Science Fiction and Fantasy | Xenite.Org (original) (raw)
Xenite.Org: Worlds of Imagination on the Web has been entertaining fans of science fiction and fantasy film and fiction since March 1997. Not only are we one of the oldest science fiction and fantasy sites on the Web, we’re one of the oldest fan run scifi sites, and we’re just plain one of the oldest sites on the Web.
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LATEST BLOG POSTS
J.R.R. Tolkien and Middle-earth Blog
Why Would Sauron Set Traps for Aragorn?
Q: Why Would Sauron Set Traps for Aragorn? ANSWER: This is an interesting question I’ve seen people ask in online discussions. To the best of …Continue reading
Questions About Sauron
Q: Questions About Sauron ANSWER: I received the following question in December 2023: Is there any kind of overlap between the Eye of Sauron and…Continue reading
What Was the Significance of Air, Fire, and Water for the Three Rings?
Q: What Was the Significance of Air, Fire, and Water for the Three Rings? ANSWER: I received the following question in December 2023: One thing…Continue reading
SciFi Movies Portal
Top Directors of Superhero Movies
The superhero film genre is not kind to its directors and stars. I’m still a fan of The Shadow (1994) and The Phantom (1996), but there are days when I feel like an audience of 1 for both films. The DC Extended Universe has been a huge disappointment to me. And I include every Christopher Nolan…Continue reading
10 Best SciFi and Fantasy Movies Directed by Steven Spielberg (1977 – 2020)
There are few movie directors who have achieved as much as Steven Spielberg in terms of influencing audiences, other film-makers, and creative talent in multiple industries. Spielberg’s friend and partner George Lucas not only revived and evolved cinematic space opera, he kickstarted a revolution in film-making technology. Industrial Light & Magic showed the world that …Continue reading
New from SF-Fandom
Ni Ni stars as Ye Liu Xi and Bai Lu stars as Chang Dong in ‘Parallel World’
Michael’s Take: Parallel World
Parallel World follows the journey of two strangers whose paths cross when they set out to uncover the mystery of an ancient passage to another world. Michael Martinez shares his thoughts …Continue reading
Zhao Li Ying stars as Shen Li and Lin Geng Xin stars as Xing Shi in ‘The Legend of Shen Li’.
Michael’s Thoughts: The Legend of Shen Li
The Legend of Shen Li tells the story of the phoenix princess Shen Li and how her fate is entwined with the Ancient Immortal Xing Shi, as well as the future of the universe. Michael Martinez shares his thoughts …Continue reading
Dilraba Dilmurat stars as Li Changge and Wu Lei stars as Ashile Sun in ‘The Long Ballad’.
Michael’s Take: The Long Ballad
The Long Ballad is adapted from a wildly popular Web comic that re-imagines a real historical period in the early Tang Dynasty. Princess Li Changge flees for his life after her family is killed. She must find allies before her enemies find her. Michael Martinez shares his thoughts …Continue reading
CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS
Amazon’s LoTROnPrime is set to release its first full trailer on February 13 during the Super Bowl broadcast. The revelation of dark-skinned characters in the cast has ignited flame wars across the Internet about Tolkien, race, and diversity. What did J.R.R. Tolkien really think about race and racism? The Middle-earth Blog answered these questions years ago.
Is It True There Is Racism in Middle-earth?
Q: Is It True There Is Racism In Middle-earth? ANSWER: Yes, it is true there is racism in The Lord of the Rings. However, many people who ask this question may really mean to ask, “Is The Lord of the Rings a racist work of fiction?”…Continue reading
See also …
Are All Tolkien Elves Fair-skinned?
Do Tolkien’s Elves Have Pointy Ears? No
EXPLORE XENITE.ORG
Since 1997 we have created many sections or sub-sites on Xenite.Org, each one dedicated to a specific topic. We’re always adding something somewhere. Here is a sample of some of our most popular Websites.
Browse hundreds of articles and essays about J.R.R. Tolkien and Middle-earth; read interviews with Tolkien scholars; and explore Middle-earth through innovative features like Middle-earth Unplugged.
