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Great Science-Fiction & Fantasy Works
Science-fiction & fantasy literature: a critical list with discussions.
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This is a brief discussion of M. A. Foster and, of course, of some speculative-fiction books by Foster.
This discussion and list does not necessarily include every book by Foster: it includes only those books that I both know and like. Just as with the author list itself, omission of a particular item may mean I didn’t think highly enough of the omitted item, or it may simply mean that I have not yet sufficient familiarity with it. (In a very few cases, I have listed some books merely on the strength of my opinion of the author: all such books are clearly marked below, as throughout these lists, with a hash mark (#) before the title so you know what’s what.)
I don’t pretend that this discussion is a deep analysis. My intent is no more than to give you a rough idea of what kinds of tales Foster tells, how those tales are usually told, and what makes them and Foster worthy; in sum, to help you rank M. A. Foster (and the works by Foster listed here) on your personal literary “to do” list.
A Few Words About M. A. Foster
(Do not confuse M. A. Foster the science-fiction writer with the M. A. Foster who writes romance novels!
Regrettably, I have not yet had an opportunity to write an essay on this author, but the “Other Resources” section below will lead you to some information about the “Notable Books” listed farther down this page.
There is distressingly little available about this interesting author. Black Gate has up a short but useful review of The Book of the Ler trilogy done by D. K. Latta. Elsewhere, someone posted a one-sentence review of Waves that is well worth quoting: “I once summarised this to a friend as ‘nothing happens, but it’s very exciting!’” There are a few other one-off book reviews: Alien immersion course: M. A. Foster’s The Gameplayers of Zan by Jo Walton; and Preserver – M. A. Foster at Metaphorosis Reviews. There is also Home of Layaklanİ, a site about a language Foster invented. And that’s about it, with one other exception.
The exception is an irregular series of columns—essentially a blog—that Foster produced for Acme Comics (a store); the generic title was Eyeless in Gaza; those writings provide some insight into Foster, and, to a lesser extent, his fiction. The entries that are available, so far as I can find, include:
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