In memory of John Barth who died in April, the Beamers devote themselves to his Chimera. All are welcome to join us in our virtual discussion on May 3 at 7 PM Eastern. John Barth was one of the most influential American novelists of the 20th century and a key figure in the postmodern literary movement. Barth’s most famous works, in addition to Chimera, include the novels The Sot-Weed Factor (1960), Giles Goat-Boy (1966), and the short story collection Lost in the Funhouse (1968). His writing was characterized by its boldly experimental nature, meta-fictional techniques, and intricately layere ..read more

The Future, circa 1965 … With our hundreds of years (combined!) of reading science fiction, it is hard to believe that much could have escaped the collective intelligence of the Beamers.  Until we came face to face with the history of female authors who labored long and were, in many cases, complete surprises to us.  Editor Lisa Yaszek complied 25 stories, spanning the 1920s to the 1960s (terminating with Ursula Le Guin), to give us a good lesson on the contributions of women to speculative literature.  Would we take careful notes and pass the exam, or would we goof off and flun ..read more

In honor of Women’s History Month (perhaps), the Beamers turn to The Future is Female!, an anthology of 25 stories edited by Lisa Yaszek. SF-expert Lisa Yaszek presents the biggest and best survey of the female tradition in American science fiction ever published, a thrilling collection of classic tales. Here are over two dozen brilliant writers ripe for discovery and rediscovery, including Leslie F. Stone, Judith Merril, Leigh Brackett, Kit Reed, Joanna Russ, Zenna Henderson, James Tiptree Jr., and, of course, Ursula K. Le Guin. Imagining strange worlds and unexpected futures, looking into a ..read more

Time-elapse taken to the max! In the immediate present, the Beamers tackled the far, far future, looking at the end of human time and the extinction of our Sun. With a particular if peculiar hope.  In the dark of winter, what could brighten our days?  This time, it was the 2006 Hugo winner, Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson, a novel that answers the Fermi Paradox (“Where are they?”) question with an answer that promises a future that includes humans, though maybe not exactly as we might have wished.  Would the Beamers stride into the days of a dying Sun heads high, or would we take ..read more

Emily Temple, managing editor of the Literary Hub, has ranked the best 50 fictional librarians. Number 50 on the list is the alternative Mary Hatch (not Bailey) from Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life. (A terrible role model. And a terrible reflection of the real Mary.) Number one is Rupert Gile from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower, or a-a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell musty and-and-and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is a . . . it, uh, it has no-no texture, no-no context ..read more

The Beamers leave the possible apocalypse of Louise Erdrich‘s Future Home of the Living God for the very different but still very possible apocalypse of Robert Charles Wilson‘s Spin. Watch the video for the day and time of the Beamers’ discussion. One night in October, the stars go out. They all flared into brilliance at once, then disappeared, replaced by a flat, empty black barrier. The effect is worldwide. The sun is now a featureless disk–a heat source, rather than an astronomical object. The moon is gone, but tides remain. Not only have the world’s artificial satellites fallen out of or ..read more

What goes around … goes around? Bringing the Beamers up to speed on some contemporary fiction, we tackled a newer work by an author not known for her science fiction, Louise Erdrich, who posits that evolution could reverse its course and suddenly leave Earth as a vacant lot waiting to become the Future Home of the Living God.  Full of saints and sinners, Ms. Erdrich’s novel gave us a lot to ponder, which may not be the best strategy for a writer dealing with a bunch of sharp-eyed readers.  Would she build us the house of our dreams, or would she cash our deposits and run off and leav ..read more

I asked ChatGPT to recommend some fiction about artificial intelligence. Here’s what it had to say. Novels with major themes related to AI cover a wide range of topics, from the ethical and social implications of AI to futuristic visions of advanced technology. Here are some notable books in this genre: “Neuromancer” by William Gibson: A groundbreaking cyberpunk novel that explores AI, hacking, and a dystopian future where technology and humans are deeply intertwined. “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick: The book that inspired the film “Blade Runner,” it delves into the ..read more

Returning from our extraterrestrial adventures with James H. Schmitz’s The Witches of Karres, the Beamers journey to 21st century Minneapolis and Louise Erdrich‘s Future Home of the Living God. Watch the video for the day and time of the Beamers’ discussion. Louise Erdrich, the New York Times bestselling, National Book Award-winning author of LaRose and The Round House, paints a startling portrait of a young woman fighting for her life and her unborn child against oppressive forces that manifest in the wake of a cataclysmic event. Science cannot stop the world from running backwards, as woman ..read more

An author out standing in his field … Locus Magazine has reported that sf/f author Terry Bisson is dead, a month shy of his 82nd birthday. Mr. Bisson, a versatile writer who made a living with a variety of styles and genres, including a series of children’s books sponsored by NASCAR (as “T. B. Calhoun”), may best be remembered for his pungent sf/f short stories that bordered on (or wandered over into) the surreal, like “Bears Discover Fire”, or “They’re Made Out of Meat”. His progressive politics worked together with his literary jobs, bringing him stories like “macs” (a 168 clones of Oklahoma ..read more