Editorial – May 2025: SFCrowsnest, all change?
SFCrowsnest Status.
Hello everyone,
Although you won’t spot it because we haven’t had a suffix change this time, SFCrowsnest is now on a different server that can give us the size we need. One of the problems with being the biggest science fiction website is, after nearly thirty years, we have a lot of material, and we beat many Internet servers who won’t give us the size we need. So, we’ve moved again. If you’re subscribed to our newsletter or social media sites, then you’ll already know this. If you’re new to our website, I bid you greetings. Don’t forget to add us to your favourites list.
Early in our existence, helped along by news of a galaxy far, far away, the mechanism and search engine Google decided that the number of hits we receive put us into a general categorisation, and so we are not seen as a compartmentalised genre with other SF websites. So it’s an odd case of us and them, and we’re the only ‘us’, as we know the other suspects. On a bad month we get 400,000 hits, which is higher than many SF websites, as we give a cynical but optimistic look at our genre. We adapt to what is out there and we support being geeky. It seems we are on the right track.
Since covid, we’ve noticed a lack of Science Fiction from the regular suspects but a significant rise in SFromance and fantasy romance, with doses of woke and gay fiction. Nothing against them, except it’s in the majority of releases lately. Science Fiction is flexible but not dependent on these, and even less sure if such orientation will draw ‘new’ readers to look at the, shall we say, ‘normal’ or ‘regular’ science fiction fans. It isn’t as though SF hasn’t touched on odd sex; look at Philip Jose Farmer’s ‘The Lovers’ from 1961. It’s just that it’s not a need in its orientation as a selling point. Science fiction explores the fantastic with rarely a need for sexual orientation.
Where that lies in the future is hard to say, but some things can date a subject, and even SF isn’t immune to that. The real problem is science fiction is getting relegated and writers are paid less than, say, fantasy or horror, and the agents steer their writers in that direction. Science fiction needs to be edgy and even a warning of the results of going along a particular path just as much as being seen as a futuristic adventure medium. The idea that global warming might limit these futures may discourage some SF writers from exploring such narratives, as they might feel compelled to suggest solutions to current issues, even briefly.
In some respects, SF needs to be a niche. We are the rebel genre, capable of questioning society through metaphor when we choose, and we don’t repeat the same plots as fantasy does. We haven’t had a safety blanket read until recent years. The expansion has really exploded with film and TV and the cost of digital effects is now more affordable. Science fiction has always covered a wide range of subjects that makes it difficult to define, and non-genre readers steer away from it because they think they don’t understand it.
Even today, it’s still defined by robots and rockets with maybe time travel. What they do miss is how the human condition survives in such situations more than finding a less conventional solution. On top of that, with book series dominating now, there needs to be a lot of investment from the reader to hook more than one series, let alone investigate other authors.
Just to keep our hunger pangs for Science Fiction at bay, it’s hardly surprising we look at earlier books and authors looking for what is good or bad material that you might have missed. Science Fiction has a long history to select from. Even so, covid cost us a lot of reviewers, seeing it as an opportunity to take a rest. Look beyond the editorial notes below for the various links if you have a yen to contribute. While we are unable to compensate, your contributions receive widespread visibility. Of course, with new books, you get the book you review. That covers not only science fiction but its related genres, fantasy and horror. You have to work on books there before films and the many extras DVDs or Blu-ray covers.
I am fully committed to preserving our genre. Science Fiction has a rich heritage, and we need to remind you folks reading here that there’s plenty to explore in the past as well as the future.
Thank you, take care, good night, and here’s to future exploration.
Geoff Willmetts
editor: www.SFCrowsnest.info
A Zen thought: Don’t do things for ego,
What Qualities Does A Geek Have: Observation and comment.
The Reveal: The best way to get the right answers off search engines is giving them the right questions. If you have difficulty with that, refine your question by seeing how it interprets the answer it gives you. If its too vague, then you haven’t been specific enough.
Computer Observation: For Windows 11 users who suddenly found their File Manager has categorised their files and directories into Today, Yesterday, Last Week, etc. The information on how to correct this via goggle is partially wrong. The command to sort out the Group command isn’t in ‘View’ but in ‘Sort’. Turn off ‘Group’ and it goes back to normal. I suspect one of the updates triggered this but MS should stop being so careless or at least make sure it is explained and given the option.
Computer Observation: If your software stalls on your PC, use the Task Manager and restart the File Manager and, oddly, it sorts it out most of the time. I say ‘most’ as a get-out just in case it doesn’t. If it happens again but the Task Manager doesn’t show the File Manager, then turn the FM back on to repeat the process.
