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Christopher Hennessy

@thealtchris.bsky.social
389 followers 1K following 665 posts

SFF Writer | Poet (1 book) | Interviewer (2 books on Queer writers) Want to help share SFF voices that deserve more love. Golden age fan + debut, indie, queer cheerleader. Ultimately, I would love to help build a community! ✨ #Booksky

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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
List-o-rama, baby! www.polygon.com/most-fun-sci... collider.com/best-sci-fi-... gizmodo.com/125-new-sci-... www.timeout.com/usa/news/her...
polygon.com
8 Most Entertaining Sci-Fi Books of the 21st Century
Get some laughs with psychic cats, friendly aliens, and snarky cyborgs
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Would it be too weird to ask him if he saw Lovecraft Country and if he did, what did we think of it?
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Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
They quoted me in this New Yorker piece about AI today. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
“Let’s say there’s a world or time line I exist in where A.I. has been subject to regulation. It is ethical. It has no footprint environmentally,” the novelist Jeff VanderMeer, a prominent critic of A.I., told me over the phone. “With those guardrails in place, would I read an A.I. book? All I can say is no. And the reason is, in part, because I want to read something coming from a particular mind.” Using A.I., he said, “feels like a betrayal of the whole point of why you’re a writer.”
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Jen @jenbached.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
If This Goes On (Don't Panic) has a new interview this week with the SciFi author, Nadia Afifi. This is a must! We discuss Nadia's new duology, writing multiple timelines, Palestine, history through different POV, improving as a writer, and much more. @itgodp.bsky.social @catrambo.bsky.social
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
@file770.bsky.social - might not be on your radar!
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The incomparable @doctorow.pluralistic.net ! news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...
news.harvard.edu
Digital life doesn’t have to be this way — Harvard Gazette
The writer and activist Cory Doctorow wants you to be mad about tech monopoly — but not blindly terrified of AI.
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Adding to TBR books by @wtalabi.com and @moonsheen.bsky.social lithub.com/time-travel-...
lithub.com
Time Travel Romance and Haunted TV Channels: October’s Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy
It being spooky season, there’s some undeniable horror crossover in these books: haunted dolls, angels that drive you mad, impossible pregnancies as invasive body horror, a nostalgic television dim…
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
More, though from a few years back. www.newyorker.com/books/under-...
newyorker.com
How R.E.M. Created Alternative Music
In the cultural wasteland of the Reagan era, they showed that a band could break through to mass appeal without being cheesy, or nostalgic, or playing hair metal.
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Thanks, @anniezaleski.bsky.social! Love love love @remhq.bsky.social. I would never have become the writer I am without them! And still am crushing on Michael Stipe. #REM fans, also read Peter Ames Carlin's The Name of This Band Is R.E.M. www.salon.com/2011/09/22/w...
salon.com
How R.E.M. invented alternative music - Salon.com
The most influential American band of the last three decades walks away with a staggering and secure legacy
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"This is true whether you are making a data visualization, a brand or a story. The impulse to optimize for the obvious and to stop at the simplest answer is what I believe we have to resist."
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"Human experience is complex and particular. Creative work means contemplating and translating that complexity rather than flattening it into the simplest answer....[cont.] www.nytimes.com/interactive/.... By Giorgia Lupi
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Path to Great Art Is Not Through A.I.
Anything worth remembering came from a person who did not know where she or he was going until arriving.
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
@file770.bsky.social ---of interest?
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026... "The Dungeon Crawler books offer a different fantasy: that even within a rigid system, the spark of sincere feeling can’t be fully extinguished—and that even in zero-sum environments, you can count on your pals."
theatlantic.com
Literature Is Becoming More Like a Video Game
The Dungeon Crawler Carl series is transforming how an entirely new audience engages with reading.
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
www.youtube.com/@Grammaticus...
youtube.com
Grammaticus Books
A Booktube channel dedicated to the review of books and all things related to the printed word with an emphasis on Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Comic Books and Graphic Novels.
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Maybe something of interest, @file770.bsky.social ?
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I can't vouch for this outlet (never heard of it) but this seems pretty cool. www.itsnicethat.com/articles/ros...
itsnicethat.com
Quest is a highly designed sci-fi and fantasy magazine built for web fiction
Every story gets its own typeface, artwork and visual world, with gaming-inspired navigation, sound and video bringing each piece to life online.
