Monthly Archives: January 2016

Law & Speculative Fiction Round-up

Posted on January 29, 2016 by H.P.

It’s law IN SPACE.   Who Owns the Stuff in Space? By Emily Calandrelli at TechCrunch This light-hearted story opens up a Pandora’s Box of serious questions regarding the ownership of foreign planetary rocks; both the ones that fell to Earth … Continue reading →

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Thinking About the 2016 Hugo Awards – Best Novel part 1

Posted on January 28, 2016 by H.P.

I’m going to try to work my way through as many of the categories as possible, but I’m starting with the big one—Best Novel.  I’ve already read a lot of great speculative fiction novels published in 2015, including several that … Continue reading →

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Thinking About the 2016 Hugo Awards – Introduction

Posted on January 27, 2016 by H.P.

It’s almost that time again.  No, it is that time again.  If you want to nominate for the Hugo Awards and you weren’t a member of Sasquan, you need to buy a membership now.  The deadline to nominate is Sunday … Continue reading →

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Rey from The Force Awakens, Mary Sues, and the Death of Heroism

Posted on January 25, 2016 by H.P.

I started working just on an omnibus spoiler review of The Force Awakens, to go along with my non-spoiler review, but I kept getting distracted by Internet chatter about Rey, and her supposed Mary Sue-ism.  And other things, which is … Continue reading →

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Review of The Drowning Eyes by Emily Foster

Posted on January 19, 2016 by H.P.

The cover to The Drowning Eyes immediately grabbed me when I saw it—the ships and storms crashing in the background, the woman standing against the storm, compass in hand.  I was sold on weather magic.

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Review of Star Wars: Darth Vader vol. 1 by Kieron Gillen

Posted on January 18, 2016 by H.P.

I care more about Leia now, Han was always the cool one, and I identified with Luke at the time, but it was Darth Vader that made Star Wars for me as a kid.   And judging by Volkswagen commercial, it … Continue reading →

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Oscar Nominations Announced – Great Year for Speculative Fiction

Posted on January 14, 2016 by H.P.

What a year for speculative fiction movies!  As usual, speculative fiction flicks did well in the technical categories, see, e.g., 4 of 5 nominations for best visual effects, but SF also broke into the big categories for a change.  I say … Continue reading →

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Book Haul Post: Post-Christmas Edition

Posted on January 12, 2016 by H.P.

Santa and his elves got to work so I have some shiny new books to brag about.  And by Santa I mean my employer, who was kind enough to pay my bonus in dollars—crisp, clean, American—instead of a jelly of … Continue reading →

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Law & Speculative Fiction Round-up

Posted on January 8, 2016 by H.P.

This, er, week’s entry is,to what I am sure is the surprise of no one, Star Wars-centric.  Wait, I said that last time.  Well, it’s still true.  I’ve got three Star Wars posts, a post on video games and right … Continue reading →

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Review of Quintessence by David Walton

Posted on January 7, 2016 by H.P.

The Age of Exploration…And Magic Quintessence is an excellent example of the power of speculative fiction to explore human nature and history.  Walton takes a specific point in history—the Age of Exploration and religious strife in England—and introduces fantastical elements … Continue reading →

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