elizabeth bear

Secrets Of Great Characters, According To 6 Science Fiction Authors

Click to viewAmazing stories need great characters. And when you’re writing a story set in a futuristic or fantastical world, it’s more important than ever for readers to be able to relate to your characters. It’s also harder than ever, because your characters’ lives and experiences will be totally different than your readers’. How do…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Oct 31

Great Opening Sentences From Science Fiction

Click to viewYou can tell a lot about a science fiction book from its first sentence. Those first few words (or few dozen, in some cases) have to pull you into the story and bring you into a whole alternate world. A good first sentence “hooks” you, pulling you into the story with a quick…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Jul 24

All Locus Awards Voters Are Not Created Equal

Remember how we called the Locus Awards “possibly the most democratic” of the science fiction awards? Well, uh, never mind. The Locus Awards changed their rules after everyone had already voted, making Locus Magazine subscriber votes count twice as much as other votes, to deny Cory Doctorow the win for best short-story collection after his…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 10

Science Versus Magic — Is There a Difference in the World of Fiction?

One of the biggest debates among people who like scifi — aside from the Star Wars vs. Star Trek thing — is where to draw the line between science and magic. Some adhere to the idea that magic is simply science that we don’t yet understand, others feel that magic represents an essential mystery that…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz Jul 8

Environmental Fascists Fight Gun-Loving Lesbians for Alien Technology

Two spies, one trained in the art of lying and the other in the art of reading people for signs of subterfuge, have been sent to steal alien technology from Amazonia, a planet ruled by man-enslaving lesbians. Our spies are emissaries from a male-dominated, interplanetary government ruled by ruthless artificial intelligences who enforce carbon neutrality…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz May 6

With Online Collaborative Novel “Shadow Unit,” Can Fanfic Cross Over?

Elizabeth Bear, author of awesome scifi novel Carnival along with many others, writes in to tell us about an interesting new online project she’s involved with. It’s called Shadow Unit, and it’s basically an effort to turn the tradition of group-written fanfiction into something more literary than gushing over Harry Potter’s pink cheeks. With fanfiction…

io9 Annalee Newitz Feb 21

War Machines and Their Children in New Elizabeth Bear Story, Free Online

Science fiction and urban fantasy author Elizabeth Bear always surprises you. She’ll write hard military SF like the superlative Carnival, complete with spies and alien tech, and then she’ll turn around and write a book like New Amsterdam, about a forensic sorceress in an alternate-ninteenth century New York City full of crime and magic. Her…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz Jan 24

Secrets Of Great Characters, According To 6 Science Fiction Authors

Great Opening Sentences From Science Fiction

All Locus Awards Voters Are Not Created Equal

Science Versus Magic — Is There a Difference in the World of Fiction?

Environmental Fascists Fight Gun-Loving Lesbians for Alien Technology

With Online Collaborative Novel “Shadow Unit,” Can Fanfic Cross Over?

War Machines and Their Children in New Elizabeth Bear Story, Free Online

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