Speculative fiction Puns

I see a lot of comments, especially on recommendation posts, along the lines of, "It's not science fiction, but," and thought it would be a good idea to remind everyone that, according to the sidebar description, all forms of speculative fiction are welcome and encouraged here.

A lot of users are accessing the site via mobile devices and may never have seen or read the sidebar, so here is the relevant bit:

>A place to discuss published SF

>Not sure if something is SF? Then post it! Science Fiction, Fantasy, Alt. History, Postmodern Lit., and more are all welcome here. The key is that it be speculative, not that it fit some arbitrary genre guidelines.

Science fiction is great, so are fantasy, magic realism, alt-history, etc, etc. Enjoy it all and try not to gatekeep.

Hi!

I always find that I am far more engaged with a novel if it's first line is interesting. For example:

> "It was a pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed."

>"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel."

>"Once a guy stood all day shaking bugs from his hair."

>"See the child."

Etc.

There are lots of these threads for fiction in general and they usually have books like "Pride and Prejudice" or "100 Years of Solitude". So I was wondering what are some of your favourite first lines in Speculative fiction (or not)?

Inspired by this thread, I'm curious as to what others have been reluctant to share because of potential mobs of people with pitchforks coming into their house or implicitly unwelcome discussions here or anywhere. I, personally, don't mind being bombarded with replies for a hot take. I just don't have much opportunities in engaging in those discussions, especially with regards to books, as I mostly read Fantasy Romance or something with a crucial romantic subplot.

Here are some of mine:

Legend of Korra is on par with its predecessor & Korra is the most, or at the very least tied for, well-developed character in the entire franchise.

Seeing as it generally doesn't affect plots as much, I like it when the cast of characters are described as good-looking.

YA/NA Fantasy is overly & unduly stereotyped & brushed off. YA fandoms are another thing though.

Throne of Glass was a decent series. Or, to put it another way, it had 4 decent books out of its "main" 7.

You shouldn't judge a villain by how far he is on the evil scale. Even unambiguosly evil villains with no noble cause can be good characters.

Hi lovely people! We are the experimental, feminist folk at Tilted Axis Press - where we publish books by Asian authors, translated into English.

We have five of our amazing authors and translators here from 9am-10am EST to talk about their work and answer any questions of yours– and Tice Cin from Tilted Axis is here throughout the day to take your questions too.

Feel free to comment below with a general query, or ping any of the participants specifically using the supplied Reddit usernames!

This is an AMA, so ask ANYTHING you want! We're geared up to talk about everything from books and the literature world to why Tiffany Tsao secretly wishes her houseplants would die.

Thank you r/Fantasy mods for the invitation to be part of this brilliant AMA series!

Our line-up:

Norman Pasaribu Erikson and translator Tiffany Tsao. We have a collection of short stories publishing with them called HAPPY STORIES, MOSTLY that places queer people in scenarios normally reserved for hetero-characters, a blend of SF, absurdism and alternative-historical realism. For example, in the speculative-historical “The Giant Man: The Real Story,” a young man finds himself haunted by the tale of a giant man living in colonial-era Sumatra. Tiffany Tsao is also the author of brilliant speculative fiction, including the Oddfits fantasy series. Tiffany first worked with Norman on his poetry collection Sergius Seeks Bacchus, which features speculative poems.

Yan Ge and translator Jeremy Tiang. Yan Ge's novel STRANGE BEASTS OF CHINA has dystopian aspects to it, and in SBOC she plays with the fantasy genre by using the form of a bestiary. Find out more! Jeremy is a writer too, and he lives in NYC so he's the only person waking super early for this.

Matsuda Aoko and translator Polly Barton were both so happy to be nominated for the Stabby Awards. WHERE THE WILD LADIES ARE uses feminist subversions of Japanese folklore, ghost stories, and speculative fiction. Polly (who is also a writer!) will be here today to answer your questions.

We are so ready! Let's go!

Usernames to ping:

Tiffany Tsao's username is: tiffany_tsaoPolly Barton is: PollyBartonYan Ge is: YanGeMayJeremy Tiang is: JeremyTiangNorman Erikson Pasaribu - nepasaribu

Hey all, I’m looking for some good literary magazines to check out. I want to dive deeper into the craft of writing short stories and would love to find resources for examples of quality science fiction writing.

