Science fiction literature has evolved substantially since its late 19th-century origins, shaped by scientific progress, technological change, and expanding cultural perspectives.

Its beginnings are often traced to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), which introduced themes of scientific creation and ethical concerns that remain central.

Jules Verne and H.G. Wells further codified the genre’s foundations with imaginative explorations of space, time travel, and alien encounters; Wells’s works such as The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds introduced enduring sci-fi motifs blended with social critique.

The early 20th century saw science fiction mature amid rapid industrial and political changes.

Writers like Aldous Huxley (Brave New World) and George Orwell (1984) shaped dystopian visions reflecting contemporary anxieties over totalitarianism and social control.

Russian author Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We (1920) contributed to this tradition, influencing generations of dystopian fiction.

During this period, science fiction also engaged with emerging technologies like robotics and telecommunications.

From the 1930s to the 1960s—the genre’s “Golden Age”—authors including Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert A. Heinlein, and Frank Herbert crafted seminal works combining scientific rigor with far-reaching social and ecological themes.

Asimov’s Foundation series, Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Herbert’s Dune exemplify this period’s speculative world-building aligned with optimism and Cold War anxieties surrounding space exploration and atomic power.

The late 20th century brought innovation and genre-blurring.

Writers such as Kurt Vonnegut, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, and J.G. Ballard expanded thematic scope to include psychology, identity, altered realities, and societal critique.

They also integrated elements of horror, fantasy, and romance, diversifying narrative forms and audiences.

Science fiction has always reflected societal and technological currents.

Early works mirrored industrialization and political upheavals; contemporary stories explore AI, biotechnology, climate change, transhumanism, and cultural plurality.

The genre remains a lens for ethical inquiry and speculation about humanity’s future.

Women authors and authors of color have played crucial roles reshaping science fiction’s narratives and themes.

Mary Shelley’s legacy was extended through writers like Ursula K. Le Guin, whose The Left Hand of Darkness interrogated gender and society; Octavia E. Butler, who explored race and power in Parable of the Sower; and Nnedi Okorafor, whose Binti series fuses African cultural heritage with futurism.

Chinese authors, including Regina Kanyu Wang, contribute philosophical and culturally inflected works, while Arabic science fiction blends myth and political critique, represented by authors like Ahmed Saadawi.

A well-rounded book club reading list should include canonical texts such as Frankenstein, The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, Foundation, Dune, and Rendezvous with Rama; mid-century classics like The Forever War and Ringworld; and diverse contemporary works like Binti, A Wizard of Earthsea, The Handmaid’s Tale, Parable of the Sower, All Systems Red, and The Fifth Season.

Emerging voices like Gareth L. Powell, J. Dianne Dotson, and Sayantani DasGupta broaden the lineup further.

Genre-crossing titles—such as This Is How You Lose the Time War, Jeff VanderMeer’s Borne, and Yoon Ha Lee’s stories—reflect the genre’s experimental edge, while fantasy works with sci-fi elements (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; A Wrinkle in Time; His Dark Materials) illustrate how speculative genres interpenetrate.

In sum, science fiction has transformed from ethical speculation on nascent technology into a vibrant, inclusive field encompassing a wide array of themes, styles, and perspectives.

The growth of women and authors of color in the genre has enriched its complexity and relevance.

A balanced selection blending classical milestones with diverse contemporary voices offers any book club a panoramic and engaging view of science fiction’s evolution and promise.

Science fiction literature has evolved substantially since its late 19th-century origins, shaped by scientific progress, technological change, and expanding cultural perspectives.

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Content: Interview with Wang Jinkang, 2024 Hugo Finalist

INTRODUCTION: Eight Light Minutes(8LM) Culture of Chengdu has given permission for File 770 to reprint the series of interviews with Chinese science fiction writers which they have been running this week on Facebook. The first one is a question and answer session with Wang Jinkang, whose novella Seeds of Mercury is a 2024 Hugo Award finalist.

SUPPORTING CHINESE WRITERS SERIES (1): 2024 HUGO AWARD NOMINATION INTERVIEW WITH WANG JINKANG

Translated by Joseph Brant.

Wang Jinkang(王晋康) was born in Nanyang, Henan Province in 1948. He is a senior engineer, and a member of the Chinese Writer’s Association (CWA), The China Popular Science Writing Association (CPSWA), The Committee of Scientific Literature and Art, and the Henan Writers’ Association. Since the publication of his first story, The Return of Adam, in 1993, he has published over 90 short works, and 20 full novels, including Cross, We Together, Escape from The Mother Universe, Parents of Heaven and Earth, and Cosmic Crystal Eggs, totaling over six million words. He has won China’s Galaxy Award 16 times, as well as The Chinese Science Fiction Nebula’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He is considered one of Chinese science fiction’s ‘Four Heavenly Kings’, and his emblematic work Seeds of Mercury was shortlisted for the 2024 Hugo Award for Best Novella.

Hello Mr. Wang! Before we start, I would like to congratulate you on Seeds of Mercury’s shortlisting for 2024’s “Best Novella” Hugo Award. This is news that has excited countless Chinese science fiction fans. Ever since the publication of Chinese Science Fiction: An Oral History, readers have commented that your contributions have particularly appealed to them and would like to know more about your life and work. Hopefully, this long-awaited interview will provide some of the insights the sci-fi community has longed for.

Q1Mr. Wang, despite having produced many great works, this is the first time you’ve been shortlisted for the Hugo. How did you feel when you learned that you’d been shortlisted?

Wang Jinkang: Of course I was elated. Although I’ve won many awards in China, in fact the most Galaxy Awards in history, this is the first time I’ve been shortlisted for a Hugo. It felt like 31 years ago, when I first saw The Return of Adam in print, and when I won my First Galaxy Award. I think every author experiences these moments of excitement. It’s excellent that Chinese science fiction has reached a certain level, after years of growth, it’s now more and more visible internationally, which is fantastic. Of course, what we value even more, is these works transcending their era, and surviving the tides of time to reach future generations.

Religion and Science are enemies who love each other.

