Monthly Archives: December 2019

9 SciFi Predictions for 2020

Continuing the tradition established last year, I’ll make some predictions for science fiction for the coming year.

First, however, I have an update on Twenty Thousand Leagues Remembered, the upcoming anthology I’m co-editing along with the talented writer and editor Kelly A. Harmon of Pole to Pole Publishing. We’ve moved the opening date for submissions to January 10. Click here for details.

Back, now, to the prognostications. Abandoning my crystal ball, which didn’t work so well, I’ve since mastered the technique of Tasseography, or reading tea leaves. Let’s peer into the cup and see what the leaves reveal:

  • Partisan Politics. SciFi will become more political in this U.S. election year. With the citizenry becoming increasingly partisan, authors will show their political biases and opinions in their stories. Stories will increasingly be either left/liberal or right/conservative. This trend disturbs me, but I have to call ‘em as I see ‘em.
  • Post-Apocalypse. With the decline and death of the dystopia will come the birth of a more hopeful and positive future. We’ll see more stories of civilizations rising from the ashes of past global destruction.
  • Time Travel. There are plenty of time periods left to explore, many with subtle lessons for us today. Despite the risk of paradox, authors will give us more time-traveling protagonists heading off to the past or future. Most of these stories will involve romance to some degree.
  • Climate Fiction. CliFi will remain a strong sub-genre, with authors exploring humanity’s influence on the Earth’s climate. I predict most such stories will either deal with human attempts to fix the climate before a catastrophe or will take place after a climate catastrophe.
  • LBGTQ characters. More protagonists and other major characters will be part of the LGBTQ spectrum. Within these fictional worlds, the cisgendered characters will respect and admire the LGBTQ main characters, not ostracize or mistreat them. Other related works will continue to take place in transhuman, post-gender worlds.
  • Strong Female. The damsel in distress is dead. During the last decade or two, she’s been replaced by the Strong Female. This woman is strong in the sense of being fierce, capable, and not dependent on men. Though by now she’s a stock character, SciFi authors will continue to explore various subtleties and nuances of the Strong Female in 2020.
  • Star Wars Reaction. With the completion of the triple trilogy “Skywalker Saga” in 2019, authors will pen stories reacting to all things Star Wars. In 2020, I anticipate stories satirizing and otherwise mocking aspects of the George Lucas-created franchise, and probably other SciFi fantasies trying to fill the void by launching Star Wars variants.
  • Afrofuturism. Authors in 2020 will weave tales comporting with Afrofuturism 2.0 and Astro-blackness. Audience reaction to the 2018 film Black Panther demonstrated a strong enthusiasm for works merging the themes of the African Diaspora with high technology.
  • Boomer Lit. I see some SciFi in 2020 examining baby boomer themes. This will include stories with older protagonists, as well as stories with strong 1960s nostalgic references.

At the end of 2020, I’ll make every effort to assess these predictions, as I did for my 2019 prophecies. Yogi Berra said, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future,” but I have confidence in the tea leaves, so you should have confidence in the prognostication prowess of—

Poseidon’s Scribe

December 29, 2019Permalink

Looking Back, My 2019 Predictions Assessed

A year ago, I made several predictions about what would happen in 2019. It’s time to assess my skill as a prognosticator.

Like any good soothsayer, I worded some of my predictions so that it’s difficult to say whether they came true or not. Also, I don’t have access to solid data that would confirm whether some came true or not. Still, here goes:

  • Prediction: In 2019, you’ll see more science fiction books written by authors from previously underrepresented groups (women, people of color, LGBTQ, etc.) and these books will explore concepts of belonging and isolation, as well as bending our current notions of gender and race.
    • Assessment: I think this one came true. Certainly 2019 saw the publication of SciFi novels written by women such as Elizabeth Bear, Margaret Atwood, Sarah Pinsker; and people of color such as Cadwell Turnbull, Tade Thompson, and Chen Qiufan; and self-identified members of the LGBTQ community such as Charlie Jane Anders, Annalee Newitz, and C.J. Cherryh. I haven’t verified the second part of my prediction, but I suspect it’s true.
  • Prediction: The superhero theme in movies will peak and begin a gradual decline. It’s been an amazing ride, but I believe the market has saturated and audiences are getting tired.
    • Assessment: It’s too early to tell if I was right. Four superhero movies came out in 2019 compared to seven in 2018, but one of them, Avengers Endgame, was the highest grossing film of all time.
  • Prediction: Very few, if any, best-selling scifi books will feature faster-than-light drive. Most authors have accepted Einstein’s speed of light limit. FTL now seems hokey to readers.
    • Assessment: I don’t have good data on this. Tiamat’s Wrath (Expanse #8) by James S. A. Corey contains gates to other star systems. Alliance Rising by C. J. Cherryh and Jane S. Fancher contains FTL with jump points. Obviously, FTL hasn’t gone away in SciFi, but it’s hard to say if it’s on a downward trend.
  • Prediction: Having already peaked, the steampunk and alternate history genres will continue to wane in books and movies, though they may retain strength in the video gaming world. This genre trend in books is troubling to me, since I enjoy writing steampunk and other alternative history.
    • Assessment: I got that one very wrong. Several good Steampunk novels came out in 2019, including The Secret Chapter (The Invisible Library #6) by Genevieve Cogman; Made Things (Made Things #1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky; Counter Culture by J.L. Merrow; Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor; The Light at the Bottom of the World (The Light at the Bottom of the World #1) by London Shah; The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl (The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club #3) by Theodora Goss; and White Hornet (The Viper and the Urchin #5) by Celine Jeanjean)
  • Prediction: We’ll see more Solarpunk, and the Punk Family will grow by a few more. I think there’s a great deal of uncharted territory in the solarpunk genre and a general hunger for it among readers. Most new ‘punks’ added in 2019 will be future-based, rather than alternative histories.
    • Assessment: Again, this prediction’s hard to evaluate. Certainly, The Weight of Light: A Collection of Solar Futures, edited by Clark A. Miller and Joey Eschrich is solarpunk and some have likewise classified Emergency Skin (Forward Collection #3) by N.K. Jemisin; and All City by Alex DiFrancesco as solarpunk. As to new ‘punks’ being added in 2019, I haven’t seen evidence of that.
  • Prediction: There will be fewer dystopian young adult books, and there will be an upsurge in YA depicting a positive (though not utopian) future. I think dystopias have run their course for the time being, and readers are ready for less bleak outlooks.
    • Assessment: I think there were fewer dystopian YA books in 2019, but among them were Internment by Samira Ahmed; The Farm, by Joanne Ramos; and The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh. Certainly, Peyton Skoczylas thinks this genre has run its course. However, I didn’t sense an upsurge in 2019 of YA SciFi involving positive futures.
  • Prediction: Overall, as a genre, science fiction will do well in the visual media of movies, video games, and graphic novels, but not in traditional book form. Plenty of authors enjoy writing scifi, but readers will turn away from this genre in greater numbers. This is another prediction I find personally disappointing.
    • Assessment: I couldn’t find data to confirm or deny the truth of this prediction. Plenty of authors did produce SciFi in 2019, but whether readership or revenues went up or down, I don’t know. SciFi in movies, video games, and graphic novels remained strong.
  • Prediction: The trend toward series novels will remain strong. Once modern readers make an emotional investment in a set of characters and their fictional world, they want to know what happens after the first novel, and after the next.
    • Assessment: I nailed this one. In addition to the series novels mentioned above, Moon Rising (Luna #3) by Ian McDonald, Atlas Alone (Planetfall #4) by Emma Newman, Dark Age (Red Rising Saga #5) by Pierce Brown, and several other series novels were published in 2019.