I would prefer something that is inexpensive (or free), but am open to paying for a subscription as long as it isn’t completely outrageous.

Hi! I have found that I really enjoy the books that emerge from an organic, non-structured writing style. Like where the author just starts writing without an exact plan of what will happen. I especially like sci-fi, fantasy, weird in this style. I find it gives the books a certain vibrancy. Some more well known authors whom do this to a degree include Isaac Asimov, Roger Zelazny and Charles De Lint.

I would love to read more obscure and even self published books produced in this style if you have any recommendations. Also I would love to hear about any lesser known books that you have read that particularly struck you as being organic, non-formulaic or unstructured.

>"Did you mean: Recursion?"- Google, in response to searching up "recursion".

Speculative Fiction is a catch all term for any genre of fiction based on anything far removed from the world today. This is a very big blanket of genres, covering everything from Science Fiction to Horror to Fantasy to the -Punk genres, to even genres that straddle the boundaries between categories like Alternate History, Dungeon Punk, New Weird, Post Apocalypse, or Superheroes, and many many many more (listed in the link).

People have been making speculative fiction for as long as imagination has been around. The earliest known Sci-Fi story was written in Ancient Greece around 2nd century AD, titled "A True Story", and was written as a parody of another earlier Sci-Fi story which has never been found. Needless to say, these kinds of works are old.

Pretty much every world in this sub is some branch of speculative fiction. But, those worlds are not what I'm interested in. I'm interested in the Speculative Fiction that exists within your world itself. Basically, you create a world/fiction, and the people within your world/fiction make their own worlds/fictions. Those last ones are what I'm interested in. If we can make speculative fiction, then surely the people in fiction would make their own, right?

I felt interested in this idea since it brings up the idea of what would be considered alien to an already alien world. The alternate history genre actually acknowledges this with Double-Blind What Ifs. For example, in the world of HoI4 mod Kaiserreich, an event pops up for the alternate history story Our Finest Hour, written by William Churchill (yes, THAT Churchill).

The story is asking the question of "What if Germany lost WW1?" from the perspective of a world where Germany won WW1, so things like information and ideas influence the work to be vaguely similar, but still very different from our world. It's well known in Kaiserreich that Woodrow Wilson would have never gotten the USA involved in the first WeltKrieg, their version of WW1. He was very hesitant to intervene IOTL, even if he eventually did. So instead, the novel diverges when Teddy Roosevelt, who was an advocate for intervention, wins a third term, and joins WW1 on the Entente side in 1

I recently listened to the audiobook of World War Z and I felt it was a transformative experience as a it elevated the style of disconnected vignettes painting a picture of this catastrophe unfolding in waves. I also quite enjoyed War of the Worlds when I was younger which was also presented as a fictional first hand account of a alien invasion.

Basically, I'm looking for books, audiobooks, podcasts, audio dramas etc that are also in this style, providing a ground level view of some conflict or crisis (real or imagined) preferably drawing on multiple perspectives.

I really enjoyed this book and I can't seem to find anything similar. Best I can describe it as is a speculative or political fiction set in the modern era. Something realistic and not cheesy like Tom Clancy thrillers.

I am interested in finding magazines or publishing mediums that focus on speculative fiction. This is non-SF and more contemporary speculative fiction or unusual weird lit rather than the traditional science fiction world.

Does anyone have any suggestions of magazines they've read that fall into this speculative, non-SF world?

I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

🙂

Hey there! I've been reading speculative and weird fiction for a few years now and I'm about to start an MA on the New Weird. My general understanding of how weird fiction arose is through a recontextualisation of Gothic themes (the haunted, the eerie, the monstrous) into a more late-modernist setting (existential, paranoid — hell, even proto-postmodern, from the way protags are often overwhelmed by unreliable and incomprehensible information).

I was wondering of anyone knows of good academic, critical or historical works that trace the movement of Romantic and Gothic horror, into decadent, surrealist and weird fictions, and then into new wave science fiction? Like, I get the sense its all stitched together by a wild, pulp sensibility, the smashing together of lurid fascination and political critique, but I really have no idea where to find scholarly work on this. . . .

