January 31, 2017
Imagine Earth, retaining walls surrounding the Statue of Liberty to fend off rising sea levels from effects global warming. The United Nations government is desperate for more resources to sustain a population so swollen you have to prove yourself worthy of more than Basic, the guaranteed subsidy that meets humanity’s baseline needs. Then you have independent Mars, boasting a small…
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January 30, 2017
They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, a weekly column where we gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we’ve got some great book and TV-related recommendations, including a space opera series with an epic scope, a humorous speculative…
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January 27, 2017
Welcome to the Speculative Chic Roundtable! You’re used to hearing us gather and share our thoughts on movies and our favorite things, but we thought it might be fun to chat about other topics that relate to speculative fiction as well. To kick off this new column, I asked: What was your very first speculative fiction fandom and how did…
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January 26, 2017
Crosstalk (2016) Written by: Connie Willis Genre: Science Fiction Pages: 498 (Hardback) Publisher: Del Ray Why I Chose It: A few years ago, I read a handful of really great books by Connie Willis: To Say Nothing of the Dog, Doomsday Book, and Bellwether. With the release of her latest book, Crosstalk, I figured that it was the perfect time to…
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January 25, 2017
You know that book in your to-be-read pile, that one you’re really looking forward to reading, the one you just haven’t gotten around to yet? What would you do if you found out that Hollywood is going to adapt it, and it’s going to be the next big movie/television show? Would you read the book before watching the movie/television show?…
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January 24, 2017
In Celtic mythology, “thin places” are spots where this world and the Otherworld allow inhabitants to cross over. The most famous example is actually Halloween, followed by the tale of Tam Lin, and Cristina Rosetti’s classic poem “Goblin Market.” Halloween, or Samhain (pronounced SAH-ween), took place just after the harvest and was thought to be a time when the boundaries…
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January 23, 2017
They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, a weekly column where we gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we’re all about an awesome character from SyFy’s The Expanse, and a duo of fabulous books. One is the latest…
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January 20, 2017
Welcome to Coach’s Corner, where I offer some thoughts on the creative process and breaking through moments of self-doubt. One of the things I do with my coaching clients is make sure that they set achievable goals for themselves. Many factors need to be considered, especially making sure whatever physical, emotional, and psychological roadblocks that come up can be dealt with.…
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January 19, 2017
Final Fantasy XV (2016) Developer: Square Enix Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy Platform: PS4 Type: RPG Why I Chose It: I am a longtime Final Fantasy fan and with this new release for the PS4 also being one of the only JRPGs (Japanese Role Playing Games) available to us in North America, picking this up was a no-brainer. The premise: Get ready…
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January 18, 2017
The Fireman (2016) Written by: Joe Hill Genre: Post-apocalypse Pages: 747 (Hardcover) Publisher: William Morrow Why I Chose It: I am a big fan of Hill’s previous books, so of course I was psyched to read his newest release. Joe Hill is a pen name for Joseph Hillstrom King — as in the son of the master of horror, Stephen…
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