Author name: gardensofhansen@hotmail.com

What is Science Fiction? Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a broad and fascinating genre that explores speculative futures, alternative realities, and the potential of science and technology. Over time, numerous subgenres have emerged, each with its own flavor. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most popular subgenres of science fiction. 1. Space Opera Space opera emphasizes grand space warfare, heroic adventures, and sweeping interstellar conflicts. Interestingly, the term space opera doesn’t come from opera music but draws from horse operas (Westerns) and soap operas (melodramatic radio or TV shows). The idea is to capture melodrama, large-scale scope, and formulaic but beloved storytelling. Classic examples: Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, John Carter of Mars. Modern examples: Star Wars, The Expanse series. 2. Alternate History This subgenre imagines how history might have unfolded if key events happened differently. It blurs the line between science fiction and speculative fiction. Best-known example: The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick. Other examples: Fatherland by Robert Harris, 11/22/63 by Stephen King. 3. Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic These stories depict civilization’s collapse and humanity’s struggle to survive in a changed world. Today, this is one of the most popular subgenres, especially in movies and TV series. Examples: The Hunger Games, Mad Max, The Walking Dead, A Quiet Place, Fallout, Terminator, No Blade of Grass. 4. Biopunk Biopunk focuses on biotechnology and genetic engineering, often portraying science itself as a double-edged sword. Classic example: The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells. Modern examples: Gattaca, Altered Carbon. 5. Time Travel Time travel stories explore the possibilities and paradoxes of moving through time. Must-reads and watches: The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, 12 Monkeys, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Timeless (TV series), and the upcoming reboot of The Time Tunnel. 6. Hard Science Fiction Hard science fiction emphasizes scientific accuracy and technical detail, sometimes at the expense of character-driven storytelling. Examples: 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Andromeda Strain, The Martian, Interstellar, Gravity. My Own Sci-Fi Writing Journey When working on my own books, I often blend these subgenres: Orion’s Spur: Coming-of-age meets space opera and deep world-building. Salt of the Earth: A complex mix of hard and soft science fiction, focusing on asteroid mining, future economics, and political struggles. Project Lilliput: An adventurous dystopian tale set on Earth, with optimistic themes where society remains intact—poised to evolve into a space opera series. Conclusion: Why Sci-Fi Subgenres Matter Understanding these subgenres helps both readers and writers navigate the rich landscape of science fiction. Whether you’re drawn to grand space battles, alternative timelines, dystopian futures, or hard science, there’s a sci-fi niche for everyone.

YA Science Fiction Sequel Teaser: First Look at Salt of the Earth Book Two Attention fans of young adult sci-fi novels—get ready for a deeper dive into the high-stakes world of Salt of the Earth! I’m excited to share the first sneak peek from the sequel to my YA science fiction novel, Salt of the Earth, a story that blends asteroid mining, space exploration, and political intrigue. In this early excerpt, we learn more about Helena Padilla, a shadowy figure who played a supporting role in the first book. Now, she steps into the spotlight as one of the masterminds behind a powerful conspiracy—raising the stakes for what’s to come. Sequel Excerpt (Rough Draft – Not Final Line Edit) “Six months!” a short, white-haired woman complained. “You’ve had six months and all you can tell me is that it is not on your periodic table?” She turned and stormed out of the lab. A heavy-set man in an expensive suit followed after her. “Helena, wait,” he exclaimed. “It is not as simple as that.” Helena Padilla stood just outside the doorway of the lab. “This whole venture was convoluted and a waste of two years of my life… (continued above) As I continue writing, I’ll keep sharing excerpts from the sequel here—perfect for fans of speculative science fiction, mysterious alien tech, and space-age conspiracies. If you haven’t read the first book, Salt of the Earth is available now in eBook and paperback (and coming to Audible by the end of the year). It’s a young adult sci-fi adventure exploring asteroid mining, political deception, and the future of space travel. ➡️ Follow along for exclusive sneak peeks, updates, and behind-the-scenes insights into the making of this YA sci-fi series.

