Bewildering Stories welcomes...

Steve Bates

Steve has spent many years writing news articles and features for magazines and newspapers, including The Washington Post. He has published science fiction and magic realism widely.

“The Singularity of Louisa Lindsay” may seem to today’s readers as coming out of science fiction’s past. It would certainly have qualified as a classic in the Astounding Science Fiction of John W. Campbell’s era; the writing excels in comparison to any of that time, and very few details would have surprised the readers.

But the story would have been ahead of its time, as well. It addresses the themes of oppression and depression, which are more in the public consciousness now than they were then. At the risk of answering a Challenge question, Louisa functions as a black hole in reverse; she obliterates that part of the universe that contained her life. Readers will see it coming and take Louisa’s story as a cautionary tale.

Steve Bates’s bio sketch can be found here.

Welcome to Bewildering Stories, Steve. We hope to hear from you again soon and often!