My memory is pretty hazy on any other details about the book (I put what I remember in the title) but I can -see- the cover in my mind! I've tried googling for some hours and searched my library and Goodreads but I can't find the book I'm thinking of anywhere. The woman I think had light white skin and her haircut was similar, but not as long, hers was collar bone length if I remember, as this one

I enjoyed the first season most because there was an engaging speculative approach.

Increasingly, in season 2, there was a lot of Christian lore used and it became more uncomfortable and a bit lazier and more saccharine. The season finale sealed the deal with the Christ-like sacrifice and rebirth bit.

I’ve just started season 3, and lo and behold, we’re all the way in church now with talk of resurrection, etc.

It’s not just that this is upsetting my atheism, it’s also that it’s making the episodes didactic, flatter, and less entertaining.

I recall the story was told from the perspective of a man driving along a stretch of road. It had a very eldritch feel to it and it was incredibly long for a short story, may have even been a reddit post. I feel like I may have heard it on a podcast or recording to be honest.

The overall premise is there's some stretch of road that has specific rules on it, I recall at one point there is an abandoned car they encounter. I think they/the narrator/character might be looking for a lost relative or brother? They use mile markers to track what events might be upcoming. I can't recall if they drove alone, but I think they had a passenger they might have picked up along the road.

Any help is appreciated!

How is this shit real.

Contest summary from Winning Writers:

>Uncharted Magazine, an online journal of speculative, mystery, and horror fiction, seeks submissions for their first issue that will launch in August 2021. Uncharted is a new venture from the editorial team behind the well-regarded literary webzines The Masters Review and CRAFT Literary. Submissions are open year-round; later entries will be held for the next issue. Send one story, 1,000-5,000 words. Contributors receive $200 for accepted work.

Contest details

• Sponsor: Uncharted Magazine
• Category: Short story - speculative, horror, mystery
• Submission length: 1,000-5,000 words
• Entry fee: No fee
• Awards: $200 and publication

Guidelines and submission information

This contest has been vetted and approved by Winning Writers

Note: The discord server is not affiliated to r/Indianbooks in any way. I am not a mod, or otherwise involved in this community as of now.

Hey. I've been toying with the idea of a community that focuses on Indian/South Asian/Non-western spec fic. We could give it a try and see how it does? I am a literature student who works on speculative fiction, if that helps.

This is a rough sketch of how I thought it would work

Short stories:

• ONE 10-30 min read a week.
• Discussion over weekends, either in channel or through voice/video, depending on interest.
• We can also alternate between Western and non-Western for a wider experience.
• I'll try to curate stories that are available online or find a way of getting it to you.

Movies: we stream movies once a month or maybe once every two months depending on interest.

Although there are good established venues for CPing, of there's enough interest we could also have a writing feedback channel.

I define speculative fiction broadly. It could include SFF, horror, mythology-based fiction, alternate history etc. I'm not particularly concerned with medium as long as there's something speculative in it. We can discuss David Bowie's music or paleoart or whatever, as long as what we're discussing is not rooted in our reality.

There seems to be some interest, so here is the link to the server: https://discord.gg/uY8KcSf47C

Please let me know if you have issues joining.

I have some work now, but I'll be back later in the evening to reply and discuss relevant details. Feel free to invite friends etc if you think they'd be interested.

i’ve just read Klara and the Sun and am looking for something in the same genre

other examples of what i’m talking about that I’ve enjoyed are Never Let Me Go, The Handmaid’s Tale, the Forever War, stuff by Ted Chiang, etc.

basically well written stuff that doesn’t take place in a familiar environment

Dear XXXX,

I am currently seeking representation for my SF novel, THE CONSIDERED GIRL. I am reaching out to you as, based on my research, I think my novel fits what you enjoy representing.
In my novel, Ellie, an orphan and refugee, has never been allowed to belong in the modern world. But for the first time in her life, her new genius inventory boyfriend, Jacks, makes her feel wanted. Jacks' dreams for his invention - a machine that allows the sharing of thoughts and emotions - promises to solve America's political decline and stop the stalemated war with China. As a shadowy conspiracy recognizes different possibilities in Jack's technology, Lieutenant Eriksson, a failed soldier, is ordered into Ellie's life. But as America crumbles around her, Ellie finds herself central to a plot to control America, and unknowingly at odds with Jacks efforts to prevent the corruption of his invention. As Ellie, Jacks and Eriksson struggle to find their own redemptions, their decisions will damn or save a world on the brink of self-destruction.
THE CONSIDERED GIRL is an approachable mix of light sci-fi and political dystopia. The focus is on the relationships between the characters and, overall, asks difficult questions of society. Through the novel, the man-meets-machine cyberpunk technological revolution of Neuromancer and Ghost on the Shell meets the social upheavals of China Miéville's Perdido Street Station and Iron Council.

