Lit of Horror Fantasy and ScFI

Literary speculation is an interesting topic. It sort of includes everything that we have talked about. In way it capstones every week of this blog. There is no limit to speculative literature. Often times we talk about the future with this topic. However anything can be considered speculative if it involves discussing what could be. That is the key to this topic. What could be is what makes speculative literature. In the reading list for this week was a short story called The Distance to the Moon . It was written by Italo Calvino. The story takes up around seven pages and just ends. When I say that I mean literally just ends. The story does not wrap up. It kind of just throws you out. I find that very interesting, yet annoying. I love the world built by Calvino. He does an amazing job of bringing us in to his mind. You get drawn in and all attention is on the setting. Then you are out and it is like you were never there. He is quick and to the point with this story.

We made it to week twelve and started talking about diverse position science fiction. I had no experience with this genre coming into this class. Science Fiction in general is a lot of fun to read and watch. I had high hopes for this class and it definitely paid off. We read Bloodchild in class for this week. I posted a little bit about it earlier, but it does not hurt to reiterate. It is a story of sacrifice and survival. The characters are all named in some language that I had never heard before. It is about bringing an animal to be sacrificed allowing it to survive. The story needs to be made visual because it is difficult to follow. I was able to connect to the protagonist, but could not follow their journey. This was definitely one of my least favorite stories.

This week, and all of the following weeks, was dedicated to a topic I knew very little about. We talked about cyberpunk. Cyberpunk looks like a lot of fun. I do not often get the chance to sit down and read a long story, especially one I knew very little about. I forced myself this week to dive into the genre a little more. I read the short story Fragments of a Hologram Rose by William Gibson. My main complaint with the story was that it was too short. I was captivated by the idea that something so inviting as a rose could be so rejecting in the form of a hologram. The main character does not really tell the story so as much as he shows us the story. What I mean is that he is like a tour guide. He speaks about what is going on, but in reality we can see it happening right in front of us. This week, being cyberpunk and all, I had to watch BladeRunner again. I have seen it so many times and it just amazes me every time. The film is so much fun. I have a great time with this

This week we went into the multiverse to talk about stories revolving around different dimensions. These stories are unique in the sense that there is no set rules for these stories. Anything can and will happen. I really enjoy that idea. It brings a lot of different thoughts and emotions to me. When I am reading a story about the multiverse I feel like I am writing the story itself. It is an amazing thing that a writer can have that much power over an individual. As for the reading for this week, we read Aye and Gomorrah . To summarize, the story is about sexuality. We have these beings known as Spacers who are neutered before puberty. This results in androgynous adults. They turn to prostitution from the Frelks in order to satisfy their sexual demons. The story is short and feels really out of this world (see what I did there?). I like how the story was brief. It made it easier to feel for the characters and understand what they are. So often is the case that these long st

If I thought last week's reading was strange, then this week's reading was just bizarre. I never would have thought that a story about a furry would catch my attention, but low and behold here we are. The first book in a series of seven, Ship's Boy  is a fun little tale of David Birkenhead. David is twelve years old and is training to run a starship when the Boyen Empire attacks. David is a slavebunny that works for the humans. He has no choice but to become an engine working because career choice is reserved for the humans. While this makes for an interesting story what really sells the book is the idea that David can actually save his ship. The story seems like a furry fan fiction, but plays out more like a bildungsroman. The story also takes no time at all throwing you right into the action. I said a lot of nice things about this story and actually found myself enjoying most of it. While I do not ever see myself reading a story about a furry again, this set of

This week's reading was different for me. I don't often dive into the world of fantasy but Neil Gaiman is a fantastic author with a lot of credited works to his name. The one I chose to read was Anansi Boys . The story is unique in the sense that it is about Fat Charlie and how he interacts with a Spider. The spider uses a lot of humor in order to get his point across and Charlie seems to have a rather weird experience with this. In the end of the story the spider marries into the restaurant business and Charlie becomes a singer. The two also find out that they are related. What's interesting about this story is the idea that these two are related. It makes for a nice little twist about midway through the book. Gaiman's style is unique to what I've read in the past. Fantasy is not my favorite genre of work, not by a long shot. However I did enjoy this book. It was a nice break from what typical fantasy is. I attribute all of that to Neil Gaiman. I look forwar