We all love a great villain. Plenty of stories offer us Big Bads who are much more interesting than the mealy hero we’re supposed to care about. But what’s remarkable is how often our favorite baddies aren’t even all that big—they’re actually highly competent lackeys, or what’s sometimes known as “The Dragon” character: powerful, evil beings who are often […]
Competition is hard-wired into the human psyche; since ancient times, people have invented games and matched themselves against one another in pursuit of the fleeting glory of victory on the field. It’s no wonder that something as primal as organized competition is also a staple of science fiction: just about every fully-realized sci-fi universe name-checks at least one futuristic […]
With the new William Gibson book The Peripheral, the author’s first far-future story in two decades, arriving this month, it seems appropriate to take a look back at Neuromancer, his influential 1984 debut. Gibson, who coined the term “cyberspace” in 1981, is widely regarded as the progenitor of the cyberpunk movement, a gritty neo-noir genre […]
It’s Olympic season, that bi-annual celebration of worldwide fellowship as displayed via feats of strength, athletic prowess, and splashy, expensive opening ceremonies. As impressive as Figure skating, luge, cross-country skiing, and even curling are, we can’t help but wonder what the sci-fi and fantasy version of the Olympics might be like. The ratings would be […]