Essays

“Christopher Brown is emerging as a Ballardian John McPhee.” — Mark Dery

Dystopia as Clickbait: Science Fiction, Doomscrolling, and Reviving the Idea of the Future
Tor.com, October 14, 2020

 

Christopher Brown: Five Things I Learned Writing Failed State
Chuck Wendig’s TERRIBLEMINDS, August 18, 2020

 

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“Truth and Reconciliation and Science Fiction”
Locus, August 20, 2019

 

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Five Things I Learned Writing Rule of Capture
Chuck Wendig’s TERRIBLEMINDS, August 20, 2019

 

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Lawyers in Fiction: It’s Time to Question the Archetype
CrimeReads, August 14, 2019

 

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The Big Idea Behind Rule of Capture
Scalzi’s Whatever, August 13, 2019

 

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Seven Unlikely Science Fictional Uprisings
The B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog, August 13, 2019

 

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Will There be Justice? Science Fiction and the Law
Tor.com, August 7, 2019

 

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Rule of Capture cover reveal
Harper Voyager blog
March 11, 2019

 

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“A Natural History of Empty Lots”
Texas Architect
September/October 2017

 

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“The Summer of Living Dangerously”—Sirens of Suspense, July 17, 2017

 

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“The Persistence of American Folklore in Fantastic Literature”—Tor.com, July 13, 2017

 

Preorder Tropic of Kansas from Amazon

“The Big Idea” Behind Tropic of Kansas—Scalzi’s Whatever, July 13, 2017

 

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“Dystopia is Realism”—LitHub, July 10, 2017

 

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“Earth Day in the Edgelands”—Medium, April 22, 2017

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You’re Fired—Democracy, Dystopia and the Cult of the CEO
NewCo Shift
March 15, 2016

 

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The Rule of Capture
Reckoning 1
December 2016

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“Winter in the Feral City”
Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet
#33, July 2015

 

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Borrowed Palantirs
Review 90: Literature and Arts of the Americas
Latin America and the Technological Imaginary in the Digital Age
May 2015

 

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Global Ear—Austin
The Wire
November 2015

 

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Science Fiction in the Edgelands
New York Review of Science Fiction
April 2012

“Mexico and the Atemporal Future”
Revista Digital Universitaria UNAM

February 2011

“Book Notes: Three Messages and a Warning”
Largehearted Boy
December 2011

“SF for MFAs”
Necessary Fiction

September 2011

Some Monster Manuals for the Evasion of Capitalist Networks
New York Review of Science Fiction
April 2011

“Revolution, Utopia and Science Fiction”
Castálida, 2009

Feeling Very Estranged: Science Fiction in the Aftermath of the Twentieth Century
Mundos Paralelos, 25th Annual Festival de Mexico en el Centro Historico
March 2009
New York Review of Science Fiction
November 2009

“Science Fiction in the Year Zero”
The Wiscon Chronicles, Volume Two
Aqueduct Press May, 2008

“Child of the Diaspora: Sterling on Ballard”
Ballardian
October 7, 2005

“Mixmaster of the Cranial Museum: Paul di Filippo’s Serious Whimsy”
Nova Express
Summer 2002

The Crime Studio, by Steve Aylett (review)
Nova Express
Summer 2002

“Catastrophically Cozy: J.G. Ballard’s Super-Cannes”
RevolutionSF, 2001