sean guynes
@guynes.bsky.social
critic and cultural historian of genre fantasies
senior acquiring editor (@leverpress.bsky.social) and associate editor of sf (@lareviewofbooks.bsky.social)
read more: seanguynes.com
senior acquiring editor (@leverpress.bsky.social) and associate editor of sf (@lareviewofbooks.bsky.social)
read more: seanguynes.com
Pinned
Ballantine Adult Fantasy: Reading “The Blue Star” by Fletcher Pratt
The twelfth essay in my Ballantine Adult Fantasy reading series, which looks at Fletcher Pratt’s The Blue Star (1952), an impressive, short novel of “rational” fantasy about power…
seanguynes.com
I continue my Ballantine Adult Fantasy reading series with the first official novel in the series: Fletcher Pratt's THE BLUE STAR. Originally published in 1952, this is an impressive novel about power and gender (though it's not without its problems), and a great start to the BAF series proper.
Physical media nerds: tell me!
Is there an ISFDB for DVDs/Blu Rays? Like, a central hub where I can look up physical media editions and printings? I'm not trying to price stuff, I just want an easier way to look up which editions to get of things, esp. obscurer stuff that isn't easily available in Region 1 printings.
January 19, 2026 at 1:23 AM
Physical media nerds: tell me!
Reposted by sean guynes
The absolute accuracy of this.
January 18, 2026 at 10:23 PM
The absolute accuracy of this.
My latest essay, from earlier this week, dives into Thomas Burnett Swann's thirteenth novel, this one about ancient Egypt and what happens when pharaoh banishes magic from the land.
I'm nearing the end of my read through of Thomas Burnett Swann's sixteen fantasy novels with this thirteenth essay. Swann's THE MINIKINS OF YAM is set in ancient Egypt and features a society of gazelle-people sex workers. It's... "questionable" is a good word for this novel.
Reading “The Minikins of Yam” by Thomas Burnett Swann
Thomas Burnett Swann’s The Minkins of Yam (1976) is the author’s eleventh novel, is set four thousand years ago in pharaonic Egypt, and is one of his weaker novels charting the “secret …
seanguynes.com
January 18, 2026 at 10:59 PM
My latest essay, from earlier this week, dives into Thomas Burnett Swann's thirteenth novel, this one about ancient Egypt and what happens when pharaoh banishes magic from the land.
Reposted by sean guynes
I'm nearing the end of my read through of Thomas Burnett Swann's sixteen fantasy novels with this thirteenth essay. Swann's THE MINIKINS OF YAM is set in ancient Egypt and features a society of gazelle-people sex workers. It's... "questionable" is a good word for this novel.
Reading “The Minikins of Yam” by Thomas Burnett Swann
Thomas Burnett Swann’s The Minkins of Yam (1976) is the author’s eleventh novel, is set four thousand years ago in pharaonic Egypt, and is one of his weaker novels charting the “secret …
seanguynes.com
January 17, 2026 at 7:15 AM
I'm nearing the end of my read through of Thomas Burnett Swann's sixteen fantasy novels with this thirteenth essay. Swann's THE MINIKINS OF YAM is set in ancient Egypt and features a society of gazelle-people sex workers. It's... "questionable" is a good word for this novel.
Is there an ISFDB for DVDs/Blu Rays? Like, a central hub where I can look up physical media editions and printings? I'm not trying to price stuff, I just want an easier way to look up which editions to get of things, esp. obscurer stuff that isn't easily available in Region 1 printings.
January 18, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Is there an ISFDB for DVDs/Blu Rays? Like, a central hub where I can look up physical media editions and printings? I'm not trying to price stuff, I just want an easier way to look up which editions to get of things, esp. obscurer stuff that isn't easily available in Region 1 printings.
Reposted by sean guynes
With her first novel Last Letters From Hav (1985), travel writer Jan Morris had readers scrambling to book tickets to a city that doesn't exist. This week's essay assesses it as science fiction.
