangements and vivid writing.
"World Science Fiction Literary Grand View" does not have esoteric nomenclature and academic discourse, but takes characters as a special chapter, and introduces the contents of representative works, which are all-encompassing, and is both a brief history of science fiction and a good primer for teenagers.
"Detective Reasoning Novel Talk" has an additional edition of "Detective Story", according to the reprint preface, Du Jian pursues "reading no forbidden area", since childhood likes adventure novels and detective novels, he also pointed out that Qian Zhongshu, Yang, Qian Yuan's family of three are fans of reasoning fiction.
"Detective Reasoning Novel Talk" from the beginning of the conversation between Allan Poe and Holmes, also mentioned Charlie Chan, Fu Manchu, James Bond three novel characters; Japanese reasoning fiction also accounted for a considerable amount of space, the additional edition of "Detective Story" added "Little Roosevelt's" First Lady Detective Case "," The Cat Detective Case "female writer Lilian Brown", style change New materials were added to the four articles of Keigo Higashino and the New Trend of Reasoning Novels and the Past and Present of Chinese Detective Reasoning Novels.
Aged yellow flowers
In his later years, Du left behind two books, one is a memoir, "Years of Yellow Flowers: The Search of Three Generations", and the other is a collection of essays, "Long Face Memories: The Eyes of Teachers and Friends."
From the childhood of the beacon fire (1935 – 1946), experienced the ideal pursuit of studying in mainland China, the anti-rightist struggle, and the storm of the Cultural Revolution. After 20 years in mainland China, he returned to Hong Kong and lived in Hong Kong for another 20 years.
Due to the serious illness of his mother, Tu Chin returned to Hong Kong with the President of the Xinhua News Agency, Mr Leung Wai-lin, and then came to Hong Kong with a one-way permit to accompany his father, Dr Li Song, to work in a pharmacy.
In the past 20 years in mainland China, many books can not be seen, so once in Hong Kong, they constantly buy books to read.
Du Jian bought a collection of poems by Kahlil Gibran and translated some of the novels, but he wanted to kill time and practice writing. Moreover, "In the past few years, the pollution caused by the language of the Cultural Revolution in China, when I opened the newspaper, I saw all the big stories and false stories and official words, and it was best to clean the scum of my own language and words. I was able to learn his writing skills and practice my own Chinese writing, so I started translating Gibberlain ’ s novels. ”
He does not want to hide in the willow.
Du Jian went to the "New Evening News" to see the work, Rover asked Du Jian to translate a draft to see, Du Jian reluctantly to his own translation of the novel and the introduction of Ji Boren's short article to Rover.
The next day, Du Jian opened the "New Evening News" and found that his article introducing Gilbert was published in the newspaper.
As a result, Du turned to work at the newspaper office, because the newspaper was short of people, so he worked in the supplement of the newspaper.
He changed his name to Dujuan, meaning Dujuan Dujuan, to "Dujuan Dujuan".
My handwritten collection of Kiberon's novels, a small book by Daguang Publishing House in 1975, is a collection of translations from Du Jian's that year.
Du Jian said in "The Golden Flower of Time" that Zhang Huai, editor of Daguang Publishing House, is his acquaintance and has published several books for him, including "Life and Death", "People at the bottom", "New District Governor", "Golden City of Blood", etc. These books are not easy to find nowadays.
Teacher 's Eyes
In the preface to the book "I Know Du Zhen", the subtitle of "The Yellow Flower of Time", Lan Zhen points out that "The Yellow Flower of Time" "tells the story of the three generations of his family (grandfather Pan Ta Wei, father Li Song and Li Wenjian) who followed the truth and participated in the democratic revolution." His father was a little older, and his father was a little older, and his father was a little older, and he was a little older, and he was a little older.
It is divided into two parts: the first part is "Teacher's Letters", which, as the name suggests, are reminiscent of teachers and friends, including Lun, Chen Ti, Wu Chi-min, Lu Fu, Yen Ching-shu, Fan Yong, An Tzu Chieh, Kang Chun-fang, Li Liang-min, Xiao Qian Qian, Xu Xu, Lin Nien-tong, Huang Kuo-chih, Ma Kuo-chuan, and Qian. In the second half of the book, "Looking Back on History," Du Chien writes about the old stories of Liao An-hsiang, Pan Chu, Huang Leng-kuan, Pan Ta-wei, and Chen Lu-kui.
There are a number of overlaps between the "Love of the Teacher" and the "Yellow Flower of the Year". "From scratch" is a macroscopic view, and "Love of the Teacher" is even a micro-close-up. Du Jian writes old prose with the pen of a novelist. It is better to be lively and friendly, and everyone is alive. — Remembering my grandfather, Pan Ta-wei ” is a particularly detailed and wonderful article. Pan Ta-wei was influenced by Sun Yat-sen ’ s ideas and joined the Xingzhong Society. Later, Pan Ta-wei became the organizer of the Southern Section of the League.
The most famous story of Pan Ta-wei is the collection of the remains of the 72 martyrs of Huang Hua-gang. This passage is told by Du Chien through the words of his mother-in-law, Chen Wei-chang. When Chen Wei-chang died, Du Chien was very young. It was impossible to record his mother-in-law ’ s words. In other words, Du Chien used a small pen. The story of his father is told in the book of Revelation, and the story of his father is told in the book of Revelation.
Author: Wu Chi-min, editor of Readers ’ Liangyou Monthly (1984-1988, 45 issues), Science and Science Fiction Series (1990, 4 volumes) and Readers ’ Liangyou Library (10 volumes), Zhao Jiabi, Liang Yusheng, Hsu Ting-ming, Dong Ding-shan, Hsiao Chien, Ku Tsang-wu, Huang Ji-shih, Chen Hui-yang and Du Chien-chun.
Combining "The Yellow Flower of the Year" and "The Memory of the Long Face", now imagining Du Jian's career of writing books, translating books, and compiling books is bound to feel wonderful.
by Vincent Cheng
Art • Liu Ruoji
Editors • Chu Chien-hsun
Email • literature @ mingpao.com
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Content: 60 Sci-Fi Books That All Science Fiction Fans Must Read

Are you looking for a new science fiction book to read? Looking to fill up your reading list with journeys to strange new worlds and fast-paced science fiction adventures? You're in luck because we've compiled a list of the best sci-fi books.

Whether you're looking to dive into the great sci-fi classics you missed out on or you're looking to delve into brand new tales from up-and-coming indie authors, you're sure to find something that will spark creativity and excitement for you. Science fiction and fantasy novels provide us with allegories, cautionary tales, and deep dives into the human condition told through the lens of the fantastical and the cutting-edge.

The Best Sci-Fi Origins Books

Where did it all begin? Read these early tales with impossible futures, fascinating creatures, time travel, and alien invasion!

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein brought us the iconic monster made by Victor Frankenstein. Considered the first true science fiction novel of the modern era, it would foreshadow genetic tinkering stories of the future.

The Blazing World by Margaret Cavendish (also called The Description of a New World, Called the Blazing-World)

Considered to be the first science fiction work, in the 17th century, Duchess of Newcastle Margaret Cavendish wrote of a utopian world.

Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum

The third Oz book by L. Frank Baum features Tik-Tok, the wind-up clockwork man Dorothy Gale encounters in the Land of Ev. Tik-Tok is basically one of the first robots in literature. Other wacky features in Ozma of Oz include a sand-sailing boat and lunch pail tree.

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

A 19th century classic by Wells, depicting time travel and inspiring science fiction tales for over a century.

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

The book would go on to inspire a radio program that terrified people into thinking Martians were actually invading Earth. Wells would kickstart first contact stories and alien invasion at the same time, offering up a cautionary tale that touches sci-fi to this day.

The Best Sci-Fi Space Epics Books

Transport yourself across the universe with these pillars of world-building in science fiction, all of which are either now adapted for TV or film or soon will be.

Dune by Frank Herbert

Frank Herbert’s Dune is considered a masterwork of world-building and family intrigue, inspiring other famous series and their respective houses. In the first book, Paul Atreides encounters the resident free people of the planet Arrakis (Dune), the Fremen, and achieves a destiny of messianic proportions. Dune recently graced the big screen in a new adaptation by Denis Villeneuve.

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Nnedi Okorafor's Binti novella series begins with Binti, a Hugo-award-winning Africanfuturistic science fiction horror story published by Tor.com. Binti is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the most exalted institution of higher learning in the galaxy. She faces the choice to accept the offer and give up her place in her family so that she can travel among the stars. Hulu has ordered a pilot for Binti.

Foundation by Isaac Asimov

The beginning of the Foundation series reveals the “psychohistory” developed by mathematician Harry Seldon. Seldon would establish a new empire called Foundation to preserve the culture from societal collapse. Foundation debuted as a TV show on Apple TV in 2021.

Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell

Gareth L. Powell's award-winning trilogy Embers of War follows the war-weary crew of the sentient spaceship Trouble Dog, who after becoming disgusted by her role in war joins the House of Reclamation. Trouble Dog and her captain Sal Konstanz are sent on a rescue mission, which intersects a mission to find missing poet Ona Sundak. The galaxy teeters on the brink of another war, just as an alien presence makes itself known, altering the course of things to come. Now under development for TV.

Rendezvous with Rama by Sir Arthur C. Clarke

A strange spacecraft enters the solar system, and humanity investigates. The secrets within the enormous craft, called Rama, reveal the heritage of an advanced alien civilization. Rendezvous with Rama is in development for a film adaptation with Denis Villeneuve at the helm.

The Best Hard Sci-Fi Books

If you like your science fiction taut with the edginess of battle and the implication of future wars, you must add these books to your collection!

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

This classic military sci-fi epic details the tragic effects of time dilation on a group of soldiers fighting a seemingly endless war.

Ringworld by Larry Niven

Set in the 29th century, Louis Wu and his companions explore a vast, Earth-orbit-sized, constructed world. Their adventures uncover the alien civilization that built it.

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

First set with the backdrop of China’s cultural revolution, this new epic involves secret scientific experiments, alien invasion, challenging moral dilemmas, and impressive world-building.

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

A man in his 70s is recruited as a soldier in the Colonial Defense Force, and altered physically in unexpected ways. Strong on character development, this kickstarts the Old Man’s War Series.

Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

This classic military sci-fi tale follows Johnny Rico and military recruits who become involved in a battle between humans and aliens nicknamed Arachnids or “Bugs.”

If you love Starship Troopers, check out our review of the wisdom of Grand Admiral Thrawn – Michael

The Best Sci-Fi Robot Stories

The future of robots is here and is complex and necessary reading in these sci-fi tales.

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov’s intriguing work introduced the laws of robotics that all robots must adhere to work alongside humans.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

The first novel in the Murderbot Diaries, All Systems Red, follows a cyborg that goes by the name Murderbot contends with self-awareness in the corporate-dominated future.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

The beginning of the Lunar Chronicles series is a retelling of Cinderella from the point of view of a cyborg.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

Famed for its eventual big-screen adaptation, Blade Runner, this novel recounts a future in which highly realistic artificial fugitives are on the run from bounty hunter Rick Deckard.

The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia

Mattie is an automaton in this steampunk and urban fantasy novel involving gargoyles, Mechanics, and Alchemists.

The Best Sci-Fi Mars Stories

Our neighbor, the red planet Mars, beckons to us. What would it be like to walk on the shifting red sands of Mars? Find out in these Martian classics.

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury’s mesmerizing prose introduces us to a Mars full of exotic possibility, soon plundered by humanity’s arrival.

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

The first in the Mars Trilogy, Red Mars, involves the colonization and terraforming of Mars and the conflicting moral questions that result.

The Martian by Andy Weir

Astronaut Mark Watney is left behind on a Mars mission and must draw upon his skills and ingenuity in order to survive.

Mars by Ben Bova

Navajo geologist Jamie Waterman joins the first expedition of scientists exploring Mars. The grounded approach Bova takes to all the interaction, politics, and bureaucracy help achieve a plausible future story.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

The first book in the Red Rising Trilogy envisions a future of planetary colonization in which caste systems abound. Darrow must fight against this system of overlords.

The Best Sci-Fi Fantasy Books

Fly high with dragons, roam lands on epic quests, and learn the hearts of true heroes in the fantasy masterpieces.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien’s magnum opus spans three books, opening up a fantastically detailed and wholly invented universe in Middle Earth that was hinted at in The Hobbit. Considered the ultimate work of fantasy, The Lord of the Rings brings myth, allegory, poetry, song, war, and melancholy to heights of realism and wonder.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

The first novel in The Earthsea Cycle tells the tale of the wizard Ged, and his journey to redeem his reckless past.

A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin

Beginning with A Game of Thrones, Martin’s elaborate, dark fantasy series covers land in which seasons last decades, and a terrible force from the north threatens to bring an icy apocalypse to an area filled with rulers jockeying to take the Iron Throne.

The Dragonriders of Pern Series by Anne McCaffrey

This remarkable series takes place in the world of Pern, where people telepathically bond with dragons. Dragonflight is the first in the series.

The Fifth Season: The Broken Earth, Book 1 by N.K Jemisin

The Fifth Season marks the first book of the award-winning The Broken Earth trilogy. Set against civilization’s collapse and natural disaster, Essun endures great personal tragedy in her quest to rescue her daughter.

The Best Sci-Fi Dystopian & Apocalyptic Books

Set in a nightmare future, these dystopian and apocalyptic legends will keep you up at night.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

In a totalitarian future America, handmade Offred is forced to bear children to men of a ruling class. The tale follows her harrowing life in a bleak future, and the attempt to escape and bring down the subjugating class to restore rights.

The Stand by Stephen King

A deadly pathogen escapes a military installation, rapidly spreading and bringing civilization essentially to an end. A group of survivors makes its way to a form of a promised land while battling a malevolent group seeking domination.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

In the near future breakdown of the society of Los Angeles, empathic teenager Lauren believes in a better future entailing traveling to other planets. Lauren gathers followers to her belief as she makes her way north.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Set in the Great Lakes region of America, a group of nomadic creatives picks up the pieces after the fall of civilization due to pandemic flu. Station Eleven has been adapted for HBO Max.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The first book in the Hunger Games Trilogy follows the immense challenges that Katniss Everdeen faces in the post-apocalyptic version of America called Panem. She takes her sister’s place in the government-sponsored Hunger Games to compete for survival in a no-holds-barred and deadly competition.

The Best Sci-Fi Near Futures Books

The future is here, or nearly so, in these ground-breaking novels set close to our present day.

Contact by Carl Sagan

Scientist Ellie Arroway detects a potential extraterrestrial signal from space, which appears to instruct humanity in how to build a machine. She faces self-doubt amid scrutiny to uncover the mysteries of the discovery.

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

This cautionary tale about genetic engineering in which scientists make living, cloned dinosaurs for an amusement park. Mayhem ensues.

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

Mysterious monoliths appear across many worlds, seeding life with intelligence. Following the discovery of one such monolith on the moon, Dr. Bowman and a team of scientists investigate the signal it sends to Saturn’s moon Iapetus. The onboard AI begins exhibiting dangerous behavior during the journey.

Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer

A physics experiment creates an unintended consequence of everyone on earth losing consciousness for two minutes. Each person sees a “flash forward” decades in the future while they are unconscious. The resulting accidents and visions challenge everyone’s ideas of free will.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

In dystopian 2044, impoverished Wade Watts navigates through the virtual reality world of the OASIS, seeking to reverse his fortune.

The Best Sci-Fi Books for Younger Readers

Take adventures through time and space, no matter your age!

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

The Murry children and Calvin O’Keefe crosses universes and space-time to try to find their missing father. Their tale is a mind-bending adventure of good vs. evil.

His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass/The Subtle Knife/The Amber Spyglass) by Philip Pullman

The Golden Compass/Northern Lights begins this sweeping saga of two children, one born in a parallel universe, one born in our own. In Lyra’s world, people’s souls exist in animal form, called daemons. Her father and mother represent warring factions determined to control all universes. Filled with talking animals, witches, airships, and strange creatures, His Dark Materials packs an emotional punch.

The Apothecary Series by Maile Meloy

Set in the 1950s, The Apothecary starts this highly entertaining, thrilling adventure series in which American Janie Scott meets Benjamin Burrows, the son of an apothecary. After Benjamin’s father is kidnapped, the teenagers uncover a terrifying plot that could result in humanity’s end. They use potions with magical effects to try and stop the impending doom.

The Serpent's Secret (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond #1) by Sayantani DasGupta

The first of the Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond series, book one begins with Kiranmala discovering her parents are missing, and there is a demon in her kitchen! Two princes recruited her and sent to another dimension, where she must battle the Serpent King and the Rakkhoshi Queen to rescue her parents and save the Earth.

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

This delightful middle-grade novel recounts a discarded robot named Roz and her search for love and acceptance.

The Best Sci-Fi Ponderous Books

These mind-bending sci-fi novels will have you thinking for a long time afterward.

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

Raised on Mars, Valentine Michael Smith returns to Earth and tries to fit in. His unusual upbringing makes him seem superhuman, but he attempts to help his Earth kin understand things from a different perspective.

The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester

Set in the 24th century when telepaths (“Espers”) are common, and police are telepathic as well. Ben Reich tries to evade the telepathic police for a murder he wants to commit. The story opens up the moral issues of using telepathy, regulated mostly by a guild, but raises concerns about the exclusion of telepaths who run astray as well as psychological intrigue.

Solaris by Stanislaw Lem

Solaris follows humans’ failed attempts to communicate with extraterrestrial intelligence. The sentient planet tests the researchers with their memories and emotions.

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

A story spanning time and space and connections between various characters, Cloud Atlas explores the theme of fate with a mind-bending narrative.

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

This classic tale follows the journey of Genly Ai on his mission to the planet Gethen. The ambisexual Gethenians present challenges and growth for Ai.

The Best Sci-Fi Cyberpunk Books

If you dream of the future lit by neon, shadowed by noir, and fueled with intrigue, these seminal cyberpunk novels are for you!

Neuromancer by William Gibson

In the first novel of the Sprawl Trilogy, hacker Henry Case is hired to help an AI take over the global network called The Matrix.

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

A modern cyberpunk tale is weaving together magic and science, with wit and feeling.

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan

Set in the 25th century, humans have spread through the galaxy and can be preserved after death via cortical stacks, then essentially regenerated or “re-sleeved” into another body. Takeshi Kovacs stumbles upon a vast conspiracy after his latest “sleeve.”

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester

This early entry into cyberpunk sci-fi follows teleporter Gully Foyle, an outcast considered dangerous.

Synners by Pat Cadigan

The synthesizers, or Synners, are people who can turn mental images into products for consumption. The story is told via various characters’ viewpoints.

The Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books by Indie Authors

Discover the latest sci-fi and fantasy stories, while supporting independent authors!

Mindful Things by Mya Duong

Nineteen-year-old Lauren begins to experience visions and uncovers the fact her deceased parents were witches. A madman hungry for power pursues her, and she must embrace her magical heritage to try to stop him.

The Infinite by John W. Akers

The inventor Pax works on a secret project that can revolutionize human cognition. His plans are derailed by a computer virus that could end civilization, so Pax is forced to choose how he can help humanity survive.

Threadwalkers by Joanna Volavka

Miranda Woodward undergoes a discordant series of events following her father’s death. This is a young adult time travel tale.

Resonance by Jennifer Greenhall

In Book One of the Resonance Series, Sophia Walsh uses her psionic abilities for good but finds herself the next target of a killer.

Heliopause: The Questrison Saga®: Book One by J. Dianne Dotson

Heliopause by J. Dianne Dotson kickstarts The Questrison Saga®, a four-book series science fiction and fantasy series. In Heliopause, a mystery at the edge of the solar system reveals a galactic menace. A galactic natural disaster unfolds, aiding the monster in the void. Human Forster and human-looking, ageless Galla-Deia team up with telepaths, galactic mages, aliens, and androids to face the greatest threat to all life in the galaxy. Full of diverse characters and exotic worlds, found and made families, heartbreak, and whimsy, this space opera recalls Star WarsDoctor Who, and Game of Thrones.

