Does Every Single SciFi Story Absolutely Have to Have a Social Justice Theme?

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Addendum: May 26, 2022 The Bounding Into Comics story Batwoman Writers Room Gets Savaged After They Claim The CW’s Batwoman Should Only Receive Positive Feedback Because Of “Strides For Representation For Queer Black Women” (yes, it’s a terribly long title) maps pretty well with the expectation in certain corners that representation and social justice completely override any responsibility to write a good story.

I asked that question in the above referenced twitter conversation. I actually expected an answer since the people involved usually interact with me, but this time… “crickets.”

The topic is addressed more specifically in the blog post The enduring appeal of the last ditch attempt.

I’m going to assume that from the perspective of the people referenced (who I like) and the progressive element reading science fiction that all SciFi MUST have a social justice element and that it is totally expected.

But why?

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My Short Story “Fall of the Tower” Will Be In the SciFi Anthology “One-Way-Ticket”

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The “One-Way-Ticket” anthology submission call from Starry Eyed Press, among other requirements, asked for a short story in the science fiction genre that in some way described a one-way journey.

As humanity anticipates the possibility of colonizing the Moon, Mars, or even planets outside our solar system, in at least the last two examples, the people making those trips may well never see the Earth again. Of course, there are all sorts of ways to imagine such a story. Here’s an example of mine:

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Read “The Haunting of the Ginger’s Regret” for Free, It Now has Two 4-Star Review, Plus a Video

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“The Haunting of the Ginger’s Regret” now has two 4-star review on Amazon.

Remember that for the month of May, I’m offering a free PDF copy of the story for anyone who asks. All I’m asking in return is for the reader to write an honest Amazon and goodreads review (you can copy and paste your Amazon review into goodreads). Use the Contact page to let me know (your email will not be visible)

Plus…

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Book Review of “OceanSpace”

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It wasn’t until I started reading Allen Steele’s 2000 novel OceanSpace that I realized I’d read it before, and probably not too long after it was originally published.

As I was reading certain scenes, I recalled having read them before. The saving grace was that I didn’t remember what came next, so it was usually a surprise until I got there.

Two-time Hugo winner Steele put a great amount of research into his writing as evidenced by extensive list of sources at the back of the book. I’m also a sucker for diagrams and Steele’s invention of the sea platform Tethys 1 and 2 were great.

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First 4-Star Review of “Ginger’s Regret” on Amazon, Plus Read My Story for FREE!

hauntingIf you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi.

“The Haunting of the Ginger’s Regret” got it’s first four-star review on Amazon. I’m pretty happy with it but any honest review is appreciated.

Remember that for the month of May, I’m offering a free PDF copy of the story for anyone who asks. All I’m asking in return is for the reader to write an honest Amazon and goodreads review (you can copy and paste your Amazon review into goodreads).

Someone on Facebook mentioned this story too and I’m pasting his review below:

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Read “The Haunting of the Ginger’s Regret” for Free

hauntingIf you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi.

As I’ve already announced, my latest novelette, “The Haunting of the Ginger’s Regret,” a 224-verse book, is now available at Amazon for a mere 99 cents. However, since it’s the first of a new month, and since I’m trying to promote my book and the 224-verse and its books in general, I’m making you an offer. Yes, you.

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Film Review of “Eternals”(2021)

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It was six minutes into watching Eternals (2021) when I first realized I was bored and at 47 minutes I did what I didn’t expect myself to do. I turned the movie off and returned the disc to its case.

I checked the movie out from my local public library, so it didn’t cost me a dime, but at a run time of two hours and thirty-six minutes, it would drain away that much of my life to watch. It didn’t “do it” for me.

Unlike the other Marvel movies I’ve watched, I had no connection to the original comic books. I’ve never read any of them. So there was no nostalgia to drive me forward. The movie lived or died on its own for me. Well, it died.

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My Novelette “The Haunting of the Ginger’s Regret” is Available Now!

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My novelette The Haunting of the Ginger’s Regret, A 224-Verse Story, is now available from Amazon for download to your Kindle device. It’s published by Starry Eyed Press which also published my other (so far) 224-Verse novella The Fallen Shall Rise.

While both “Haunting” and “Fallen” exist in the same universe, the Andromeda galaxy is vast, plus the events they chronicle are likely hundreds or thousands of years apart, so the tales are unrelated.

Here’s the Amazon blurb for “The Haunting of the Ginger’s Regret:”

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Film Review of “No Time to Die” (2021)

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Just finished watching (as I write this) the most recent James Bond/007 film No Time to Die. It pulled quite a bit of time, 2 hours and 45 minutes, out of my life, but in this case it was well worth it.

Just to get this out of the way, during the theatrical release, I recall Lashana Lynch who played Nomi/007 said some rather unpleasant things. I can’t really remember what they were and it doesn’t make any difference at this point. Just for future note, it’s generally important when you’re promoting a film as did Brie Larson and Captain Marvel (2019) as well as Simu Liu and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, to put on your best attitude in front of the public and press.

The film begins with a young Madeleine Swann (Coline Defaud) and her (drunken) mother Mathilde Bourbin in a lone cabin in a snow covered countryside. They are suddenly beset upon by a masked assassin Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek) who is intent on killing Madeleine’s Father. Apparently the Dad was an assassin for Spectre and on their leader Blofeld’s (Christoph Waltz) orders, murdered Safin’s entire family. Finding the Dad not home, he kills the mother but saves Madeleine from dying.

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