Wish it was here: Last Letters from Hav (1985) by Jan Morris
The definitive travel guide to a place that never existed
www.andyjohnson.xyz
January 18, 2026 at 11:09 AM
With her first novel Last Letters From Hav (1985), travel writer Jan Morris had readers scrambling to book tickets to a city that doesn't exist. This week's essay assesses it as science fiction.
I'm nearing the end of my read through of Thomas Burnett Swann's sixteen fantasy novels with this thirteenth essay. Swann's THE MINIKINS OF YAM is set in ancient Egypt and features a society of gazelle-people sex workers. It's... "questionable" is a good word for this novel.
Reading “The Minikins of Yam” by Thomas Burnett Swann
Thomas Burnett Swann’s The Minkins of Yam (1976) is the author’s eleventh novel, is set four thousand years ago in pharaonic Egypt, and is one of his weaker novels charting the “secret …
seanguynes.com
January 17, 2026 at 7:15 AM
I'm nearing the end of my read through of Thomas Burnett Swann's sixteen fantasy novels with this thirteenth essay. Swann's THE MINIKINS OF YAM is set in ancient Egypt and features a society of gazelle-people sex workers. It's... "questionable" is a good word for this novel.
My partner the philosophy prof had a brilliant pedagogy idea for her grad seminar:
She's going to give them feedback on final paper drafts in the style of a referee report and make them write a response letter to the report when they submit the revised version. That's so fucking awesome!
She's going to give them feedback on final paper drafts in the style of a referee report and make them write a response letter to the report when they submit the revised version. That's so fucking awesome!
January 16, 2026 at 10:31 PM
My partner the philosophy prof had a brilliant pedagogy idea for her grad seminar:
She's going to give them feedback on final paper drafts in the style of a referee report and make them write a response letter to the report when they submit the revised version. That's so fucking awesome!
She's going to give them feedback on final paper drafts in the style of a referee report and make them write a response letter to the report when they submit the revised version. That's so fucking awesome!
Reposted by sean guynes
I've always been disappointed by how little Marxism there is in most "Marxist" cultural criticism.
January 16, 2026 at 7:59 PM
I've always been disappointed by how little Marxism there is in most "Marxist" cultural criticism.
lmao It's soooo fucking easy to be a Marxist film critic. The bar for "critique" is generally pretty low and the insights are few and far between.
"No Other Choice is capitalist ruling class propaganda"
yeah okay man. I'm this close to blocking marxist in bio from the movie feeds.
yeah okay man. I'm this close to blocking marxist in bio from the movie feeds.
January 16, 2026 at 5:26 PM
lmao It's soooo fucking easy to be a Marxist film critic. The bar for "critique" is generally pretty low and the insights are few and far between.
My two favorite YouTube genres lately are:
(1) People who hold up vintage sff books they just bought and say "this book looks cool!"
(2) People who film physical media finds at thrift stores and flea markets.
(1) People who hold up vintage sff books they just bought and say "this book looks cool!"
(2) People who film physical media finds at thrift stores and flea markets.
January 16, 2026 at 5:24 PM
My two favorite YouTube genres lately are:
(1) People who hold up vintage sff books they just bought and say "this book looks cool!"
(2) People who film physical media finds at thrift stores and flea markets.
(1) People who hold up vintage sff books they just bought and say "this book looks cool!"
(2) People who film physical media finds at thrift stores and flea markets.
Reposted by sean guynes
The entire plot of Starfleet Academy hinges on the Federation having a law for felony murder 1200 years from now.
January 16, 2026 at 4:07 PM
The entire plot of Starfleet Academy hinges on the Federation having a law for felony murder 1200 years from now.
Reposted by sean guynes
who cares what he cares about, the question is "how does this process actually work, and what mechanisms exist for him to affect it." the executive branch plays exactly zero role in the composition, certification and seating of a new congress. bsky.app/profile/push...
