Wesley Osam
@mwosam.bsky.social
My site is at https://www.superdoomedplanet.com .
I've started watching the new blu-rays of Tom Baker's second Doctor Who season, and, uh, well. They really did go overboard with the AI upscaling, didn't they?
February 1, 2026 at 2:22 PM
I've started watching the new blu-rays of Tom Baker's second Doctor Who season, and, uh, well. They really did go overboard with the AI upscaling, didn't they?
The thing about reading at the moment is that I’m in that state where I need to feel like I have a Project for my executive function to kick in. The usual result is that I get one chapter into a dozen books before something catches.
February 1, 2026 at 12:25 AM
The thing about reading at the moment is that I’m in that state where I need to feel like I have a Project for my executive function to kick in. The usual result is that I get one chapter into a dozen books before something catches.
I recently read Cecil Woodham-Smith's The Reason Why, a book on the charge of the Light Brigade excerpted in a viral post on Bluesky a while back. Interestingly, it's about people who are, in Woodham-Smith's telling, very familiar types of guys.
The Reason Why by Cecil Woodham-Smith: 9780140012781 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
This history is a war story of astonishing courage and honor, of stupidity, of blood, death, agony -- and waste. Nothing in British campaign history has ever equaled the tragic farce that was the c...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
January 31, 2026 at 9:57 PM
I recently read Cecil Woodham-Smith's The Reason Why, a book on the charge of the Light Brigade excerpted in a viral post on Bluesky a while back. Interestingly, it's about people who are, in Woodham-Smith's telling, very familiar types of guys.
I'm particularly interested in the suggestion here of genre as something that can be read into a work—like, a set of reading protocols you might apply to the work whether or not that was the original idea; contemporary genre influencing how we read work from before it was codified.
And then the first of our essays: the inestimable @megapolisomancy.bsky.social on (what else?) the weird.
What is really striking about this piece is the way in which it advocates for critical reading as productive practice, for "weird reading as a way of thinking critically about the world."
What is really striking about this piece is the way in which it advocates for critical reading as productive practice, for "weird reading as a way of thinking critically about the world."
The Brackish Pool: Towards a Critical Practice of Reading Weird Fiction
The ideal reader of the weird has to embrace a kind of wilful suspension of foreknowledge or generic expectation.
strangehorizons.com
January 31, 2026 at 12:36 AM
I'm particularly interested in the suggestion here of genre as something that can be read into a work—like, a set of reading protocols you might apply to the work whether or not that was the original idea; contemporary genre influencing how we read work from before it was codified.
Reposted by Wesley Osam
📣 It's here: the 2026 @strangehorizons.bsky.social Criticism Special!
💡 A whole week of critical insight, with a new essay and new review every day. A podcast, a roundtable, an *editorial*.
📚 The weird! Anthropology! Non-anglophone SFF! Plus thoughts on fantasy series, adaptations, film and more.
💡 A whole week of critical insight, with a new essay and new review every day. A podcast, a roundtable, an *editorial*.
📚 The weird! Anthropology! Non-anglophone SFF! Plus thoughts on fantasy series, adaptations, film and more.
26 January 2026
Welcome to the annual Strange Horizons criticism special!
strangehorizons.com
January 26, 2026 at 1:41 PM
📣 It's here: the 2026 @strangehorizons.bsky.social Criticism Special!
💡 A whole week of critical insight, with a new essay and new review every day. A podcast, a roundtable, an *editorial*.
📚 The weird! Anthropology! Non-anglophone SFF! Plus thoughts on fantasy series, adaptations, film and more.
💡 A whole week of critical insight, with a new essay and new review every day. A podcast, a roundtable, an *editorial*.
📚 The weird! Anthropology! Non-anglophone SFF! Plus thoughts on fantasy series, adaptations, film and more.
Reposted by Wesley Osam
Anyway this is neither here nor there, except to say that a lot of the "great literary works" of the past were rooted in, and often struggling against, their own genre conventions. Once those fall away to history, what remains can seem quite different than it does in context.
January 30, 2026 at 1:08 PM
Anyway this is neither here nor there, except to say that a lot of the "great literary works" of the past were rooted in, and often struggling against, their own genre conventions. Once those fall away to history, what remains can seem quite different than it does in context.
Reposted by Wesley Osam
Literary genres-- inasmuch as they "are" anything at all-- are not absolute categories. They come and go as times change.
Often, particularly good and particularly thoughtful versions of genres outlive the aesthetic context that they were created in, and then get mistakenly labelled sui generis.
Often, particularly good and particularly thoughtful versions of genres outlive the aesthetic context that they were created in, and then get mistakenly labelled sui generis.
January 30, 2026 at 12:59 PM
Literary genres-- inasmuch as they "are" anything at all-- are not absolute categories. They come and go as times change.
Often, particularly good and particularly thoughtful versions of genres outlive the aesthetic context that they were created in, and then get mistakenly labelled sui generis.
Often, particularly good and particularly thoughtful versions of genres outlive the aesthetic context that they were created in, and then get mistakenly labelled sui generis.