Like the best oracle, my results are an ambiguous mixed bag, subject to interpretation. Perhaps I didn’t do so badly after all. Next week, check this space for predictions about 2020 by—

Poseidon’s Scribe

December 22, 2019Permalink

The Story Behind “Reconnaissance Mission”

Pole to Pole Publishing just released Not Far From Roswell, an anthology of dark short stories involving aliens in New Mexico. My tale called “Reconnaissance Mission” appears there, and you’re about to discover the story behind that story.

When the submission call went out, I figured I’d pass. I don’t often write dark stories or alien visitation fiction. My intellectual side had moved on, but my muse grabbed it by the collar and said, “Come back here. I’ve got an idea. Hold my beer.”

Over the years, I’ve learned to listen to my muse, even when she’s drunk. With alcohol on her breath, she whispered her idea about an alternate version of history where Edgar Allan Poe visits New Mexico and encounters something. My intellect argued back: “I don’t think Poe ever visited that area, and the state of New Mexico didn’t even exist in his time.” The muse replied, “Details, shmetails. Those are your problems.”

My crack research team uncovered some interesting and useful tidbits about Poe. Before going to West Point (yes, he was a cadet, though he didn’t graduate), he had enlisted in the Army in 1827. At that time, many of our Army’s enlisted personnel were recent immigrants from Ireland and Germany, so Poe probably stood out. His regiment was posted to Fort Moultrie in Charleston, South Carolina. Highly intelligent and a quick learner, Poe became the battery’s “artificer.”

The U.S. Army doesn’t have much need of artificers these days, but back then “Tiffys” were vital. They calculated explosive loads and fuse lengths for artillery shells. Any computational error could result in a missed shot, a premature detonation, or even death of the gun crew.

Poe was skilled, though, and rose to the rank of Sergeant Major. His commanding officer, Lieutenant Howard, recognized his talent and urged Poe to apply for the Military Academy. Upon acceptance, Poe entered West Point in 1829.

All that is true. But, my muse asked, what if…? What if the Army ordered one platoon to conduct a clandestine mission to Santa Fe de Nuevo México, then a territory of Mexico? What if their mission had been to assess the military strengths and potential threats of the Mexicans and the Apaches?

Further, what if the platoon encountered something unusual, something that might explain Poe’s later writings, something that seemed very…well…alien?

Then, as is usual for me, the story wrote itself. It’s an origin story for Poe, one that could have happened. Well, there’s no evidence it didn’t happen. As they say, the truth is out there.

You can purchase Not Far From Roswell here. Knowing the fine editors at Pole to Pole Publishing, I’m certain all the stories in that anthology are terrific.

Yes, I know. I owe my muse a beer. Without her, I really wouldn’t be—

Poseidon’s Scribe

December 15, 2019Permalink

Welcome Aboard the Nautilus

The submarine in Jules Verne’s novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is one of the most amazing settings in all of literature. Let’s explore it.   

Before we do, I’ll invite you to write and submit a short story to an anthology I’m co-editing along with the esteemed Kelly A. Harmon of Pole to Pole Publishing. Twenty Thousand Leagues Remembered is intended for release on June 20, 2020, the 150th anniversary of Verne’s masterwork. Click here for details about submitting your story.

As a degreed naval architect and former submariner, I could write many posts about the design of the Nautilus. You can read this book or this one, or peruse this website for more information like that. My purpose today is to explore this submarine as a literary setting.

Before the publication of Verne’s novel, submarines were tiny and dangerous; they could only stay submerged a short time. In the public’s mind they were curiosities, odd little experimental toys. Moreover, electricity was new—a phenomenon with known, but unrealized potential.

At a stroke, Verne astounded readers with a submarine like they’d never imagined. He gave them a glimpse through the veil of the future. The Nautilus was far bigger than any real submarine to date, nearly as big as the naval ironclad surface ships of the time. With a maximum speed of fifty knots, the Nautilus could outrace anything at sea. Moreover, it could dive into any deep-sea trench and only needed to surface once a day for air.