Q2Mr. Wang, as one of the ‘Four Heavenly Kings’ of Chinese science fiction, you’re already very well known in China, with a creative career spanning over thirty years, with works such as Leopard Man, Ant Life and Survival Experiment and so on. This shortlisted work is such a quintessential piece. However, this interview is not just intended for the Chinese sci-fi fans, but for readers around the world, who may not be familiar with Seeds of Mercury. Could I ask you to introduce it for the benefit of the overseas sci-fi fans?

Wang Jinkang: Seeds of Mercury is a two-threaded story. The first one follows a female scientist named Shawu, who discovers a new formula for life, and creates a fluid metal nano life form. When she dies, she entrusts that formula to Chen Yizhe, a businessman with a pure heart, along with the message “real life cannot be bred in pens. In the Solar System, there happens to be a suitable place for it to breed freely – Mercury”. Chen Yizhe accepts this monumental legacy enthusiastically, using his personal wealth to maintain the laboratory. In order take the next step, of “seeding Mercury”, he must turn to the society around him. Mr Hong, a multi-billionaire with a disagreeable personality but a benevolent soul, decides to liquidate his empire to facilitate the spaceship’s construction. Furthermore, Hong makes another astonishing decision: to relocate to Mercury, have his body frozen in the millennia-old ice caves of the planet’s north pole, to be awakened every 10 million years, to assist the evolution of these micro-lifeforms. In just 15 years, Chen Yizhe sends Hong to Mercury to seed the nano-life into the liquid metal lakes of Mercury, after which Hong settles down in its polar caves. Meanwhile, Hong’s lawyer, and soulmate named Yin, bids her painful farewells from the distant Earth.

The second storyline is set 100 million years later, when the Suola race have evolved on Mercury, their metal bodies adapted to the hundred-degree temperatures of the planet. They are sustained by light (drawing energy directly by photosynthesis). With no sense of hearing, they rely on the flashing of light through two orifices in their abdomen to communicate in binary. The entire Suola race are devout followers of Shawu, venerate the Star Father, the great god Shawu and her earthly incarnation. They have been initiated in science, and after studying their Holy Book, scientist Tu Lala discovers that much scientific knowledge has been disguised and hidden within. From this he deduces that life on Mercury originates from The Blue Planet. He implores the high priest to send an expedition to search for the Holy Site in the depths of the ice, with the excuse of reviving the incarnation of Shawu, as the Book prophesied. The high priest consents, sending a chaplain to supervise the mission. Tu Lala actually locates the Holy Site, and discovers the incarnation of Shawu (Mr Hong), frozen in the ice, along the sacred rites of “how to revive the incarnation of Shawu”.

However, unexpected occurrences, mainly due to the ignorance and blind devotion of the believers, result in Tulala’s unfortunate violent death (as metallic organisms, the Suola can easily resurrect after a sudden death, but those who do are considered an untouchable caste). In order to protect Mr Hong’s body, Tu lala risks the humiliation, but tragically, his student Qi Qiaqia denounces him, exposing his untouchable status, and inciting the crowd to him, During which time, Mr Hong’s body is destroyed in the scorching sunlight. To avoid blame, Qi Qiaqia suddenly declares that the incarnation of Shawu was a false god, which is why the Father Star could destroy it. This narrative is accepted by the devotees, who hail him as their new high priest. In the thousands of years that follow, Suola society descends into darkness, religious cruelly suppressing science, but from among the population comes a new “Sect of Repentance”, apparently founded by an untouchable. Silently they preserve everything related to science, awaiting the next rebirth of Shawu in future millennia.

Q3Seeds of Mercury was first published in 2002, and its appeal still endures, even after all this time. What inspired you to write this story?

Wang Jinkang: The initial inspiration probably came from a sad epiphany I had as a teenager. The human body is too fragile. Our proteins start to coagulate above 80°C, our brain suffers irreversible damage if we don’t breathe for five minutes, our body can’t withstand radiation, and we can die from disease, hunger, dehydration, drowning and freezing… It’s admirable that such a fragile life form has been propagated on for billions of years, but it also makes me apprehensive that humanity would not survive a disaster. Human civilisation is a great achievement, which is why we are proud of it; but it also makes me anxious, worrying that humanity may not survive the next cataclysm. I couldn’t help but imagine, what if a creator, or god of evolution, created a metallic life, invulnerable to fire and flood? Many years later, I combined these youthful imaginings with my subsequent concept of “Templates for Life” and turned it into this novella.

Q4Seeds of Mercury is a piece about the sublime act of Creation, and a reflection on the transitory nature of life. Did you write it with the intention of exploring the contradiction between Science and Religion? Or did that grow naturally out of the creative process? Also, do the sentient beings you write about reflect your own views and positions?

Wang Jinkang: I didn’t intend to construct that dichotomy between Science and Religion, but it’s exactly what happened on Earth, so when I created a history for Mercury’s civilisation, those episodes just appeared naturally. Religion and Science are enemies who love each other. European Papacy cruelly persecuted Galileo, Bruno, and other ‘heretics’, and strictly forbade the theory of evolution, but medieval Europe became the birthplace of modern science. When we look back at the history of Civilisation over millennia, you can’t help but sigh that history is full of paradoxes, and that The Creator is always full of mischief, making fun of the theories of Cause and Effect. As to whether this new life carries some of my own views or positions? Of course. Tu Lala is the heir to the human spirit, with his scientific rationality, adventurous spirit, sense of responsibility, fortitude, and self-sacrifice. In the story, when Tu Lala meets the holy body of Shawu Incarnate, and he figures out that the great god was a scientist. Thus, demonstrating that the intellectual spirits of all scientists are inter-relatable, even if they are alien. That is what I believe in my heart.

Today’s AI isn’t quite up to the standard of “Return of Adam”

Q5Mr. Wang, the world has moved on 22 years since the first publication of Seeds of Mercury. What changes do you think have occurred in science fiction writing in the present day, compared to the early years both in terms of the environment, and the core themes?

