A Hint of Maturity

When I was young, I thought it was silly when some author of Star Wars licensed novels decided to use "slicer" as an in-universe equivalent of "hacker." Now that I'm venerable, I still think that's a silly practice but I realize slicer is a cooler term for it anyway.

Nintendo Direct Reflection

When one is reminded that Nintendo is making Splatoon, one is compelled to consider where today's popular fantasy and science fiction ideas originate. Do books have any influence, or are they just like TV shows that have lower viewership than mid-tier Youtube channels?

Cryogenics Shmryogenics

People used to put their colonists to sleep for interstellar voyages, but we all agree these days we're going to send out a cloning station with engines attached and clone volunteers when it reaches the destination, right? There's the danger that the clones will worship the cloning facility as a god, but it probably isn't a big deal if they do. In addition, there can be a complex designed to effect terraforming. If there is, the cloned colonists (clonolists for short) will almost certainly create a Manichean sort of religion around those two facilities, but that's still fine.

The Puzzle at the Core

A kingdom once suffered from a terrible drought. The king sent a letter to the king of the moon, asking if he could see anything wrong with the weather from up there. The response suggested that the rainclouds he wanted were gathered around Mt. Hustis to the north.
The king went himself to investigate. The clouds there told him this: "We wish to continue on to your kingdom and other lands, but a strange creature asks a question of everyone who tries to pass, even us, turning aside those who get it wrong, as all do."
The king challenged the creature without delay, for at his side he had councilors wise in riddles.
"You wish to pass?" asked the beast, a terrible thing which had two hands, two claws, and two pincers at the end of its mighty arms, and four distinct tails beside. "Then give me the right answer. Where are my glasses? I can't find them anywhere."
"They're on that," the king said while pointing to a flat rock he had passed earlier.
"Oh, thank you. You may pass."
"I would rather the rains pass instead. But tell me, what is the use in asking clouds for help? They cannot see."
"Neither can they speak."
"Ah! That is true!" Starting then the king began to question the nature of the local clouds, leading to consequences unforseeable and widely felt.
Finis

Magic Words

Remember silly magic words and phrases? I don't see much of those nowadays, and that means it's time to bring them back. Specifically, for you to bring them back. I won't be participating.

Guild Wars 3

Guild Wars 3! And it's a prequel! That seems like a terrible idea! I'm not excited about it at all! Go play Guild Wars instead.

Addendum

Now in games it's different so long as you still get XP, which is why Dragon Quest XII can stride confidently.

The Core Problem With Dream Sequences

Many dislike dreams in fantasy and science fiction. Who, and how many exactly? Shut up. Anyway, in a modern materialistic setting, dreams are comparatively fanciful. In fantasy or science fiction, the stuff in them can simply happen, perhaps in the holodeck or fairy world. If anything, fantasy/scifi dreams often seem mundane, and who wants a mundane interruption in the middle of his thrilling and thought-provoking speculative fiction narrative? Many, but possibly fewer than the many mentioned earlier.

Addendum

In the future that feature can expand to allow people to swap your book with a better one, so please look forward to it.

Needed E-Reader Feature

In most books, changing every member of x fantasy race into y fantasy race wouldn't affect much, for which reason that ought to be a toggle included in the device itself. Writers can indicate the level of race-swap compatibility in a file included with the text.