Observation: Obviously the 2019 reality of the original ‘Blade Runner’ film never even got close. Considering the number of humans killed by the 6 Nexus-6 replicants getting to Earth, it doesn’t make much sense for Zhora to run than attack.
Observation: Tulips, roses, daffodils, rhodium, bluebells.
How’s that for some flowery speech?
Observation: I’m puzzled by this new colour olo. Looking at it on-line, it appears turquoise to my artist’s eye, although that’s probably as close as videocards can show it. All the colours on a computer screen are composited by videocards are combinations of red, blue and yellow, other names are available. As such, it shouldn’t be that difficult to create a new colour by varying the quality of the three primary colours and checking to see if it has been used before. I expect more claims for other new colours.
Things Never Shown: The xenomorphs from the ‘Alien’ films franchise are never shown how they generate the material they make their nests from. It can’t just be from their salvia, especially as it doesn’t dry very quickly as seen on the Nostromo. Those decorative tubes on their back would make more sense but needs to be seen doing it.
Feeling Stressed: Better to be brave than sorry.
Submissions:-
If you think having free books to review isn’t enough, how about reading them months ahead of everyone? I mean real months. Beats a time machine.
I did think that having a lot of text about submitting material to SFCrowsnest would attract those with a compulsion to read and understand things the geek way. The main problem with the Internet is that it tends to encourage less reading, so time to take a different approach. The original notes will be left on July2009 editorial although the links aren’t likely to work.
With your cover email, tell me something about yourself so I don’t work in a vacuum. The boss in the tower, also called Stephen Hunt, describes me as a ‘Dutch Uncle’ in that I’m good with advice and can explain when I see something that is wrong. Egos should be left at the door as I’m only interested in your talent and how to improve it.
Reviews:-
I always have a clarion call for new reviewers and if you have the yen to learn, you’ll quickly get the ropes if you’re never done it before but you must show me a sample, especially if you can follow my guidelines. We can usually get paper-based books in the UK but if you live abroad, then you might have to stick with ebooks. If you’ve picked a book we haven’t reviewed, then it stands a better chance of being used so use the SFC search engine to see first but I need to see how you would write for us.
The obvious qualification is a desire to read regularly and like to tell others about the book without giving away too many spoilers. The benefit is access to free books for the price of a review.
I want to give you the opportunity to get things right so look up the Review Guidelines link: https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/so-you-want-to-write-reviews-for-sfcrowsnest-what-you-need-to-know-by-geoff-willmetts/
Fiction:-
Although we can’t pay for submissions, what we do make up for is exposure. Only the Sci-Fi Channel gets more hits than us so it’s worthwhile getting us on your writer’s CV. Please avoid samplings from book’s you might be writing or have had in print elsewhere as I do check. New original work is best and whether I accept or reject, you will be told of any problems I see so you look your best and a grammar check that is equal to the pro-world. Even the boss finds me scarily accurate.
Flash or One-Page Fiction:-
Speaks for itself. The shortest fiction possible is also the toughest to write as no word must be wasted.
Link here for details: https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/one-page-stories-or-flash-fiction-submissions-instructions-by-gf-willmetts/
Short Stories:-
The definition of a short story is anything up to 30 pages and then it becomes a novella. Bear in mind you want other people to read it on-line, stay somewhere between 5-20 pages. At least digitally, you don’t have to go double-line as HTML will do that automatically but think about being concise. If you want to send an attachment with these, then ask first and send as a TXT file as it removes most tetchy virus codes.
Look up the Short Stories Link by linking here: https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/so-you-really-want-to-write-an-sf-story-an-update-by-gf-willmetts/
Finally:-
The worse problem I see any samples is poor grammar. Although I don’t want you to think I seek perfection, the less work I have to do, the easier it is to focus on other problems you might have. It will also serve you in good stead if you ever approach paper-based publishers because they will send back any bad grammar samples because it’s not worth their time.
Good grammar is the tool of any writer. Don’t just depend on what you remember doing at school. There are plenty of decent grammar books out there, so remind yourself of the rules. If you think there are far too many to remember, get the major ones right before moving to the next so it becomes second nature.
This link, www.sfcrowsnest.info/the-guide-to-better-grammar-from-the-harrowed-hand-of-gf-willmetts/ will show you the common problems.
To submit, use our email address by joining the spaces as shown here: letters @ SFcrowsnest.info and use the subject matter as to what you’re submitting.
If you have any pastimes that can be used to pass the time in captivity, let me know and we’ll see if it can be turned into an article.
Comments directly to reviews should still work as before.
Good luck
Geoff
