It broke my heart, but I did it anyway. I bought an anthology of 72 time travel stories even though not a single one of them was by Jack Finney.
Read moreRoger Zelazny: Pioneer of Genre-Blending and Bending, and his Lord of Light
Zelazny's works are essential speculative fiction classics and represent an important step in the evolution of science fiction and fantasy. He mixed various genres to produce entertaining, trail-blazing, genre-bending fiction.
Read moreMan Is Wolf to Man
Cromwell is the hero of his own life. Flawed, sure, and antihero most definitely, but hero nonetheless. This strong point of view is an asset in humanizing Cromwell, who is often seen as the cunning right hand to a fickle, sex-crazed violent king -- a role that would typically be characterized as a villain.
Read moreMilitary Space Opera: New Adventures in the Vast Space of a Subgenre of a Subgenre
Military space opera sends carefully-crafted heroes on bold interplanetary adventures where ethical choices are not always black and white. Complex plots explode with military action, side love interests and high consequences for war's losers, while its themes often explore the consequences of bigotry and prejudice.
Read moreThe Future of the Princess: Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles
In The Lunar Chronicles, Marissa Meyer re-imagines four classic princesses and their associated princes. With the five-book series now complete, it's time to unpack these princesses and see what patterns, new and old, have emerged in their heroic journeys.
Read moreRevolt 1680/2180: Past as Prologue
"Revolt 1680/2180" is on view at the Denver Art Museum until May 1, 2016. Installation view of Revolt 1680/2180: Virgil Ortiz, © Virgil Ortiz.
In "Revolt 1680/2180," an exhibition at the Denver Art Museum, artist Virgil Ortiz explores a post-apocalyptic world informed by the Pueblo Rebellion of 1680, where the future echoes the past.
Read more2015 Unbound: Our Favorite Books and Posts from Year One
A look back at the year that was. At least, the cool stuff.
Read moreSpeculative Fiction Podcasts That Will Make You Wish Your Commute Was Longer
How do we insert the wonder of short stories into the crowd of things there’s no time for as easily as we watch our favorite Netflix shows? Speculative fiction podcasts!
Read moreHalloween Thrills: Our Favorite Unbound Chills
Halloween weekend starts now, but the Unbound Writers have compiled enough frightening favorites to keep you shivering through the many cold months ahead.
Read moreKafka's Social Insecurity: "The Metamorphosis" and Worker's Comp
Was "The Metamorphosis" the worst worker's comp claim, ever? Theodore McCombs talks Kafka as author by night, insurance adjuster by day, and introduces his own homage to poor Gregor Samsa on the 100th anniversary of this seminal story's publication.
Read more“Eat Me”: An Odyssey Through Consumable Womanhood
Penelope and the Suitors, painting by John William Waterhouse.
Margaret Atwood takes on consumer culture, gender roles, and cannibalism in The Penelopiad and The Edible Woman
Read more"MaddAddam": Telling Stories to Survive
After the apocalypse, then what? Life ends, and life goes on in Margaret Atwood's MaddAddam, the finale to her post-apocalyptic trilogy.
Read more"The Year of the Flood": Hope and Forgiveness in a Ruined World
Finding hope and redemption in Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood.
Read more"Oryx & Crake": Narcissism and Technology Destroy the World
Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, the first book in the MaddAddam trilogy, is speculative fiction at its finest—and it’s not for the faint of heart.
Read more"The Strange Library": A Dream-Labyrinth of Grief
The Strange Library, a novella by Haruki Murakami with illustrations by Chip Kidd, urges the reader to delve deeper in search of its hidden meaning. Once this odd, beautiful little book catches your eye, you can't look away.
Read moreABOVE US ONLY SKY: An Interview With Author Michele Young-Stone
Prudence Vilkas was born with wings in 1973 Nashville. The doctors said they were a birth defect and her wings were surgically removed leaving small scars on her shoulders. But the ghost of her wings remains and ties her to generations of winged women across the sea. Author Michele Young-Stone and CS Peterson sit down to talk about winged women, historic horror, transcendence and the craft of writing.
Read moreSuperheroes, Enchantment, and Double Narratives: Comics in Novels
We make the connection between the golem of Prague and post-apocalyptic science fiction.
Read moreGraphic Novels and Comics We Heartily Recommend
In anticipation of Denver ComicCon 2015, the Unbound Writers appreciate some of the best comics and graphic speculative fiction around. See you at the Con!
Read moreIf Stories Can Reduce Prejudice Against Minorities, Should They?
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling. Consciousness-raising?
Speculative fiction has a history of challenging a protagonist's biases through encounters with diverse characters and settings. It turns out that readers can be deeply affected by these vicarious encounters. So what is a writer's responsibility?
Read moreWoman Inherits the Earth: the Heroics of Y: THE LAST MAN
When a plague kills off all the men on earth but Yorick Brown, it's the women who show him heroes are made of everything nice.
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