Right after I went through my Dinosaur phase, I saw Star Wars IV: A New Hope for the first time. Instantly, all that childlike excitement and exuberance was transferred from paleontology to astronomy. We had a series of about twenty astronomy books in my elementary school’s LRC (Asimov’s astronomy series, I believe–the ones with the… Continue reading I is for Interstellar
Tag: Blogging A to Z challenge (2013)
H is for Hologram
In real life, the term “hologram” means something fairly specific. But in science fiction, it can mean a number of different things. For example, in Star Wars it’s basically a three dimensional video recording projected on a flat surface. In Halo, it’s the visual form that the AI character Cortana takes when she wants to… Continue reading H is for Hologram
G is for Gravity
Possibly one of the most defining aspects of space is the sensation of free fall. Of course, gravity exists in space, the same as it does everywhere else in the universe (probably), but in space we feel its effects differently because we aren’t close enough to a body of sufficient mass to feel a strong… Continue reading G is for Gravity
F is for Faster Than Light
Remember that moment in Star Wars when the Millennium Falcon went into hyperspace? When Harrison Ford shouted “go strap yourselves in, I’m going to make the jump to light speed,” and the sky lit up as the stars streaked by? That was my first introduction to faster-than-light (FTL) travel, and I haven’t looked back since.… Continue reading F is for Faster Than Light
E is for Empire
Almost every far future science fiction story has a galactic empire of some kind. From Dune to Foundation, from Star Wars to Firefly, there’s always someone trying to rule the galaxy, often in a way that makes life difficult for the protagonists. Why? Rule of drama, of course, but also because it gives the story… Continue reading E is for Empire
D is for Droids
Some of the best-loved characters in science fiction don’t even have a heartbeat. Why? They’re robots, that’s why! Unlike the mechanical “slaves” (the original meaning of the Czech root robota) that built your car or enable your GPS devices, these robots are a lot more human. In fact, the word “droid” is short for “android,”… Continue reading D is for Droids
C is for Cryo
I think every science fiction writer has a cryo (aka “human popsicle“) story sitting around somewhere, even if it’s just in the back of their head. It’s one of those tropes that keeps coming back, just like the alien invasion, the robot apocalypse, and the Adam and Eve plot. The basic concept is pretty simple,… Continue reading C is for Cryo
B is for Space Battles
If you fell in love with science fiction when you were twelve, chances were it was because of the awesome space battles. That was certainly the case with me. When I saw Star Wars for the first time, I spent hours running around the house pretending I was flying my own starfighter. In some ways,… Continue reading B is for Space Battles
A is for Aliens
Alien races–what would science fiction be without them? They’re as fundamental to the genre as elves and dwarves are to fantasy. If you’re reading a book and an alien being from another planet shows up on the page, that in itself is usually enough to make the story science fiction. My first exposure to aliens… Continue reading A is for Aliens
1000 posts and counting
According to my WordPress dashboard, this is the 1,000th post on this blog. I was going to hold off and do something big and momentous for the occasion, but then I figured it would be better to do a quick footnote and get on with the regular program. Nine hundred ninety nine blog posts ago,… Continue reading 1000 posts and counting