At Your Money Geek, we are huge fans of the science fiction genre, everything from military science fiction to novels about space travel, parallel worlds, and fantasy novels. We are always looking for new books to read and exciting sci-fi writers to profile, let us know in the comments what authors you are currently enjoying.

This post was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.

| Website | + posts

J. Dianne Dotson dreamed up other worlds and their characters as a child in the 1980s in East Tennessee. She formed her own neighborhood astronomy club before age 10, to educate her friends about the universe. In addition to writing stories, she drew and painted her characters, designed their outrageous space fashions, and created travel guides and glossaries for the worlds she invented.

As an adult, Dianne earned a degree in ecology and evolutionary biology, and spent several years working in research. She published Heliopause: The Questrison Saga®: Book One (2018) and its sequels Ephemeris: The Questrison Saga®: Book Two (2019), Accretion: The Questrison Saga®: Book Three (2020) and her last novel in the saga, Luminiferous: The Questrison Saga®: Book Four (2021).

Dianne is also a science writer, content writer and manager, short story writer, watercolorist, and illustrator. She lives with her family.

What is considered the first true science fiction novel of the modern era, which foreshadowed genetic tinkering?

What is considered the first true science fiction novel of the modern era, which foreshadowed genetic tinkering?

H.G. Wells’s Time Machine (1895) pioneered travel and alien invasion tropes.

Title:

Content: Monday 27 December 2021
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Editors
I'm sorry.
Mohamad Elbaz
Editor-in-Chief
Wael Lotfy
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Editors
I'm sorry.
Mohamad Elbaz
Editor-in-Chief
Wael Lotfy
“Studies in Scientific Literature. ”
A book that explores the features of science fiction in Arabic works
Science fiction literature has witnessed a wide presence in Arab creative writings despite its emergence and prosperity in the Western world, and despite its creative popularity, it has not received sufficient critical attention. Based on this idea, the Syrian writer and critic Ahmed Ali Mohammed observes the features and features of science fiction in Arabic literature, both ancient and modern, in his book "Studies in Science Literature", recently published in the series of studies by the Arab Writers Union.
The Syrian researcher believes that the Arab criticism has overlooked the literature of science fiction, citing a number of arguments such as the immaturity of this type of writing in the Arab world, and the disregard of his writers for the features of literary writing, as well as the lack of scientific knowledge, which the writer considers weak, especially with the presence of remarkable writings in this field succeeded in setting a firm foot and overcome many shortcomings.
Leadership in scientific literature
Ali points out that the philosophical messages of Avicenna and Ibn Tufayl can be considered as the beginning of the link in ancient Arabic literature between literature and science, as the Arab heritage includes philosophical messages written in successive times that represented the basis of literary thinking based on science fiction, the most prominent of these messages: "The message of Hayy bin Yaqzan" by Avicenna.
Shahabuddeen al-Sahrawardi ’ s “Strange Alienation ” message is inspired by the story of the neighborhood of Ben Yaqzan, and Ibn al-Nafees ’ s“ Perfect Letter ” in which he followed the example of his predecessors.
The author says of the relevance of these letters to science fiction: "These letters draw a narrative basis based on the facts of science, elaborate on the imagination based on thought and knowledge, and depict part of the knowledge of their owners.
The most prominent aspect of these letters is the narrative imager related to the facts of science and the perceptions of philosophy, which confirms the existence of seeds of scientific literature in the Arabs. ”
Science Fiction Poetry
The writer points out that science fiction literature has been associated with narrative forms, was raised with the French writer Jules Verne, who published the first story in science fiction literature in 1863 entitled "Five Weeks in a Balloon" and then wrote another story entitled "Journey to the Hollow of the Earth" and then continued productions, including the novel "Time Machine" by George Wells and others.
Science fiction poetry is rare, including the poem "The Asteroid" by Russian poet Nikolai Glazkov, translated by Al-Azhar University professor Ahmed Shafiq al-Khatib, a poem based on the achievements of science fiction literature in terms of prediction, foresight and time travel.
Criticism of scientific literature
Some of the works of Tawfiq al-Hakim include The Year of One Million (1953), which is dominated by philosophical consideration of life, nature and the universe, and his play Journey to Tomorrow (1958), which involves a forward-looking view of the future related to man ’ s struggle with time, as well as his play “Food for Every Mouth ”." In which he talks about the problem of food that people will suffer from in the future, and his play "The Prayer of Angels", which deals with the impact of science on the happiness of humanity and the provision of its needs.
Political fiction literature
The writer monitors the branches of science fiction literature that not only addressed the problems of the environment, pollution, space and planets, but touched the problems of politics, society and economy through the literature of political fiction, which includes under its banner the literature of utopia and dystopia.
There are a number of writings concerned with depicting Utopia, which means a utopia without trace of corruption, evil or injustice, the most prominent of these writings is Thomas Moore ’ s “Utopia ”, which depicts an ideal world critical of the political, religious and social conditions of his time.
The literature of dystopia comes in contrast to utopia, but they belong under the name of political fiction, which is a branch of science fiction literature, as each deals with political life by storytelling accompanied by fiction, and dystopia means the literature of the corrupt city or the world of bitter reality that depicts a society full of corruption and highlights the phenomena of destruction, murder and destruction and transformation of human beings. A feuding.
The author mentions a number of Western and Arabic writings that have emerged in the field of dystopia, including George Orwell ’ s 1984, Aldous Huxley ’ s Brave New World, and Ray Bradbury ’ s Fahrenheit 451.
At the level of Arabic writings, a number of works can be observed such as the novel "The Front" by Izz al-Din Issa, the novel "The Tale of the Last Arab" by Wassini al-Araj, "Frankenstein in Baghdad" by Ahmed Saadawi, "The Second War of the Dog" by Ibrahim Nasrallah, "Mercury" by Mohammed Rabie, "The Line" by Basma Abdul Aziz, and "Novelist of the First City" by Omar Hazek. And "Orwell in the Southern Suburbs" by Fawzi Thebian.
Literary Studies
In his book, the Syrian critic offers critical readings in a number of works under the banner of science fiction literature, including the novel "Hala al-Nour" by Mohammed al-Ashri, seeking to stand on the aesthetic trend, especially with the departure of literary criticism from the study of the aesthetic aspects of science fiction literature, observing the methods of the novelist mixing the facts of science with the world mythical heritage.
The book provides another analysis of the collection “Behind the Dark Walls ” by the Syrian writer Taleb Omran, which falls within the literature of dystopia, because the stories depict worlds in which savagery, destruction, murder and destruction prevail, and on the other hand it monitors the Syrian storyteller ’ s interest in the method of scientific storytelling and its reliance on astronomical knowledge and geographical information.
The writer also analyzes the elements and features of fantasy in some of the works of Ahmed Khaled Tawfik as one of the most prominent writers in this field, explaining that science fiction is different from fantasy or wonder in the contemporary novel in that it starts from the modern scientific output, and depends on scientific knowledge specialized, while fantasy completely degenerates from logic and depends on the imagination and does not find a trace of laws we know in reality and depends on mythological and form It is in harmony not with the outside world but with its own world according to which it takes place.

Jules Verne’s 1863 story Five Weeks in a Balloon introduced early speculative adventure.

20th‑century sci‑fi explored capitalism, communism, nuclear threats, racism, and pollution.

Title:

Content: Science Fiction and Politics in Literature and the Arts (Symposium, Toulouse)

Science Fiction and Politics in Literature and the Arts

The aim of this symposium run by the LLA-Créatis laboratory at the University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès is to develop open thinking about “political” questions, in the broad sense of the term, that science fiction narratives allow. Different types of stories can be considered, in different literary genres or in cinema, video series and comics. It can be studied and interrogated from a historical, political and social perspective by involving, where appropriate, the possible contributions of different analyzes (anthropology, semiotics, feminist studies, postcolonial studies, etc.) Diversity of perspectives and questions raised by gender.

The entire twentieth-century period produced works in San Francisco that were marked by ideologies such as capitalism and its “communist” counterpart, but also by threats associated with civilian and/or military nuclear power, religious-related abuses, racism, minority liberation struggles, and pollution. , etc. These perceptions persisted, but in the period from the last 20 years of the 20th century to the first 20 years of the 21st century, other concerns were voiced: ecological pesticides, the climate crisis, demographic crises, resource depletion, or the danger. The scientific and technical potential (transhumanism, “artificial intelligence”, etc.) is being carried away.

The link to the realities of the times (as in the collection “Le Passager Clandestin / Dyschroniques”) can of course depend on one or more authors, take into account a work or compare several (especially in the case of short stories and short films). The broader perspective will consist in considering the basic ideologies, either in relation to the literary prizes awarded, or in relation to the works themselves, the semantics of these presenting themselves from the outset sometimes as criticism, sometimes as propaganda, the two being able to be combined according to modalities that tend to be ironic, Satirical, disruptive, etc.

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In any case, it would be a matter of highlighting the “exploratory potential” in these works, of identifying the “problematic tools” and of making the ideas put forward in fictional form productive from the point of view of political theory. (Y Rambhala).

Of course, it is advisable to include works belonging to different geographical and linguistic fields so that the panorama of this search is sufficiently realistic.

Provisional schedule of courses (date adjustments possible)

Oct 20, 2-4 PM / Nov 17, 2-4 PM / Dec 15, 2-4 PM / Jan 19, 2-4 PM / Feb 9, 2-4 PM / Mar 15, 2-4 PM / May 31 , 2-4 p.m

Contribution proposals must be sent Before October 1, 2023 To the following addresses: frederics[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

What time period produced science fiction works that included idealogies such as capitalism, and communism, and also threats of nuclear power, racism, pollution, and more?

Late 20th/early 21st‑century sci‑fi shifted to ecological crises, transhumanism, and AI.

What concepts does Ishiguro's literary science fiction novel bring up?

Contemporary sci‑fi increasingly focuses on gender identity, trans identity, and intersectionality.