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
www.fandompulse.com/p/china-miev...
fandompulse.com
China Miéville Says “Speculative Fiction” Was the Label for People Embarrassed to Read Science Fiction
China Miéville, the British author of Perdido Street Station and The City & the City, took a swipe at one of publishing’s favorite euphemisms in a new interview.
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
thanks, @theozenou.bsky.social "Awarding King the Nobel would make a simple point the literary establishment too often forgets: Mass appeal and literary greatness are not mutually exclusive."
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
www.bostonglobe.com/2026/09/23/o...
bostonglobe.com
Stephen King, Nobel laureate? - The Boston Globe
It sounds improbable. It shouldn’t.
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
"I needed you to care about these people. I needed you to care about what happened and I needed them to earn their own stance as important ethical puncturing points irrespective of any monsters or aliens or ghosts or anything like that. "
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
...the life and death of real people unadorned by anything weird or uncanny, beyond the world that is outside of our windows—were their own ethical stakes.They do not derive their meaning from being adjuncts from these other things" [See more]
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
defector.com/china-mievil... "I love the supernatural, the weird and those things will always be tremendously important to me, but it was absolutely vital to me in this book, above all other books that I've done... that the realistic aspects—....[see more]
defector.com
China Miéville On The “Completely Defining” Book It Took 20 Years To Write | Defector
It takes an open mind to engage with China Miéville’s work. A writer for whom the already cliched phrase “genre-bending” is even more banal, Miéville has never opposed the designation of genre writer....
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Love this interview! This is how a serious interview is done. defector.com/china-mievil...
defector.com
China Miéville On The “Completely Defining” Book It Took 20 Years To Write | Defector
It takes an open mind to engage with China Miéville’s work. A writer for whom the already cliched phrase “genre-bending” is even more banal, Miéville has never opposed the designation of genre writer....
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I am all about lists today! www.nytimes.com/2026/09/21/b...
nytimes.com
Space Opera Books: Where to Start If You Love Science Fiction
These epic, star-spanning adventure stories blend interstellar action with political allegory and romantic drama. Here’s where to start.
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
www.mentalfloss.com/literature/a...
mentalfloss.com
Stephen King's Favorite (and Least Favorite) Stephen King Novels
The award-winning author has four favorites, and one he considers "awful."
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
This is fascinating! And also.... @file770.bsky.social had the story 25 years ago! www.yahoo.com/entertainmen...
yahoo.com
Sci-Fi Author Harlan Ellison Guest-Starred In A Classic Scooby-Doo Episode
I have no mouth, and I must ... eat Scooby Snacks? Harlan Ellison achieved a lot in his life, but nothing quite so surprising as starring in Scooby-Doo.
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Two interesting lists! www.polygon.com/10-best-book.... which includes Angel Down by @danielkraus.com and other SFF titles And www.cbr.com/best-sci-fi-...
cbr.com
10 Best Sci-Fi Novels of the 2020s, Ranked After the 2026 Hugo Awards
The 2020s have had some jaw-dropping sci-fi books and following the 2026 Hugo Awards, its the perfect time to look at the best of the best.
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
@emilymandel.bsky.social is one of the best out there! Period. www.wired.com/story/the-bi...
wired.com
If the US Collapses Soon, Don’t Blame Emily St. John Mandel
Emily St. John Mandel’s 2014 novel, “Station Eleven,” turned her into something of a pandemic prophet. Her new novel, “Exit Party,” imagines two possible American futures—totalitarian state and post-c...
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Ack! Sorry!
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Thanks, @annaleen.bsky.social
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Related: www.newscientist.com/article/2588...
newscientist.com
How I made a slime mould the protagonist of my new sci-fi novel | New Scientist
How do you get the science right in a sci-fi book? Columnist Annalee Newitz started by asking many kinds of researchers lots of very strange questions – and ended up in love with slime moulds
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I am more of Star Wars than NASA nerd (by a long shot) but I know there are others who might dig this, so..., www.makeuseof.com/7-sci-fi-nov...
makeuseof.com
7 sci-fi novels for people who want NASA, not Star Wars
Space operas are great, but sometimes you want your sci-fi to be a little more plausible.
