Thoughts on Fantasy

Romantasy and romance books on display at Avid Reader bookshop in Brisbane, 2026 (Photo: Nicola Alter) Over ten years ago I wrote a post that ended up being one of my most read of all time.

Image source: wailingwizard on Flickr, CC BY‑NC‑ND 2.0 For those of us who like a touch of the magical and the medieval, nothing quite beats a visit to a fictional castle.

Photo by Andy Kennedy on Unsplash I’ve always loved science fiction and fantasy stories that focus on language, translation, and linguistics.

The promotional pin I received at a recent screening of Project Hail Mary I recently saw the film adaptation of one of my favourite novels, Project Hail Mary… twice.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about attending Bristolcon, which I try to do every year.

I’ve been a bit quiet recently, but for a good reason at least – a few weeks ago I attended two fantasy and science fiction conventions in the UK.

The Völklingen Ironworks in Germany’s Saar region—a warren of rusted towers, smokestacks, and steam-age machinery now preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Historic German postcard that imagines Berlin in the future, Bröhan Museum, Berlin.

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash I was recently thinking about one of my favourite novels, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, and it reminded me that there’s a quality some science fiction, dystopian and speculative fiction stories have—a rare one—that I absolu…

More often than not, it’s the gushing, positive things in reviews that help convince me to read a book, and the negative ones that make me steer clear.