Title:

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"日本語版「フィーカス」について" (in Japanese).
To build a man who will always love me, from Frankenstein to Science Lovers.
2022 / 1 / 22 10: 34 (Updated on 1 / 22 11: 20)
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British author Janet Winterson pays homage to science fiction classic Frankenstein 200 years ago with Science Lovers. (Courtesy of New Classic Culture)
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British author Jeanette Winterson pays tribute to the science fiction classic "Frankenstein" 200 years ago with "Science Lovers".
The new classic culture invites two domestic science fiction writers Gao Yifeng (author of "2069") and Lin Xinhui (author of "Flawed Man") to talk, and the Central News Agency is authorized to publish the wonderful content of the talk, and share with you the common desire behind the strange man and his lover.
Gao Yifeng:
The year before last, I opened a science fiction reading and commentary course at the Institute of Interdisciplinary Literature at Beijing Arts University. The first book was “Frankenstein ” in 1818.
Before I was ready to read Science Lovers, all I had in mind was Mary Shelley ’ s Frankenstein, and the discussions I had with my fellow students at the Institute at that time.
As far as I ’ m concerned, Science Lovers started with the name.
When you look at the cover, you can see that the kiss in the middle is changed from the ken in the middle of Frankenstein to the kiss, and FranKISSstein becomes the new novel name.
Janet Winterson, a modern, powerful female thinker, uses this kiss to deconstruct Mary Shelley ’ s Frankenstein 200 years ago.
Frankenstein is not the name of the monster, but the name of the scientist who invented the weirdo.
The first time I read this novel, I found it very challenging - if you haven't read Frankenstein, you may not know why the author wrote an 1816 story first, and then through the story of Mary, to create a near-future science fiction story.
In this near-future story, frame another story where Mary Shelley meets her own character.
It has 3 very deep levels, which started with Frankenstein.
Because The Frankenstein of 1818 is the way to write a “framing novel ” — it uses a story with a narrator in it, and then tells you that the narrator has the next story.
In "Frankenstein" there is a nautical adventurer, in the snow and ice to see the scientist chasing the weirdo, rescued him, and began to tell the whole story.
"Science Lovers" has been paying tribute to Mary Shelley from the frame structure!
Science fiction writer Gao Yifeng said that "Science Lovers" changed the ken in Frankenstein to kiss, and used the kiss to deconstruct "Frankenstein" 200 years ago. (New Classic Culture provided)
The 19th century is a very patriarchal era, Mary this important writer experienced a complicated and hard life, eloped with Shelley, miscarried several times, but she and Shelley two people have always loved, very close to the theme of this: to build a person who loves me.
Why do we want to create a strange person out? It is actually as a human lust.
Why create a weirdo ’ s lover after creating a weirdo? It ’ s because the weirdo has an selfish desire.
The author is debating this.
As a woman, Janet Winterson pays homage to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as she contemplates the Old Testament descending from the Bible.
What was Adam ’ s function in the Garden of Eden in Genesis?
The first work of “he ” is to name creatures and even take out a rib to create women. Why do men create women?
The whole novel starts with the name, and she ’ s making fun of it all — I think it ’ s a very beautiful gesture.
There are many naming attempts in the novel: First, the scientist / creator Victor Frankenstein (Victor Frankenstein) becomes Victor Stein (Victor Stein), and he and a transgender man named Ry Shelley (Ry Shelley) have developed a love that seems desegregated.
The author also uses a lot of naming skills for many people around him, such as Ron Lord (Ron Lord) is the reverse of the name Lord Byron.
Lord is the Lord of the Christian faith. This self-proclaimed character of the same name is the maker of sex robots in the near-future world.
This new creator, Longen, has created a female sex robot that can meet men - it is really possible to build a person who only loves me? Such a modern, sci-fi scientific lover, in the novel the author pushed farther - Longen Lord even thought: Is there a way for me to build sex robots for priests and priests?
This can also solve the problem of pedophilia in all priests.
In "Mythical Tales", Prometheus molded the clay man in the form of a god, and Athena injected the soul (wisdom) into man.
The male Creator created the human form, but the female God gave it to the inside.
This is in contrast to the “story of faith, ” in which Jehovah created Adam, who, as the Creator, split up another man, Eve.
This is the story of an "artificial man" and a "human being".
There are subtle differences and reflections between the two.
This process of creation has become something that the author has to resist and confront as a female thinker.
So when I read it, there will always be a strange, as a heterosexual, male perspective, the back will suddenly cool, not sure if she is accusing me?
Lin Xinhui:
I found that creating science fiction and gender attention, the two things seem inseparable.
When I started writing science fiction, I wrote a short story, "Hotel California," which, as everyone knows, refers to the Eagles' classic song.
I appropriated the lyrics to create, in the story reverse write "Eve was born from a rib of Adam" myth: the heroine in the novel is unknown, do not know whether she is human or biotic, she uses the length of the ribs to measure the human male protagonist, the male protagonist is instead deconstructed as a component of the rib.
The woman turned and used the rib to disassemble the man around her.
This is what I wanted to do when I first wrote science fiction.
Intentionally or not, I felt from the beginning that science fiction should be gender, it must be related to gender, why do I have this inexplicable intuition?
Many science fiction works, both ancient and modern, put women in non-human roles.
For example, Rachel in "Blade Runner" is a biotic, and the operating system for falling in love with the human male protagonist in "Cloud Lover" is also set to be female.
The robot, Sophia, who is considered a citizen in the real world, is also a girl.
Non-human beings are always assigned a female position, and in these stories, the protagonists are always men, and they are all humans.
Why isn ’ t there a sci-fi story to break this structure? Sci-fi is preset to be a male story from the start?
But in retrospect, today ’ s Science Lovers pays homage to Mary Shelley ’ s Frankenstein, which is considered the first science fiction novel ever written by a woman.
Echoing the deconstruction that Teacher Yifeng just talked about, the role of transgender doctor Rui brought out a lot of gender thinking, and a lot of female thinking is concentrated in the story line of Mary Shelley's history in 1816, the women's movement has just begun to flourish, not to mention Mary Wollstonecraft, the mother of the first wave of feminism advocates.
Is “knowledge ” male or female?
There is a dialogue that women seem to bring disaster to the world, which Byron said: women are red face evil water.
If Pandora hadn ’ t opened that box, many of our things would have been less painful.
And Mary Shelley replied to him that if we didn ’ t hurt, it wouldn ’ t be human, because machines don ’ t hurt.
She said, “Does knowledge cause pain? ”
Or is the knowledge that women bring to make us human?
In this near-future storyline, Janet Winterson uses the role of Rui to bring out a problem of mind-matter dualism that we are still debating.
Our understanding of transgender may be that his body and his soul want to reach another state of harmony, not that he was not reconciled, but that he wanted to change.
For example, she was originally a biological woman and wanted to become a so-called "complete male".
The transgender doctor in the book, he did not become a so-called complete boy, his upper half is male, the lower half is female, but he likes the state: a soul lives in two bodies, he is both male and female, and then he is very comfortable in this state.
(New Classical Culture Provided)
Rui ’ s relationship with Vito thus has an undefinable ambiguity, which challenges the state of men and women in the era of 1816.
The love story of Ray and Victor is difficult to define as gay or heterosexual, which can be said to be a state of desegregation.
And the state of sexualization also echoes the world that Vito wants to create — the human consciousness is uploaded to the cloud, without the bondage of the body.
Without the body, there is no label: there is no label for skin color, and there is no label for gender.
In fact, Victor also wants to create a new human, just as Frankenstein in Frankenstein wants to create a creature.
There is a scene in the novel that is super scary: Ray opens the door and sees a lot of hands crawling around on the ground, which is very creepy.
This section reflects that Victor wants to create a new human body, and this human body can have its own will and drive itself? This part corresponds to "Frankenstein", whether the creature can drive its own will and body.
"Creation" is "life", and the back of "life" is actually talking about "death".
You want to bring the dead body back to life, you want to use technology to create eternal life, you want to upload consciousness to the brain, anyway, as long as you are conscious, you will live forever.
Vito said that at this stage, we are very comfortable with all kinds of life technology, such as when we are only pregnant, the mother's body will be subjected to various invasive tests: to see if your fetal position is correct, the sex of the fetus, whether it is so-called "normal health", and to preserve embryos, frozen eggs and other technologies... And...
In contrast, we have been vocal about technology ’ s desire to end death, perpetuate death, or immortality as a major moral issue.
Why are we optimistic about "life" and so afraid of "death"? Don't want to talk about it, don't want to imagine technology intervening in its world.
Gao Yifeng:
In the novel, page 174, a very simple sentence is mentioned: "So, Vidor, non-living forms of life, because their forms are purer, closer to the essence of love than we are?"
The story of the transgender doctor Rui, his body is neither a man nor a woman, such a body is more aware of love?
Absolutely fully tested Janet, with a classical, Gothic romance, to talk about the love story of Mary and Shelley. Mary's love is completely gender-neutral, she really loves Shelley the poet.
She loved that no matter how many children she had and how many times she lost, even if I was crazy, even if I did not know whether I could still have the next life in the future, whether the function of a woman given to me by the Bible or mythology could be achieved, I was willing to love you.
In "Science Lovers", Janet constantly probed this point through many characters, constantly asking: Is it possible in the world to create a person who loves me that way through a way like "Frankenstein"?
Want to create a person like this, even if it is not a living body, even if it does not have any gender to test, even if it is a kind of sex robot we can not predict, can it really have love?
Claire is a very old-fashioned sex robot.
Does such love exist?
At the heart of the book is its subtitle: a love story.
Beyond the gender we have to face, or the various discussions of organic and inorganic life, Janet Winterson is asking the same question she wanted to ask two hundred years ago under such complicated and highly literary writing.
I love Frankenstein so much that when someone challenges me, I think, "Okay, I see what you can write."
"Science Lovers" actually carried "Frankenstein".
Not only did he write about the monsters created by Frankenstein, but he also wrote about the love of Mary Shelley.
I think this is a great place.
Lin Xinhui:
When it comes to “love ”, I think a lot of discussion is about what“ reality ” is.
We all know that love is between two people, and the most basic consensus is "what is the reality we all recognize."
When both parties have a common understanding of "where the reality is going", there is the beginning of the "relationship".
Science fiction writer Lin Xinhui (middle) says that every chapter of Science Lovers begins with "What is reality?" (courtesy of New Classic Culture)
Every chapter of Science Lovers begins with “what is reality ” — reality is soluble in water, reality is the present, reality cannot withstand excessive human beings.
These inquiries about reality, on the one hand, are similar in the form of the novel and the "trans" of the transgender, which constantly appears in different chapters, a bit like the role of the past and the soul, or the reunion of the afterlife, or the feeling of the same soul into different bodies.
On the other hand, it is rooted in its sub-label: the love story.
But in the end, Rui and Victor are not together in Science Lovers.
Why can't they be together? Because their perception of "reality" is different - Rui's perception is "reality is the body", our love is based on the body; but Victor told him that sex does not have to be achieved by the body, he said that the perception of receptors in the brain everywhere, even a "brain in a vat" (brain in a vat), can still have sexual love. Feeling.
Even Victor would say that reality is an emergent: it is because your brain thinks that it exists, and there is no direct causal relationship between this reality and your nervous system (such as what structure creates what reality).
So that reality cannot be proved as a reality.
This inference, even Vito said, has entered a state of Buddhism.
All in all, Vito and Ri think differently about reality, so although they love each other very much, they can ’ t be together in the end.
This also leaves a lot of suspense, because we don ’ t know what happened to Vito.
There are no quotation marks in this book – many foreign readers are scolding it.
But the fact that there are no quotes is still functional in the end, because it will make the reader uncertain whether the person who is speaking now is Mary Shelley or Ray? The last person they call together is Victor or Frankenstein? Because Mary Shelley and Frankenstein later meet in a fictional way.
Rui calls his beloved Vito until the end, but we no longer know if he is alive or dead.
In a way, the old Vito is still alive, and the Vito at this point in time seems to be missing.
Their last common call was, “Vidor, is that you? ” and it ended.
This is the end of a beautiful love story. (Editors: Huang Shufang, Wang Jingyi) 1110122
(New Classical Culture Provided)
Title: Science Lovers: A Story of Love
Author: Janet Winterson
Translated by: Chen Jialin
Publisher: New Classical Culture
Publication Date: 2021 / 12 / 01
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Title:

Content: I love the story of the future: Consciousness against a more troubled future.
A novel by dr.
Sana Al-Shaalan (daughter of Naima)
3 minutes ago.
Our homeland today: Read: Aqeel Hashim / Iraq – After it turned out that the era is the era of narrative unlike the rest of the literary genres, the contemporary novelist seeks through experimentation to disrupt the narrative system of significance, formulation and formation, and ultimately results in the emergence of new developments on that era. The narrative discourse has a narrative — and a critique, and this has been exemplified by the novel “I adore ”.
I say that since we are in globalization an age of doubt and uncertainty, and this doubt is a prominent feature in the movement of the new novel, made the writer and reader a system of cognitive awareness communicative to read the puzzle of what is happening to our present, the reader is no longer naive to accept everything that is said to him, and therefore he wonders about every new phenomenon and therefore worries him and shakes his entity if he can not find a solution.
The novels known as "science fiction" novels, for example, rise to a major event about the prediction of the consequences of scientific phenomena in human life, and the readers of the novel have shown the validity of the predictions of many of these novels, which prepared their perceptions to accept and predict, as the novel "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley, published in 1932. As technology evolves, and because the novel is by its nature an avant-garde art, it seeks to explore its horizons. Rather, it expresses its events about the past or the present only for the sake of a future vision that includes these events and a change in the insides of its characters. A special vision of time, and makes good use of the element (psychological time), the time in which its painted characters live and live.
The development of the narrative technique adopted in the new novel was a revolutionary introduction in order to get rid of the techniques of the traditional novel, as well as a new addition in the artistic structure of the novel, which is based on taking the reader out of his negativity, so it became necessary to consolidate the concept of self in the time of digital identity, which is more fluid, as it can not be proven. Create it without reference.
“Love Me ” by Dr.
Sana Al Shaalan, which was published in three editions, the first edition was published in 2012, and is the winner of the Dubai Cultural Award for Creativity 2010 / 2011 in its seventh session, the second edition was issued in 2014, and the third edition was issued in 2016.
The novel consists of (217) pages of medium size, this novel represents a narrative model that embodies the author ’ s attempt to benefit from some of the techniques of postmodernism, and that the investment of the so-called “future ”, and its employment in this novel, made it this distinctive.
The novel above all is the novel of the fundamental difference between a man and a woman, and it is the novel of fate, which connects the fate of each to the other, and connects the consciousness of each to the other.
Consciousness was not, as Gilles Deleuze once put it, “self-consciousness, but the self-consciousness of an unconscious self.
Consciousness is not the master ’ s consciousness, but the slave ’ s consciousness in relation to a master whose character is not to be conscious. ”
It is this bitter truth that pulls the two consciences to each other, and it shapes the conditions of their inevitable relationship.
This relationship seems to us to be in no way separated from the social and political context in which the novel takes place in our Arab world.
The time of the novel is set in the year (3010), and the place (the Milky Way Galaxy) chosen the place for her novel.
Characters:
Bassel Al-Mehri: A military intelligence man, excessively dedicated to serving a tyrannical government, a symbol of the state of oppression, violence and tyranny, lost his body in a terrorist incident because of his excessive dedication to his work, but his head remained healthy and vibrant, doctors advised him to undergo surgery, in which he transfers his healthy head to the body of a woman who has just died. Despite his regret, he justifies his action by saying: “But I am a coward weak in the face of my clinging desire for life, the sweet taste of life still gnaws at the will to refuse and overcome weakness in myself and insists on me with a bloody insistence to cling to life even in another body, even if it is a body stolen from a woman. ”
Shams: A female political activist and opposition to power rebel and rebel, she is a prominent national leader in the banned and opposition Al-Hayat party, and a famous writer and writer, Habiba Khaled Rami, a girl killed by the intelligence services.
Khaled Rami: Habib Shams and her lover, and there were dozens of love letters between him and Shams describing the burning love between them.
Ward: The fetus that Shams carries from her beloved Khalid, is still alive in the womb of the murdered Shams, moving with his mother ’ s body to the bowels of the military man Basil al-Mehri, and this name was chosen by Khalid, as Shams says: “Your name will be Ward, this name was chosen by Khalid, since now I can almost smell your pink smell in my newborn motherhood … The flower is also the name of an extinct animal that belongs to the time before the third millennium, its name is also the lion, and it is a predator, wild and strong, and noble as well, lives with pride, rejects the carrion, and cherishes its strength, and so we called you a rose to be a vow of beauty and strength and to love us.
In this particular narration, starting from the title, the miraculous, the multiplicity and the dispersion instead of unity and harmony, the abandonment of the plot, the lack of invalidity, the feeling of anger and the fictitious narrative, and the denial of causality.
We start by analyzing the title as it represents the first threshold for understanding the content of the novel. This title raises the reader to the semantic dimensions of the concept of love, love and passion, and gives a structure contrary to what is familiar, known, the foundations of the strange title, and a puzzling revelation of the concept of this relationship. Shaq and intimacy are mentioned in my novel.
The novel begins with the words of a woman in love named Shams, from the Milky Way, in which she says: “Only those with loving hearts are aware of the fact that there is a fifth dimension regulating this giant universe, which is love, and that love is the fifth most important dimension in shaping the features of our existence, only love is enough to revive this death. ”
What is important here is to emphasize that we are looking for what the writer wants and what she means from the miraculous manifestations found in the novel text is a counter-reaction to the death of love and the tyranny of the phenomenon of human death and the victory of technology that tries to overcome the facts of reality in an irrational way. It has become strange and strange, and the strange and strange event takes place.
The peculiarity of the novelistic event is reflected in several photos, the most prominent of which are: The opening of the novel with the presentation of a strange story:
This strange story put the reader from the beginning of the story in the tragic situation that befell the hero, and created a situation characterized by turmoil that shook the entity of man and woman to form one body, and felt the oddity of this unfamiliar world, and also his sense of sadness and fear throughout the novel due to the split of his personality;
This shows that it is possible for the aggressive nature of man to overcome the human nature or vice versa; the transformation comes suddenly – as a result of an accident – and there were no signs of its occurrence.
It lies in the transfer of the head of Basil al-Mahri protagonist to the body of a woman is (Shams) The transfer of the mind of an active and influential man in supporting power to the body of a woman political activist who stood against corruption in her country, which led the military intelligence to capture her, and then kill her after they failed to take any confession from her. At the same time (Shams) lost her head, and her body remained peaceful and vibrant, so the doctors gathered “and assured him that this female body, lying in the arms of death with a crimson smile full of peace and contentment, is the only body that is genetically appropriate, tissues and cells for his body...
Therefore, he must accept to plant his soul and brain in this small body on hatred or satisfaction in order to survive his life, otherwise he will die, and he must decide quickly and delay is not in his favor.
Dramatic action stimulates us, provokes us to look at our fates, to think about our lives, from the death and burial of feelings to the danger that awaits them and this is what we think the author wanted to explain – to worry the reader, to make him anxious, to question and to hesitate.
We find the confusion in this novel; the vision of the hero is dominated by mental delusions, confused imaginations of the mixing of the truth and its non-existence, and the novel continues, the writer here tries to appeal to the letters.
The message has the above importance, charm and a great communicative role, thus creating imaginary worlds, and as a document that penetrates the genre of fiction as a psychological response and an expressive suppression suffered by the characters concerned, it aims to unleash their souls pregnant with sensations, burning confessions and other things that are difficult for them to express in the presence of the recipient, whether he is a lover, relative or even an enemy....
The resort of Bassel Al-Mehri to read the memoirs of Shams in the journey of identification has left him in a emotional dilemma he did not expect, I turned all his decisions and promises to revenge against her and her body, it is the moment of disclosure, the moment of recognition of the existence of the other, after Bassel Al-Mehri knew the truth of this love between them he felt a bit of remorse and said: “How small in those moments!
And also a thief! … {He says to the fetus}: How lucky you were to have a mother of such beauty and all this love, ” the fetus carried by her body or his body is the fruit of a unique love committed by Khalid and Shams in violation of the laws of the galaxy.
After serious attempts, Basil Al-Mehri got a light package containing information about Shams in the framework of a diary she wrote to her lover Khalid and her baby (Ward), with a set of love letters sent by Khalid. The letters written by Shams and Khalid show true love. Basil Al-Mehri found in the first page only one paragraph written “Only the lovers of hearts are aware of the fact that there is a fifth dimension regulating this giant universe ”.“ Do you know why I repeat the word I love you a thousand times because it reduces all humanity to making love, I love you and I desire you? ”
I would say, the writer dr.
Sana Al-Shaalan always tries in her narratives to dive into the worlds of her characters with high professionalism and a great degree of neutrality through which she aspires to expel clichés and prejudices from the other so that the criminal killer has a demon completely, and the lover Alwahan is an angel.
This relativism in addressing issues is one of the pillars of its humanistic narrative project.
This relationship between the ego and the other is one of the manifestations of the novel and its integration and its quest to crystallize a special world, which offers us some important reading keys in it, because it is also achieved on a deeper level when the visions and expropriations involved in it correspond to reveal to us another key reading in the texts of the writer.
The symbolism of the “sun ” is a manifestation of the rebellious and liberated woman, an obsession with being, identity, time, death and the longing for the impossible realization.
In fact, what the novel says is the purely real world, the world formed by the combination of external reality and the psychological reality of the characters, and the intellectual or philosophical reality of the visions and ideas that seem to them and capture some of their interests, the moment is not permanent, because it is by nature instantaneous, but more importantly, narrative that it is uncertain in its own moment.
There is no hope of getting it back, let alone getting it back.
The negative and critical narrative text avoids the disclosure of the content so as not to spoil its seductive ambiguities.
He remains cynical in his ambiguities, but at the same time the writer will be responsible for the perpetuation of this sphere until the end, driven by an inevitable and inescapable amount of covering up the privacy of her characters until the end.
At the end of the novel, love is born between the killer and the murdered. After the hero finds himself in the body of his assassination, he falls in love with the body of the woman who was once the body of the woman he assassinated, after knowing her through her diary. The choice of love and life triumphs over death and annihilation, and Basil Al-Mahri becomes a fighter and supporter of the revolutionaries after he was a repressive hand in the hands of the government of the galaxy clutching rebels against its secularism and its misleading laws. Basil Al-Mahri believes that love is the way to save humanity from the misery it suffers. This is the easy and difficult equation, they are without a doubt the fifth dimension of things, then love is the fifth dimension of existence and the key to all its energies and the secrets of its existence, growth and mortality. ” Atheism leads to faith, and he is ready to risk his life in order to give birth to the baby (Ward), thus winning the choice of love and love at the end of the novel, heralding the birth of another new generation of humanity carrying the banner of love, brotherhood, justice and equality away from injustice and arbitrariness.
Finally, I say: “I adore me ” a beautiful and interesting novel despite its apparent difficulty, interceding its transparent poetic language and its semantic intensity giving, it tempts the reader to continue reading from the overlap of characters, and the dominance of the style of narrative suspense that makes the event the focus of the work of fiction, and urges the reader to gasp behind and pursue his chapters.
To get to know this mysterious planet called Woman, which in this regard is one of the most sincere novels in understanding women, and honest in dealing with them, she seeks to explore the depths of women from within.
A symbolic sun is a game of universes and galaxies, and its body is involved from the very beginning in a purely cosmic game.

