Here’s a blog from my daughter Lucy on one of her and my favorite movies, Signs. A great discussion starter. Enjoy. Let me go ahead and offend 95% of evangelical Christians: I do not like Christian movies. I’ll let the evangelicals freak out for a moment…they’re saying I haven’t seen Fireproof. I have. They’re saying […]
A Non-Nerd Primer to Fantasy & Science Fiction
With the new Star Wars movie hitting big, people unfamiliar with fantasy and science fiction may feel out of their depth. For you normal folks, I offer a short introduction – a non-nerd primer so to speak – of accessible examples from fantasy and science fiction in four different media. Movie: Star Wars Recently my […]
The Martian: A Review of a Science Fiction Novel
The Martian: A Review of a Science Fiction Novel Samuel recommended a science fiction novel to me: The Martian by Andy Weir. Mr. Weir is a first-novel hero in my view. He published his chapters in 2011 through his blog. Subsequently a publisher put the book into print in 2014. I’ve used the acrostic ‘MARS’ […]
Artistic Problems of Ending a TV Series Too Early: 3 Examples
A TV series has a potential advantage over a movie in that a series affords the chance to follow a story over an extended time. Events are able to unfold into broad plots and themes. Characters can be developed in depth. This is a potential but not an inevitable advantage. Problems happen when a series […]
The Fantastic Appearance of the Human Body
Fantasy and science fiction fans are accustomed to extraordinary beings. We expect such things. Star Trek introduced an alien race of blue bipeds. Farscape one upped them with a sentient species of blue plants. How’s that for fantastic? Creatures with tentacles, tails, and antennae have parade by. The general human body is boring. Or not? […]
Science Fantasy? What Hybrid Is That?
I’ve been blogging about science fantasy for a time now but have never sat down with you and defined what science fantasy is. Hold onto your hat, here we go: Science fantasy is a work of fiction that has elements of science fiction mixed with fantasy. O, now that helpful, wasn’t it? I think not. […]
3 Independence Day Movies for the Family
No, this blog isn’t about fantasy or science fiction, though we’ll touch on these. I’m giving you three Independence Day movies to watch with your family. We’re going to have to go to some older movies, made when America was more celebrated than bashed. Once the 70’s came along, the Hollywood flavor of the decade […]
Star Wars Summertime
Summer is the time for blockbusters. I remember the summer the quintessential blockbuster opened in theaters. This movie spawned five sequels, an animated series, millions of product tie-ins, and a Christmas special. (The producers would like to forget the Christmas special.) Of course, I’m talking of Star Wars. Why, even minor characters, like Boba Fett, […]
Where’s My English-Elvish Dictionary? Languages in Fantasy and Science Fiction
This blog is from my son-in-law Matt Wright, a bona fide linguist. He’s also a fantasy/science fiction fan. But who isn’t? Languages are rich treasures for us fantasy and science fiction geeks. This is where alien cultures get good; this is where another world pulls you in! Let’s get Matt’s professional view. Language is a […]
Unbelievable Stories in Fantasy and Science Fiction… Or… 3 Pills Lucy Found Hard to Swallow
This week I’ve invited my daughter Lucy Wright to take a swing for us in the fantasy and science fiction world. Lucy revisits the topic of the pill to swallow in fantasy and science fiction. In our first installment on this subject, I sited some examples where the pills went down easy and the stories […]