Middle-earth Blog at Xenite.Org
Launched in mid-2011, the Middle-earth blog at Xenite.Org has become one of the Web’s most popular Tolkien fan sites. Xenite founder Michael Martinez has published several books about Tolkien’s Middle-earth and he is well-known. His articles about Tolkien and Middle-earth have been published on many Websites and quoted in newspapers and magazines around the world. We strive to publish new articles every month and we occasionally break some interesting news, although the main focus of the blog has been to answer fan questions about J.R.R. Tolkien and his fictional world.
Click here to read the Middle-earth Blog
Learn all about huckleberries, the super-delicious, super-sweet cousins of the beloved blueberry. Find recipes and discover fantastic gourmet foods you can buy online.
Huckleberry Wild
Michael launched Huckleberry Wild in 2007 after exploring western Washington State and finding great places to buy huckleberry products. The Website has proven to be one of the most popular sections on Xenite.Org ever since. Even science fiction fans love good food. If you appreciate wild blueberries then you must try huckleberries, but be aware there are many species of huckleberry around the world. The ones that berry-lovers prefer most come from northwestern North America.
Click here to visit Huckleberry Wild.
Read blog posts about great science fiction movies, watch trailers, and learn more about the incredible cinematic universes based on science fiction and fantasy books and comic books.
SciFi Movies Portal
There are so many great science fiction and fantasy movies it’s impossible for a real fan site to keep up with them all. As far back as 1997 Xenite.Org has been publishing fan reviews of great movies. In 2007 we launched a special sub-site to help visitors find all our latest articles about the movies we love. You’ll also find videos we’ve collected across the years and see the broad structure of some of the greatest movie franchises in the world.
Click here to browse our SciFi Movies Portal.
Learn about the Witch World, Andre Norton’s signature fictional universe.
Andre Norton’s Witch World Books
Xenite.Org was one of the very first Andre Norton fan sites. We also hosted the Web’s first Andre Norton fan forum until it moved to our sister site, SF-Fandom. Andre herself visited Xenite and we heard she was quite pleasantly surprised by the devotion of her fans across the world. Andre Norton broke new ground as a science fiction and fantasy author and also as a woman publishing stories in what was for long seen as “a man’s world”. Her books inspired some of the great science fiction and fantasy writers and franchises you’ll be familiar with, including the “Stargate” movies and TV shows. When you fall in love with a fictional world where magic is real, magic users are powerful, and the races are ancient, you’re feeling Andre’s magical influences across the generations. Many popular stories about lost galactic civilizations and time travel owe something to Andre as well. In 2019 we moved our dedicated Andre Norton content to this special sub-domain.
Visit our tribute to Andre Norton.
The CompuServe Imps have published many books and short stories since the 1990s.
The CompuServe Imps
There was a time when the old CompuServe dial-up service was larger than the Internet. At its peak in the 1990s, and just prior to its sale to America Online (AOL), CompuServe had about 7 million members. Although a small number compared to today’s Internet population of nearly 2 billion people, CompuServe was for a while the heart of the online universe, overshadowing other services like Genie and Prodigy. The CompuServe IMPs were young writers waiting IMPatiently to enter the SciFi Forum’s writer’s workshop, which was operated by three professional science fiction and fantasy writers. Mike Resnick became the writers’ group unofficial mentor and coach. The IMPs critiqued each other’s stories and created a friendly, non-competitive environment where new writers could learn and hone the skills they needed to become “published” writers. And many of the early IMPs went on to sell short stories and full books to traditional publishing houses. Xenite.Org founder Michael Martinez joined the IMPs in the early 1990s and he built this Website to memorialize their achievements. He remains in contact with many first-generation IMPs today.
Learn more about the CompuServe IMPs here.
Thank You from Xenite.Org
Through the years this “home page” has seen a lot of changes. We’re always experimenting with ways to keep visitors informed about new content and sections of our site. We have published thousands of articles about the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, Andre Norton, J.K. Rowling, Marvel Comics, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and more. And you’ll find that our Science Fiction and Fantasy Forums at SF Fandom are loaded with thousands of discussions going back many years.
Millions of science fiction and fantasy fans have enjoyed browsing and participating in the Xenite.Org experience. Thank you for all your support through the decades. We would not still be here without you.