The Nominees Learning the World by Ken MacLeod A Feast For Crows by George R.R. Martin Old Man’s War by John Scalzi Accelerando by Charles Stross Spin by Robert Charles Wilson The Actual Results How I Would Have Voted Explanation This is going to be controversial, but I don’t think any of George R.R. Martin’s… Continue reading How I would vote now: 2006 Hugo Award (Best Novel)
Tag: George R. R. Martin
Writing and Publishing Plans moving forward
Over the past few months, I’ve been spending a lot of time experimenting with AI writing and finding ways to incorporate it into my writing process. The goal so far has been twofold: I’ve accomplished both of those things, but I can’t hit them consistently without burning out. Writing with AI has proven key to… Continue reading Writing and Publishing Plans moving forward
In Defense of Black & White Morality
I was born in 1984, and for most of my life, stories with black and white morality—in other words, stories about the struggle between good and evil, with good guys who are good and bad buys who are bad—have been considered unfashionable and out of style. This is especially true of fantasy, where grimdark has… Continue reading In Defense of Black & White Morality
Short-form vs. long-form fantasy
For the last month, I’ve been doing a lot of research into the fantasy genre, rereading all of the original Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard and a bunch of the other ones too, by authors like L. Sprague De Camp, Lin Carter, Bjorn Nyberg, Robert Jordan, etc. I’ve also been reading a… Continue reading Short-form vs. long-form fantasy
Chat GPT Writes Fantasy in Various Authors’ Styles
Generic (no author style specified): Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a brave knight named Sir William. He was renowned throughout the kingdom for his valor, loyalty, and unwavering sense of justice. One day, a dreadful dragon named Gorthor, known to terrorize the kingdom, descended upon the land, spreading… Continue reading Chat GPT Writes Fantasy in Various Authors’ Styles
The Generational Cycles of Grimdark vs. Noblebright
A couple of months ago, I was discussing genre trends with my indie publishing mastermind group where we drew some fascinating connections between grimdark fantasy, noblebright fantasy, and Strauss-Howe generational theory. In that discussion, we came up with a theory that predicts when each type of fantasy (grimdark, nobledark, noblebright, and grimbright) will be ascendant,… Continue reading The Generational Cycles of Grimdark vs. Noblebright
P is for Parenthood
I’m currently in the process of writing the second edition of my newsletter exclusive, Science Fiction from A to Z, adding a bunch of new chapters and rewriting all of the old ones. For a blog post this week, I thought I’d share one of the new chapters. Let me know what you think! I… Continue reading P is for Parenthood
White Science Fiction and Fantasy Doesn’t Matter
If you are white, and you write science fiction or fantasy, it is only a matter of time before you are cancelled. This is the logical end of intersectional identity politics, which is really just the resurrected, zombified corpse of Marxism. White people are the oppressors. People of color are the oppressed. All white people… Continue reading White Science Fiction and Fantasy Doesn’t Matter
Will A Song of Ice and Fire stand the test of time?
A while ago, I wrote a blog post titled Why I don’t like George R.R. Martin, in which I laid out some of the issues I had with the Song of Ice and Fire series, and why I decided not to read past the first book. That post has been getting a lot of traffic… Continue reading Will A Song of Ice and Fire stand the test of time?
Son of the Black Sword by Larry Correia
This was a damn good book. One of the best epic fantasy books I’ve read. I started listening to it on the Baen Free Radio Hour, where it’s currently being serialized, and decided to pick up a copy. It did not disappoint. This book reminds me of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, in the sense that it… Continue reading Son of the Black Sword by Larry Correia