Reposted by Wesley Osam
Randomly thinking about how great some weird science fiction writers have been at titles. Cordwainer Smith, R.A. Lafferty, David Bunch, James Tiptree, Howard Waldrop. Just look through a list of their stories and the titles alone are poetic and often bonkers.
January 28, 2026 at 11:01 PM
Randomly thinking about how great some weird science fiction writers have been at titles. Cordwainer Smith, R.A. Lafferty, David Bunch, James Tiptree, Howard Waldrop. Just look through a list of their stories and the titles alone are poetic and often bonkers.
Reposted by Wesley Osam
in response to Hamnet I’m going to write a movie about how Chloe Zhao made Marvel’s “The Eternals” to process her feelings about the time she had to fight supervillain aliens in an exploding volcano
January 28, 2026 at 5:38 AM
in response to Hamnet I’m going to write a movie about how Chloe Zhao made Marvel’s “The Eternals” to process her feelings about the time she had to fight supervillain aliens in an exploding volcano
Reposted by Wesley Osam
“I hate ai, it can’t be trusted, that’s why I trust ai to tell me when something is ai” the thought process of a ton of TEACHERS who ought to be capable of CRITICAL THINKING
Out of curiosity, I just ran a few paragraphs from The Butchering Art through an AI checker and it got flagged: 88% AI. This book was released in 2017, and AI machines were subsequently trained off it. How many writers are getting flagged for AI because of the literal theft of their work(s)? Insane.
OMG - f*ck AI for ruining the em-dash for writers. I use them all the time. Of course, what a shock that AI uses them since they were trained off my voice and other authors' voices.
January 28, 2026 at 2:48 PM
“I hate ai, it can’t be trusted, that’s why I trust ai to tell me when something is ai” the thought process of a ton of TEACHERS who ought to be capable of CRITICAL THINKING
Reposted by Wesley Osam
The vast majority of human literature actually didn’t come out in the last 3 months and it’s deeply poisonous for art if we only focus on new and upcoming releases.
January 28, 2026 at 1:57 PM
The vast majority of human literature actually didn’t come out in the last 3 months and it’s deeply poisonous for art if we only focus on new and upcoming releases.
I can't imagine a Blakes 7 reboot will keep my actual favorite thing about the series: it acts like a gritty human-centric fascists-and-rebels dystopia, but we get constant hints of a bigger, weirder, universe the Federation is simply ignoring.
‘Blake’s 7’ Reboot In The Works From ‘The Last Of Us’ Director Peter Hoar & ‘A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder’ Exec Matthew Bouch
A 'Blake's 7' reboot is coming from 'The Last Of Us' director Peter Hoar and Matthew Bouch and their Multitude Productions indie.
deadline.com
January 19, 2026 at 9:45 PM
I can't imagine a Blakes 7 reboot will keep my actual favorite thing about the series: it acts like a gritty human-centric fascists-and-rebels dystopia, but we get constant hints of a bigger, weirder, universe the Federation is simply ignoring.
I finally read Moonwise… I think last year? I wish I’d gotten to it earlier; it’s one of the most interesting and idiosyncratic examples of a strand of fantasy that was important in the 1990s, and a book that asks a lot of the reader.
January 19, 2026 at 5:38 PM
I finally read Moonwise… I think last year? I wish I’d gotten to it earlier; it’s one of the most interesting and idiosyncratic examples of a strand of fantasy that was important in the 1990s, and a book that asks a lot of the reader.
Reposted by Wesley Osam
Wonderful news! Greer Gilman is an utterly unique writer. Her stories "Jack Daw's Pack" and "A Crowd of Bone" are absolute favorites of mine, works of era-defining literary artistry.
Heads up for literary fantasy readers: new Greer Gilman (and her backlist reissued) in 2027!
#booksky
#booksky
January 19, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Wonderful news! Greer Gilman is an utterly unique writer. Her stories "Jack Daw's Pack" and "A Crowd of Bone" are absolute favorites of mine, works of era-defining literary artistry.
Reposted by Wesley Osam
confident mystery
(15 mins)
(15 mins)
January 17, 2026 at 8:36 PM
confident mystery
(15 mins)
(15 mins)
Some discussion of the Zeno's-Arrow-like inability of George R. R. Martin's Ice and Fire books to reach their finish line. There's an interview with Martin I've never forgotten because in part it touches on one of my pet peeves: novels paced a certain way, written exclusively in "scenes":
George R.R. Martin Answers Our Toughest Song of Ice and Fire Questions
When we interviewed A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin at Comic-Con, we decided to drill down and ask some intense questions. Like, is this
gizmodo.com
January 18, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Some discussion of the Zeno's-Arrow-like inability of George R. R. Martin's Ice and Fire books to reach their finish line. There's an interview with Martin I've never forgotten because in part it touches on one of my pet peeves: novels paced a certain way, written exclusively in "scenes":
Caught the very end and the very beginning of Starfleet Academy while Roku was sample-streaming the premiere, and it was doing that "You endangered lives, but we're giving you a slap on the wrist because you're Special" thing. Pretty much killed any desire I had to watch further.
