From the Podosphere: October ‘07 podcasts

In “Immortal Sin” by Jennifer Pelland (read by Stephen Eley), a man murders a girl who refuses to marry him. His Catholicism suggests that if he repents, he can avoid being damned and going to Hell—except the priest to whom he confesses won’t absolve him because he must first be truly repentant. And since […]

Flickers on the Wall: The Shape of SF Short Films

In my last two columns, I commented on short films that you could acquire for home viewing, either by downloading from a website or by purchasing a DVD.  But the newest short films are rarely available.  This month, I’ll examine some of the best films that are still on the festival circuit.  To see these, […]

Science Fiction and the Two Cultures

In 1959, the noted English scientist and novelist C.P. Snow gave a famous lecture titled “The Two Cultures” about the breakdown of communication between the sciences and humanities, later published in book form as The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. Snow wrote then that the
intellectual life of…western society is increasingly being split into […]

Audiobook Fix: Dreamsongs Vol. 1 by George R.R. Martin

Audiobook Selections from Dreamsongs: Volume 1: Fan Fiction and Sci-Fi from Martin’s Early Years by George R.R. Martin, read by Claudia Black, Mark Bramhall, Scott Brick, Roy Dotrice, Kim Mai Guest, Kirby Heyborne, and Adrian Paul, is the first of three George R.R. Martin short story collections, each of which contain unabridged selections from books […]

Welcome to the Relaunch of The Fix!

The Day Job: Growth, Learning, and the Search for Teachers

It arrives in snippets.
In high school and college I’m sure my English teachers were caring, competent purveyors of English education. Undoubtedly they offered helpful advice, inspiring direction and constructive criticism. If only I had been ready to learn.
Now I’m ready. Where are they? Where’s the instruction to help me grow as […]

Flickers on the Wall: Halloween is a Time for Elder Gods

A brisk wind rustles the orange and brown leaves that still cling, tentatively, as if they are afraid of what might happen if they let go, to silhouettes of oaks and elms.  A cackle echoes under the sounds of creaking branches.  Or maybe not.  It’s hard to tell.  The light confuses everything; how light can […]

Distillations: An Introduction

Welcome to Distillations, a monthly review of Speculative Poetry. The field of Speculative Poetry embraces every subgenre of science fiction and fantasy imaginable in every existing poetry form, plus some made up fresh for the occasion. What it doesn’t include is a lot of words. That means that every letter, every piece of punctuation, […]

Flickers on the Wall: A First Flicker

I’m a fan of introductions. Not of people, unless they’re stopping by for tea or a movie night. I don’t care who you are, oh gentle reader, and I can’t think of a reason why you should care who I am. No, I like introductions for books, speeches, and, of course, columns. I like introductions […]

From the Podosphere: Escape Pod (#52, 55, 75, 100, & 105)

Steve Eley’s Escape Pod is an excellent way to experience the pleasures of audio SF. The quality of the stories is usually top notch, and the readings, with few exceptions, are also very professional.