As a reader of fiction (especially if you're a devotee of speculative fiction), how much do you like detailed descriptions and/or lists as part of the story? What if the story switches between detail and expediency? [more inside]
posted by batmonkey on Dec 28, 2012 - 12 answers

A world with binary suns and multiple satellites that can still be livable by a diverse (even lush) assortment of life forms - true or not? [more inside]
posted by batmonkey on Nov 30, 2012 - 11 answers

As a reader, how do you feel about invented language versus familiar words in imaginary worlds? [more inside]
posted by batmonkey on Nov 21, 2012 - 67 answers

Speculative fiction about historical gradualism: I'm looking for SF stories which begin in the real historical world (past or present) and then gradually diverge from it, without any single decisive turning point. [more inside]
posted by RogerB on Sep 19, 2012 - 11 answers

Help me construct a typology of fictional (but familiar) technological epochs -- along with the genre-conventions and stock-elements that characterize each. [more inside]
posted by foursentences on Jun 28, 2011 - 7 answers

Help me find this short story about Edgar Rice Burroughs in hell. [more inside]
posted by overglow on Jun 3, 2008 - 4 answers