Margaret Atwood’s ‘Old Babes in the Wood’ Fears Nothing
Margaret Atwood’s Old Babes in the Wood brims with biting humor, precise detail, and incisive observations about life and aging.
speculative fiction
Eight Great Speculative Fiction Books by Women
Need a break from so-called reality? These eight speculative fiction authors represent the best of the best in the sci-fi genre.
A Man, a Woman, a Brooding Replicant and Readership: On Ian McEwan’s ‘Machines Like Me’
Purists who see Ian McEwan's comments about science fiction and his novel, Machines Like Me, as a slight against their beloved literary genre are missing the point.
Of Botany, Hacking, Biosurveillance, and Boredom; Or, Pola Oloixarac’s ‘Dark Constellations’
Pola Oloixarac's Dark Constellations is what the late Michael Crichton might have written if he had grown up in Argentina and fancied himself a high postmodernist.
Speculation and Responsibility in ‘A People’s Future of the United States’
Speculative futures should go beyond merely reflecting the fears peddled by news and social media. Anthology A People's Future of the United States at times pushes those boundaries.
Difficult Wonders in Joyce Carol Oates’ ‘Beautiful Days’
Of these short story jewels, Oates displays her greatest strengths in "Fractal", and the effects are profoundly strange and moving in ways that only she can seem to execute.
Joy, Complacency and Apocalyptic Future in ‘Kurt Vonnegut: Complete Stories’
"So it goes" was a phrase Vonnegut used in Slaughterhouse Five as a sort of mantra, accepting chaos and embracing the possibility of wonder once darkness passes. It's a suitable way to end this embrace of Vonnegut's stories.
Sandra Newman’s ‘The Country of Ice Cream Star’ Is a Heavy Read
There’s talk of war, rape, disease -- all things we associate with the worst of adulthood. But Newman never lets us forget that these are children.