Women authors like Winterson, Jemisin, Butler, Jones, and Russell shape modern sci‑fi.

Title:

Content: Swords & Spaceships

8 Excellent Genre-Bending Sci-Fi Tales To Take You to the Next Frontier

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Lyndsie Manusos

Senior Contributor

Lyndsie Manusos’s fiction has appeared in PANK, SmokeLong Quarterly, and other publications. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has worked in web production and content management. When she’s not nesting among her books and rough drafts, she’s chasing the baby while the dog watches in confused amusement. She lives with her family in a suburb of Indianapolis.

Prophet by Sin Blaché and Helen Macdonald, published by Grove Atlantic

The must-read queer sci-fi thriller of the summer! In a world just one perilous step from our own, an unlikely pair sets out on the most dangerous and otherwordly mission of their lives. When a diner suddenly appears in a remote field, Adam and Rao are confronted with the most devastating weapon they have ever seen: Prophet. No one knows who created it, or why, but this spooky substance is bringing happy memories to life, then stifling people with their own joy. Despite their troubled past, the two are drawn closer than ever to defend what they hold most dear.

As I said in my 2022 science fiction subgenre primer, the genre of science fiction is expanding. Like our universe, it is expanding quickly, redefined with every story, be it short or long-form. And beneath the large umbrella of science fiction, subgenres are added and redefined. All in all, there are endless ways to tell a science fiction story (don’t let any old guard tell you different).

And then — subgenres aside — there is genre-bending science fiction. There is science fiction that centers horror and science fiction that is fabulist and weird. There’s science fantasy, as well as science fiction romance. There’s science fiction that is nearly unclassifiable, a mixture of so many things, or even all the things. I’ve mentioned in my Book Riot oeuvre that genre-bending of any shape or size is my kind of work. When writers are bold and brave in their genre weaving, that’s when the hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention. That’s when I rub my hands together and think, “oh, this is going to be good.”

Genre-bending science fiction doesn’t have to be confined to the novel form, either. Short fiction science fiction is in a golden age right now. Check out the latest finalists and winners for the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus awards, and I promise you will find mindblowing, genre-bending, exceptional work.

Below I will showcase eight tremendous genre-bending science fiction tales, ranging from short stories to novels, and everything in between. I believe I’ve mentioned at least one in a previous post from last year, but you’ll notice the genre coverage is different. Ergo, these stories are genre-bending.

In any case, I hope you’ll enjoy these stories as much as I do.

Genre-Bending Science Fiction: Novels & Novellas

Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor

Fatima had a past before she became known as Sankofa. Before those around her called her the adopted daughter of the Angel of Death. With a mere glance, an entire town could fall. But before that, the world was different.

So much of what Okorafor writes is genre-bending science fiction (the Binti trilogy!). This novella begins in an almost fantasy-horror like fashion: Sankofa walking, leaving fear and horror in her wake. But as the story unfolds, it becomes this all-encompassing tale of African futurism, how the world shapes us, and then how we might reshape the world.

Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones

One of the things I love about including this book is seeing this title on Goodreads and reading all the genres it’s described as. Hint: it’s like all the genres. Fantasy, science fiction, time travel, magic, dragons, robots, portals, you name it, Hexwood probably has it. And clearly, none of this should surprise you coming from the legendary Diana Wynne Jones.

The tale follows Ann Stavely as she watches people disappear through the farm’s gate. She meets a sorcerer, and time begins to move differently in the woods nearby. Little does she know that far beyond Earth, Controller Borasus receives word that an ancient machine has been awakened.

I mean, clearly, genre-bending at its finest.

Escape Velocity by Victor Manibo

I love how Victor Manibo is always able to craft the perfect mystery within his brilliant science fiction worlds. Manibo is a master at showing Earth just around corner, especially if we keep on our current trajectory. Picture a world of hyper-capitalism, a luxury liner — Space Habitat Altaire —and a ruthless world of amassing “points” in order for the chance to start a new life on Mars.

Now, add a decadent mystery of whodunit with a sprinkle of who’s willing to do anything to get what they want: Ava wants to find out who murdered her brother; Laz wants to win Ava’s heart; Sloane wants to collect secrets as his family’s wealth declines; Henry will do whatever it takes to get to Mars.

And all this is set during a class reunion on a luxury space liner, with twists and turns you won’t see coming. Get your science fiction Knives Out fix with this one.

Borne by Jeff VanderMeer

I still think about this book. I still think about Borne and that giant bear, Mord. This book is solidly science fiction, but it’s also just fucking weird. That’s honestly the best way to describe it, too, which is why I love it so much. It’s post-apocalyptic, and it manages to be both epic and extremely intimate.

Rachel is trying to survive in a world that wants to kill her at every turn. Then she finds Borne, an amorphous creature, in the fur of a Godzilla-sized bear named Mord. Rachel cannot bring herself, nor allow her lover Wick, to destroy Borne. Borne reminds her of better times and better places, and an attachment grows between them. This book is personal as well as out of this world. It’s weird fiction at its finest. It’s science fiction at its most profound.

Genre-Bending Science Fiction: Short Form

This list includes short fiction, though that ranges in word count. Below you’ll find tales that are short stories or novelettes.

Foxfire, Foxfire” by Yoon Ha Lee from Beneath Ceaseless Skies

Let me begin by saying that the publication of this story is in a highly respected (and one of my personal favorites) genre magazine called Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Its mission: to publish the very best in “literary adventure fantasy.” And yet, this story also has beautifully crafted science fiction elements.

This novelette follows Baekdo, a magical, shapeshifting fox who is able to speak to gods. Baekdo is set on becoming human, which requires him to kill — and devour the liver of — 100 humans. Baekdo has no qualms about coming to his 100th kill, but things don’t go as planned. Baekdo’s 100th victim is the pilot of a Cataphract, a giant battle mech. Baekdo swears on the tiger-sages that he will keep his oath with the pilot, Jong, and finish her mission. It’s an intimate, magical tale while also being epic in scope. Truly, a genre-bending masterpiece.

The Gondoliers” by Karen Russell from Orange World and Other Stories

Karen Russell is a masterful genre-bending writer. I fell in love with Russell’s work over ten years ago, with her first collection St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves. Like Kelly Link, Russell was vital in redefining, for me at least, what fiction, especially literary fiction, can do. “The Gondoliers” is a wonderful example of this.

It follows Janelle Picarro, a.k.a Blister, in a post-apocalyptic world where parts of Florida have fully submerged underwater and is now called New Florida. Blister is a gondolier, ferrying people across the waters. Blister and her sisters use echolocation to communicate and steer. There is a little bit of everything in this story, and you won’t be the same when you reach the end.

Memories of Memories Lost” by Mahmud El Sayed from khōréō

khōréō is one of my favorite speculative fiction magazines. “In Memories of Memories Lost,” El Sayed crafts a devastatingly personal short story of memory, loss, and sacrifice.

After aliens take over Earth, humans must pay a “memory tax” to their cosmic invaders. The story follows Ahmed, who chooses, for his tax, to give a large family memory in the form of a heirloom. In doing so, he can assure the comfort of his father, who suffers from dementia. It’s a story of complex relationships and love. It’s a story that begs hard questions of ourselves, our souls, and our loved ones: What if we could give traumatic memories away? Would we regret the loss?

