November 2018 ISSUE
Genetics, Spores, and Automation: A Conversation with Nancy Kress
by Chris Urie
Humans have been mucking around with the genetics of animals and plants for thousands of years through artificial selection. But at what points have we gone too far? What happens when a team of zealots with PhDs in science utilize their knowledge to decimate the Earth using nothing but a microbe? That’s what Nancy Kress’ [...]
October 2018 ISSUE
First Contact, Fantasy, and Cooperation: A Conversation with Steven Erikson
by Chris Urie
Humanity has unconsciously defined itself as the lone intelligence in the universe. From our attitudes toward other species, to our own sometimes overblown sense of self-importance. For all intents and purposes, many of us believe that the universe revolves around us—until it doesn’t.
Steven Erikson’s new novel Rejoice, A Knife to the Heart tackles a question [...]
September 2018 ISSUE
Mars, Sextants, and Puppets: A Conversation with Mary Robinette Kowal
by Chris Urie
Mars is so close, yet it seems so far. The red planet has always been a mystery—inspiring scientists, authors, and stargazers. It may come as a surprise that we already have the tech to put people on that rust colored planet, but it simply comes down to will and wealth. For now, it’ll have to [...]
August 2018 ISSUE
Augmentations, Assassins, and Soundtracks: A Conversation with Emily Devenport
by Chris Urie
As we continue to receive images from exploration vehicles launched years ago from deep within our own solar system, our imaginations look farther into the black abyss of space. Once we’ve finished pillaging this planet, or this planet is finished with us, will there be another home floating out there? How will we get there [...]
July 2018 ISSUE
Dependent Intelligence, Humanism, and a City in a Paragraph: A Conversation with James Patrick Kelly
by Chris Urie
The human aspect can often be overlooked in genres concerned with generation ship space battles, warring factions of angels, or titans of industry fighting for mining rights on the moon. When an author reigns in the trappings of science fiction and fantasy to make it hit closer to home, to focus on the human element, [...]
June 2018 ISSUE
Book covers, Moorcock, and The Mexicanx Initiative: A Conversation with John Picacio
by Chris Urie
The visual arts and genre fiction have always evolved together. Beautiful art complements a story while the story can help a reader find a deeper appreciation for an artist’s brushstrokes. One inspires the other and vice versa.
John Picacio has long been one of the premiere artists working in science fiction and fantasy publishing. His work [...]
May 2018 ISSUE
Spies, Radios, and the Afterlife: A Conversation with Hannu Rajaniemi
by Chris Urie
The afterlife has long been a source of fascination for storytellers. Ancient myths describe golden fields or a place in the clouds. But what if the afterlife and technology are closely linked? Hannu Rajaniemi explores an afterlife that allows for communication via radio waves in his new novel.
In Summerland, it’s the 1930’s. The east and [...]
April 2018 ISSUE
Quarks, Colonialism, and Alternate Realities: A Conversation with Vandana Singh
by Chris Urie
Reading widely, strangely, and diversely rapidly pushes out the boundaries of what you thought possible within the confines of your own imagination. The more you read, the more your conscious and subconscious mind laps up new imagery and ideas. Frequently, your new favorite author is the one that has shown you whole new worlds.
From eleventh [...]
March 2018 ISSUE
Poetry, Philosophy, and Welsh: A Conversation with Jo Walton
by Chris Urie
Words are a kind of music. Writers who listen know this better than most. The crescendo of action gets punctuated by silence making both all the more palpable. The proper combination of words swirl through a reader’s mind forming characters and stories as varied as the depths of the imagination. A poet knows the musical [...]
February 2018 ISSUE
Classics, Companionship, and a Creature: A Conversation with John Kessel
by Chris Urie
Classics are classics for a reason. Whether they’re the first of their kind or they redefine a genre, they’ve earned their place in the common consciousness as paragons of literature. They’ve been dissected, analyzed, and pored over for years by curious minds itching to find something undiscovered within their texts. But it’s rare to find [...]