Question of the Week: How can Space Opera keep itself relevant?
Shaun asked me to do the question of the week a few hours ago, and I accepted, even though he forgot my birthday. So the question I pose this week is: how can space opera stay relevant? Space opera, in many ways, is the heart of SF. A decent space opera extrapolates current technologies and […]
Question of the Week: Favorite science fiction or fantasy stories about real wars?
Those of you who read my personal blog will know that I’m working on a syllabus for a Survey in American Literature course. Science fiction, as you might guess, appears prominently in the reading list, which has inspired me to post this question: What are your favorite science fiction or fantasy novels, stories, dramas, or […]
Question of the Week: What do you think about the Hugo Nominees?
We’ve talked about the 2011 Hugo Nominees in Episode 3.5, but now we want to know what you think. Do you think it’s a good list? Why or why not? What would you put there instead? Let us know what you think about the list in the comments or on Twitter. And stay tuned for Monday’s episode, which […]
Question of the Week: Which skiffy or fanty character would you cosplay as?
It doesn’t matter if you’ve never dressed up. Everyone has a character they’d love to be, even just for a few hours at a fancy dress party. Here are ours: Shaun Doctor Who (David Tennant or Matt Smith). Why? Because I’d look damn good in a bow tie or Tennant’s coat! They’ve both got a […]
Question of the Week: Which science fiction novel would you start middle school kids on and why?
Since our latest episode is a little on the dark side, we thought it would be a good idea to have a happier question for you all to think about. We’ve also brought in a friend to sweeten the deal: Shaun The hard thing about choosing books for middle school kids is that a great […]
Question of the Week: What mythological or folkloric tradition would you like to see more Fantasy based on?
We’re on a bit of a fantasy kick these days. With places like the World SF blog covering speculative literature published elsewhere around the world, it’s becoming pretty obvious that there’s so much more out there that traditional outlets aren’t covering. But Western myths and folkloric traditions are still the dominant theme in a lot […]
