Category Archives: science fiction

Frank M. Robinson’s SCIENCE FICTION OF THE 20TH CENTURY: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY

Posted on Wednesday 16 September 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

I’m beginning to explore and read or reread various histories of science fiction. Robinson’s is a coffee-table book, published in 1999, that had sequels from the same publisher about fantasy and horror, by different hands: Randy Broecker and Robert Weinberg, … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Scale of the Universe; Core SF novels and stories and media

Posted on Tuesday 15 September 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

I’m in a gradual process of compiling links and references to my Provisional Conclusions, including a number of sites I’ve bookmarked in various places about the size of the universe. Today, David Brin has posted a set of links about … Continue reading →

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Rereading Isaac Asimov, part 2

Posted on Friday 11 September 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

So over the past four or five weeks, I’ve read (or re-read, in most cases, some 40 years or so since I first read most of these stories in the late-’60s/early-’70s) some 100 Isaac Asimov stories, including the complete contents … Continue reading →

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Puppygate and the Progressive Nature of Science Fiction

Posted on Tuesday 1 September 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Locus’ own Gary K. Wolfe pens an article for the Chicago Tribune about this year’s Hugo Awards/Puppygate kerfuffle: Hugo Awards: Rabid Puppies defeat reflects growing diversity in science fiction (if the site asks you to subscribe, try logging in with … Continue reading →

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Rereading Isaac Asimov, part 1

Posted on Friday 28 August 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

In the past three weeks I’ve read or reread (mostly reread, after decades) some 50 short stories by Isaac Asimov — not yet all of his most notable stories, by criteria of awards or number of reprints or critical discussions, … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Dated and Offensive SF; Puppygate summaries

Posted on Tuesday 25 August 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Will get back to posting about rereading Isaac Asimov shortly, but an initial comment I have is how embarrassing Asimov’s prose of the early 1940s was. I suppose it was the style of the era, and Asimov did grow out … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Reason; Morality; Wesleyan; Timeline; The Onion; Jeffrey Tayler

Posted on Friday 21 August 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Today, a collection of posts I’ve not read in detail, or do not have time to comment upon in detail, but wish to save for future reference. Science on Religon: Connor Wood: Reason™ is not going to save the world … Continue reading →

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Ken MacLeod on Science Fiction

Posted on Wednesday 12 August 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

Terrific essay by Ken MacLeod, at a site called OpenDemocracy/Transformation, which is called Science fiction: taking science personally. I say it’s terrific because it expresses my own thoughts that science fiction is mainly a way of thinking about the world. … Continue reading →

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James Morrow, THE MADONNA AND THE STARSHIP

Posted on Monday 10 August 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

James Morrow’s short novel The Madonna and the Starship is one of a handful of short novels or long novellas released by San Francisco-based Tachyon Publications in the past couple years, others including two Nancy Kress titles that both won … Continue reading →

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The Lottery and Jim and Mary G

Posted on Sunday 9 August 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

I reread Shirley Jackson famous/infamous short story “The Lottery” this morning (you can find the full text here) and was struck by this passage, about 2/3 the way through: “They do say,” Mr. Adams said to Old Man Warner, who … Continue reading →

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