Tag: Social Issues

June 16, 2015

Quote – SF to Confirm People’s Complacency

“I see the ways in which science fiction is too often used to confirm people’s complacency, to reassure them that it’s okay for them not to act, because they are not the lone superhero who will fix the world’s ills” -Nalo Hopkinson – Forward to Falling in Love With Hominids

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January 7, 2015

The End is Only The Beginning

A review of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s collection Fractured: Tales of the Canadian Post-Apocalypse (Exile Editions, 2014) By Derek Newman-Stille Flooding, ghosts, spreading oil sinkholes, whitenoise, bio weapons, nuclear bombs, sudden population disappearances, a strange rotting of the landscape, persistent sleep, the drying of the world’s lakes, alien invasion, shadows, plague, constant rain, technological crashes, ruptures into the abyss, fires… the visions...

Categories Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 0

December 27, 2014

Feeding the Homeless

A review of Trevor Shikaze’s “The Harbour Bears” in Lackington’s issue 4 ( http://lackingtons.com/2014/10/28/the-harbour-bears-by-trevor-shikaze/ ) By Derek Newman-Stille Homeless people are treated as human refuse, ignored when possible, and when not possible, treated as a social problem that requires police intervention and forced removal. Homeless people evoke a sense of horror partially because they remind society that the price for...

Categories Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 0

April 23, 2014

Performing “Reality”, Living Fiction

A review of Kevin Harkness’ “Double Vision” from OnSpec # 95, vol 25, no 4. By Derek Newman-Stille Truth is painful, and seeing the truth is a huge responsibility. Kevin Harkness’ “Double Vision” peels back the layers of fiction in our society, exposing the social masks and lies we create for ourselves and others – an important part of this...

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August 23, 2013

Interview with Lydia Peever

An interview with Lydia Peever By Derek Newman-Stille I recently had the opportunity to hear Lydia Peever speak at Ottawa’s author reading event “A Midsummer Night’s Scream” hosted by Postscripts to Darkness, and the passion in her voice and her ability to bring critical attention to issues that are often ignored by society prompted me to ask her to do...

Categories Interviews Comments: 2

July 12, 2013

Zombie Versus Fairy Featuring Albinos Reading Questions

Some Book Club Discussion Questions for James Marshall’s Zombie Versus Fairy Featuring Albinos How did James Marhsall’s zombies differ from other zombies that you have read about or seen in movies? What did the idea of a depressed zombie add to the plot of this novel? How did Buck’s depression allow him to challenge the world around him? Why did...

Categories Reading/ Book Club Questions Comments: 2

July 10, 2013

Dead Depressed

A Review of James Marshall’s Zombie Versus Fairy Featuring Albinos (ChiZine Publications, 2013) By Derek Newman-Stille Zombies are normally pretty content – they groan, they chase, they eat, they shuffle… but what happens when a zombie becomes depressed? In James Marshall’s Zombie Versus Fairy Featuring Albinos, depressed zombies get promoted. No matter how much they tell their bosses they hate...

Categories Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 6

April 25, 2013

Quote – People Are Part of the Problem, People Need to be Part of the Solution

“The system was people, and I was part of it, part of its problems, and I was going to be part of the solution from now on.” -Cory Doctorow – Homeland (Tor, 2013)

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April 15, 2013

300th Post and The Story of Speculating Canada

Dear readers, Today will be Speculating Canada’s 300th post!! Thank you for all of your support. I thought I would publish a bit about the story of Speculating Canada itself and reveal some of my hopes and dreams about where Speculating Canada is going. Speculating Canada grew out of my current research for my PhD in Canadian Studies at Trent...

Categories Editorials Comment: 1

October 14, 2012

UnBuried, UnSettled, and UnEarthed

A review of UnEarthed: The Speculative Elements Series Volume 3 Edited by Sherry Ramsey, Julie Serroul, and Nancy Waldman (Third Person Press, Cape Breton, 2012). By Derek Newman-Stille Once again Third Person Press has illustrated the incredible speculative work of Cape Breton authors with the third instalment of their Speculative Elements Series: UnEarthed. This volume, focussed on the element of...

Categories Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 0