So, recent discussion all over the place—from bad word choices of senators to discussion of the meaning of Holmes and Avatar—have gotten me thinking about the concept of messages.  What is a story supposed to say?  What did the author want it to say, and what did the author end up saying?  They aren’t always [...]

Even a mediocre fictional world has some traditions and concepts in it.  They may be ways of saying hello, ways to mourn the dead, or ways to celebrate the seasons.  They could be religious rites or secular party customs.  And, for an author, one of the greatest moments is when those traditions jump off the [...]

Allow me to open with a paraphrasing of a Greek myth: And when Pandora opened the box, all of the evils of the world were let loose.  Plague, famine, pestilence, war, hatred, jealousy, and anger.  All that was left in the box was a single, small glimmer of light.  Slowly, she reached into the box, [...]

So two Dragon*Cons ago, I sat in on a panel about Religion in SFF.  One of the big themes of said panel was about how SFF typically shows religion in a negative light, if at all.  Now, I’m not a religious person, and I’ve enjoyed my fair share of anti-religion plots in SFF, but it [...]