Friday, February 28, 2003

Ask Larry Niven with Slashdot
"One question per post, please. We'll post Larry's answers to 10 of the highest-moderated questions shortly after he gets them back to us."

There are 478 comments so far.
2:19 AM (link)

Thursday, February 27, 2003

40,000 books and counting
We still have work to do before our database is exhaustive, but we're glad to reach this symbolic milestone.
12:28 PM (link)

Monday, February 10, 2003

Contest: Win a Signed Novel by Helping Improve SciFan
How would you like to own the very first signed novel by a science fiction author? Here's your chance! Stu Neal, whom we welcome as an advertiser, recently released his new novel, Disc, which is currently well rated at all major dot-coms and available through any local bookstore, but you here's an exclusive for SciFan.

Prior to the novel being available for distribution, Neal specially ordered 100 each of the hardcover and softcover editions, each of which was individually numbered and signed by the author, then affixed with special gold-embossed identification verifying it as a "first edition - first printing". Each book came with a Certificate of Authenticity and a press-pack. These editions were available only to friends and family, or through a small number of Richmond, Virginia area bookstores that helped Neal promote his book locally. The very first softcover, has been donated by the author to SciFan for this contest... and here's how you can win it.

You know we at SciFan are keeping busy expanding and cleaning our extensive database of fantasy and scifi books and authors. One thing we do is categorize books in themes, about 90% of the books we list already belong to at least one of them. Since Disc is about aliens and alternate worlds, how about checking both these themes and e-mail us a list of the books we missed? Stu's novel will be awarded to the reader who will provide the most extensive and accurate list of suggestions by the end of February. I'll throw in a couple $20 Amazon.com gift certificates if we have tied-in entries. Winners will be announced here in early March.
1:27 PM (link)

Thursday, February 06, 2003

[Samizdata] The breaking of science fiction?
"These days science fiction writing seems to have changed. A minority of writers (such as L. Neil Smith) are actual anarchist (real anarchists - not people who do not like the word 'government' but still want a collective power to control everything), but most other writers are welfare state - interventionists writing 'feminist science fiction', 'environmental science fiction', 'psychological science fiction' or even straight science fiction - but with the normal statist slant of main stream literature."
1:01 PM (link)