My Blog | Prose and Context

Severance Season 2's Faster, Smarter Story

Severance Season Two hit the ground running with its first four episodes. I look at the big developments so far and try to guess the future.

Feb 134 min read

[Swift Riffle] Non-binary Characters in Speculative Fiction Part II

Continuing my spotlight on non-binary characters in speculative fiction, with a focus on those who tend toward the thoughtful & mysterious.

Swift Riffle

Feb 95 min read

[Swift Riffle] Non-binary Characters in Speculative Fiction Part I

Now more than ever before, it seems important to recognize the experiences and lives of non-binary characters. Let's see a few in SFF!

Swift Riffle

Feb 64 min read

Cozy/Hope-Punk: Heartwarming Tales for Dark Times

When the world around us has taken on the grimdark genre, let's turn to hopepunk both as an escape and as a beacon of good will to share.

Book Recommendations

Feb 25 min read

Empathy Can Still Save Us

We need to practice empathy for each other if we're going to hope to overcome to forces bent on keeping us apart. Here's why!

Ideas in Context

Jan 306 min read

Vampires VI: Midnight Mass

Analyzing Midnight Mass from the lens of vampire stories, and how creator Mike Flanagan weaves together religion, choice and alcoholism.

Ideas in Context

Jan 265 min read

A Book That Redefined Speculative Fiction

Speculative fiction has seen a real shift in the past decades towards diverse voices and norm-questioning narratives. Here's a reason why!

How we Read

Jan 233 min read

Cosmic Horror & Corporate Dehumanization in Severance

Welcome to the eldritch and alien, labyrinthine halls of Lumon Industries, where we make an industry of dehumanization and sorting numbers.

Jan 194 min read

Today's AI Must Die

AI as we know it is only making the world worse; let's look at fictional AI, the differences and the reason we need to let this one go.

Ideas in Context

Jan 164 min read

Vampires V: Let The Right One In

How are vampires depicted in the 2004 novel 'Let Me In', and what moral and storytelling lessons can we learn from John Ajvide Lindqvist?

Jan 125 min read

Elder Race: Clarke's Third Law, squared

"Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke. "Well," said Tchaikovsky, "Por qué no los dos?"

Ideas in Context

Jan 93 min read

The Meaning of Life, The Universe and Everything - Terra Ignota

Reaching out, being to being, and being heard. Seeing empathy and understanding, in spite of differences. All on an unimaginable scale.

Ideas in Context

Jan 56 min read

Earth is the Universe

Why do so many stories insist on equating the Earth with the Universe, and what are some potential alternatives, to tell better stories?

Ideas in Context

Jan 24 min read

Design Your Universe: Think For & Be Yourself [Lyrical]

Breaking free, thinking for ourselves and taking control of our own lives, while also learning from the mistakes of our past. Take a listen!

Lyrical

Dec 29, 20245 min read

Lessons in Storytelling from Squid Game Season One

Squid Game was among the most popular speculative fiction stories of all time. Let's take a look at the storytelling methods the show used!

Film and TV Rec's

Dec 26, 20244 min read

Looking Back at a Year of Prose and Context

A year of writing: the highs, the lows, lessons learned and a hint of what's to come!

Reflections

Dec 22, 20243 min read

Starting Points: Mistborn (The Final Empire)

Mistborn is the perfect place to begin not just the works of Brandon Sanderson, but also to enter the wider world of speculative fiction!

Starting Points

Dec 19, 20243 min read

Choosing Humanity: A Vision of Achievable Utopia

Ada Palmer's Terra Ignota series gives a glimpse of what a better world might look like, if we could just choose empathy and humanity.

Ideas in Context

Dec 15, 20245 min read

Reflections on the CEO Shooting & Morals of Speculative Fiction

Looking at the morality behind the UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting, through the lens of great speculative fiction stories.

Reflections

Dec 12, 20245 min read

Why 'Wind and Truth'? The Stormlight Archive Titles Explained

Wind and Truth is out! If you're curious about the title's meaning (or that of another Stormlight book), you're in the right place!

Ideas in Context

Dec 8, 20246 min read