January 15, 2026 at 4:39 PM
who cares what he cares about, the question is "how does this process actually work, and what mechanisms exist for him to affect it." the executive branch plays exactly zero role in the composition, certification and seating of a new congress. bsky.app/profile/push...
Reposted by sean guynes
Wonderful essay on "manhood" and gender boundaries by @modernistwitch.myatproto.social for @flaminghydra.com (if you haven't subscribed, fix that!). Much of what skolnik says here applies as well to other culturally constructed identities, including religious identity, the subject of my work.
January 15, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Wonderful essay on "manhood" and gender boundaries by @modernistwitch.myatproto.social for @flaminghydra.com (if you haven't subscribed, fix that!). Much of what skolnik says here applies as well to other culturally constructed identities, including religious identity, the subject of my work.
Reposted by sean guynes
the question to ask about this is, okay, he wants to cancel the midterms. how does he get the VA state board of elections to cancel the midterms? how does he get the georgia board of elections to do it? how does he convince republican house members to quit their jobs and give up their paychecks?
Trump says a lot of deranged shit, but, per this Reuters article — and the threats of invoking the Insurrection Act in Minnesota this morning — he is very clearly exploring how to cancel the midterms.
www.reuters.com/world/us/fiv...
www.reuters.com/world/us/fiv...
January 15, 2026 at 4:29 PM
the question to ask about this is, okay, he wants to cancel the midterms. how does he get the VA state board of elections to cancel the midterms? how does he get the georgia board of elections to do it? how does he convince republican house members to quit their jobs and give up their paychecks?
There's something so disappointing about leftist criticism that presents structures/systems of power—capitalism, empire, patriarchy, etc.—as sentient, agential systems: "Capitalism wants..." "Empire thinks..."
It obscures the way systems function, reproduce, change, break down, chafe, and more!
It obscures the way systems function, reproduce, change, break down, chafe, and more!
January 14, 2026 at 11:14 PM
There's something so disappointing about leftist criticism that presents structures/systems of power—capitalism, empire, patriarchy, etc.—as sentient, agential systems: "Capitalism wants..." "Empire thinks..."
It obscures the way systems function, reproduce, change, break down, chafe, and more!
It obscures the way systems function, reproduce, change, break down, chafe, and more!
Reposted by sean guynes
excellent critique of an overlooked classic!
Haven't published an essay in a week, which has me feeling lazy (it's because I am lazy and I went back to work this week), so here's my essay from last week, in case my constant self-promotion somehow missed you:
Ballantine Adult Fantasy: Reading “The Blue Star” by Fletcher Pratt
The twelfth essay in my Ballantine Adult Fantasy reading series, which looks at Fletcher Pratt’s The Blue Star (1952), an impressive, short novel of “rational” fantasy about power…
seanguynes.com
January 14, 2026 at 7:04 PM
excellent critique of an overlooked classic!
Haven't published an essay in a week, which has me feeling lazy (it's because I am lazy and I went back to work this week), so here's my essay from last week, in case my constant self-promotion somehow missed you:
Ballantine Adult Fantasy: Reading “The Blue Star” by Fletcher Pratt
The twelfth essay in my Ballantine Adult Fantasy reading series, which looks at Fletcher Pratt’s The Blue Star (1952), an impressive, short novel of “rational” fantasy about power…
seanguynes.com
January 14, 2026 at 6:08 PM
Haven't published an essay in a week, which has me feeling lazy (it's because I am lazy and I went back to work this week), so here's my essay from last week, in case my constant self-promotion somehow missed you:
I stopped writing for a website when the editor changed some of my wording to be less anti-racist, softening my critique, without telling me. When I confronted her, she said this is just how it works. When I said I was also an editor and would never do that, boy was she upset.
profoundly unethical for an editor to do this, over and above everything else Bari obviously is
I wrote book reviews for a while for the WSJ well over a decade ago, and Bari Weis was my editor. One of her special tricks was to try to insert a sharp rightward slant into my essays *after* it had been copy edited, as a way of slipping her viewpoint in at the last minute.
