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Readers Never Actually Fell Out of Love with Space Opera

Leave a Comment / Out There, SF Genre, SF Industry, TV Series & Movies /

For years, science fiction seemed determined to convince us the future would be smaller, darker, and more cynical than the present. But readers never actually abandoned space opera. They still wanted starships, exploration, galactic civilizations, and futures worth fighting for. Now, as film, television, and publishing slowly rediscover large-scale science fiction, it feels like space opera is finally stepping back into the spotlight — jet packs and all.

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Earth Day and the Science Fiction of Hope

2 Comments / Out There, SF Genre /

On Earth Day, science fiction reminds us that environmental collapse is not the only possible future. From Frank Herbert’s Dune to modern Solarpunk stories like Winds of Change, SF has always offered both a warning and a hope: that science, ingenuity, and the human spirit can help us protect our one blue world—and perhaps one day carry that wisdom to the stars.

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Space Is Bigger Than We Think

2 Comments / Out There, SF Genre /

Excerpt: Science fiction readers are among the people most likely to underestimate the true scale of space. We are so accustomed to faster-than-light drives, wormholes and jump gates that we forget how impossably vast the distances between stars really are. But once a writer decides how long it takes to cross those distances, every other aspect of the story changes—from politics and trade to war, culture and the kinds of stories that can be told at all.

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April Fool’s in Orbit

Out There /

Tomorrow is April 1, and space seems to bring out the prankster in all of us. From fake UFO photos and moon-landing conspiracies to astronauts in gorilla suits aboard the International Space Station, the line between hoax and reality can be surprisingly thin. The odd thing is that the real universe is usually stranger—and far more entertaining—than anything we could invent.

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Why Finding New Science Fiction Online Is Weirdly Hard Now

8 Comments / Out There, Reading, SF Industry /

I sat down with a simple goal: find something new to read. Not search for a specific title. Not hunt down an author I already knew. Just browse — the way readers have always done. Twenty minutes later, I gave up. Not because there aren’t books, but because real discovery has quietly vanished. What used to be shelves are now funnels, and finding new science fiction online has become far harder than it should be.

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Why Indie Authors Don’t Appear on “Most Anticipated” Lists — And Why That’s a Good Thing

2 Comments / Out There, Reading, SF Industry /

Why do indie author books never show up on “Most Anticipated” lists? It’s not about quality—it’s about how the indie world works. From short release timelines to direct-to-reader communication, indie publishing plays a different game entirely. Here’s why that’s actually a very good thing for readers who love immersive series, creative freedom, and stories that don’t wait for marketing schedules.

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Farewell to On Spec: A Pillar of Canadian SF Bids Goodbye

2 Comments / Out There, Reading, SF Industry /

After 35 years, On Spec magazine is closing its doors—a loss not just for Canadian science fiction, but for the speculative fiction world at large. Based in Edmonton, On Spec championed stories with a uniquely Canadian voice and offered a home for emerging and established writers alike. Its final issue, The Final Voyage, marks the end of an era and raises the ever-relevant question: is this just another case of magazine churn, or a sign of the times?

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Where Spacecraft Go to Die: The Sci-Fi Allure of Point Nemo

Out There /

There’s a place in the Pacific Ocean so remote, the closest humans are often aboard the International Space Station. Known as Point Nemo, this eerily empty stretch of ocean is where dead spacecraft go to die—and it sounds exactly like the kind of setting you’d expect in a science fiction novel. In fact, it’s sparked more than a few story ideas already…

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Star Trek Cities and Supertrains: Alberta’s Leap into the Future

2 Comments / Out There, The Future /

From O’Neill cylinders to ultra-fast pod trains, I’ve always been fascinated by how future technologies might reshape the way we live. Now, with a transpod line planned between Edmonton and Calgary, we’re on the brink of a sci-fi-style shift in how Albertans connect, commute, and imagine their cities.

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Who Should Control Space?

Out There, The Future /

Who should control space? As satellites multiply and commercial players crowd low Earth orbit, the old question of ownership gives way to something trickier: governance. From traffic control to peacekeeping, enforcing rules in orbit isn’t just hard—it may be impossible in the traditional sense. But if no one can own space, does anyone have the right—or responsibility—to police it? This post explores the real-world state of space management, the challenges of enforcement, and how science fiction—from Star Cops to The Ptolemy Lane Tales—offers unexpected insight into the future of orbital order.

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