The Dizzy Room” by Kristina Ten from Nightmare Magazine

Look, I know I’ve mentioned this story before, and it’s because the story is that good. Published in the renowned horror magazine Nightmare, this story is about a video game, but it’s also a horror story about memory and language. There are images and a multitude of sensory details that will haunt me forever.

This is science fiction horror at its best, with a mounting dread that will have you tempted to lean back while also leaning forward, closer to the page, admittedly desperate to hear the sounds of the game itself beckoning you. I am not at all surprised that this story is a finalist for the 2023 Shirley Jackson Awards.

Find Genre-Bending Stories Everywhere

Every genre has trailblazers, writers who take a genre and build upon it, question and criticize it, and remold it into something new. These are the writers I seek out again and again to dissect and study these genres, rediscovering them and also falling in love with them all over again. They are out there now, and their stories are waiting.

If you’re interested in more genre-bending work, check out these other Book Riot gems:

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Content: Julia Nagel/Sun Photography Editor

Fantasy author N. K. Jemisin speaks at a Bartels World Affairs Lecture in Klarman Hall on Oct. 4.

8 hours ago

N.K. Jemisin Gives Bartels World Affairs Lecture, Speaks on Building a Better World

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N. K. Jemisin, best-selling science fiction and fantasy author well known for her book trilogy “The Broken Earth,” spoke about building a better world at this year’s Bartels World Affairs Lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 5:30 p.m. in a packed Rhodes-Rawling Auditorium. Jemisin spoke about how building fictional worlds helps her discuss the reality of our society, and concluded by calling on the audience to make choices in order to build the world they wish to see.

Following her talk, Jemisin joined a panel of Cornell faculty to kickstart the latest Global Grand Challenge: The Future. Global Grand Challenges bring together people and resources to understand and develop solutions to humanity’s most urgent challenges. The first challenge launched in 2019, and this year’s challenge, “The Future,” focuses on how to employ creativity to build a more equitable and sustainable future world.

Supported by the Henry E. and Nancy Horton Bartels World Affairs Fellowship, the Bartels World Affairs Lecture is an annual, signature event hosted by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies that brings renowned individuals to Cornell’s campus to speak on international matters with students and faculty.

Seats at the event sold out and an estimated 330 people attended. In-person watch party tickets were made available as well, where attendees live streamed the lecture from an adjacent classroom near the auditorium. More than 270 local, national and international viewers who registered through eCornell also streamed the event live.

Vice Provost for International Affairs Wendy Wolford said that in addition to launching this year’s Global Grand Challenge, this event also fits into Cornell’s academic year theme of Freedom of Expression. Wolford explained that the world building, kindness and empathy in Jemisin’s work encouraged the Einaudi Center to select this event as the launch for the University’s new Global Grand Challenge.

“The theme of this new challenge is fittingly ‘The Future.’ With this challenge, we invite all of you, students, staff and faculty to step back from the immediate questions of your studies, your work and your research, to think about the world you want to live in,” Wolford said. “The Global Grand Challenge calls on us to go beyond the cutting edge… to imagine what the world would look like if we asked not just what can I do, but what do I want? What do we want?”

Jemisin began her lecture by describing her background in higher education, in which she spent 20 years working as a career counselor, academic counselor and director of experiential education before becoming an author. Jemisin writes science fiction and fantasy novels that explore a variety of themes, including power, cultural conflict and systems of subjugation.

“Many of the questions I tend to get are: Why science fiction? Why fantasy? Why would you, an ostensibly intelligent and mature person, write this kid’s stuff? And I tell people the same thing that Octavia Butler has said in interviews, which is in science fiction, I can do anything,” Jemisin said during her lecture.

Jemisin explained how people’s fears in a specific time period are reflected in their writing, especially in science fiction. She cited underlying fears of the sexual revolution displayed in 1960s feminist science fiction as an example.

“There’s another misconception out there that typically happens, which is that people think of science fiction as being about the future. They think of fantasy as being about the past,” Jemisin said. “It’s neither. Science fiction and fantasy are actually about our present world.”

Jemisin also described the process of science fiction worldbuilding on two levels — macro and micro. Macro worldbuilding involves creating the physical world of a story, including planets, continents, climate and ecology. Micro worldbuilding is crafting the society the characters will exist in, which includes species, morphology, racialization and power, among other things.

“The point of this [worldbuilding] exercise is to get people to start questioning their assumptions,” Jemisin said. “Understanding how our society functions is a lot more constructive than they think, so it’s important that I get across that all of this is changeable.”

Jemisin also spoke about how real people build worlds, and how our current world is not arbitrary, but rather the result of a series of choices. She emphasized that different choices remain possible, and that our understanding of ourselves and self-identity is evolving. Jemisin encouraged the audience to consider reasons for both creating and resisting change.

“We are being blasted with a constant firehose of disinformation which is fueled by a whole lot of money,” Jemisin said. “The only thing that we can do in order to resist this is begin to question and push back on how we became the society that we are and begin to recreate that society in our own design.”

Following her lecture, Jemisin joined a panel with Cornell faculty members Prof. Anindita Banerjee, comparative literature and feminist, gender and sexuality studies; Prof. John Albertson, civil and environmental engineering; and Prof. Kaushik Basu, international studies and economics. Each professor took turns briefly speaking about how their field of expertise relates to building a better world, and Jemisin followed with her thoughts.

“We see society now envisioning futures and being bold, making pledges of decarbonizing our energy supplies, decarbonizing our economy and setting ambitious timelines on which to do that,” Albertson said. “It’s relatively straightforward to plan the direct linear path of what you need to do there. But the question is: where are all the other parts of society that are touched by each of these changes?”

Asher Bergmann ’26 said his goal going into his sophomore year was going to more school  events, and was excited to find this lecture as someone who reads a lot of fantasy.

“I think she did a good job of not diving too deep into fantasy to where some people wouldn’t be interested, because while she’s a fantasy author, the point of this lecture wasn’t actually writing fantasy,” Bergmann said. “I think she did a good job of balancing her goal with what other people may have come here to see her speak about.”

Annabel Baniak ’24 decided to attend the event at the encouragement of both her professor  and her mom, whose favorite book is “The Fifth Season” by Jemisin. Baniak said she enjoyed the event and left feeling motivated and inspired to create change in the world.

Jemisin left the audience with a message to continue questioning the current world and to work towards building an ideal society.

“I have been having conversations all day with the students here, and they’re thinking ahead of me. I have to catch up. It is an innate part of youth to question our reality, and if the way that we live makes any sense,” Jemisin said. “I have to retain my own youthful questioning. They are right to question reality, and the rest of us need to keep doing that.”

Grace Liu ’27 is a Sun contributor and can be reached at [email protected].

What is considered a major breakthrough in science fiction publication?

What is considered a major breakthrough in science fiction publication?

What is considered a major breakthrough in science fiction publication?

What is considered a major breakthrough in science fiction publication?

What is considered a major breakthrough in science fiction publication?

Authors of color such as Okorafor, Liu, El Sayed, Jemisin, and Wells gain prominence.

Who wrote "Binti," a Hugo-award-winning African futuristic science fiction horror story?

Who wrote "Binti," a Hugo-award-winning African futuristic science fiction horror story?

Who wrote "Binti," a Hugo-award-winning African futuristic science fiction horror story?

Lack of diversity in sci‑fi films limits imagination of future with people of color.

Title:

Content: 'Snowpiercer' star Daveed Diggs says it's 'frustrating' when sci-fi stories lack diversity: 'That implies that you can't imagine a future with people of color'

  • "Snowpiercer" star Daveed Diggs told Insider that it's "frustrating" when sci-fi stories lack diversity.
  • Diggs said that it implies "you can't imagine a future with people of color."
  • Diggs added that "Snowpiercer" tries to make the future reflect what the world looks like now.

"Snowpiercer" star Daveed Diggs told Insider that it's "frustrating" when sci-fi movies and TV shows lack diversity.

Diggs, best known for his role in the original Broadway cast for the "Hamilton" musical, stars in the dystopian thriller about the last of human civilization living on a fast-moving train after Earth becomes a frozen wasteland. One of the aspects that make the series stand out is the fact that the characters are racially and geographically diverse.

Diggs, who plays the lead character Layton, told Insider that he hoped more sci-fi movies and TV shows embrace diversity in regards to their cast.

"The frustrating thing when our science fiction lacks diversity is that that implies that you can't imagine a future with people of color and that's super frustrating no matter who it is who's writing the show," Diggs said. "Because that also implies that you don't see them in your present or see us in your present."

He continued: "One of the things I do like about this show is that we try to make the world of the future also reflect our contemporary world."

In 2014, a study by book publisher Lee & Low Books found that in the top 100 domestic grossing films in the sci-fi and fantasy genre, only 8 had a person of color as their lead character. In six of those eight movies, the protagonist was Will Smith.

In recent years, major sci-fi franchises, such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, and the CW's Arrowverse, have started to include better racial diversity, as well as diversity in other areas.

Diggs also told Insider that the series reflects the contemporary world with its underlying themes for season three.

"Season three asked us to look at the inherent flaws in a bunch of political systems," Diggs explained. "We live in a world in which, in the last few years, we've been witnessed to a fair amount of authoritarian regimes popping up in places that we thought were solidly committed to democracy and that happens on 'Snowpiercer.'"

He added: "The big political question this year is how useful is a broken democracy and what are you willing to do to fix it? And what does it mean to fix it?"

The third season of "Snowpiercer airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.

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Snowpiercer features racially diverse characters and reflects contemporary world in its future setting.

Saudi Arabia’s first sci‑fi conference highlighted women pioneers and 30‑year progress.

