Dune

Are Modern Storytellers Afraid of Happy Endings?

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

The new Dune 3 trailer should have filled me with anticipation. Instead, it left me uneasy. Not because Denis Villeneuve lacks skill as a filmmaker—far from it—but because the films seem determined to undercut Paul Atreides’ triumph before it ever truly lands. Which raises a larger question: Have modern storytellers become afraid of heroic endings? From Dune to grimdark fantasy to prestige science fiction, modern stories increasingly distrust hope, sincerity, and unapologetic victory. But is that really what audiences want—or simply what the industry keeps giving them?

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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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Why Do We Keep Building Galactic Empires in Sci-Fi?

SF Genre /

Galactic empires are everywhere in science fiction—ruling star systems with absolute power, ripe for rebellion or decay. I’ve written a few myself… and torn them down just as quickly. But why do we keep returning to this political model, especially when it’s always doomed to fall? From Dune to Foundation, and even John Scalzi’s surprisingly heartfelt Collapsing Empire, we seem obsessed with watching these mighty regimes unravel. I’ve got theories. But I’m also genuinely curious what draws readers back to the throneworld.

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What Makes a Book a “Classic” in Science Fiction?

2 Comments / Reading, SF Industry, The Future /

There are some books in science fiction that never seem to fade. Dune. Foundation. The Left Hand of Darkness. Decades later, we’re still reading them, studying them, arguing about them. They’ve carved out a permanent space on the shelf—and not just for their fans, but for the genre itself.

So what is it that makes a book a “classic”?

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The Foundation Dilemma

3 Comments / Out There /

The TV series, Foundation, has just finished its second season on Apple TV. I thought everyone who cares about good science fiction would know about the series, but a reader I was conversing with the other day was not aware of it. Because of that conversation, I thought I’d mention the show here. Perhaps Apple

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