I am a published author of novellas and short stories licensed by Catalyst Game Labs for the Shadowrun cyberpunk roleplaying game.  I work as a consultant and have a degree in software engineering. I live outside Charleston, SC with my wife and son, as well as an immortal but perpetually grumpy cat.

[when requested]As requested, please find below the first 10 pages of the book, followed by a full synopsis.

• Genre/s: Hard sci fi/speculative fiction
• Goals/expectations/commitment: Alpha reading novel chapter drafts / beta reading short stories
• Writing/experience level: Post grad degrees in science, new to fiction recently
• Meeting place: Email / DM on reddit

I am drafting a novel set in a world so far post apocalyptic that people have almost completely forgotten our time. Our technology is almost all gone but biology has been molded to support the new societies in surprising ways. My back ground is in research science but that involved a lot of writing. Teaching scientific writing also helped build some skills, but I want to strengthen my characters, relationships, voice etc- the stuff that brings outlandish and intriguing ideas to life. I am also accumulating a bundle of very short near future sci fi stories based on real cutting edge science, which might be a more accessible place to start in order to see if our styles and abilities complement each other well.

Last year, as part of r/fantasy's post series in support of Black Lives Matter, I posted 2020 SFF New Releases by Black Authors. I thought Black History Month would be a good time to refresh that post with a list of 2021 Speculative Fiction New Releases by Black Authors.

For more threads highlighting SFF books by Black authors check out these links:

• Great thread on underrated SFF Black authors
• Black Self Published Fantasy (and Sci-Fi) Grand List
• Where to Start with SFF? Black authors in SFF
• SFF graphic novels/comics by Black creators

The info in the tables is from Goodreads, so genre and audience info is more of a guideline, some books only had very little on GR yet, as release dates are pretty far away. If you notice anything inaccurate let me know and I will fix it. Title links go to Goodreads and image links between tables are of the covers.

https://preview.redd.it/axbrfw0731j61.jpg?width=2514&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b880de423d52bdc9fd74fc93997597d11a9e4694

I really really like J. R. R. Tolkein, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and other older Christian speculative authors, but I haven't really found any good contemporary Christian speculative fiction (or really any good contemporary fiction in general). I don't mean just a competent page-turner to pass the time, but something that really turns you inside out, something that has a core of real (capital M) Myth. Does anyone have recommendations?

Hello wonderful people - here is a rework of my Query based on feedback here. Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/PubTips/comments/mvp0o4/qcrit_adult_speculative_fiction_the_considered/

Dear XXXX,

I am currently seeking representation for my SF novel, THE CONSIDERED GIRL. I am reaching out to you as, based on my research, I think my novel fits what you enjoy representing.

In a near-future, America’s war with China has grinded to a ruinous stalemate. Ellie just wants to be a girl in love, but her life in a squalid refugee slum isn’t easy. As an undocumented Asian, she faces hate, prejudice, and the constant threat of arrest as a presumed spy. When Ellie tries her boyfriend’s new mind-sharing technology, she discovers she has a unique power to not only share her thoughts, but actually influence millions of people. As traitors, patriots, criminals and lovers vie for her support, Ellie’s decisions will damn or save a world on the brink of self-destruction.
THE CONSIDERED GIRL is a 111k word approachable mash of light sci-fi and political dystopia. Think William Gibson’s Agency (2020), in terms of science fiction, character style and pacing, meets Lara Elena Donnelly’s Amberlough (2017) in terms of social upheaval and politics.

I am a published author of novellas and short stories licensed by Catalyst Game Labs for the Shadowrun cyberpunk roleplaying game.  I work as a consultant and have a degree in software engineering. I live outside Charleston, SC with my wife and son, as well as an immortal but perpetually grumpy cat.