Wang Jinkang: These 22 years have brought great changes, and it could be said that civilisation has reached a critical point, that we’re on the cusp of drastic changes. However, for the science fiction writer, who is used to seeing the world from a god-like point of view (through the eyes of science) we think in millennia, so 22 years is too short a period to affect the themes of my work. For example, my debut story Return of Adam showed a society where AI had overcome natural humanity, though it had taken on a parasitic approach, augmenting the processing power (IQ) of the human mind to far outstrip the basic brain, and in fact, became the core of human consciousness. The rapid development of AI today, especially the LLM systems, is amazing, even frightening, but in general, today’s AI isn’t quite up to the standards of Return of Adam. Still, I’m saddened that some things I wrote about, which I assumed would be far in the future have come to pass in my lifetime. For example, in 1997, when many Chinese people asserted that AI could never triumph in the field of Weiqi (Go), I was convinced it eventually would, and wrote a scene of an ‘AI beating a human chess master’ in one of my stories, before it actually happened. I just never expected to see it in my lifetime.

Q6Before Liu Cixin appeared, you “held up half the sky” in Chinese Sci-fi. When you first appeared in China’s science fiction circles, you were relatively older, and more experienced. Do you think that maturity allowed your work to appear more rounded?

Wang Jinkang: My life and experiences have been quite unique. I’ve lived through a very special time in China’s history, worked as a rusticated youth, a miner and model maker. I went to university at 30, became a mechanical engineer, wrote literary novels, and only broke into the science fiction world by chance at 45, publishing my first sci-fi story. If anything, my near-fanatical reading of literature at university paved the way for my future writing. At that time, the reforms were already happening in China, and it was opening up to the world. A huge amount of foreign literature was pouring into the country, dazzling readers like me. There may be another special factor, which is, because I was studying engineering, I was standing atop this wall of science and watching this river of literature racing by, I had a sense of detachment. Add to that I only started writing SF decades after experiencing the rise, fall and distilling of the wave of literature. I suppose that’s why my writing style has a poised, bleak, and sombre character.

Q7What sort of stories do you think are expected from the current literary ecosystem? Which sci-fi genres do you expect to take off in the future?

Wang Jinkang: I have always felt that science fiction is unlike any other form of literature. The richness of mainstream literature does not necessarily coincide with the strength of a country. As the aphorisms go, “classics are born from chaos”, and “poets are fortunate when the country is not”. However, the success of science fiction is reliant on enough readers and authors being educated to a certain threshold, and so depends on the country’s economic, scientific, and technological development, which can be proven by the movement of science fiction’s centre from Britain and France to the United States over the last century. Over the past 40 years, China’s overall economic development has been good, and as one of the oldest sci-fi writers in the country, I’ve experienced this first-hand. I feel that as China continues to modernise and converge with the rest of the world, the creative environment of Chinese sci-fi will continue to improve. As for which themes, I feel will start to emerge? It’s expected that artificial intelligence and space themes, with more emphasis on exploring the human condition, are going to be the stories of importance, but other themes will also develop immensely.

Science fiction writers are used to seeing the world from a god-like viewpoint.

Q8 Mr. Wang, science fiction has taken root in China now for around a century, and you have played a pivotal role in the history of science fiction in the country. Irrespective of whether or not you win this Hugo Award, you have influenced a generation of sci-fi fans and creators. How do you view your own Creative Achievements?

Wang Jinkang: I’m flattered, but I only really played a leading and inductive role in the early stages of the so-called “New Generation” of Chinese sci-fi back in the 1990s. I’m content with the two aspects of my writing career, firstly, in forming the genre of Philosophical Science Fiction, which is based on the latest technological advances, and digs deep into the influence it has on alienation, civilisation, and so forth, to discover this genre’s philosophical uniqueness. This genre did not originate in my work, foreign writers including Mr. Arthur C. Clarke have long created excellent works of philosophical sci-fi, but these elements in my work are more concentrated. Furthermore, with regards science fiction as “the most cosmopolitan form of literature”, I consider my work, whilst still cosmopolitan, to be imbued heavily with Chinese styles and themes, which adds a certain flavour to the genre.

Q9Do you feel that science fiction writing is shifting from short-form to long form, and what difficulties do you feel are associated with that?

Wang Jinkang: In my experience there are three main issues faced when moving into the long-form. Firstly, there must be enough knowledge, from the accumulation of experience and information. Secondly, there must be a more mature view of Nature and human society, in their entirety. These are not necessarily the dominant trait of the novel but will play important roles in the story’s development. Thirdly, the ability to comprehend the entirety of the larger story. This ability to grasp the complete story is equally important to mainstream literary writers, but in science fiction, concepts always play a driving role in the whole work and should be logically consistent in themselves.

Q10In your eyes, what is the role of Morality and Ethics in Science Fiction?

Wang Jinkang: Science fiction authors often look at the world from a godlike point of view, and in the eyes of a creator, survival comes first, and morality and ethics are just auxiliary codes established by humans once they reached a certain level of civilisation. They are also conducive to the overall survival of the human race. As Humanity develops, and “co-operation” becomes more central to society, the role of morality and ethics becomes more and more important, but they certainly won’t stay the same, and the rules will certainly have additions and deletions. For example, once technology becomes suitably advance, the ethics of “strict prohibition regarding editing the genes of a human being” are very likely to change.

Q11Throughout your career, which of your stories are you most satisfied with?

Wang Jinkang: Of my short and medium length works, I like Seeds of Mercury’, Bee Keepers and The Song of Life, and of my longer works, I’m most satisfied with Ant’s Life and the Alive Trilogy (Escape From The Mother Universe, Parents of Heaven And Earth, and Cosmic Crystal Eggs).

Thank you, reader, for giving meaning to my life.

Q12Mr. Wang, some sci-fi fans have pointed out you are ‘the oldest non-American writer shortlisted for the Hugo Award’, which is an impressive feat. What are your hopes for the Hugo Awards?

Wang Jinkang: There’s a bit of a special circumstance here, where a story I wrote 22 years ago, was only translated into English last year, and shortlisted according to the translation’s publication date, even though, I’m very happy to hold this “World Record”. I hope it will go further than just being a finalist, but even if it doesn’t, I still consider it a great honour to be shortlisted.

