literature
Science fiction's most popular literary writers from Isaac Asimov to Stephen King and Frank Herbert, and the rising stars of today.
Divisible (Ch. 4)
Catch up here: ONE, TWO, THREE FOUR I sank into the shallow, unfulfilling bath; once a luxury, now the bare minimum of hygiene. The water was tepid, warmed enough to not cause hypothermia. Shampoo wasn't even afforded for lesser status bathrooms. We had to use individually-packaged all-purpose soap bars that made the hair stiff and coarse upon drying. Back in the compound housing, we used to trade grown vegetables and herbs under the table for eggs and honey. We'd make what we called "the poor peasant's conditioner." I thought about how I would sneak eggs and honey away—maybe I wouldn't have to. I heard of Heads of House allowing for vanity items if you were sweet enough. I wasn't sure I wanted to know what that meant. Some kind of illicit sex act? Showing complete subservience for a whole month? The thought of doing that made my stomach gurgle like it wanted to expel last night's dinner.
By CT Idlehouse7 years ago in Futurism
Divisible (Ch. 3)
Catch up here: ONE and TWO THREE Morning dawned and I lie still thinking of my life from this point onward. Concubines had the same rights as average female citizens, the only difference is that we could vote in the Sovereign Assembly. Our votes only counted for half of a man's, but they stacked for how many concubines a Head of House had. For example, if the Head of House had 15 concubines, he'd be able to put forth 9.2 of votes adding the First Wife's 0.7 of a vote and his own point. The First Wife was originally only half a point like us, but they banded together and protested that they should be seen as equals to their husband. The Assembly compromised and decided that they would be given 0.7 of a vote.
By CT Idlehouse7 years ago in Futurism
Cli-Fi Meets Biopunk?
Author Paolo Bacigalupi’s debut novel, The Windup Girl [published in 2009 by Night Shades Books], celebrates its 10th anniversary this fall. Critically acclaimed, it was named one of the top 10 fiction books in 2009 by TIME Magazine and won the 2010 Nebula Award, the Campbell Memorial Award, and the 2010 Hugo Award in a tie with China Miéville’s The City & the City. The novel has become one of the defining works of biopunk, a sub-genre of science fiction which explores dystopic worlds of genetic manipulation by power brokers.
By K.E. Lanning7 years ago in Futurism
Best Hard Sci-Fi Books Focused on Biology
Science fiction comes in a number of flavours: Space opera, cyberpunk, post-apocalyptic, afrofuturism, etc. My favourite of these though is hard science fiction, stories in which the science parts are made as realistic as possible. The science might be speculative, the story might feature ideas and technology that doesn’t exist yet, but they should be possible based on the science of today.
By Dan Swindlehurst7 years ago in Futurism
Writing Prompt #1
(Note: Writing prompt is taken from Publishing School) Mom has always been proud of her garden, an array of full blooming flowers and perfectly trimmed bushes giving a pleasant welcome to the front door. But lately the colors have been dulling, the buds are less and less, and the bees and butterflies aren't making their usual visits. Mom loved those visits, as she would sit outside and watch them buzz and fly from one flower to the next collecting as much pollen as they could carry on their legs. She always said that if everyone had their own heaven, this would be hers.
By RMcKittrick7 years ago in Futurism
Library of Souls
I had just finished reading yet another book. As I closed it, the pages now witness to all the emotions I had felt while reading, I looked up. Staring at the wall trying to wrap my head around the reality that it was just a book. Only an adventure that lives in my head and the pages it was written on.
By Abigail Wadsworth7 years ago in Futurism
Full Bird
Retired Marine Colonel Sebastian “Bastion” Hills stood on the tarmac in Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware. The gleaming aircraft possessed wings that jutted out like fingers. The fuselage was an electronic cigarette and the nose looked normal. No drop nose here. It was unlike any previous supersonic jet or any conventional airplane ever. This day marked the first launch.
By Skyler Saunders7 years ago in Futurism
