On Vice's Motherboard blog today, there's a great piece about how science fiction does horror better than horror does. An excerpt:
"Typically, good sci-fi horror confronts the limits, frailties, and anxieties of the human body in a modernizing world. Serial killers can hack a person apart, sure, but science can contort, experiment, and confound the flesh in ways that we're only beginning to imagine. Sci-fi horror offers us a graphic visual language to process our most vivid and fantastical nightmares about what science might do to us.
Whereas most sci-fi epics take place on colorful interstellar quests or far-off dystopias, in sci-fi horror, humans are always front-and-center, uncomfortably cloistered in confined spaces, even as the aliens or our lab-grown hubris tear us apart. Sci-fi horror shoves our faces in the weakness and vulnerability of the human body, forcing us, as viscerally as possible, to consider the price of progress on these bags of meat we walk around in. Should we try so desperately to extend our lifespans, travel into uncharted terrains, prod that alien-looking life form when we find it?"
For the sake of ultimate transparency, I've never been a huge Star Wars fan. In fact, I've been known to commit the act of blasphemy, in loving the second trilogy...
This coming Friday afternoon — August 7 from 1 pm to 4 — I’ll be signing my new novel, The Dangerous Type, in Flint, Michigan. Even if you’re not into...
Those Annoying Post Bros. #7: The Moray Caper When I first started thinking about the Raena stories, I’d just seen Star Wars. The only main female character was a princess....
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is getting closer by the day, and excitement is growing everywhere. It's not just Star Wars fans, sci-fi nerds, and movie buffs who are amped...
Alan Dean Foster’s first original novel is "The Tar-Aiym Krang", It is a light-hearted space opera filled with dead ancient alien civilizations, uncharted worlds and the search for an artifact that could threaten the galaxy. Come learn more about this vintage science fiction classic and the popular author who wrote it.
(Photo: Lucasfilm) When it was announced that Anakin Skywalker would have a Padawan, most people found the idea to be ridiculous. To me, it was a stroke of genius. It...
Bestselling children’s book authors Tony DiTerlizzi (The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight), Alexandra Bracken (Star Wars: A New Hope), Adam Gidwitz (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back), and Tom...
“Who’s the youngling?” Rex asked as he eyed the young Togruta. “I’m Master Skywalker’s Padawan. The name’s Ahsoka Tano,” she replied, and a friendship was born. A friendship that’s been...
DorksideToys kindly sent me a review copy of the Star Wars: The Black Series 3.75-inch Phase II Captain Rex action figure. It’s not the first Rex figure to own, but...
As someone who enjoys making DIY crafts inspired by Star Wars characters, when I saw the Star Wars Crochet kit months ago, I said to myself, “I need that!” I...
Emily talks about books on the internet, both professionally for Penguin Random House and for fun everywhere else. She’s an editor at Suvudu and the founder of Proof Reading Books, a blog of book and booze pairings. She's also a big ol' nerd. For more book talk, pop culture musings, and bad puns, find her @emilyhughes.
This awesome community is perfect for bloggers, writers and fans of all things sci-fi, fantasy, comics, gaming, and more. Join us now and dominate all dimensions!
Signup Login More Details