Q13What would you like to say to the readers regarding the inclusion of Seeds of Mercury in the Hugo Awards shortlist, which was voted for by individual sci-fi fans one after another?

Wang Jinkang: I’ve always had a reverence for my readers. The two most common inscriptions I write to fans at signings are “The reader is the god of authors”, and “Thank you reader, for giving meaning to my life”. Out of the millions of publications each year, in a sea of stories, to have any number of people read your work, enjoy it, and keep it in their memory after that relentless tide of time, is a rare blessing. One might even call it a great gift from the readers to the author.

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Its beginnings are often traced to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), which introduced themes of scientific creation and ethical concerns that remain central.

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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.

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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?

Jules Verne and H.G. Wells further codified the genre’s foundations with imaginative explorations of space, time travel, and alien encounters; Wells’s works such as The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds introduced enduring sci-fi motifs blended with social critique.

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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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The early 20th century saw science fiction mature amid rapid industrial and political changes.

Title:

Content: The exhibition “Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in Literature of the 1920s ” was opened at the State Museum of the History of Russian Literature named after V. I. Dahl.
The exposition is devoted to the images of the ideal “city of the future ”, presented in domestic literary utopias and dystopia.
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
In the twenties of the twentieth century, utopias became one of the most popular literary genres.
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
Exhibition curator Timur Khayrulin
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
“Mankind has always imagined an ideal future, whether it ’ s a garden of paradise, a transparent phalanster, or a blooming apple tree on Mars.
Utopia is a style of thinking about the future, not just a literary genre or political theory, but a universal idea, an extracted dream, characteristic of various cultural epochs, ” the organizers of the exhibition noted.
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
A. S. Shaikhet, “Illich ’ s Lamp ”, 1925
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
On the imaginary map of the future world, ideal cities and countries are manifested: Khlebnikov's "Lebedia", Plato's "Chevengur", Vivian Itin's "Country of Gonguri", Yesenin's "Ionia", Alexander Chayanov's "Country of Peasant Utopia".
Fantastic urban landscapes of the future are contrasted with peasant ideas about an ideal society, and Russian theorists of cosmism dream of interplanetary travel and the arrangement of an ideal world in other universes.
Finally, the "future world" begins to depict critically: there is a forerunner of all the known dystopia of the 20th century - Zamyatin's novel "We".
Illustrations for the novel Zamyatin "We"
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
Illustrations for the novel Zamyatin "We"
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
Zamyatin "We"
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
Evgeny Zamyatin
From the polemics of various utopian systems, Soviet science fiction is born.
The authors of the 1920s enthusiastically painted in their works a world in which flights into space, robotization of production, prolongation of life, universal communication are possible.
What fantasies of writers have come to life, and what else are waiting for their possible embodiment, you can see by going through the exhibition.
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The Perpetual Engine
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The exposition presents samples introducing the viewer to the world of the future in the representation of V. Khlebnikov and E. Zamyatin, A. Platonov and A. Chayanov, A. Belyaev and A. Tolstoy, V. Mayakovsky and Y. Okunev.
The halls present drawings and models of the “mechanisms of the future ”, graphic images of“ flying cities ”, materials telling about the authors of utopias and the perception of their texts by contemporaries.
At the exhibition, the exhibits are arranged on themes in several halls: “City of the Sun ”,“ Between City and Country ”, “Beyond the Earth ” and“ Against Utopia ”.
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The exhibition project was attended by the State Museum of Architecture named after A.V. Shchusev, the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art, the Multimedia Art Museum, the State Central Theater Museum named after A.A. Bakhrushin, the Political Museum, the Russian State Library, the Kostroma State Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve, the State Historical Museum, the State Central Museum of Cinema, the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The Crossroads of Utopias: The Future in 1920s Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM
The exhibition runs from April 13 to August 14, 2022 in the State Museum of the History of Russian Literature named after V. I. Dahl.
House of I. S. Ostroukhov in Trubniki at the address: Trubnikovsky lane, 17, p. 1.
Dahl State Museum of the History of Russian Literature
Natalia Streltsova © IA REGNUM

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?

Writers like Aldous Huxley (Brave New World) and George Orwell (1984) shaped dystopian visions reflecting contemporary anxieties over totalitarianism and social control.

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.

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?

Russian author Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We (1920) contributed to this tradition, influencing generations of dystopian fiction.

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?

During this period, science fiction also engaged with emerging technologies like robotics and telecommunications.

Title:

Content: Turkish Drama from History to Science Fiction
Residents of Istanbul rush to wear headphones after the country has been hit by a pandemic that is transmitted only through language communication and speech.
These headphones protect them from the gossip of patients who have been hit by the pandemic.
Only a handful of residents have survived the disease, including Murat, a former Turkish linguist who is trying to help a young boy and is clashing with the ruthless CDC while venturing to discover his immune head in the Turkish series "Overheating Head", due to air next month on Netflix on December 2, 2022, directed by Mert Baikal.
The series is a sci-fi series and is a work of dystopia or miserable worlds in which all human beings suffer from a major collective crisis that does not belong to any individual, and is the opposite of the model of "utopia", which means "utopia" in which everything goes perfectly.
It consists of 8 parts and is taken from the novel of the Turkish writer Afshin Kom, and bears the name of the film itself.
The idea of   the series is not new in the world of art, which presented similar ideas but new in terms of television series, especially digital platforms such as Netflix and others.
In addition, the series presents the idea of   science fiction revolving in the city of Istanbul with all its oriental and Islamic culture.
It is also in the orbit of a new wave of Turkish series that adopt science fiction as the main theme, such as the series "submarine Yakamuz S-245" by the directors Tolga Karagelik and Umut Aral, which began a few months ago on Netflix, and deals with the discovery of the Turkish military base "Incirlik" of a strange phenomenon that causes a disruption in the magnetic field of the sun, resulting in the explosion and the death of all humans.
In the film "Wheat" clear metaphors and how the human first resort to the cave in search of survival in isolation represented in the experience of the story of the owners of "Surat al-Kahf" and then resort to money as in the story of the owners of the two gardens before reaching the basic station, which is the search for self from the inside and not the outside in the story of our Lord Musa peace.
Science fiction is not just a matter of entertainment, but a kind of prediction of the future of technological and scientific development in the world.
Cinema has proven its ability to predict many events, including political, social and scientific ones.
Perhaps the most striking example of this is several works of art that predicted the COVID-19 pandemic in close detail and away from what we have seen in real life, such as Steven Soderberg ’ s 2011 American film “Outbreak ”, which tells the story of a woman returning to the United States from a trip to Hong Kong carrying an infectious disease.
There is also the 2016 film “Pandemic ” by American director John Suts, about the journey of a New York City doctor who travels to Los Angeles to search for survivors after a deadly virus has claimed the lives of many people around the world.
Science Fiction with Modern Turkish Drama
The Turkish drama went through several stages before it reached the stage of science fiction.
It was the beginning of social and romantic series.
These series promoted the idea of the beauty of the place, the costumes and the feelings within a framework of tragedy.
Then I turned to historical issues, which carried all the broad political hopes that many had placed on Turkey in the context of a miserable Arab political and development reality.
History has been a common denominator with tens of millions of Turkish and Arab peoples, a universal bond that reinforces identity, rediscovers the past, builds bridges and nurtures a sense of nostalgia.
Science fiction, by contrast, leaps into the future, stimulates thinking about new science and technology, enhances self-ability, realizes the impossible, and thinks the absurd.
It is a natural progression of any ambitious production process that begins with the exhumation of memory and the past, and after most of the symbols and events of its modern history are consumed in historical series moving towards a new dramatic genre.
And the Turkish drama did well to carve this trend, because on the one hand it offers an oriental cinematic vision of science, and on the other hand it combats the spirit of frustration and despair experienced by young people by presenting a cinematic scientific narrative from an oriental Muslim country with a record of inventions and industrialization in the current era.
It is no secret that imagination as an idea is the magic word of the current generation of Turkish government, opposition and people.
The significance of this word is illustrated by a famous position between the late Prime Ministers Necmettin Erbakan and Bulent Ecevit when the latter accused the projects of the Welfare Party (Erbakan Party) as fictional, and replies that he (Ecevit) as a poet knows well the role of imagination in life and that the Welfare Party already has a wide imagination but seeks to achieve it on the ground.
The 2017 film "Wheat", directed by Semih Kaplanoglu, is one of the important attempts in the framework of science fiction stemming from Turkish culture, albeit in a cinematic rather than television setting.
He presented Arab and Islamic culture in the context of an interesting and unique science fiction.
It is an English-language film about the philosophy of the relationship between man and the modern technical nature, produced jointly by Turkish-German, French-Swedish and Qatari.
It is about the journey of Professor Errol Erin, an agronomist who lives in a futuristic city protected from the entry of multi-ethnic immigrants.
After the city is hit by a genetic engineering problem whose causes are unknown, the professor decides to look for another scientist who has written a study of the crises of genetically modified crops.
This journey of research leads him to discover what he knew about himself and life.
In the film, there are clear metaphors for the cave, and how man first resorts to the cave in search of survival in isolation represented in the experience of the story of the owners of the cave, and then resorts to money as in the story of the owners of the two gardens, before reaching the basic station, which is the search for self from the inside and not the outside in the story of Moses, as a gift to the same Koranic Sura (cave).
This last stop leads to the model of civilized urbanism based on rational construction of urbanism based on the building of the soul with the story of Dhul-Qarnain.
The film here is an application of the theory of "Quranic cinema", which we mentioned in another article last Ramadan, about the inspiration of the Quranic stories cinematically in terms of meaning and symbolism other than the direct and known stories.

From the 1930s to the 1960s—the genre’s “Golden Age”—authors including Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert A. Heinlein, and Frank Herbert crafted seminal works combining scientific rigor with far-reaching social and ecological themes.

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?

Who are considered great masters of the golden age of science fiction?

Arthur C. Clarke
Isaac Asimov
Robert A. Heinlein

Asimov’s Foundation series, Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Herbert’s Dune exemplify this period’s speculative world-building aligned with optimism and Cold War anxieties surrounding space exploration and atomic power.

What did Frank Herbert's "Dune" manage to achieve?

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?

Who are considered great masters of the golden age of science fiction?

The late 20th century brought innovation and genre-blurring.

What are the four eras of science fiction according to Du Jian's book?

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?

Writers such as Kurt Vonnegut, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, and J.G. Ballard expanded thematic scope to include psychology, identity, altered realities, and societal critique.

Title:

Content: Electric Lit’s Best Nonfiction of 2023

Nicole Chung, Claire Dederer, Lamya H, Maggie Smith, and Samantha Irby are among the year’s most loved books of nonfiction

When it comes to nonfiction, this year featured some truly stellar writing. This was a year in which we’ve seen the expansion of what this genre is, and who writes it. Our truest stories, sometimes molded in the form of poetic lyricism or sensational public spectacle, yielded a larger than life impact. Questions of displacement and longing, and the desire to root oneself in a chosen community, were widespread themes, alongside love, loss, and the practice of creating art—much of it told with humor and acerbic wit. There’s no doubt that some of our most crucial, vital storytellers are not only writing the stories of their lives, but of our lives, too.

Here are Electric Lit’s top five nonfiction books of the year, followed by additional favorites below.

The Top 5 Nonfiction Books of The Year

A Living Remedy: A Memoir by Nicole Chung

A searing memoir examining the intricacies of familial bonds, grief and class, A Living Remedy chronicles Nicole Chung’s journey out of her largely white Oregon hometown to middle class stability. However, she is unexpectedly drawn back to her roots by her father’s death from diabetes and kidney disease at the age of sixty-seven and her mother’s cancer diagnosis a year later. Exposing the deep inequalities at the heart of the American healthcare system, A Living Remedy is also a moving meditation on overcoming hardship and the strength of familial love. Read an interview with Chung here.

Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer

Claire Dederer tackles the moral complexities of separating the art from the artist, questioning if we can knowingly enjoy the work of problematic or harmful male artists and if female artists can be considered monstrous too. Interrogating her own responses to creators whose difficult behavior disrupts our enjoyment of their work, she prompts her readers to consider these questions for themselves. Ambitious, nuanced and morally considered, Monsters interrogates the ethical implications of loving problematic artists. Read an interview with Dederer here.

Hijab Butch Blues: A Memoir by Lamya H

Hijab Butch Blues narrates the story of Lamya, a queer South Asian teenager growing up in a Muslim family who feels displaced in a Middle Eastern country. Following Lamya’s journey as she immigrates to the United States and explores queer dating, the memoir interweaves stories from the Quran with her deeply personal experiences. This is a bold, humorous and unflinching look at one woman’s navigation of her sexuality, faith and relationships while forging a path of her own. Read a conversation with her here.

You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith

Poet and author of “Good Bones” Maggie Smith examines a heartbreak that led to the disintegration of her marriage. Expanding outwards, this memoir confronts labor under the patriarchy and the gendered dynamics of heterosexual marriage that exist even within progressive families head-on. An emotionally honest and searing memoir about one woman’s enduring love for her children and struggle to regain her own voice and identity, You Could Make This Place Beautiful reveals how we move forward in the aftermath of loss. Read an interview with her here.

Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby

Samatha Irby’s hilarious new essay collection takes us on a behind the scenes tour of her dynamic career as a comedian, essayist, blogger, and television writer. Navigating the ins and outs of both Hollywood fame and everyday life, she narrates amusing anecdotes about subjects as wide-ranging as dress codes, dog adoption and emails. Quietly Hostile is an uproarious account of the relatable gory details underlying Irby’s entertaining online presence.

Electric Lit’s Other Favorite Nonfiction Books

Sink: A Memoir by Joseph Earl Thomas

Growing up in a tumultuous home where his family struggled with hunger and the consequences of crack addiction, Joseph Earl Jones found solace in geek culture. Faced with hostility and indifference at home and at school, he began to escape into the respite of virtual and fantasy worlds. Sink is a heart-wrenching coming-of-age story about Jones’s quest to find salvation on his own terms that is also a celebration of all things nerdy.

The Book of (More) Delights by Ross Gay

This charming follow-up to The Book of Delights is an exquisite, genre-defying catalog of small daily wonders. Gay investigates wide-ranging sources of delight, from hearing his favorite song on the radio to baking cookies to the enduring beauty of the natural world. Searching for connection and meaning yields in this moving and cheerful collection on the power of looking for wonder in everyday life.

The Heartbreak Years: A Memoir by Minda Honey

In 2008, Minda Honey made a cross-country trip from her hometown in Kentucky to begin a new life in California. Navigating the treacherous waters of early adulthood, she confronted breakups, hookups, complicated relationships and a new wave of political change. This unflinching memoir focusing on a Black woman coming of age and falling in and out of relationships in her twenties examines the complex dynamics of gender, sexuality, race and class. Learn about the book’s cover design here.

Pageboy: A Memoir by Elliot Page

This much-anticipated memoir from the acclaimed actor and activist traces the arc of his journey as a queer and transgender person grappling with the perils of fame. The success of his movie Juno launched Elliot to worldwide stardom, but he struggled with the pressure to perform the part of a movie star and endured a barrage of criticism from both Hollywood and wider society. An intimate behind the scenes exploration of love, sex, trauma and fame, Pageboy is the moving story of what it means to overcome societal expectations to embrace who we really are.

Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe

Ordinary Notes is an inventive collection of 248 brief notes exploring profound questions about loss, beauty, memory, art, and everyday Black existence. Artifacts from the past are interwoven with contemporary realities and distant futures to evoke the presence of the author’s mother Ida Wright Sharpe and explore a new way of seeing. Sharpe’s practice of “beauty as a method” and examination of memorial sites forges a bold and sparkling new literary form underlying her multifaceted constructions of Blackness.

Dyscalculia: A Love Story of Epic Miscalculation by Camonghne Felix

After the author undergoes a traumatic breakup resulting in a hospital stay, she attempts to grapple with her early childhood trauma and mental health during her healing process. Framing her childhood mathematical learning difficulties, dyscalculia, as a metaphor for her miscalculations in romantic relationships. Dyscalculia explores the consequences of heartbreak and realities of misaligned expectations in an achingly familiar way.

bell hooks: The Last Interview: And Other Conversations by bell hooks

bell hooks was a trailblazing feminist and anti-racist author whose work as an activist, cultural critic and professor laid the foundations for contemporary conversations surrounding race and gender. In this collection of interviews spanning from her early career to just before her death, hooks discusses her views on feminism, masculinity, religion, politics, love, sexuality and cross-cultural communication. This new collection is essential reading for both longtime readers of hooks and new fans seeking to learn more about her groundbreaking contributions to cultural and intellectual movements.

A Man of Two Faces: A Memorial, A History, A Memorial by Viet Thanh Nguyen

In A Man of Two Faces, Viet Thanh Nguyen brilliantly expands the genre of memoir by intertwining his own life story with a critical exploration of colonization, family history and fatherhood. After Nguyen and his family fled Vietnam as refugees and settled in California, he continued to contend with his legacy of family trauma, Vietnamese identity, political convictions and heartbreaking tragedy. A Man of Two Faces mines the power of cultural memory to narrate the exceptional life story of a brilliant and original writer. Read an interview with Nguyen here.

Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice by Cristina Rivera Garza

A finalist for the National Book Award, Cristina Rivera Garza takes a painful journey back in time to seek justice for her sister, who was murdered by an ex-boyfriend thirty years ago. Both a celebration of life and an interrogation of domestic abuse, this memoir honors a woman whose story ended tragically and seeks accountability from perpetrators of violence.

The Loneliness Files by Athena Dixon

Can you build human connection behind a computer screen? In this memoir-in-essays, Athena Dixon examines loneliness under a microscope, revisiting the isolation at the height of the pandemic and exploring the impact of the Internet on our relationship with solitude. Read an EL interview with Dixon on the epidemic of loneliness.

