Real estate prices in most of the major cities in the US are skyrocketing. One article this week noted that 63% of all San Francisco residential properties – townhouses and condos included – are now worth more than $1 million. So those of us who aren’t millionaires may soon need to move somewhere else. It got me thinking. Who owns the moon? How will people lay claim to real estate in outer space? And should we start an LGBT country/colony on an asteroid?
Samuel “Chip” Delany is a renowned author, literary critic and professor, best known for his science fiction writing. First published at age 20, he has written more than two dozen books. His most celebrated novels include “Babel-17,” “Nova,” “Return to Neveryon,” and “Dhalgren,” which sold more than a million copies. Delany has won four Nebula Awards, two Hugo Awards and a Stonewall Book Award. Among many other honors, he was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and in 2013 the Science Fiction Writers of America named him its 30th Grand Master. Delany was born and raised … Read more
QSFer Matt Jakens has a new GENRE book out: Jake is happy with his life aboard the Edgeward Hub space station. That is until his father, a nefarious smuggler, sends him an urgent message. His father has stolen an artifact that will reveal a plot to unearth a super-weapon capable of destroying a planet or even a star, and Jake learns some shocking truths about his heritage too. Thrust into a conspiracy that threatens another galactic war, Jake must race to discover where this super- weapon is. All the while evading a potent and deadly enemy hell-bent on finding the … Read more
Today’s topic comes from QSFer Chris Quinton in the form of a link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34118482 From the article: A campaign has been launched calling for a ban on the development of robots that can be used for sex. Such a use of the technology is unnecessary and undesirable, said campaign leader Dr Kathleen Richardson. Sex dolls already on the market are becoming more sophisticated and some are now hoping to build artificial intelligence into their products. Those working in the field say that there is a need for such robots. Just like when the internet was invented, we’re planning to use … Read more
AMC’s The Walking Dead is back for its sixth season this weekend. If you’re like me, this means you’ll be spending your Sunday evenings gaming out intricate zombie survival scenarios in your own life: Would my home withstand a zombie invasion? How quickly would my town survive? Which of my dopey neighbors would be the first to get bit? As a public service to others similarly zombie-obsessed, I’ve created a county-level index of survivability that answers the following question: How likely am I to survive a zombie apocalypse based on where I live? The index assumes that if you want … Read more
QSFer Francis Gideon has a new Urban Fantasy book out: When something is perfect, it sets itself up to be destroyed, and for everything gained, something is lost. Since Dryden was young, his mother taught him about balance. While she weaves jewelry to sell at the marketplace, Dryden learns how every unspoiled gem begs to be damaged, just like the universe corrects every misfortune. But with age and experience, Dryden begins to see the cracks in his mother’s innocent view of life. If she is wrong about balance, she might be wrong about the supposed beast in the woods. Dryden … Read more
I confess – I used to think about this a lot more, publishers preying on authors. Finding ethical publishers has made me more complacent until a request for information from one of our QSF’ers brought the subject roaring forward again. Are you self published? Lovely! It’s a viable option these days, though not without its own pitfalls. But that’s a subject for another day. This post is geared toward the author submitting to publishing houses and the dangers lurking in the process. Anyone with a few years of publication under belts, skirts, or kilts has run across author leg traps, … Read more
DSP Publications author J. Tullos Hennig has a new fantasy book out: Robyn Hood is the undisputed ruler of the wild, green Wode. Reunited with his sister Marion and his lover Gamelyn, Robyn and his band of outlaws seek to raise the Ceugant—the magical trine of the Old Religion—against the tyranny of Church and Crown. Yet their forest kingdom is roiling with conflict. Marion has been made welcome, but old shackles and new fears hamper her true promise. Gamelyn is torn between oaths of heart and head—and the outlaws never let him forget he was but recently Guy of Gisbourne, … Read more
Have y’all seen that Mindy kahling commercial where people never seem to se her, so she decides she’s actually invisible? It got me thinking – what if you really could be invisible? This is one of those old movie tropes that we hardly ever see anymore. So what if you became invisible through no fault of your own? What would you do with that double edged gift? And how might you go about making themselves ‘visible’ again? Join the discussion
