Science Fiction
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ONCE AGAIN THE END IS NEAR
Texas. July 2015. The world is ending. The date is set. And this time it happens on Wednesday. It’s funny. People hate things like the IRS, but just love things like the end of the world. I admit it’s exciting. It has zest. And it’s the period at the end of humanity’s log sentence. It’s… Continue reading
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HENRY KUTTNER’S GALLOWAY GALLAGHER
“Are you a technician or a driveling idiot?” — “The Proud Robot” (1943) The story goes that science-fiction writer, Henry Kuttner, named his inebriated and gifted scientist “Gallagher” while writing “The Time Locker” then mistakenly called him “Galloway” when writing its sequel. And after realizing his error, Kuttner combined the names giving “Galloway Gallagher” his… Continue reading
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H.G. WELLS AND THE SENSATION OF TIME
I am afraid I cannot convey the peculiar sensations of time travel. They are exceedingly unpleasant. — The Time Machine (1895) July 9th, 2009. Today I finished the final chapters of H. G. Wells’ The Time Machine, and felt the sadness I always feel when finishing a great book—it is the sadness of parting ways with people… Continue reading
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THE THANG: A SCI-FI LULLABY
May 26, 2017. In a brittle issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction from November 1952, I stumbled across a short story entitled “Bem” by sci-fi author Charles T. Webb. His story so amused me that I decided to write my own using “Bem” as one inspiration and the 1897 UFO crash in Aurora,… Continue reading
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NEWS FLASH: MARS ATTACKS WITHOUT REASON
How modernized adaptations of The War of the Worlds turn H. G. Wells’ masterpiece into just another invasion story in a long line of uninspired invasion stories. Continue reading
MARTIAN DEATH RAY 