Black Women Writers at Work by Claudia Tate

This thirty-year-old collection by Claudia Tate encompasses interviews of celebrated Black women writers, including Toni Morrison, Audre Lorde, Alice Walker, and more. Previously out of print, this new edition of Black Women Writers at Work brings the crucial words of icons across Black literature to a new audience.

Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein

Upon indirectly meeting her “doppelganger,” who is an anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist, Naomi Klein reckons with a loss of identity as she faces notoriety after being mistaken for someone else. A personal and meticulous examination of the Internet post-pandemic, Klein’s memoir tackles AI-generated content, the spread of misinformation, and the permeation of conspiracy theories.

Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World by Malcolm Harris

By now, Palo Alto seems synonymous with Silicon Valley and the “next big idea” from its eager entrepreneurs. But this dive into the history of Palo Alto from Malcolm Harris leaps 150 years into the past, mapping the city’s colonialist origins and examining how it became an epicenter for technology and capitalism.

The In-Betweens: A Lyrical Memoir by Davon Loeb

A poetic memoir-in-essays, The In-Betweens traces Davon Loeb’s adolescence between two identities: Southern Black, like his mother, and Jewish and white, like his father. Often one’s family and culture is not so easily defined, and this introspective coming-of-age memoir offers a voice to everyone interpreting life in the in-between. Read an EL interview with Loeb on navigating identity and masculinity as a biracial boy in America.

When Crack Was King: A People’s History of a Misunderstood Era by Donovan X. Ramsey

Longlisted for the National Book Award, this meticulous analysis of the crack cocaine epidemic of the ‘80s and ‘90s lends a voice to survivors of addiction and brings unflinching insight into the destructive impact of the “War on Drugs.” When Crack Was King, a debut from Donovan X. Ramsey, ignites a conversation about decriminalization, mass incarceration, and the trauma of the crack epidemic on Black and brown communities. Read Fred McKindra’s essay about the book.

All the Gold Stars: Reimagining Ambition and the Ways We Strive by Rainesford Stauffer

Suffering from burnout, Americans struggle to keep up with ever-looming expectations to succeed, thrive, and endlessly grind. In All the Gold Stars, Rainesford Stauffer offers an alternative: reconnect with yourself and your community and navigate ambition on your own terms (outside of a capitalistic lens designed to overwork and individualize).

Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock by Jenny Odell

Is it healthy to monetize every minute of every day? (Short answer: no). Rather than living by the whims of a clock, Jenny Odell encourages us to slow down, embrace the natural cycles of the Earth, match the rhythm of our own bodies, and see time as something to be shared with one another. Read an EL essay on Odell’s books Saving Time and How to Do Nothing and viewing time and attention as “collective goods.”

Tabula Rasa: Volume 1 by John McPhee

Pulitzer Prize winner John McPhee’s Tabula Rasa: Volume 1 engages with fraught ideas and unpublished drafts that span his decades-long career. A prolific icon of literary nonfiction, McPhee provides an honest and clever retrospection on his own work while revisiting projects initially left behind.

A Life of One’s Own: Nine Women Writers Begin Again by Joanna Biggs

Joanna Biggs struggles to start over after the unraveling of her marriage and finds solace in the words and unconventional lives of women writers, including Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Virginia Woolf, to name a few. A Life of One’s Own is both an interrogation of stifling societal expectations of women and rich biographical accounts of history’s beloved women writers.

Eyeliner: A Cultural History by Zahra Hankir

The pen rolling around the bottom of a makeup bag is so much more than just eyeliner. Zahra Hankir, editor of Our Women on the Ground, explores the lasting impact of eyeliner across history. From being a cultural and religious custom, to a political statement, to a modern eye-catching look, Eyeliner: A Cultural History reveals the power of this versatile cosmetic.

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They also integrated elements of horror, fantasy, and romance, diversifying narrative forms and audiences.

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]

Science fiction has always reflected societal and technological currents.

Early works mirrored industrialization and political upheavals; contemporary stories explore AI, biotechnology, climate change, transhumanism, and cultural plurality.

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

The genre remains a lens for ethical inquiry and speculation about humanity’s future.

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

What did Frank Herbert's "Dune" manage to achieve?

Women authors and authors of color have played crucial roles reshaping science fiction’s narratives and themes.

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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What is considered a major breakthrough in science fiction publication?

Mary Shelley’s legacy was extended through writers like Ursula K. Le Guin, whose The Left Hand of Darkness interrogated gender and society; Octavia E. Butler, who explored race and power in Parable of the Sower; and Nnedi Okorafor, whose Binti series fuses African cultural heritage with futurism.

What is considered a major breakthrough in science fiction publication?

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

Chinese authors, including Regina Kanyu Wang, contribute philosophical and culturally inflected works, while Arabic science fiction blends myth and political critique, represented by authors like Ahmed Saadawi.

