Writers of speculative fiction routinely invent rules and regulations as part of their novels’ worlds. These laws tell us more about our own politics than you might think.
“Good Will Come From the Sea,” a story collection by Christos Ikonomou, captures the desperation of his country’s citizens in the wake of economic devastation.
The author, most recently, of the memoir “Shout” doesn’t shun any genres: “That’s like avoiding colors or parts of the flavor spectrum. I want all kinds of stories on my plate.”
Sci-fi writers gave us satellite communication, army tanks, tablets, CCTV and the internet — before these things existed in real life. What explains their powers of foresight?
David Means’s latest collection, “Instructions for a Funeral,” is filled with adulterers and criminals, railroad bums and wharf rats and other castaways.