Title:

Content: Science Fiction Conference Concludes at Jeddah Book Fair with "Anime" and "One Thousand and One Nights"
Specialists, writers and experts discussed the most important issues during 8 sessions and workshops
Part of the sessions of the Science Fiction Conference in Jeddah
The Commission for Literature, Publishing and Translation concluded yesterday the Science Fiction Conference, which is being held for the first time in the Kingdom, coinciding with the Jeddah Book Fair, held in (Super Dome).
Through eight sessions and a workshop, specialists, writers and experts discussed a number of issues related to science fiction, fantasy and anime, in addition to global trends in the manufacture of science fiction and sound fiction books, books and novels in film and television, and a number of related topics and themes.
In the first session of the second day of the conference, entitled "Pioneers of science fiction, fantasy and anime", the participants discussed the challenges of women in writing about science fiction and the worlds of fantasy and anime, reviewing some of the difficulties they faced during writing in this art, and how they overcome them to reach what they are today. The last three.
During the second session, which was entitled "Global Trends in the Science Fiction and Audio Fiction Industry", it discussed the most important challenges facing the audiobook market, as well as ways to turn science fiction fiction into attractive audiobooks, a statistical review on the rise in the Arab world towards audio books, the presence of 8,000 Arabic audiobooks available through audio content applications, pointing to the growth of audiobooks and listeners following the Coronavirus epidemic to 400%. I have the podcast; the number of listeners in 2015, 200 million listeners; while this number increased in 2022 to reach one billion listeners of various podcast materials.
On their most prominent experiences in this field, a number of Saudi writers and authors, who enriched the content of science fiction with a number of novels that appeared on the shelves of libraries and publishing houses, talked about a number of issues and topics related to science fiction and fantasy, and explained the difference between science fiction and fantasy and the change of concepts and culture of the new generation, which has become more comprehensive.
In the fourth session, entitled "One Thousand and One Nights: The Fantasies of the Old World", intellectuals agreed on the validity and merit of keeping the novel (One Thousand and One Nights) under consideration, as it has a progressive vision of history for each creator, and that it suffers from an old and new crisis "old as texts that carry in the eyes of some, and a new crisis after being honored externally", and referring to its pivotal role in music, Video and many literary and cultural fields.
The fifth session is entitled "Books in Film and Television".
Licensing, Copyright and Production ", which deals with intellectual rights that take place between the author and the production company and are subject to contracts agreed by the parties and are not subject to certain terms.
Noting that the literary agent represents the lawyer for the author or writer of the novel, and that the Arab world is very late in appointing a literary agent; but it began to spread in the present time, and facilitate the writer to devote himself to writing without thinking about the stages of publication and others.
In a session entitled (Beyond the series "Stranger Things"), she stressed that the confident director faces all obstacles and challenges, and that imagination helps to get out of the traditional roles, but it needs a lot of training, especially in scenes of fighting, and sometimes taking risks if there is no alternative.
The session reviewed the series (Altered Carbon) and the most prominent stations and scenes that the work went through to turn it on TV, in a session entitled "Soul, Body and Memory in Science Fiction", and talk about the construction of plot, scenes and sites, fantasy works that are seen from different perspectives and locations and different images on paper, and the difference in reality in changing some events and characters, and talk about innovation in technology and moving between bodies in a quarter. A century, and the emphasis on creative things in the content until it becomes a film, and the importance of the creative crew of directors, designers and artistic vision, to put the content better; where things start small and then grow to come out to the viewer with a beautiful fantasy plot.
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Arabic sci‑fi roots trace to medieval philosophers Ibn Sina, Ibn Tufail, and Ibn Nafis.

Modern Arabic sci‑fi includes Tawfiq al‑Hakim’s In a Million Years and Journey to the Future.

Arab world’s sci‑fi market grew 400% post‑COVID, with 8,000 Arabic titles.

Speculative fiction expanded into comics, video games, and choose‑your‑own adventures, influenced by Marvel.

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Content: Dartmouth Speculative Fiction Project considers next steps for the genre

The project brings together authors and Dartmouth professors to collaborate on new speculative fiction work rooted in scientific research on campus.

by Sophie Chadha | 53 minutes ago

From April 13 to 16, speculative fiction authors from around the country came to Hanover to participate in the Dartmouth Speculative Fiction Project, a series of events which included interdisciplinary activities between visiting authors and Dartmouth faculty, as well as readings and panel discussions open to the public. The project aimed to foster collaboration between authors and Dartmouth faculty – with a focus on designing stories rooted in scientific research – and addressed the present and future of the speculative fiction genre.

The project was co-organized by engineering professor Solomon Diamond, English professor Rebecca Clark, the Design Initiative at Dartmouth program manager Paula Olson, Hugo award-winning speculative fiction editor Liz Gorinsky and author and former visiting film and media studies professor Sharang Biswas Th’13.

According to Hugo and Nebula awards finalist Nibedita Sen, speculative fiction is a general term that provokes valuable questions.

“The term ‘speculative fiction’ … works as an umbrella term: It is fiction which imagines things that do not currently exist, things that may come into being through science or through magic,” Sen said. “It could be advancement, or it could be, ‘What if we went backwards? What if we stepped to the side?’ It could be a different dimension, a different timestream.”

In a Q&A panel on April 15, some authors touched on the exchange of knowledge that occurs between scientific researchers and speculative fiction writers. Author K.M. Szpara said he believes the future of speculative fiction will become increasingly interdisciplinary and collaborative.

Nebula award-winning author Sam J. Miller  said we should reframe one stereotype about fiction — that it is dismissive of reality’s problems — and instead view its creation of a world without societal problems as proof of the possibility that our society could exist without them.

“It is as simple as, ‘ … And then the housing crisis is over … And then all the people standing in the way of progress are gone.’” Miller said.

Calvin George ’24, who attended the Q&A, said he was intrigued by Miller’s concept of speculative fiction as a tool for social change.

“It was really interesting to hear from these authors [about] how imagining worlds where a huge problem like climate change is gone can actually help us solve those problems by giving us a sense of hope that they are not absolute or inevitable,” George said.

Sen said she views fiction as an important lens through which we can better understand the reality of our problems.

“A lot of people view escapism as a form of writing that is less than, but I don't believe in that. Like Tolkien said: Is it not a prisoner's duty to try to escape? Fiction is the spoonful of sugar that helps the truth go down,” Sen said.

Sen said this belief manifested in her own writing following the results of the 2016 presidential election, when she pivoted into the realm of horror as a form of catharsis.

“[In 2016,] people like me were being viewed as monsters, so I decided, ‘Well, I will show you what a monster really is,’” Sen said.

Looking to the future of speculative fiction, teacher, linguist and author Rob Cameron points to the genre’s growth over the past few decades from a niche, isolated faction of enthusiasts to a universal mode of entertainment.

“With the popularization of science fiction through film, especially Marvel, ‘geek culture’ has become much more expansive — you do not have to be a geek to enjoy it,” Cameron said. “At the same time, authors’ expectations of their readers have changed with these new mediums: Are people really going to sit down and read this book? This kind of thinking sparks novel ideas like ‘choose your own adventure’ narratives, comic books, video games and more.”

According to Biswas, the Speculative Fiction Project came to life when pitched the idea of centering speculative fiction around scholarship at Dartmouth to Diamond. When selecting the authors for the panel, Biswas shared that the organizers primarily aimed to represent diversity in both background and writing experience.

“If you’re claiming to do a project that looks at the future of humanity, you need to represent diverse perspectives,” he said.

Biswas added that if the project were to happen again, he hopes it can bring together an even more diverse group of people with more funding.

“In the future, with better channels of funding, we hope to have more geographic diversity and be able to bring in international authors,” Biswas said.

The Speculative Fiction Project will continue as authors workshop their stories with their research partners. These works of fiction will be presented at a Dartmouth symposium in June and will subsequently be synthesized into an anthology in Lightspeed Magazine next year.

According to Clark, students will be invited to submit their own stories and up to four of them will be chosen and featured in the professional collection.

Interdisciplinary collaboration between authors and scientists is emphasized in the Dartmouth Speculative Fiction Project.

Short‑fiction sci‑fi is in a golden age, with Nebula, Hugo, and Locus finalists.

Tech‑based fiction reflects real‑world tech scandals and societal fears, gaining popularity during Trump era.

Title:

Content: Chairman of the Board of Directors and Editors
I'm sorry.
Mohamad Elbaz
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Editors
I'm sorry.
Mohamad Elbaz
Attention to technology.
Writers explain the shift in current literature
In a new novel by journalist Yumi Adejuki, an anonymous statement circulating on social media threatens to undermine the burgeoning relationship between a young couple, the novel illustrates all the fears and toxins that social media apps can sow.
Anatomy of the role of contemporary technology
This is not the only work of fiction in recent years that puts aspects of modern technology under the microscope, there are many books that dissect the role of contemporary technology in our lives.
In Gabriel Zevin ’ s Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, he touches on the themes of life, death, reconciliation, and love through the lens of the evolution of video games and online worlds.
A best-selling book like Yellowface looks at race, privilege, power, and the pitfalls of the publishing industry, but it also touches on Twitter.
Technology company scandals
Bookblogger Julian Bonocore told Mashable that she has seen a rise in technology-based fiction in recent times, attributing it to the fact that such books play on the public ’ s concerns, especially regarding real-life tech scandals in Silicon Valley and big tech companies.
Technology-based stories are compelling and interesting, from business diving to personal success and scandals.
Young author Wendy Maas told Mashable: “Twenty-first-century novels are increasingly entangled with the constant evolution of technology and its impact on humans.
For decades, futuristic gadgets like artificial-intelligence-controlled devices and the ability to instantly communicate with anyone around the world have been the exclusive stuff of science fiction writers.
Now, a lot of great technology has become part of our daily lives, so authors of other genres can incorporate it into their stories as well.
The ever-evolving technology
Stories about tech workers have become commonplace.
Many authors have been praised for their accounts of the people behind the big tech companies and the dark side of the industry.
Sometimes, the industry is used as a symbolic story, but more often, as a framework for exploring the undulating consequences of a culture of bustle, freedom, and ambition.
Sophie Vershbow, a writer who previously worked in publishing for 10 years, believes that this kind of fiction exploits our very real and human fears about the ever-evolving technology landscape.
Books containing technology are popular for the same reason dystopian novels were popular during President Trump ’ s presidency, and epidemiological novels were popular during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Imagination is a way to indulge our fears and curiosity across pages.

Adaptations of sci‑fi works like Dune, Foundation, and Binti broaden audience reach.

Indie and self‑published authors democratize sci‑fi, allowing diverse voices without major houses.