Northern Cross

There was no way to tell where it came from.  Sometimes the pillars descended from above; sometimes they rose from beneath the earth.  They rarely stayed in one place for long. “It isn’t the one,” said Joel.

Illustration by Nathan Fredette

AE, 2.0: Letter from an Editor

Helen Michaud

Don’t ever underestimate the difficulty of recreating. Bringing back something that already existed may seem like a simple proposition, but it isn’t. Stakes are higher this time around, or at least expectations are. When we first started AE, we had a feeling it would be — or would become — something pretty great, but we didn’t know for sure. Now, we knew what AE could be, and when we unveiled AE Mark 2, we wanted it to be worthy.

With apologies to LL Cool J, do call it a comeback. We couldn’t be more proud to fire up the engine again and start bringing you new stories and analysis about worlds that might be. For those of you who have been waiting for this moment, we promise it’s been worth it. And if you’re new to the travels of this humble vessel, welcome aboard. It’s going to be an adventure...

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philosophical science fiction in the most literal sense

NECESSITY by Jo Walton

BY Jonathan Crowe

Necessity, the third and concluding volume of Jo Walton’s Thessaly trilogy, is not a book that can be read on its own. You really do want to read the first two volumes, The Just City and The Philosopher Kings, first. As I pointed out in my review of those two books last year, this series is philosophical science fiction in the most literal sense. It’s the story of Greek gods creating a real-world city based on Plato’s Republic as a thought experiment, designed to explore concepts of consent, volition and equal significance.