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
www.linns.com/news/us-stam... @file770.bsky.social might be fun for your page?
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
via: www.dawn.com/news/2029536
dawn.com
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Science fiction "[I]s my only leverage on the world, really. It’s either write about it or shout at people out of the window. I think all writing, in one way or the other, reflects the social and political challenges, either to criticise, explore or reinforce." -- @aptshadow.bsky.social
dawn.com
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
www.slashfilm.com/2253933/silo...
slashfilm.com
Silo Author Hugh Howey Thinks One Beloved Sci-Fi Book Changed His Writing (For The Better) - SlashFilm
Silo author Hugh Howey is very fond of the 2019 novel This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
"Which books are best positioned to become the next great fantasy and science-fiction adaptations?" writethroughthenight.com/2026/09/07/b... Authors include: @nealshusterman.bsky.social, @ajwhiteauthor.bsky.social , @olivieblake.bsky.social, @erinmorgenstern.bsky.social, @amalelmohtar.com
writethroughthenight.com
Books That Could Define the Next Decade of Fantasy and Sci-Fi TV - Write Through the Night
Audiences are increasingly willing to meet ambitious speculative fiction on its own terms. That creates an intriguing question for the next decade of television: Which books are best positioned to bec...
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
"In this context, science fiction and fantasy offer a mirror as well as a line of hope. Perhaps it isn’t too late to change our trajectory—and perhaps alternate visions of the world, and of the future, can give us ideas."
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
AND: "the real world feels increasingly surreal, even genre-bending itself. Our political system vacillates between absurdism and horror. Developments in AI drag us, willingly or unwillingly, into a technological landscape that often feels like science fiction...
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
This! Chloe, you see me! "I wanted to be meticulous enough that readers could give themselves permission to believe—to do a magic trick so airtight that it would feel real even to me. But I didn’t want the worldbuilding to overshadow the heart of the novel." lithub.com/10-literary-...
lithub.com
10 Literary Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels That Offer Hope for the Future
During graduate school, I finished the novel that found me an agent—but when my agent submitted it to publishers, all twenty of them turned the manuscript down. Truthfully, it was closer to a colle…
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/02/b...
nytimes.com
This Is the Best Book Our Fantasy Columnist Has Read All Year
She was so immersed in “The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones” that she forgot to eat dinner.
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
This idea continues to have legs! This time, from @galbeckerman.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...
theatlantic.com
We Are Living in the Fantasy World of 13-Year-Old Boys
Many of the tech billionaires who built our world have taken the wrong lessons from their favorite science fiction.
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
@r-emrys.bsky.social , loved this piece! This stuff has always been a fascination of mine! Do you remember the Time Life books!?!? reactormag.com/p-hacking-an...
reactormag.com
P-hacking and Wishful Thinking: ESP in Science Fiction - Reactor
Science and speculative fiction have long shared an abiding interest in telepathy and other psionic powers...
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
How am I only now learning about?1? transmissionsfromtomorrow.substack.com
transmissionsfromtomorrow.substack.com
Transmissions from Tomorrow | Joel Miller | Substack
Science fiction and fantasy deep dives that cut through the noise: authors, art, essays, reviews. Click to read Transmissions from Tomorrow, by Joel Miller, a Substack publication with hundreds of sub...
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
@file770.bsky.social ...not sure if this one makes the cut.
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Eric Smith @ericsmithrocks.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Oh wow, @alwayscoffee.bsky.social is in @reactorsff.bsky.social. 🥹
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
As Bob Beard said in Imaginary Papers, the book "approaches imagination as liberation: not an escape from reality or a frivolous flight of fancy, but an empirically validated tool to move from disconnection and disenchantment into new ways of seeing the world and discovering novel possibilities."
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Book alert!!🚨 Imagine That: Transform How You Think, Feel, and Live with the Science of Imagination, by @cassandravieten.bsky.social, director of research at the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination and co-chair of the World Imagination Network.
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Petergeist Clines @peterclines.com · 25/08/2026
The best legacy she could leave is for all of us to try to be more like Dolly Parton.
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Christopher Hennessy @thealtchris.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Another kind, gracious, loving soul departs this world, while...you know. Rest in peace, rest in power, rest in song Dolly. We love you.
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