Gary K. Wolfe

N.K. Jemisin's latest book is "The City We Became."

‘The City We Became’ review: N.K. Jemisin comes down to earth in new novel, but remains as thought-provoking as ever

March 31, 2020 at 4:37 p.m.

After becoming the first African American writer to win the coveted Hugo Award for best novel, the first writer ever to win three consecutive best novel Hugos, and the subject...

Elizabeth Hand’s ‘Curious Toys’ deftly — and sensitively — plots a murder mystery in Henry Darger’s Chicago

October 15, 2019 at 9:46 p.m.

Almost certainly, Chicago's most famous "outsider" artist was Henry Darger, who died in 1973. The massive trove of paintings and manuscripts he left behind in his cluttered apartment has inspired...

‘The Future of Another Timeline’: Annalee Newitz pens resonant novel for current moment

September 24, 2019 at 7:00 a.m.

"Editing the past" commonly means rewriting the narrative to celebrate certain people or values and — sometimes — to render others almost invisible. But science fiction, from Isaac Asimov and...

Science fiction: Charlie Jane Anders returns with a rousing and sophisticated adventure in ‘The City in the Middle of the Night’

May 9, 2019 at 11:56 p.m.

Following her award-winning first novel, “All the Birds in the Sky,” which artfully combined science fiction with magic, Charlie Jane Anders turns to a darker and more hard-edged scenario with...

Hugo Award winner N.K. Jemison back with a story collection, plus more sci-fi reviews

May 9, 2019 at 11:55 p.m.

“How Long ’til Black Future Month?” by N.K. Jemison, Orbit, 416 pages, $26 N.K. Jemison made science-fiction history when she became the first author to win three consecutive Hugo Awards...

‘The Future Is Female’: New anthology collects sci-fi by women, plus reviews of new books by Lavie Tidhar, Andy Duncan

May 9, 2019 at 11:55 p.m.

“The Future is Female,” edited by Lisa Yaszek, Library of America, 475 pages, $27.95 When science fiction’s Hugo Awards were presented in August, all the fiction categories were won by...

Oak Park native Alec Nevala-Lee’s ‘Astounding’ reveals history of golden age of sci-fi

May 9, 2019 at 11:54 p.m.

Science fiction has long led a strange dual life. On the one hand, as Alec Nevala-Lee writes in “Astounding,” a captivating cultural history of the genre, we’re virtually bombarded with...

3 new sci-fi reads for lovers of literary fiction, noir

May 9, 2019 at 11:53 p.m.

“Ahab’s Return” by Jeffrey Ford, William Morrow, 272 pages, $26.99 Those who struggled through “Moby-Dick” in lit classes might be hesitant about a sequel in which the fearsome Captain Ahab...

Rich Larson’s ‘Annex’ marks energetic debut, plus more science fiction reviewed

May 9, 2019 at 11:52 p.m.

“Annex” by Rich Larson, Orbit, 368 pages, $15.99 This first novel from Rich Larson, a young writer who has already earned a strong reputation for short fiction, borrows some features...

Spies meet ghosts in wildly inventive ‘Summerland,’ plus more sci-fi reviews

May 9, 2019 at 11:50 p.m.

“Summerland” by Hannu Rajaniemi, Tor, 304 pages, $25.99 Readers familiar with Hannu Rajaniemi's dense, information-packed futures in novels like “The Quantum Thief” will be surprised to find that his new...

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