Brenna Yovanoff's Gothic monsters are full of teeth, and she is an author full of surprises.
Read moreThe Heroic Ideals of "The Grace of Kings"
In praise of complicated heroes in Ken Liu's epic fantasy.
Read more"The Sparrow" at 20 Years: A Space Theodicy
It's Lent. What better time to contemplate Catholics in space? Theodore McCombs and CS Peterson discuss The Sparrow, A Canticle for Leibowitz and The Book of Strange, New Things.
Read more"The Reader": Traci Chee's Stunning Debut
“Sea of Ink and Gold”—I love the visual richness evoked by the series title.
The Reader is a meta-meditation on the mystical act of reading itself. With pirates. And assassins.
Read moreThe Brooklyn Brujas of Córdova’s “Labyrinth Lost”
Family, identity, and the trouble with relatives living and dead.
Read more"Imago": The Next Evolution
A very feminine version of Jodahs the ooloi construct
Gemma Webster and Theodore McCombs conclude their three-part appreciation of Octavia Butler's groundbreaking Xenogenesis trilogy.
Read moreWomen Writing Women: Fighting Pre-Inauguration Blues with Beth Cato and V.E. Schwab
Beth Cato and V.E. Schwab
After a politically tumultuous 2016, Jon seeks solace in the fantasy worlds of Beth Cato and V.E. Schwab.
Read more2016 Unbound: The Year in Review
Our favorite books and posts from Year Two.
Read moreAkin's Choice: Octavia Butler's "Adulthood Rites" as a Coming-of-Age Story
In our second appreciation of Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis trilogy, we look at the second generation of Lilith's Brood and his embrace of self-determinism, even at the highest costs.
Read moreDocility and Rage: Exploring Performance and Blackness in "The Ballad of Black Tom"
Is the world ready to say goodbye to the docile black man trope?
Read moreSay Yes to the Genes: An Appreciation of Butler's "Dawn"
Unbound Writers, Theodor McCombs and Gemma Webster, bring you the first installment of their appreciation of the Xenogenesis trilogy: Dawn
Read moreOf Fairy Tales & Fire: Yaa Gyasi's "Homegoing"
Fairy tale elements and symbolism in Yaa Gyasi's debut, Homegoing
Read more"The Peripheral": The Past, Present, and Future Diverge
If you could communicate with the past without changing the present, would you do it? Of course you would.
Read moreOn Mirror Play and Why Steven Millhauser Is Good for Breakups
Authors love to taunt troubled characters with mirrors.
Read moreThe Art of Unembarrassed Fiction: Alexander Chee's "The Queen of the Night"
Go big or go home when you're writing about opera.
Read moreSpeculative Worlds at Gaming’s E3
The interactive nature of video games may not make for the purest, strongest story telling, but this year's E3 proves again games are creating some of the most ambitious speculative universes you can find.
Read moreThe Intimacy of Damnation: Hilary Mantel’s BEYOND BLACK
Trivial fiends and ordinary grace in Hilary Mantel's literary fright show.
Read more"Gold Fame Citrus": Eco-Apocalypse Begets Human Apocalypse
Two appreciations of Gold Fame Citrus, the debut novel from Claire Vaye Watkins.
Read more"The Water Knife": The Present Is Prologue to a Broken Future
Nevada and California battle over water rights on the Colorado River while the city of Phoenix lies in ashes in Paolo Bacigalupi’s post-apocalyptic novel.
Read morePaolo Bacigalupi: Chilling Worlds of Warning
Paolo Bacigalupi, photo © JT Thomas Photography
Paolo Bacigalupi, the master of the dire sci-fi future, visits Fiction Unbound to talk about black-swan events, speculative fiction's power to contextualize the present, and what he has learned about his own creative process.
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