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Clear as Martian mud, right? To clarify, Sterling was talking about what he saw as “the ongoing
” For writers like Sterling, Asimov, Le Guin, and their ilk, science fiction was a high-brow art form
They were seeing an influx of stories using these tropes simply to tell fun, if vapid stories
These were stories of complex characters, deep personal stakes, and real-life human tragedy
It focuses on Sethe, a woman born into slavery who escaped to Ohio
Suspenseful and full of shocking surprises, the ghost element is what makes this a towering example of
This time-and-space-hopping novel was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize and still Mitchell’s most famous
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These stories share protagonists: Trurl and Klaupacius, a pair of robots taking on freelance jobs and constantly
While funny and adventurous, these jobs involve the powerful realism of human trauma
Set in a world beset by ice, Kavan’s novel features a nameless protagonist searching the frozen
It’s also an allegory for Kavan’s own struggled with addition, bringing a dream-like quality to
Charley wants to be the fastest runner in the world, just like his father
Unfortunately, alien invaders called The Hoots have taken over the world
If he wants to chase his dreams or even his humanity, he’ll have to join the
They’re slipstream because they’re all grounded in the human condition
This one is extremely dark and basically requires all of the content warnings, but it’s also
Evelyn is a male English professor who takes a new job in New York
After a horrifying turn through the city, Evelyn decides to flee for the desert, but only finds
Part detective story, part tale of a dissipating marriage, this novel is as hallucinatory as it is
Full of larger-than-life characters, dreamlike sequences, and even hidden secrets of World War II, this is definitely
This narrative has been done so many times that it’s basically a trope now, but here
But she’s not; she’s just able to communicate with the year 2137 (this novel was published
Some predate Sterling’s designation, and many have been published since