Aloha – I’m taking advantage of Amazon’s free days for sells of eBooks. Tomorrow (Saturday) all five of the eBook versions of the Orion’s Spur series will be available for free. This is a one day only event, get all five books of this young adult science fiction series for free. It is also available in paperback or Audible. It seems to be most popular in Audible books right now. The titles are: Orion’s Spur Demeter Orion’s Spur Return to Demeter Orion’s Spur Defending Demeter Orion’s Spur Haumeah Orion’s Spur Paragon’s Virtue It is a five book series and the story is complete with Paragon’s Virtue. I’ve been encouraged to write a sequel, but if I do it will proceed in a different direction. Other books availble on Amazon are Project Lilliput and Salt of the Earth. In related news, I’ve been contracted to write the sequel of Salt of the Earth, “Sea of Salt” which I’m currently working on very slowly. Project Lilliput is now being produced as an audible book. I was able to contract with the same narrator from New Zealand who did the Orion Spur series. I think he is a great talent.

Some good news on the audible book side. I talked with the publisher of “Project Lilliput” and “Salt of the Earth” and they have released the audio rights back to me. I’ve been in contact with Matthew and he has agreed to narrate both books for audible release. The bad news is that he is moving back to Germany and I’ll be lucky to get “Project Lilliput” completed before fall. I’m hoping to have “Salt of the Earth” released by the end of the year. They are both available in eBook, paperback and hard back editions, but Orion’s Spur series has sold much better on Audible than in hard cover. I guess audible is the wave of the present and future.

Aloha – A fair amount of things going on behind the scenes at the moment. I am seven chapters into a requested sequel of “Salt of the Earth” which is currently in print and e-book format through several venders. I was stalled for a while, but writer’s block eventually gave way to a fun sequence I just wrote. The ending is clear in my mind, but that is a long way off. Both “Salt of the Earth” and “Project Lilliput” were published by Next Chapter. I feel like they have done a good job with the book so far, but I wanted to get the audible rights back, which they have agreed to do. I was also able to contact the narrator for the entire Orion’s Spur series, so I hope to have at least one of those two books available in Audible by the end of summer. One of the main reasons I want the audible book rights back is that the Orion’s Spur series has done much better in audible format than in e-book or paperback. The five books are not best sellers in Audible, but the sales and ratings have been very good. Two of the books: “Demeter” (book 1) and Paragon’s Virtue (book 5 and end of the story arc) have made it into the top 10 of the sub-category: Action Adventure Sci-Fi for teens, and have rated in the top 50 for Teen and Young Adult Science Fiction Action and Adventure. All 5 books are doing very well. “Haumeah” is selling as well as the others but listed in an entirely different category. It periodically breaks into the top 100 of Space Opera Science Fiction (like today), and is in the top 200 in Space Opera as its own category. In any case, I’m just waiting for the all clear, and will start production. Anticipate seeing both books on Audible.com ACX before the end of the year. I’ll keep you informed as news unfolds.

I was certainly interested in the science fiction movie, “Mickey 17”. I like Robert Pattinson as an actor despite his bad rap in the Twilight movies. I thought he showed some good acting chops in Water for Elephants. He is mostly wasted in Mickey 17 until late in the second half when both Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 (both Robert Pattinson) dialog. He does clearly express two personalities in the exchange, almost as well as John Noble’s two characters did when they met (both John Noble) in the series. Something I did not understand in the multiple iterations of the Mickey iterations (each a new copy of the previous version) is why all the previous incarnations had the same milk toasty personalities, so waiting to be put upon and used that I didn’t even feel sorry for them, and Mickey 18 was the polar opposite of the previous iterations (maybe its explained in the book. The storyline could have been Avatar, with a group taking over a new planet without concern, in fact with distain, for the natives. The central antagonist, played by Mark Ruffalo is comic at beast. He is a defeated politician, leader of a religious? Movement, lacks confidence, and is bolstered up mainly by his wife played by Toni Collette. She seemed to take the role more seriously. Perhaps the intent is Donald Trump followers after he lost the previous election, portrayed as mindless followers to whatever outlandish ideas spout from his mouth. If that was the intent I really didn’t think the parallel worked. Despite a weak antagonist, and an even weaker protagonist I did enjoy the second half of the film. Traveling to, and exploring new worlds always at least catches my interest. I liked the aliens. They were delightful and stole the show anytime there were only a few around interacting with the humans. When they were a mob? Not so much. Would I watch the film again? Probably not, but channel surfing sometime in the future I might pop in and watch a few minutes of it again. The word innocuous comes to mind.