As requested, please find below the first 10 pages of the book, followed by a full synopsis.

Read a lot of great queries and great feedback here. I hope y'all have some of that greatness to share to help me break through with this query.

Dear [Agent],

Another Door, Another Life is 88,500-words of speculative fiction. [Personalize] It’s a bittersweet blend of The Time Traveler’s Wife meets The Goldbergs.

Michael Ordell—a formerly contented 2011 Pacific Northwest family man—has lost what’s most dear to him: his family. His mind transported to his teen self in 1978 Ohio—gone is his wife, Hanna. His treasured daughters, nonexistent.

It must be a dream—or God—but no, an obscured entity is responsible for Michael’s temporal tragedy. As the entity impels him to meet the oddly perfect Maggie Storm, peculiar effects pervade his mind and life. Stradling worlds, Michael worries about a foolishly arranged date, preventing historical tragedies, and trigonometry tests instead of his career and mortgage.

With his mind muddled from the entity’s neurochemical manipulation, Michael's suppressed teen consciousness launches a coup. Amid the three-way mental melee, he meets Maggie, and both become bound in obsession. The family man can do little as his daughters’ existence fade into oblivion with the indomitable romance.

Desperate, Michael divulges his impossible story. With true love’s selflessness—in part brought on by the entity’s neurochemical meddling—Maggie commits to helping resurrect Michael’s family—tragically pitting the couple against the unrelenting entity.

I’ve written a buttload* of technical, strategic, and legal documents in my lengthy career in high-tech R&D. Leveraging my research background, the characters’ behaviors are founded in biology, psychology, and other science.

Sincerely,

[sign]

* - A 126 US gallon beer or wine cask, which seems about right if you were to print all my work documents and toss them into a barrel.

These lists of recommended reading and viewing take a deliberately broad view of what constitutes left SF. Not all of the authors and directors listed below would call themselves leftists, and some works are not so much leftist as of interest to leftists. None are completely unproblematic and some are not very good at all.

Reading

Edward Abbey, The Monkey Wrench Gang (1975). Eco-saboteurs take on colluding business and government. Sequel: Hayduke Lives! (1990). See also Good Times (1980).

Abe Kobo, Inter Ice Age 4 (1959). The most overtly science-fictional of Abe's absurdist explorations of contemporary alienation. See also Woman in the Dunes (1962), The Face of Another (1964), The Ruined Map (1967), The Box Man (1973), The Ark Sakura (1984), Beyond the Curve (1991), The Kangaroo Notebook (1991).

Chingiz Aitmatov, The Day Lasts Longer than a Hundred Years (1980). Surprisingly uncensored mediation of Central Asian tradition, Soviet modernity and the possibilities presented by an alien world.

Brian Aldiss, HARM (2007). A British muslim author, imprisoned and tortured for making a joke, hallucinates another - very resonant - world.

Benjamin Appel, The Funhouse (1959). Satire on commodity-hedonism and nuclear anxiety.

Eleanor Arnason, A Woman Of The Iron People (1991). Post-revolutionary humans and humanoid aliens face the problems of interspecies communication and colonial encounters. See also To the Resurrection Station (1986), Ring ofSwords (1993), Ordinary People (2005).

Brian Attebery and Ursula K. Le Guin, eds, The Norton Book of Science Fiction (1994). Notoriously 'unrepresentative' anthology of North American literary and feminist SF from 1960 to 1990.

Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale (1985). Fundamentalist dystopia reduces women to their reproductive function. See also The Blind Assassin (2000), Oryx and Crake (2003).

Wilhelmina Baird, Crashcourse (1993). Self-reflexive post-feminist cyberpunk. Sequels: Clipjoint (1994), Psykosis (1995).

J.G.Ballard, Crash (1973). Everything you need to know about sex, technology, and commodity fetishism. See also The Atrocity Exhibition (1970).

Iain M. Bands, Consider Phlebas (1987). Vivid space opera set in a (possibly) utopian, post-scarcity future. Sequels: The Player of Games (1988), The Use of Weapons (1990), Excession (1996), Inversions (1998), Look to Windward (2000), Matter (2008).