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Content: Science Fiction: Chinese Female Writers | Culture | DW | 21.10.2023
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Cultural warp and weft
Science fiction: the rise of Chinese women writers
While the space for feminist expression in China has shrunk further over the past decade, there ’ s good news from this week ’ s World Science Fiction Conference in Chengdu: Chinese female writers are thriving in the science fiction world, making them one of the most striking trends in the genre.
The rise of Chinese female writers in science fiction has become one of the most striking trends in the genre, according to participants at this week's World Science Fiction Conference in Chengdu.
The World Science Fiction Conference, the world ’ s oldest and most influential science fiction event, was held in China for the first time this year and attracted a large number of local fans, both male and female.
China remains a relatively socially conservative country, and under President Xi Jinping, the space for feminist expression has narrowed further over the past decade.
But author and editor Regina Kanyu Wang, who was nominated for two prestigious Hugo Awards at the World Science Fiction Conference this year, said the number of women writers in science fiction has soared in recent years.
She said more and more women are now realizing that "it's not just nerdy, nerdy science-fiction novels like Liu Cixin [author of the three-body series] that can be published, or can be considered science fiction." Liu Cixin is great, and we all like him.
But there's a lot more to it than Liu Cixin's style. "
The good news, says Wang, is that once women start to become writers, they don ’ t feel they ’ re being treated unequally.
The market and readers need a new perspective, she said.
The 81st World Science Fiction Conference will be held in Chengdu from October 18 to 22.
"Now, many Chinese female science fiction writers focus on issues that women face that men may not feel," Zhou Danxue, a literary scholar at XJCC Liverpool University, told AFP. "These writers can reflect unique female experiences in their own way."
Wang said that in the past two years, four anthologies of Chinese fantasy novels written only by female or non-binary authors have been published, which is a major breakthrough.
There wasn ’ t even an all-female science fiction writer ’ s portfolio before that.
Before the 1990s, there were very few female science fiction writers.
An article in the collection "The Way Spring Comes", which Wang Kanyu participated in compiling, pointed out that the Internet is a training base for women and queer talents.
Author Ni Xueting explained that the widespread use of the Internet “not only brought a new sense of community to people, but also … removed many barriers to writing based on industry and social stereotypes, especially for non-male writers. ”
Chen Qiufan, one of China ’ s leading science fiction writers, told AFP that the genre had traditionally not received special attention and was seen as “written and read by boys. ”
He said there was now a "wider and more diverse audience", estimating that his readers were split equally between men and women.
Chinese women writers begin to make their mark in science fiction
Monet, a 21-year-old woman who visited the science fiction convention on Friday, said she sometimes felt isolated among her own fan base.
“It ’ s hard to share my interests with people who don ’ t understand me.
They ask, "Why does a girl like science fiction?"
She is optimistic about these changes in attitude, pointing out that there are a lot of interested primary and secondary school students at the conference site.
“I think interest in Chinese science fiction has to be nurtured from an early age, ” she says.“ We didn ’ t have that opportunity when we were young … I really envy them, to be honest. ”
(AFP)
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A well-rounded book club reading list should include canonical texts such as Frankenstein, The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, Foundation, Dune, and Rendezvous with Rama; mid-century classics like The Forever War and Ringworld; and diverse contemporary works like Binti, A Wizard of Earthsea, The Handmaid’s Tale, Parable of the Sower, All Systems Red, and The Fifth Season.

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

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

Emerging voices like Gareth L. Powell, J. Dianne Dotson, and Sayantani DasGupta broaden the lineup further.

Genre-crossing titles—such as This Is How You Lose the Time War, Jeff VanderMeer’s Borne, and Yoon Ha Lee’s stories—reflect the genre’s experimental edge, while fantasy works with sci-fi elements (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; A Wrinkle in Time; His Dark Materials) illustrate how speculative genres interpenetrate.

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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
If you are a fan of suspense and excitement...
Here are six novels classified as "science fiction."
Science fiction is one of the literary genres in which the fictional story is based on speculative scientific discoveries, environmental changes, the exploration of space and life on other planets, and the author is creative in creating a fictional world or a universe of a new nature using literary techniques or scientific or philosophical theories.
In the next report, the Constitution reviews six science-fiction novels that you can read if you ’ re a fan of.
Shadow of the Earth
In the late Nabil Farouk ’ s novel Shadow of the Earth, published by Dawn Publishing and Distribution in 2020, engineer Ezzat Saber lives a unique experience that reflects a frightening technological breakthrough, as we often hear the phrase “maybe this happens in a parallel world ” without anyone thinking that it could actually happen with that world.
The experience of walking in a world that parallels the earth with a different reality where there is a leader and his giants seeking to change the course of the present and the future.
The question is, if we had a real experience of seeing that parallel world, would we find it as we expected?
Do we have real implications in other worlds?
Are we in a parallel world different from our current reality?
Do the good guys stay here, the good guys stay there?
And criminals are criminals?
That's what we'll find out.
In the rat aisle.
The late Dr. Ahmed Khaled Tawfik wrote about a nightmare world in which the meaning of darkness is mixed with the meanings of ignorance, oppression and confusion. In the Rat Corridor, published by Al-Karma Publishing and Distribution in 2016, presents an exciting dystopian novel about a world where light is no longer a natural human right. Ze.
Maybe salvation is possible, maybe it is false hope.
The Lost World
The Lost World is a science fiction novel by British author Arthur Conan Doyle, published by Hoder & Stockton in 1912, and translated by Hassan El Sayed Ibrahim in an Arabic edition of Al Rawath Publishing and Distribution in 2022, in connection with an expedition to a plateau in the Amazon basin of South America where prehistoric animals are still alive.
It was originally serialized in Strand magazine and painted by New Zealand-born artist Harry Runtree during April-November 1912.
The character of Professor Challenger is introduced in this novel, and the novel also describes a war between the Aborigines and an evil tribe of ape-like creatures.
A land without shadow.
The writer Mohammed Abdul Aal al-Khatib in his novel "Land Without Shadow", issued by the Dawn Publishing House, observes the debris of a huge planet approaching the Earth, a frightening scene experienced by the entire world, the end is closer than anyone imagines!
The great surprise is that the nature of the danger itself is very different from everyone ’ s expectations.
In this novel: a frightening experience experienced by the inhabitants of the earth one after another after the shadows of humans disappeared and man became trapped in his mind, as the protagonist of this tale embarks on an extraordinary adventure in order to get out of this crisis.
But his success depended on flimsy theories.
The empty bowl.
The Empty Bowl by Bassem El Khachen, published by N Publishing and Distribution in 2022, is a science fiction novel.
From the novel ’ s atmosphere, we read: A ship of lost generations returns after its disappearance for more than six centuries with news that is not promising at all.
We are not alone in the universe and apparently our existence is undesirable!
Can humans survive in the face of the universe?
The curiosity of one man may save mankind.

In sum, science fiction has transformed from ethical speculation on nascent technology into a vibrant, inclusive field encompassing a wide array of themes, styles, and perspectives.

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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:

The growth of women and authors of color in the genre has enriched its complexity and relevance.

What is considered a major breakthrough in science fiction publication?

A balanced selection blending classical milestones with diverse contemporary voices offers any book club a panoramic and engaging view of science fiction’s evolution and promise.