Identify a science fiction story about a giant, unfixable traffic jam. (spoilers inside.) [more inside]
posted by escabeche on Sep 16, 2009 - 25 answers

My visceral dislike of the movie District 9 combined with years of other sub par science fiction movies has pretty much killed any desire to see more films of the genre. Help me rekindle the flame. (Minor District 9spoilers inside) [more inside]
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Aug 19, 2009 - 82 answers

Recommendations for erotica [more inside]
posted by ninebelow on Aug 6, 2009 - 8 answers

Science fiction - filter: I used to read and love Dick, Farmer, LeGuin, and others who coupled great writing with directly confronting sex, violence, and societal change. What contemporary authors might I like? [more inside]
posted by Forktine on May 28, 2009 - 40 answers

I have an idea for a SF novel (/screenplay?), but I have the nagging feeling that it isn't at all original. Have you read or seen this concept before? [more inside]
posted by zardoz on Apr 3, 2009 - 36 answers

Wanted: Science Fiction Books moved by a great central idea such as: Ringworld by Larry Niven or The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. [more inside]
posted by MasonDixon on Mar 25, 2009 - 34 answers

"ID this short story" Filter: Story about a storyteller toy à la Teddy Ruxpin who is discarded by its owners after they receive a new model. [more inside]
posted by infinitewindow on Jan 10, 2009 - 6 answers

StoryID: Alternate history where physics is based on angelology. [more inside]
posted by rwhe on Dec 31, 2008 - 8 answers

Is the tv show "Lost" science fiction? [more inside]
posted by zardoz on Dec 3, 2008 - 24 answers

ID That Story: novel (novella? short story?) in which a man is standing in line. Pretty much the entire story is his experience while waiting in line. It's a future/dystopia story. The man is waiting in line to make a complaint. He falls in love with the girl in front of him, though she's not allowed to turn and look at him. It's a parable about overpopulation. It was probably written in the 60s or 70s. That's all I remember.
posted by grumblebee on Nov 20, 2008 - 8 answers

Help me choose a couple of my next books: Which Dune sequels and which Gene Wolfe book to buy? [more inside]
posted by ersatz on Sep 28, 2008 - 26 answers

In a book by Arthur C. Clarke (Ghost from the Grand Banks if I remember correctly... if I'm wrong please correct me) he talks about an economic theory which predicts great depressions every 80 years or so. Now, current events have brought this prediction rather starkly to mind. Was there a sound basis for that prediction or is it merely that bad economic shocks happen often enough for a fake pattern to emerge? Was it maybe just a lucky guess? [more inside]
posted by Kattullus on Sep 22, 2008 - 10 answers

What science fiction films are there, iyho, that really measure up to the best of written work in that genre? [more inside]
posted by protorp on Aug 31, 2008 - 51 answers

What sci-fi market might be a good match for my shorts? And, in what fashion should I attempt to sell them? [more inside]
posted by Netzapper on Aug 12, 2008 - 23 answers

I'm trying to remember the name of an SF novel I read back in the early 80s. It took place on a generation ship that has lost its way. [more inside]
posted by Dag Maggot on Jul 26, 2008 - 10 answers

I'm looking for some science fiction publishers who publish in the New Weird and/or Slipstream styles. I know about Tachyon Publications... can you please point me toward others?
posted by Fuzzy Monster on Jul 7, 2008 - 8 answers

Help me identify these four short horror stories, based on descriptions of their plots and endings. SPOILERS AHEAD! [more inside]
posted by Faint of Butt on Jan 29, 2008 - 3 answers

Help me figure out the title/author of this short science fiction story. It was about a world where everyone stopped growing. [more inside]
posted by hjo3 on Jan 10, 2008 - 6 answers

In search of an episode of what I thought was The Outer Limits, but it's not listed in the episode guide, [more inside]
posted by DandyRandy on Oct 30, 2006 - 9 answers

Help find a SF book that my friend can't quite recall, but remembers themes of? [more inside]
posted by Meep! Eek! on Sep 1, 2006 - 7 answers

A set of questions related to this review in today's New York Times--it's the inaugural review of a new science-fiction column. [more inside]
posted by Prospero on Mar 5, 2006 - 52 answers

I'm trying to remember the name of a trippy science fiction book from the 70s, I think. [more inside]
posted by Dag Maggot on Jan 26, 2006 - 16 answers

Which Dune novel or novels by Frank Herbert or his successors refers to mentats as cultivating "the naive mind"? The only place I can find it is in the Wikipedia article on mentats (endlessly cloned around the Web).
posted by rwhe on Oct 27, 2005 - 8 answers

Who can recommend some good time travel fiction? (Yes, I'm a geek)
posted by Robot Johnny on Jun 10, 2004 - 46 answers

Can anyone recommend some very very good speculative fiction books that I can read that are maybe along the lines of the Parable books by Octavia Butler (They don't have to deal with apocalypse though). Reading those was just bliss for me and I look forward to finding similar novels.
posted by Slimemonster on Mar 30, 2004 - 7 answers