January 13, 2026 at 4:48 PM
I stopped writing for a website when the editor changed some of my wording to be less anti-racist, softening my critique, without telling me. When I confronted her, she said this is just how it works. When I said I was also an editor and would never do that, boy was she upset.
Very interesting thread about some indie sff pub drama. I interacted with Bell a few times years ago when ARB reviewed one of Atthis's books. But it's wild to see someone in 2026 saying the Puppies are after them and then to see who they mean by Puppies.
"People shouldn't have to be perfect to do social justice work."
-the person who has spent the past year or so harassing someone for not writing *exactly* what they wanted in an independent journalism blog post.
I've been told she wants me to post her emails that I received, which, like, I can
-the person who has spent the past year or so harassing someone for not writing *exactly* what they wanted in an independent journalism blog post.
I've been told she wants me to post her emails that I received, which, like, I can
January 13, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Very interesting thread about some indie sff pub drama. I interacted with Bell a few times years ago when ARB reviewed one of Atthis's books. But it's wild to see someone in 2026 saying the Puppies are after them and then to see who they mean by Puppies.
The Mississippi, then the Cedar River, now the Susquehanna.
My favorite Twitter prompt was "RT this with your home river," so reskeet this with your home river.
Mine is the Patuxent.
Mine is the Patuxent.
January 13, 2026 at 2:30 AM
The Mississippi, then the Cedar River, now the Susquehanna.
I just finished Richard S. Evans's Third Reich Trilogy, a 2,500+ pg. exploration of the rise and fall of Nazi Germany. I can say without a doubt that it is an incredibly useful thing to have read and is easily the most comprehensive introduction to German politics and society in the 1910s-1940s.
The Third Reich Trilogy - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 12, 2026 at 11:15 PM
I just finished Richard S. Evans's Third Reich Trilogy, a 2,500+ pg. exploration of the rise and fall of Nazi Germany. I can say without a doubt that it is an incredibly useful thing to have read and is easily the most comprehensive introduction to German politics and society in the 1910s-1940s.
Back to work after a month and I've already reduced my work inbox to just 12 emails to respond to.
So, I guess that means you should send be your book pitches and proposals so we can change the world with awesome OA books!
So, I guess that means you should send be your book pitches and proposals so we can change the world with awesome OA books!
Publish With Us
Lever Press is a scholarly press supported by more than 50 liberal arts institutions. It publishes peer-reviewed, born digital, open access monographs at no cost to authors or their academic instituti...
www.leverpress.org
January 12, 2026 at 10:02 PM
Back to work after a month and I've already reduced my work inbox to just 12 emails to respond to.
So, I guess that means you should send be your book pitches and proposals so we can change the world with awesome OA books!
So, I guess that means you should send be your book pitches and proposals so we can change the world with awesome OA books!
Reposted by sean guynes
ICYMI: Andrew Demshuk's "The Filthiest Village in Europe
Grassroots Ecology and the Collapse of East Germany" is now shipping! What great news for a Friday!
Check it out and order yours at the @cornellupress.bsky.social book page: www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501.... I'll wait...
Grassroots Ecology and the Collapse of East Germany" is now shipping! What great news for a Friday!
Check it out and order yours at the @cornellupress.bsky.social book page: www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501.... I'll wait...
January 9, 2026 at 8:11 PM
ICYMI: Andrew Demshuk's "The Filthiest Village in Europe
Grassroots Ecology and the Collapse of East Germany" is now shipping! What great news for a Friday!
Check it out and order yours at the @cornellupress.bsky.social book page: www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501.... I'll wait...
Grassroots Ecology and the Collapse of East Germany" is now shipping! What great news for a Friday!
Check it out and order yours at the @cornellupress.bsky.social book page: www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501.... I'll wait...