Has Fantasy Overtaken Science Fiction?

Has the fantasy genre overtaken the science fiction genre in popularity? It’s a good question. It might be a question you haven’t even thought about. After all, the two genres are closely related. Many people can’t say one without saying the other. Let’s take a closer look.

It’s Hard to Tell, but the Signs Are Out There

On the surface, it doesn’t seem like much has changed. There are lots of fantasy books and movies out there just as there are lots of science fiction books and movies. Nevertheless, I was surprised to see the vast quantities of fantasy when compared to SciFi when I walked into my local Barnes & Noble.

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TV Show Review: Babylon 5

Full Title: Babylon 5
Year: 1993 – 1998
Starring: Bruce Boxleitner, Mira Furlan, Peter Jurasik,
Andreas Katsulas, Michael O’Hare, Jerry Doyle
Creator: J. Michael Straczynski
Screenwriter: J. Michael Straczynski
Studio: Warner Bros.
My Five Star Rating: 5 stars

Story Arc

The story itself takes place on a space station called Babylon 5 as we can surmise. As the opening sequence says, it was built after the Earth-Minbari war to promote peace among alien races, but peace is the last thing on the agendas of the diplomatic personnel on the station.

UN Among the Stars

Backstabbing, conniving, and jockeying for galactic advantage is what mostly takes place on this five-mile-long military outpost doubling as a sort of UN among the stars. But if that was the only thing happening, the show wouldn’t be as intriguing as the creator intended.

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Newsletter Update

Hello friends. I know some of you are wondering when you will be able to sign up for the Newsletter. It’s going to take a bit longer, but I’m going to set things up as soon as possible.

Here’s the problem. As you all know, I’m moving to the Northeast very soon. In order for me to set up the mechanism to let you enter your email address, it takes a bit of doing. However, that’s not the main problem.

There are a number of good marketing platforms that will allow me to do this, but first I need to get a P.O. box. By law, I have to put an address at the bottom of every newsletter I send out. How can I do that when I’m still in the process of moving?

As soon as I get to New England, I will go to the nearest post office, get a P.O. box, and finally get the newsletter going. Believe me, I’m looking forward to sending out the first one, but it’s going to take a bit longer than anticipated. I would assume I’ll have it all set up by sometime in March. Thanks.

Art Benson

What I’m Reading Now

Hello Friends. Right now, I’m reading a book called Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee. It’s the last book in The Green Bone Saga trilogy, and I have to tell you, it’s absolutely awesome. The three books in the trilogy are as follows:

Jade City
Jade War
Jade Legacy

This series is a fantasy, but it’s unlike any fantasy you’ve read before. Even though it’s not specifically stated, it’s an Asian fantasy. There are no kings, swords, or dragons. Rather, the book centers around clans that run the mythical city of Janloon, on the island of Kekon.

It is a story that is almost equivalent to modern times, circa 1950. They have air travel, modern cars, and a host of other things that deviates from many of the fantasy books we’re used to. So why is it a fantasy?

The warriors in the clans use a bio-energetic form of jade that when worn on the body, it transforms the wearer into a kind of superhuman fighter.

The characters in these books are phenomenal and you can’t stop reading to find out what’s going to happen to them next. Once I finish the trilogy, I will write a full review on the series.

If you want to get a jump on it, however, go ahead and start reading. This is another series I highly recommend. Until next time…

Art Benson

Book Review: Nether Station

Full Title: Nether Station
Author: Kevin J. Anderson
Genre: Science Fiction Horror
Published: 2024
Publishing Company: Blackstone Publishing
My Five Star Rating: 4 stars

Science Fiction That Reads Like Horror

If you like science fiction thrillers with elements of horror, this book is for you. At times it reminded me of Alien, one of my favorite classic movies. For fans of hard SciFi, this isn’t exactly what you’d get from writers like Alastair Reynolds or Stephen Baxter, but it is a phenomenally good balance between believable science and a splendidly terrifying story.

Hard SciFi That Doesn’t Go Too Hard

Kevin J. Anderson is one of my favorite writers precisely for that reason. He tells an incredibly good, believable story without getting bogged down in obscure details of the actual science. I find many authors these days go overboard with that, slowing down the pace of the story immeasurably.

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Where You Can Find Me

Hello friends. A few days ago, someone asked me what social media sites other than this author’s website do I post on. The answer is a simple one. None of them.

Some would say that is not a very smart move on my part. Being an author, you’d figure I’d want maximum exposure. I do, but as you’ve no doubt read in my other posts, time is at a premium.

If I post on a half-dozen other social media sites, it means I’m taking precious time to compose those posts. By limiting the time I spend on other sites, I’ll have more time to do what I really should be doing—writing novels.

My lack of exposure on other sites might not be ideal, but it gives me the opportunity to focus on this site exclusively. So when I’m not writing my novels, I’ll be posting right here. Thanks.

Art Benson

Short, Sweet Reads Seem to Be the Trend

Hello friends, being a long-time science fiction & fantasy reader and writer, there’s something I’ve always been curious about. I’ve found that many books in these two related genres are very long in length.

Are Novels With Hefty Word Counts Really Worth it?

At first, when I’d pick up one of these books that was thick as a brick I’d be ecstatic, thinking I was getting more story for my money. I’d con myself into thinking the story would not end quickly, and I wouldn’t have to search for something new to read.

All of that seemed to justify the hefty price tag that usually went along with these books, many of which are traditionally published by the large publishers. But eventually I started to question the quality of these long, drawn out novels.

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Book Review: Blood Music

Full Title: Blood Music
Author: Greg Bear
Genre: Science Fiction
Published: 1985
Publishing Company: First ed. – Arbor House
My Five Star Rating: 5 stars

One of My Favorite Books

Since I chose a movie with special personal meaning for my first movie review, I will do the same for my first book review. I was a young man when I first read Blood Music, and right away, the book captured my imagination in a way others of its kind had not done before. Easily one of my favorite books, it made me a devoted Greg Bear fan instantly.

A Genre-Defining Novel

Written at a time when the cyberpunk sub-genre was making a big splash on the SciFi scene, Blood Music was the definitive dystopian story when dystopian was yet to be a thing.

You will get a chilling sense of déjà vu when you read this book. The storyline mirrors events that have taken place in the recent past, and it’s even more impressive when you consider Blood Music was written in 1985.

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Checking In

Hello friends, I haven’t posted in a couple of days so I thought I’d check in. I’ve been doing a lot of cleaning up and tossing out. Right now, I have about 6 full garbage bags of things ready for the dumpster.

I can’t believe how much stuff I’ve accumulated the last 10 years I’ve been living down here in Florida. What’s surprising is that I’ve always been rather diligent on not hording junk, but I guess it’s something that sort of creeps up on you whether you like it or not.

I can’t blame myself too much, however. I’m throwing out a lot of things I’d actually like to take with me. There’s only so much space in my car for the long trip up to Boston. I’m giving a lot of it to the employees here in my condo building, many of whom I’ve become friends with, so at least most of it won’t be wasted.

For my next post, I want to write a book review, and I know exactly which novel I want to do it on. Until next time…

Art Benson

Why No Images for Reviews

I recently wrote my first movie review on this site. You can read it here. Soon after I posted the review, I got a message from one of you asking me why I wasn’t using better images representing the movie rather than using a generic image.

I thought about it and I agree, but I think I’m still going to stick with the movie image I used. If you’re wondering, here it is…