Why do indie author books never show up on “Most Anticipated” lists? It’s not about quality—it’s about how the indie world works. From short release timelines to direct-to-reader communication, indie publishing plays a different game entirely. Here’s why that’s actually a very good thing for readers who love immersive series, creative freedom, and stories that don’t wait for marketing schedules.
Galactic empires are everywhere in science fiction—ruling star systems with absolute power, ripe for rebellion or decay. I’ve written a few myself… and torn them down just as quickly. But why do we keep returning to this political model, especially when it’s always doomed to fall? From Dune to Foundation, and even John Scalzi’s surprisingly heartfelt Collapsing Empire, we seem obsessed with watching these mighty regimes unravel. I’ve got theories. But I’m also genuinely curious what draws readers back to the throneworld.
After 35 years, On Spec magazine is closing its doors—a loss not just for Canadian science fiction, but for the speculative fiction world at large. Based in Edmonton, On Spec championed stories with a uniquely Canadian voice and offered a home for emerging and established writers alike. Its final issue, The Final Voyage, marks the end of an era and raises the ever-relevant question: is this just another case of magazine churn, or a sign of the times?
The new Avengers trailers are polished, nostalgic, and carefully designed to tug at old loyalties—but this longtime fan isn’t feeling the spark. After years of overwriting storylines and ignoring emotional arcs, the magic just doesn’t land anymore. It’s not about nitpicking plot holes—it’s about wanting stories that respect their own history. Hollywood keeps hitting reset. Meanwhile, books? They remember.
In the latest season of Daredevil, Marvel trades spectacle for something stranger — a gritty, emotionally charged story that feels less like superhero fiction and more like urban fantasy wrapped in metaphysical angst. With sharp moral ambiguity, subtle symbolism, and just enough bloodied knuckles to make a point, this is a show that doesn’t just ask who’s right or wrong — it asks what right and wrong even mean.
Brandon Sanderson is stepping into science fiction with Tailored Realities, and at the same time, I’ve been watching Daredevil: Reborn — a superhero story that feels a lot more like fantasy than you’d expect. It got me thinking: where do superhero stories fall in the speculative spectrum? Is sci-fi and fantasy really a spectrum at all? This week, I’m diving into how genre boundaries are shifting, and what that means for readers, writers, and masked vigilantes alike.
There’s a place in the Pacific Ocean so remote, the closest humans are often aboard the International Space Station. Known as Point Nemo, this eerily empty stretch of ocean is where dead spacecraft go to die—and it sounds exactly like the kind of setting you’d expect in a science fiction novel. In fact, it’s sparked more than a few story ideas already…
Alien: Earth doesn’t just mimic Ridley Scott’s industrial horror vibe—it builds on the franchise’s core themes with chilling relevance. Expect corporate overreach, synthetic humans with suspect motives, and alien lifeforms that are somehow even grosser than the originals. With standout performances (hello, Timothy Olyphant as a philosopher-soldier), tight character arcs, and a gritty, claustrophobic setting, this series delivers more than just jump scares. It’s a smart, unsettling evolution of a classic universe.
Stories Rule Press author Tracy Cooper-Posey today releases the eighth book in her popular Science Fiction Romance series, The Endurance.
What if Amazon collapsed tomorrow? Thousands of exclusive authors would lose their income overnight, and Kindle Unlimited readers would find their go-to content gone. In this speculative thought experiment, I explore how such a collapse would reshape the indie publishing landscape—for authors, readers, and the future of storytelling.