Max Barry, Jennifer Government (2003

Contest summary from Winning Writers:

>Recommended free contests award two diversity-centered grants (Diverse Writers and Diverse Worlds) of $500 apiece for book-length speculative fiction rich in diversity. Diverse Writers is for "underrepresented and underprivileged groups...whose marginalized identities may present additional obstacles in the writing/publishing process"; Diverse Worlds is for "work that best presents a diverse world, regardless of the writer's background". Submit an excerpt of 5,000 words or fewer from an in-progress manuscript. See website for other submission requirements. Enter via sponsor's online application form. Sponsored by Speculative Literature Foundation.

Contest details

• Sponsor: The Speculative Literature Foundation
• Category: Excerpt from in-progress manuscript
• Submission length: Up to 5,000 words
• Entry fee: No fee
• Awards: $500

Guidelines and submission information

This contest has been vetted and approved by Winning Writers

I've just released an episode about The City and the City on Atoz: A Speculative Fiction Book Club Podcast. I focus on what Mieville is doing with nationalism and on reading Besz and Ul Qoma as analogs for Serbia and Croatia. There's a lot more to talk about, though, so I hope you'll join me in conversation about it. In particular, I'd love to talk more about religion -- specifically the religion of Ul Qoma.

You can find the show on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and the other major podcast apps, or you can listen directly at our website. If you aren’t inclined to listen but just want to chat about the book, I'd love that too -- and I'm happy for this even just to serve as a general thread for this awesome book. Thanks for checking us out!

And if you're so inclined, you can also hear us talk about two of Mieville's short stories on Elder Sign: A Weird Fiction podcast. Find our episodes on "Reports of Certain Events in London" and "Foundation" here: Apple| Spotify| Amazon| Website

Note: The discord server is not affiliated to r/India in any way. I am not a mod, or otherwise involved in this community as of now.

Hey. I've been toying with the idea of a community that focuses on Indian/South Asian/Non-western spec fic. We could give it a try and see how it does? I am a literature student who works on speculative fiction, if that helps.

This is a rough sketch of how I thought it would work

Short stories:

• ONE 10-30 min read a week.
• Discussion over weekends, either in channel or through voice/video, depending on interest.
• We can also alternate between Western and non-Western for a wider experience.
• I'll try to curate stories that are available online or find a way of getting it to you.

Movies: we stream movies once a month or maybe once every two months depending on interest.

Although there are good established venues for CPing, of there's enough interest we could also have a writing feedback channel.

I define speculative fiction broadly. It could include SFF, horror, mythology-based fiction, alternate history etc. I'm not particularly concerned with medium as long as there's something speculative in it. We can discuss David Bowie's music or paleoart or whatever, as long as what we're discussing is not rooted in our reality.

Why you should join:

• You like spec fic, and want to explore Indian spec.
• You want to get back into reading but don't have as much time anymore.
• You want to develop a reading habit and want to start small.

https://discord.gg/uY8KcSf47C

Please let me know if you have issues joining.

Note: The discord server is not affiliated to r/Indianonpolitical in any way. I am not a mod, or otherwise involved in this community as of now.

Hey. I've been toying with the idea of a community that focuses on Indian/South Asian/Non-western spec fic. We could give it a try and see how it does? I am a literature student who works on speculative fiction, if that helps.

This is a rough sketch of how I thought it would work

Short stories:

• ONE 10-30 min read a week.
• Discussion over weekends, either in channel or through voice/video, depending on interest.
• We can also alternate between Western and non-Western for a wider experience.
• I'll try to curate stories that are available online or find a way of getting it to you.

Movies: we stream movies once a month or maybe once every two months depending on interest.

Although there are good established venues for CPing, of there's enough interest we could also have a writing feedback channel.

I define speculative fiction broadly. It could include SFF, horror, mythology-based fiction, alternate history etc. I'm not particularly concerned with medium as long as there's something speculative in it. We can discuss David Bowie's music or paleoart or whatever, as long as what we're discussing is not rooted in our reality.

Why you should join:

• You like spec fic, and want to explore Indian spec.
• You want to get back into reading but don't have as much time anymore.
• You want to develop a reading habit, and want to start small.

https://discord.gg/uY8KcSf47C

Please let me know if you have issues joining.