January 17, 2026 at 9:46 PM
Caught the very end and the very beginning of Starfleet Academy while Roku was sample-streaming the premiere, and it was doing that "You endangered lives, but we're giving you a slap on the wrist because you're Special" thing. Pretty much killed any desire I had to watch further.
Learn to enjoy the process of creating whether or not anything comes of it, and to find satisfaction in creating just for yourself whether or not anyone else is interested. Not only is it okay for art and writing to be just hobbies and not careers, they ought to be a more common hobbies.
January 11, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Learn to enjoy the process of creating whether or not anything comes of it, and to find satisfaction in creating just for yourself whether or not anyone else is interested. Not only is it okay for art and writing to be just hobbies and not careers, they ought to be a more common hobbies.
I read 70 books in 2025 which sounds good but is low for me. I'm starting to get my concentration and ability to read for sustained periods back, though, so we'll see about 2026.
January 1, 2026 at 6:16 PM
I read 70 books in 2025 which sounds good but is low for me. I'm starting to get my concentration and ability to read for sustained periods back, though, so we'll see about 2026.
Stray thought inspired by a line in the File 770 AI post: There's a kind of person who thinks "debate" means any assertion made by anybody should be indulged and respected. Coming to conclusions—saying, no, some assertions are just *wrong*—is hostile, uncivil, and just plain rude.
December 30, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Stray thought inspired by a line in the File 770 AI post: There's a kind of person who thinks "debate" means any assertion made by anybody should be indulged and respected. Coming to conclusions—saying, no, some assertions are just *wrong*—is hostile, uncivil, and just plain rude.
I've been wondering what 2025 SF/Fantasy novels have been especially popular/influential this year with the SFF fandom culture SFF writers tend to be involved in; novels likely to influence other novels, basically.
My tastes are far enough out of touch I'm rarely able to guess.
My tastes are far enough out of touch I'm rarely able to guess.
December 29, 2025 at 1:38 PM
I've been wondering what 2025 SF/Fantasy novels have been especially popular/influential this year with the SFF fandom culture SFF writers tend to be involved in; novels likely to influence other novels, basically.
My tastes are far enough out of touch I'm rarely able to guess.
My tastes are far enough out of touch I'm rarely able to guess.
It feels like part of what's allowed generative AI to get traction is that the culture's seen a slow aesthetic deskilling, which started long before AI but has accelerated since.
We've gotten used to simpler, more utilitarian prose, movies made to run in the background while we do something else.
We've gotten used to simpler, more utilitarian prose, movies made to run in the background while we do something else.
The last repost is completely true, and I'd also add: generative AI advocates never engage with the fact that LLMs and AI art are just bad at everything they try to do.
The art is dreary, the writing is the prose equivalent of gray goo. There is no understanding behind the output.
The art is dreary, the writing is the prose equivalent of gray goo. There is no understanding behind the output.
December 28, 2025 at 5:39 PM
It feels like part of what's allowed generative AI to get traction is that the culture's seen a slow aesthetic deskilling, which started long before AI but has accelerated since.
We've gotten used to simpler, more utilitarian prose, movies made to run in the background while we do something else.
We've gotten used to simpler, more utilitarian prose, movies made to run in the background while we do something else.
The last repost is completely true, and I'd also add: generative AI advocates never engage with the fact that LLMs and AI art are just bad at everything they try to do.
The art is dreary, the writing is the prose equivalent of gray goo. There is no understanding behind the output.
The art is dreary, the writing is the prose equivalent of gray goo. There is no understanding behind the output.
December 28, 2025 at 5:25 PM
The last repost is completely true, and I'd also add: generative AI advocates never engage with the fact that LLMs and AI art are just bad at everything they try to do.
The art is dreary, the writing is the prose equivalent of gray goo. There is no understanding behind the output.
The art is dreary, the writing is the prose equivalent of gray goo. There is no understanding behind the output.
Reposted by Wesley Osam
I think part of the reason the reaction to people arguing *for* GenAI use is so aggressive is that not a single one of these arguments bothers to meaningfully engage with the ethical problems these technologies present. And those ethical problems are monumental. They're not minor.
December 28, 2025 at 3:51 PM
I think part of the reason the reaction to people arguing *for* GenAI use is so aggressive is that not a single one of these arguments bothers to meaningfully engage with the ethical problems these technologies present. And those ethical problems are monumental. They're not minor.
Reposted by Wesley Osam
I didn't bother reading it (thank you for doing the unpleasant work, Kate!) but what bothers me most about this, I think, is the smug implication by the 'writer' that her time is so much more important than the reader's. "I use AI because I have better things to do than write for you!"
If you're wondering whether the "open letter about AI" on file 770 is worth reading and engaging, it is not. The whole thing is rhetorical mush so it was no surprise when I got to the end and she admitted "her" letter was itself written by AI. Useless bait.
December 28, 2025 at 4:46 PM
I didn't bother reading it (thank you for doing the unpleasant work, Kate!) but what bothers me most about this, I think, is the smug implication by the 'writer' that her time is so much more important than the reader's. "I use AI because I have better things to do than write for you!"