Science Fiction
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Asteroids in the Arcade
THEY are good – too good, so good this might end here and now. My heart beats faster. My breathing quickens. My body arches over the controls nursing every atom from the hyperdrive. I’ve lost two ships while lurking in the thick of the Belt, and now clear of the swarming debris, I see the… Continue reading
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Does Mars Need Women?
This one is a touch early, but I’ve electrifying plans for Valentine’s Day, plans involving a microchip, some silicone, a tube of lip-gloss, and lots and lots of whipped cream. As a matter of fact, these thoughts have stewed in my mind since driving home and catching David Levy on AM radio talking about his… Continue reading
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PATRICIA SAVAGE, BRONZE GODDESS OF PULP’S GOLDEN AGE
Some bear it better than others. We Savages, I think carry it poorly.” —Patricia Savage 1948 Of the many Doc Savage stories published by Street & Smith during the magazine’s sixteen-year run, “I Died Yesterday” is the only story told from Patricia Savage’s point of view. Who is Patricia Savage? She is the bronze goddess… 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 