Top Ten Dystopian Mysteries Dystopia is the place where science fiction goes noir. Twentieth-century crime stories and dystopian sci-fi both explore the urban shadows where our worst behaviors are most often on exhibit, trust is always betrayed, and establishment institutions are corrupt if not actively malevolent. They share a dark realism, which the hard-boiled pulps […]

10 Great Fictional Detectives who aren’t Sherlock Holmes—and aren’t Male Ask the average reader to name his or her favorite female literary sleuth and you’re likely to hear Miss Marple, Jessica Fletcher, and Nancy Drew. At least, that’s what I found out in my admittedly unscientific survey recently. However, some of the best mysteries out […]

From Hidden Tunnels to History…Eight Ways to Get Your Non-Food Kicks in Chinatown Chinatown, even for many Chinese-Americans, has become a bit of a necessary evil. So-and-so is in town and they want to have dim sum, have to have dim sum. It takes forever for your group of twenty to individually trickle into the […]