(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) If any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, then any sufficiently powerful being may be indistinguishable from a god. What is a god, anyway? This is a question that … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) In Aztec cosmology, warriors who died in battle or sacrifice were rewarded with Huitzilopochtli’s heaven, accompanying the sun in its journey from rising to noon. The western half of the … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Pregnancy is far more than just a biological process. And as any woman who’s ever been visibly pregnant can probably attest, every second person out there feels like they have … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) A few years back I was invited to speak on a panel at the American Library Association’s annual meeting, on the topic of “Technology and Science Fiction.” Since I’m a … Continue reading
I’m going to be honest: I’ve been delaying this post for a couple of years now because I know a goodly percentage of my male readership is going to go “ewww, not that,” and a goodly percentage of my female … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) One of the ways to think about the relationship between a made-up world and the real one is with the anthropological concept of a cultural sphere. The easiest way for … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Toward the end of last week’s essay on pets, I talked about people keeping highly dangerous animals around (often with tragic results). The more intelligent version of this involves keeping … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) I mentioned before that there’s a difference between domesticating an animal and taming one — you can theoretically tame a great many creatures that are not domesticated at all. One … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) The Industrial Revolution changed a lot of things, but one of the aspects I’ve least often seen commented on is the change in our relationship with working animals. You may … Continue reading
(This post is part of my Patreon-supported New Worlds series.) Whether it’s chickens and sheep, fantasy animals, or alien creatures from another planet, characters in a novel are likely to depend on some kind of species for food — if … Continue reading
