Thank you to everyone who came over and took part in the Bitter (Easter) Con on my journal. I hope you enjoyed it. I certainly did. For the record, Friday's item is here . Saturday's item is here Sunday's programme item is here . Monday's programme item here

One of the characteristics of science fiction is the long-running series. Sometimes it's just a matter of an author having an idea so big that it simply can't be told within the binding of a single volume...a difference if the earliest books in the series seemed to promise a final ending? Or is it just a matter of feeling that the writer has lost that creative "spark" and is just churning them out

Military science fiction has become closely associated with conservative political opinions, perhaps as a result of Baen Books , and in particular of arch-conservatives John Ringo and Tom Kratman, whose...dilation does to one's sense of having a place in the timeline. Can anyone out there think of other works of military sf written from a liberal political viewpoint? What are their strengths and weaknesses