At a time when people lit their homes with whale oil, cooked with wood, and powered ships with coal, Verne sparked their imaginations by giving them an all-electric vessel. “Electricity” was then still almost magical, and Nemo had tamed it for lighting, cooking, and propelling his vessel.

Verne alarmed his readers with a horrible new weapon of war. No longer would the seas be safe when an unseen danger could rise from the depths and cleave ships in two. It’s how the book began, with mariners terrified of a ‘sea monster’ that struck without warning.

Yet the Nautilus had another side, as Pierre Aronnax learned. It was a civilized vessel, with a vast library and a relaxing parlor or salon with paintings, busts, and display cases. Yes, even a pipe organ. Large portals opened to provide a window to the sea, making this submarine a vessel of exploration, too.

But Verne’s surprises didn’t end there. For the sailors of the Nautilus, the sea wasn’t merely their workplace. It was home. Unlike all previous humans, they lived their lives in the ocean, never making land, eating only seafood, and being buried in the depths.

For Conseil, Pierre Aronnax, and especially Ned Land, the Nautilus was also an iron prison from which escape seemed impossible. Before the phrase ‘gilded cage’ came in vogue, Verne trapped his characters within one. The scenes played out between metal bulkheads with characters caught in an odd dichotomy. Freer than anyone else to explore the vast oceans, they could not pass beyond the Nautilus’ steel hull. Were they guests, or prisoners, or both?

The Nautilus was, and remains, unique. Some literary scholars consider it a character in its own right. I don’t go that far, but this submarine makes for a remarkable setting. Many novels since have been set aboard submarines, but we must measure all fictional subs against the standard of the Nautilus.

That concludes our tour. Watch your step on the ladder and don’t hit your head on the hatchway. Please exit quickly; if Captain Nemo found out I’d brought you aboard, I’m not sure what he’d do to—

Poseidon’s Scribe

December 8, 2019Permalink

Author Interview (Updated) — Todd Sullivan

Readers with long memories will recall I interviewed Todd Sullivan once before. I decided to interview him again because a lot has happened in his writing career. He’s got two novellas being published soon.

Author Todd Sullivan

Todd Sullivan teaches English as a Second Language, and English Literature & Writing in Asia. He has had numerous short stories, novelettes, and novellas published across several countries, including Thailand, the U.K., Australia, the U.S., and Canada. He is a practitioner of the sword-fighting martial arts, kumdo/kendo, and has trained in fencing (foil), Muay Thai, Capoeira, Wing Chun, and JKD. He graduated from Queens College with a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, and received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Georgia State University. He attended the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and the National Book Foundation Summer Writing Camps. He currently lives in Taipei, Taiwan, and looks forward to studying Mandarin.

Here’s the interview:

Poseidon’s Scribe: Since I last interviewed you in September 2017, what have you been writing?

Todd Sullivan: Funny enough, I’ve still been writing from the same narrative universe that that 2017 story, “Wheels and Deals,” published in the Dark Luminous Wings anthology, took place in. My current novella, Butchers, is a vampire story that takes place in South Korea. But the actual storyline, along with several other short stories that were published between 2016 and 2018, all exist in the same nightmarish reality.

P.S.: What are the titles of the other stories?

T.S.: “Gwi’shin,” published in Eastlit Journal; “Transubstantiation,” published in Aurealis Science Fiction & Fantasy. “Chingu,” published in Tincture Journal. “The Ascent Made Him Plunge,” published in The Big Book of Bootleg Horror 2. They’re all connected.

P.S.: You’ve been busy, and successful in getting your stories published. Congratulations on the publication of Butchers. The book cover is eye-catching. If you had to describe this novella in three words, what would they be?

T.S.: To coin Public Enemy, “Fight the power.”

P.S.: The story is set in Seoul, South Korea. Why did you choose that setting?

