Guest contributor Alexander Lumans looks at author Ben Lerner's novel 10:04 and how everything will be as it is now, just a little different in.
Read moreThe Last Days of Magic: Come for the Fairies, Stay for the Research
A decentralized recounting of the English and Catholic conquest of Ireland and its faeries, Celts, and native religions as told through the stories of dozens of characters.
Read moreSublime Scale in Cixin Liu’s "The Three-Body Problem"
An ambitious masterpiece of Chinese science fiction, reviewed.
Read moreMan Is Wolf to Man
Cromwell is the hero of his own life. Flawed, sure, and antihero most definitely, but hero nonetheless. This strong point of view is an asset in humanizing Cromwell, who is often seen as the cunning right hand to a fickle, sex-crazed violent king -- a role that would typically be characterized as a villain.
Read moreThe Story of "The Story of My Teeth"
Mexican novelist Valeria Luiselli's critically acclaimed work of dental fabulism is a sophisticated if remote pleasure.
Read moreMilitary Space Opera: New Adventures in the Vast Space of a Subgenre of a Subgenre
Military space opera sends carefully-crafted heroes on bold interplanetary adventures where ethical choices are not always black and white. Complex plots explode with military action, side love interests and high consequences for war's losers, while its themes often explore the consequences of bigotry and prejudice.
Read moreThe Future of the Princess: Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles
In The Lunar Chronicles, Marissa Meyer re-imagines four classic princesses and their associated princes. With the five-book series now complete, it's time to unpack these princesses and see what patterns, new and old, have emerged in their heroic journeys.
Read moreMorning Star Deserves Several Stars
Morning Star is everything a final book in a series should be: compelling, surprising, heartbreaking, hopeful and ultimately pretty damn satisfying.
Read more"Slade House": David Mitchell's Horror-Fantasy Hybrid
David Mitchell appropriates the tropes of horror fiction to pose questions about greed, privilege, and power.
Read moreMiéville and Miéville: A Split Review
The City & The City and This Census-Taker, reviewed and reviewed.
Read moreThe Unbearable Lightness of Undermajordomo Minor
Patrick deWitt uses the tropes of the fairy tale to stumble into the tropes of the postmodern novel.
Read moreHey, Disney, Thanks for the Star Wars Tribute Movie, The Force Awakens!
The Force Awakens is both a loving tribute to the first Star Wars movie and a nod to how the world has progressed since the ‘70’s. The heroine, Rey, is a tough, young woman whose sidekick is Finn, a black ex-stormtrooper. There are also a conflicted villain, Kylo Ren; a cute droid, BB-8; a dusty desert planet; a hero’s call to action…The Unbound Writers have plenty to say about it.
Read moreRules Are For Fools - Evidence: Patrick Rothfuss's THE NAME OF THE WIND
At more than a quarter million words, Patrick Rothfuss's first book of the Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy, THE NAME OF THE WIND, defied the rules for a first novel and not only got published but debuted at #11 on the New York Times Best Seller list. In October 2015 it was optioned by Lionsgate for a movie, TV series and video game. How did he do it? A far-out Jedi mind trick? CH Lips has some ideas.
Read moreCinéma Multivérité: Catherynne M. Valente's RADIANCE, Reviewed
What's truth, in a decopunk alt-history novel about movies about alien whales? Lisa Mahoney and Theodore McCombs review Catherynne M. Valente's stunning Radiance.
Read moreSidekicks: A Speculative Fiction Anthology for MileHiCon
Sidekicks have always remained in the shadow of the hero...until now. MileHiCon's first speculative fiction anthology knocks it out of the park!
Read moreThe Heart Goes Last
Fiction Unbounders come together for a pile-on review of Margaret Atwood's latest, The Heart Goes Last
Read moreArmada: Ernest Cline, Puzzle Master, Writes Again
Ernest Cline's newest release gives gamers everywhere something to fight for: bragging rights for saving the Earth from total annihalation.
Read moreMarisha Pessl’s NIGHT FILM, Ann Radcliffe’s THE ITALIAN, and the Legacy of the Gothic Romance
How does the modern Gothic novel stack up against 1797's finest? Fiction Unbound uncovers some dark secrets.
Read moreSarah Pinborough in America
Who knows what kind of story Sarah Pinborough is going to share next, but you can bet it will be packed tight with ideas and it will probably have some darkness lurking in the heart of it.
Read moreThe Origamist: César Aira’s Folded Fictions
The Musical Brain, a new collection by Argentine avant-gardist César Aira, reviewed. With monkeys.
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