The SFF Chronicles Science Fiction & Fantasy Community

A few changes I've been working on recently that it's important to know about:

1. Email notifications reset

I've been getting a lot of bounced notifications, as some email providers are starting to treat them as spam. As this can only cause problems for the long-term, I've reset all email notifications to off.

This means that to receive email notifications from now you must actively opt-in. To do that...

Of course it's possible to get anonymous or impersonal feedback from writers' groups, forums or even from professional advisors. Yet, there is maybe part of you that would like some sort of feedback from known people such as friends and family. I suppose it is partly because, since they know you, they could maybe give feedback in a way that would particularly resonate or get the most out of you. Yet there are dangers of embarrassment and disgruntlement if the...

The next novels of both Ann Leckie and Hannu Rajaniemi are going to be fantasy and not science fiction... is this the start of a trend of established authors moving away from science fiction to fantasy?

I personally find this disappointing. Apart from enjoying reading science fiction much more than fantasy, I also find it is harder to write science fiction than fantasy - in part because it is easier to bend a fantasy world to the story than a science fiction...

Some science stories of note from the past few days:

1. Distant exoplanet imaged using chemical signatures

What's the difference between a planet and star? One answer is their chemistry - so a study decided to run a test on images of the star Beta Pictoris.

It's known to have a large mass planet in orbit, but the glare of the star normally hides it - but running a spectral analysis for common chemicals expected for a planet and not a star made it stand...

Hello,

Whilst creating X characters, it made logical sense that X characters were VERY competent in their fields.

This has been somewhat built up on, to the point of Aliens referring to them as a human technocracy, whilst the Aliens are a democracy.

The issue, is up to now, I've taken for granted that x, y, z characters are super good at whatever they're doing.

I'm not so much worried about my protagonists, as they are suitably flawed, you obviously have to...

The first time I picked up this book I got through a couple of pages, and put it down unsatisfied - I like to see specifics in a story to help it seem real, and it bugged me that some of these were missing, not least that the town where the story begins wasn't named.

However, a couple of weeks later I picked it up again and found myself immediately gripped. I even went back to re-read the opening pages to ensure I'd not missed anything. Funny how your enjoyment...

I found this dystopian novel to be somewhat disturbing - for the wrong reasons.

The basic premise is that Montag is a "fireman" who goes around burning books - and any homes in which they are found. However, through the story we see him question his role in this, and face the moral problem of what he's doing.

By itself, it should be a classic dystopian warning against book burning. And it kind of is that.

The problem is, there's no real depth to the story -...

A few interesting achaeology stories from the past few weeks, which I'll bring together into a single thread rather than flood the History section of the forums.

1. Neanderthals may have sailed the Meditteranean

Tool finds across a number of Greek islands appear to suggest that not only did Stone Age people sail the Mediterranean, but Neanderthals may have done so, too...

I'm writing a YA fantasy novel, which takes place in a world where the geography, weather, laws of physics, etc are the same as ours but with different flora and fauna. There are magical and fantastical elements as you would expect and the characters are human. My characters have fairly normal English names, e.g. Scarlet Brand, and now, about half way through the first draft, the main characters have really grown into their names (at least in my head).

I'd...

As revealed yesterday, Game of Thrones may be about to get it's first spin-off series.

Already a pilot for a new TV series, set 10,000 in the past, has been green-lighted by HBO for production.

But according to George R R Martin, this is merely one of five concepts that he's pitched - and while one has...

A long-term study of Alpha Centuari has dispelled fears that life couldn't survive in that star system.

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory made observations every six months from 2005, and discovered that the radiation wouldn't be so bad as originally expected.

At around 4 light years away, Alpha Centauri is the nearest star system to Earth. It comprises three stars: Alpha Centuari A...

I hope you can forgive the rambling nature of this thread (I have an unfocused and somewhat simple mind.)

I read an interesting article a few weeks ago on why Lucasarts failed. It cites indecision, constant changes in direction, no leadership amounted to the closing of possibly once of the best gaming companies ever and I wonder if we're watching the demise of Star Wars.

Four movies in and...

Goblins at the Gates is an odd book that mixes fantasy with Roman Historical Fiction. I expected a lighthearted romp, but the book quickly showed itself to be a far more serious work. There's something of L Sprague de Camp in a David Gemmell story to this, which is both a positive and a negative.

The setting is well-realized, with some great attention to detail in terms of historical accuracy - you know the author's done their research when you laugh at...

Yep, all the reviews I've ever posted to Amazon have disappeared. I'm not sure why - I noticed last week, and my initial feeling was that it must have been an IT error.

However, Gathering has just lost a review as well, so I wonder if Amazon has a new algorithm for cracking down on "fake" reviews - and it's throwing out the baby with the bathwater?

I don't see how I could possibly have broken Amazon's rules, though perhaps being the first reviewer on a...

Mapping the Interior is a horror novel in the vein of Stephen King. In other words, it’s disturbing, fantastical, psychological and compelling. Set somewhere in the American midwest, the story is told by Junior, a young, Native American boy who is trying to make sense of his dead father’s nightly visits.

Given that Junior is twelve-years old, the novel is also, in part, a coming-of-age story and the supernatural horrors of the novel are almost secondary...

It's an exciting week for me! I have released the 3rd book in the Survivors series! To celebrate, I have books one and two for just $0.99 each

If you haven't tried them yet, now's the time.

The Event $0.99 everywhere
New Threat $0.99 US and UK
New World

It's been a whirlwind of a few months for me, and I suddenly have 4 novels...

Humanity has reached levels of technology that are verging on godlike and now, having found no other life in the galaxy, they are using those abilities to really play god; attempting to raise Terran monkeys to full sentience on a terraformed planet far from Sol. Meanwhile back at the solar system humanity’s continuous bickerings really do look like they might put an end to the human race this time. Leaving only a few humans on Earth reduced to savages clawing...

Arafura and Adrana are teenagers who don’t much like their family life and so decide to run away and join a solar light sail powered spaceship, make their fortunes and return to bale out their impoverished father. That’s the idea anyway; of course nothing ever works out quite according to plan.

This is a strange mishmash of a book. It feels, particularly at the outset, as those it is striving for a young adult audience but later loses that early atmosphere...

Young Rosemary is running away from a nasty family secret and joins the crew of a wormhole construction spaceship. An individually dysfunctional crew who, of course, gel together into a formidable team. They have been given a dangerous job that’s going to bring them lots of much needed funds but first they have to get to the angry planet and it’s a long way….

This is a difficult one to review; if all you are after is a fun, light, character driven bit of space...

It is right and proper that we recognise mastery of a craft in someone, but sometimes it can lead to overlooking the person's other skills. Take David Gemmell. Everyone knows about his ability to write action scenes, to convey the psychology of violence and depict the tough yet principled characters that bring it all to life. Yet Midnight Falcon, while not being short of the above, achieves its greatness and emotional impact for its portrayal of alienation...