Radio
A 2016 science fiction novelette by Kenn Brody. Shannon Redwine wants to be a video reporter, so she has a ham radio mentor surgically install a broadcaster in her, and what she puts on the air makes powerful enemies.
Tag: Science Fiction (Page 2)
Character DevelopmentThe Mary Sue: How a 1973 Star Trek Parody Became a Writing Term
Mary Sue started as a one-page joke in a 1973 Star Trek fanzine. Here's the story behind the parody, how the name spread, what a Mary Sue really is, and when the label is fair.
Contracts and AgreementsWork-for-Hire Contracts: What the Asimov’s Cover Fight Teaches Freelancers
Donato Giancola turned down an Asimov's cover after the magazine's new owner sent a work-for-hire contract with free revisions, no original art and a fee-clawback NDA, all for a decades-old fee. Here's when work for hire is fair, and when…
Fiction WritingGenre Fiction vs Literary Fiction: Don’t Confuse Taste With Skill
Genre fiction outsells literary fiction because it delivers what readers came for. Calling it poorly written usually confuses taste with skill, and many literary classics are genre books in disguise.
ResearchKessler Syndrome: How Space Debris Could Close Earth’s Orbit
About 47,000 objects are tracked in Earth orbit, and models put the untracked debris in the hundreds of millions. Kessler syndrome is the chain reaction that could make some orbits unusable, and a war would set it off. It's the…
Grief and LossSir Sam Neill: A Tribute
A fan's tribute to Sam Neill, who died on July 13, 2026. Reilly, Ace of Spies, Jurassic Park and Event Horizon earn him a place here, and he always struck me as a genuinely nice person.
Artificial IntelligenceThe Adolescence of P-1
A student writes a program designed to stay alive, then abandons it. The program does not stop. Thomas J. Ryan described a computer worm years before anyone had the word.
1970sColossus: The Forbin Project (1970) Review
I have watched this more times than is defensible. A film about a computer, a requirements document and a mountain, and the machine is never once broken.
Fiction WritingScience Fiction Part 7 – The Flawed
The seventh tier of the science fiction ranking. Kubrick, Spielberg, Nolan and Niccol, plus the films whose best idea arrived and was never used again.
Fiction WritingScience Fiction Part 8 – The Failures
The final tier of the science fiction ranking, including the negatives. Scott, Nolan, Zemeckis and Cameron, plus the most expensive failures the genre has produced.
1990sStar Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999) Review
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine rates 10 and above on the rewatch scale and is the best series the franchise has produced. It is also the most underrated rating in Trek history. A station instead of a ship, a military…
2010sStar Trek: Discovery (2017-2024) Review
Star Trek: Discovery rates minus 10 on the rewatch scale. Every episode across five seasons rates a 1 or less. It had fifty years of lore, a guaranteed audience and an unlimited budget, and it is a pile of shit…