I’ve mentioned this before, in a galaxy far away. But my favorite science fiction author is Robert Heinlein. I think I first ran across one of his juvenile science fiction novels in 6th grade. Novels like “Rocket Ship Galileo, Space Cadet, Farmer in the Sky, Between Planets, and The Rolling Stones drew me in. I followed up with everything I could find. I never really got into his adult science fiction, although one of my favorites in Starship Trooper (nothing like the movie by the way). The last of his novels I read was “The Number of the Beast”. It was okay. “Glory Road” was better put together though and that was written in 1963. I still have not read “Stanger in a Strange Land” which is considered by most to be his best work. My favorite is “Citizen of the Galaxy”.

Aloha – I’m a big fan of audiobooks. I have an active account and have also placed all five of the Orion’s Spur series into ACX audiobooks. I worked for a year with voice talent Matthew David Hopkins. I knew at the time he was very talented from the samples and then the product he delivered. It wasn’t until the books were published in audible book format that I realized just how lucky I was. He not only got the words, but the feeling of the characters down pat. Sure, I’ve seen half a dozen glitches as I relistened to all five books, but I have to give him an A for his performances. Now, I realized how lucky I really was. I am a huge Robert Heinlein fan. I’ve read and re-read many of his books. On a road trip we listened to two of his books along with a couple of Jane Austin titles. Since then I have listened to two more titles. A well known actor narrated those two titles and he butchered the books. I struggled through one, and then desperate I finally gave him a second chance. No good. If I listen to any more of Heinlein’s great works, it will have to be a different narrator. So, kudos to Matthew for a job not only well done, but for doing a great job on the narration.

It has been a great three day giveaway. Today (Saturday) is the last day of the promotion. Three of the five titles in the series have broken into the top 10 for free Kindle reads this weekend. Orion’s Spur is the five book series focusing on young people conscripted from Earth and placed in the center of a 10,000 year old war between the Sagittarius and Perseus arms of the galaxy in Orion’s Spur. So how are the books faring? Demeter is ranked #23 in Crime & Mystery Science Fiction, and #80 in Galactic Empire Science Fiction. It also has made it to #241 in the broader Science Fiction Adventure category. Return to Demeter is ranked #3 in Teen & Young Adult Aliens eBooks, and #55 in Teen & Young Adult Literature & Fiction ebooks. Defending Demeter somehow has been categorized as Children’s Action & Adventure Sci-Fi Books. It is ranked at a lofty #5. Haumeah, the fourth book in the series is ranked #26 in Space Fleet Science Fiction and #77 in Teen & Young Adult Literature & Fiction Paragon’s Virtue, the final book in the series is ranked highest of all, ranking #3 in Crime & Mystery Science Fiction, #17 in Galactic Empire Science Fiction, and #49 in Science Fiction Adventure. Again thank you all for your support. Don’t miss out on your free copy or copies today, March 8th, in Kindle e-books. If you like the books you may want to check out the audiobook versions. We have a terrific reader that brings the stories to life.

Aloha – Amazon allows periodic give-aways of e-books and I’m taking advantage of that this weekend. Starting tomorrow through Saturday night you can get a free copy of the e-books in the Orion’s Spur series: Demeter, Return to Demeter, Defending Demeter, Haumeah, and Paragon’s Virtue. That is the complete series. What do I want in return? If you like them please leave a positive review. If you don’t like them do nothing 🙂 Again, this Thursday the 6th of March through Saturday the 8th of March. Enjoy!