I recently had occasion to highly praise British author, Kim Newman‘s fun, postmodern take on the dracula mythos, Anno Dracula: Johnny Alucard (review). Kim kindly agreed to the interview which follows. John: You said in the acknowledgements at the end of your most recent novel, Johnny Alucard, that episodes had previously been released “disguised as […]
The Art of Big ‘O’
December 2, 2013 by 3 Comments
If there is anything that’s guaranteed to flush out my inner geek, its science fiction and fantasy art on album covers. Long before the word “geek” came into more common usage, I was a schoolboy who saved all his pocket money to buy record albums and books. Many of them I purchased for the cover […]
Cultural Conundrums: Suggested Reads
November 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The BBC recently ran a piece, titled Close encounters of the Arab kind by Lydia Green, about Arab Sci-Fi that spoke to Ameri-Euro-centrality of most published science fiction. She went on to explain the impact that Arab literature has had on Western literature and even had the first recognizable Sci-Fi story. She doesn’t mention that […]
Clinging to the Wreckage: How to Save Science Fiction
October 9, 2013 by 49 Comments
In its introduction to its list of the best science fiction and fantasy of the year, the io9 website says 2012 was a great year for books that transcended genre boundaries. I had no problem with them talking about science fiction that turned out to be fantasy (not sure what they actually meant by that, […]
Does the Best Horror Make Us Face Our Biggest Fears?
August 21, 2013 by 4 Comments
Some people prefer to read their Horror within the autumn atmosphere surrounding Halloween. I’m more open to letting the right story pull me in, no matter the season. A couple of late summer Horror titles, Fiend, by Peter Stenson, and Floating Staircase, by Ronald Malfi, have been two of the best reads of the year, […]
On Openings — Annnnnnd Ruuuummmmble
April 12, 2013 by 1 Comment
Faith Hunter discusses the vital importance of opening a story well.
Win a copy of THE CREATIVE FIRE, by Brenda Cooper
January 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment
We are going to give away more books in 2013, and Pyr SF is gracious to get us started. To win your free copy of THE CREATIVE FIRE, simply tweet and facebook about us.
Fantasy Tropes in Japanese Folklore
January 14, 2013 by 1 Comment
Travis Heermann, author of HEART OF THE RONIN and host of the new kickstarter project SWORD OF THE RONIN, discusses the rich history of Japanese fantasy tropes, including the tortured girl and diabolical inanimate objects.
Is Critical Thinking a Dying Art?
May 26, 2012 by 11 Comments
This is how we descend into a new techo-dark age, that is paradoxically driven by an over infusion of information that’s not be processed by people because they have lost that ability to make value judgments. This is a world in which a richness of technology and knowledge gets lost in the shuffle of our inability to access and apply it.
Depression, Suicide and Sexual Abuse in Science Fiction/Fantasy
April 1, 2012 by 7 Comments
Depression, Suicide and Sexual Abuse in Science Fiction/Fantasy By Susan Cartwright Have you read The Hunger Games? Depression, suicide and yes, sexual abuse are themes in this bestselling trilogy. What happens to children and adults after they face stresses that cause mental breakdown? And what can be done for someone who is in fact, broken? […]