T.S.: I lived in South Korea for ten years, three of which were spent in Seoul. The very first incarnation of this story took place on a small island at the southern-most tip of the country called Jeju. Jeju will still play a pivotal role in how the ongoing narrative unfolds. If one can imagine the narrative universe as a typhoon, Jeju is the center of the maelstrom.

P.S.: So many horror stories deal with vampires working alone. In Butchers, there’s an entire vampire organization with initiation rites, rules, a mission, and rogue members. What can you tell us about this group?

T.S.: The Gwanlyo is, in many ways, the tyrannical employer. Mindlessly cruel, and diabolical, with arcane regulations that seem to serve only one purpose: to torture their employees.

P.S.: The novella’s protagonist, Sey-Mi, sounds fascinating. Please tell us what she’s like at the beginning of the book.

T.S.: Kim Sey-Mi is a graduating high school senior who, like Alice, tumbles down the rabbit hole. She meets strange and terrible figures, and the question is will she become one of them: a strange, terrible person.

P.S.: You describe this as a novella of extreme horror. Why will this book appeal to horror and vampire fans?

T.S.: As a vampire fan myself, I have to admit that it doesn’t take much to make me fall in love with a vampire story. I think a lot of vampire fans share a similar sentiment. I think, though, that Butchers is a unique take on the mythology. It combines Korean culture with Western horror to create an exciting fusion of ideas. I think even a vampire fan really appreciates a new take on the undying genre.

P.S.: Is the launching of this book coming soon? How can eager readers find out more, and buy it?

T.S.: Butchers is available to purchase now in ebook and book form. The official launch date is December 5th, and there will be a Facebook event from 10am to 12am EST where I’ll answer questions, and where an attendee can win a free copy of the novella.

P.S.: I understand this will be the first of a series. What can you tell us about the second book?

T.S.: The Gray Man of Smoke and Shadows is a stellar tale that focuses on a character introduced in Butchers: Hyeri. I had a lot of fun writing Hyeri, and I knew that the next book in the series would be about her. There’s no point in wasting a character this good.

P.S.: You’ve also got another novella soon to be published, called Hollow Men. I love its cover image as well. Please give us three words to describe this book.

T.S.: Death comes easy.

P.S.: Please describe the setting of this work of epic fantasy. Where and when are you taking your readers this time? What makes this setting different from most other works in this genre?

T.S.: So, Hollow Men takes place in a fantasy version of medieval South Korea. The story revolves around men who go on quests to become heroes. The story also deals with the politics of being a foreigner in a homogeneous society. And it’s different because it fuses the east and west in a tale of swords & sorcery. It’s a D&D campaign that takes place in the Hermit Kingdom.

P.S.: What are the fantasy elements in the story? I understand there’s a heroic quest, a magic sword, and a knight. What else will readers encounter?

T.S.: I guess the narrative touches upon the ideas of globalism. We can say that we are all just the human race, but do we really believe it? Actions speak louder than words, and if one were to look at the actions of the world’s people, can one really say that we truly believe we are all of the human race? So imagine this quandary using the metaphor of the fantastical, and that’s Hollow Men.

P.S.: Please paint a word picture of Ha Jun, your protagonist.

T.S.: Ha Jun is a young man who increasingly realizes that the world is trying to kill him. And he’s simply trying to figure out how to stay alive.

P.S.: When and where can readers get this book?

T.S.: Hollow Men’s expected release date is December 9th, 2019. It would make a great Christmas gift for teen readers.

P.S.: It certainly would. You also intend this novella to be the beginning of a series. Can you give us a glimpse of the second book, and what connects the two?

T.S.: Life is a constant struggle. That’s actually the general theme of this fantasy series. One keeps fighting, and either one dies, or one survives to fight again. There is no peace. There is only the hustle, the struggle to survive.

Poseidon’s Scribe: Where can readers go to find out more about you?

Todd Sullivan: Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Thanks, Todd, and best of luck with both novellas and both resulting series.

December 1, 2019Permalink