Other Worlds
Somewhere else to spend a little time.
A lot of my curiosity has company here: explorers, strange machines, unfamiliar societies, and people trying to work out what to do next.
Science fiction has a permanent place in my life. Give me a world worth wondering about and characters I care about, and I'm happy to see where they take me. A spaceship certainly doesn't hurt.
The possibilities are the point.
Star Trek and Stargate are worlds I keep making room for. I enjoy the discovery, the questions, and the feeling of getting to know a group of people as they try to make sense of something much bigger than themselves.
The humor matters too. Even a very strange universe feels more welcoming when someone in it has a sense of perspective.
I loved Red Dwarf growing up. Its approach to space exploration is somewhat less aspirational, which is part of the charm.
Artificial lives, human questions.
Blade Runner 2049 is one of my favorites. The atmosphere draws me in, and then the questions get personal: memory, identity, and what a life means to the person living it.
Vivy and 86 reach me through their characters too. An interesting idea gets my attention; caring what happens to someone is what keeps me there.
That's where these stories meet my interest in AI. I'm curious about another perspective on the world, and what it might ask us to understand.
A world in your headphones.
Audiobooks are a big part of how I enjoy stories. A narrator can make a world feel like somewhere I've returned to, with familiar voices waiting inside.
Bobiverse is one I revisit. Project Hail Mary and Skyward are favorites too: adventure with room for ingenuity, personality, and humor when things become difficult.
The Star Wars books give me strategy and intrigue on a larger stage. Ray Porter and Marc Thompson are among the narrators I especially enjoy. Sometimes the voice is part of what makes me want to go back.
It doesn't all happen in space.
I make room for Slow Horses, Reacher, and The Rookie too. Lucy and Tim are particular favorites in The Rookie. After a while, following the people becomes as much a reason to return as finding out what happens next.
And then something catches me completely: I watched all ten episodes of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners in two days.
I could try to explain its appeal in more detail, but that probably tells you quite a lot.
Stories you can hold.
Graphic novels began as something to try over a quick lunch break. Descender has been a good way in, and I've picked up Saga and Fire Power as I explore a little further.
I like how words and pictures take turns carrying the story. A panel can hold a moment; the next can change its meaning. It's a different rhythm from listening to a book or watching a screen.
Some of that appeal has found its way into this site. It seemed a fitting way to tell a few stories of my own.