Tag Archives: Science Fiction and Fantasy

Utopia 14

Posted on August 26, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I was today years old when I learned that Kurt Vonnegut’s 1952 novel Player Piano was re-released in a paperback edition as Utopia 14 in 1954. Player Piano is the first novel by  Vonnegut, in it he depicts a dystopia of automation partly inspired by the author’s time … Continue reading →

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The Colour of Magic

Posted on August 16, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I have been a fan of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld  series for decades. Although the books don’t get the attention they deserve in the U.S., the fan base is growing. Maybe the rise of the wacky “flat earth” movement will create more … Continue reading →

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Shelves of Time

Posted on August 10, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

The acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Michael Chabon recently shared a very personal project that he worked on during the Covid-19 pandemic. In a serious bout of nostagia, he recreated the science fiction and fantasy section of his childhood bookshop … Continue reading →

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Don’t Panic It’s Towel Day

Posted on May 25, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

There isn’t a better time to release a collectible edition of Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy than on Towel Day May 25th. The Folio Society is releasing a special edition of Adams’ trilogy in five parts, featuring “70 illustrations by Jonathan … Continue reading →

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Commodified fantasy takes no risks

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

  “All times are changing times, but ours is one of massive, rapid moral and mental transformation. Archetypes turn into millstones, large simplicities get complicated, chaos becomes elegant, and what everybody knows is true turns out to be what some … Continue reading →

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Sandwich of Horror

Posted on October 31, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

NB: If the H.P. Lovecraft video fails to launch please click here .  

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The only lasting truth is change.

Posted on September 14, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

When she was nine years old, Octavia Butler saw a sci-fi film called “Devil Girl From Mars” and thought to herself: “I can write a better story than that.” She went on to become the first widely recognized Black female … Continue reading →

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One ring to rule them all

Posted on May 11, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Who am I to disagree with George R.R. Martin’s assessment that “The Lord of the Rings is the mountain that leans over every other fantasy written since.” A book of that magnitude deserves a stunning new edition for every generation … Continue reading →

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Sci-Fi Sundays

Posted on November 7, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

The winner of the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for the Best Short Science Fiction of 2020 was recently announced. It turned out to be a very timely selection. Rebecca Campbell’s novella “An Important Failure” explores creation in the face of … Continue reading →

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And the Moon Be Still as Bright

Posted on July 17, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Regular visitors to TBTP may recall my many posts about the novels and short stories by the great American writer Ray Bradbury. One of the first sci-fi gems of his that I remember reading as a young child is the … Continue reading →

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