SF Universe

Tag: Classic Space Opera

  • Remembering Iain M. Banks (1954-2013)

    This month marks the first anniversary of the passing of science fiction author Iain M. Banks, who died on June 9th, 2013. He was taken from us at the tragically young age of only fifty-nine, after many months battling against terminal cancer. His death robbed the science fiction world of one of its greatest authors…

  • Remembering Iain M. Banks (1954-2013)

    This month marks the first anniversary of the passing of science fiction author Iain M. Banks, who died on June 9th, 2013. He was taken from us at the tragically young age of only fifty-nine, after many months battling against terminal cancer. His death robbed the science fiction world of one of its greatest authors…

  • PLANETS OF WONDER edited by Terry Carr

    TITLE: PLANETS OF WONDER – A TREASURY OF SPACE OPERA EDITED BY: Terry Carr CATEGORY: Short Fiction SUB-CATEGORY: Anthology PUBLISHER: Thomas Nelson Inc., Nashville, Tennessee, 1976 FORMAT: Hardback, 1st Edition, 189 pages, ISBN: 0-8407-6526-6 CONTENTS: Introduction by Terry Carr \”Dust of Gods\” by C. L. Moore (Weird Tales, August 1934) \”We Guard the Black Planet!\”…

  • Reading Science Fiction

    Reading Science Fiction literature has always been one of my main interests in life, and I\’ve been reading \”proper\” science fiction since I first signed out H.G. Wells\’ The Time Machine from the local library at the tender age of about eight or nine years old (circa 1969-1970). I usually prefer older (classic) SF, pre-\”New…

  • What Do I Look For in a Good SF Story?

    I know that everyone has their own views on what makes a good SF story and what doesn\’t, and I\’ve obviously got a few opinions of my own. As with most things, it\’s obviously all a matter of personal preference. Indulging my own completely subjective views, here\’s what I look for (or don\’t) in an…

  • Welcome to Science Fiction Reader

    Welcome to the new Science Fiction Reader blog. This blog is focused solely on science fiction literature, and is intended to review and recommend the best – in other words, my favourite 🙂 – SF anthologies and single-author short fiction collections that I\’ve come across over the years, as well as any new material that…

  • Iain M. Banks (1954-2013)

    I was really saddened to learn of the death of science fiction author Iain M. Banks on June 9th. It wasn\’t really a surprise, given that he\’d announced to the world two months before that he had terminal cancer. But most of us thought he\’d be with us for a few more months at least,…

  • SF Labels and Categories – Useful, or a Waste of Space?

    SF fans just love to categorize and pidgeon-hole their fiction, to label it so that it fits neatly into certain little boxes with other fiction of exactly the same kind. I\’m referring primarily to all those little categories, sub-categories, sub-sub-categories, and so on, that we invent to identify and promote the various kinds of SF&F…

  • It\’s a Geek\’s Life… (Part Three)

    This one has been a long time coming, far too long. But better late than never, I suppose… 🙂 The Barren Years – The Near-Death of Geekery During the Eighties All throughout the first half of the 1970\’s, I was in geek heaven, having seemingly unlimited time to spend on my obsessions with comics, sf…

  • It\’s a Geek\’s Life… (Part Three)

    The Barren Years – The Near-Death of Geekery During the Eighties [A]ll throughout the first half of the 1970\’s, I was in geek heaven, having seemingly unlimited time to spend on my obsessions with comics, sf literature, telefantasy and sci-fi films. But by 1977-78, things began to change considerably. I began my A-Levels at college…