Aurealis #159

In his Editorial in Aurealis #159, Dirk Strasser asks the question: ‘Does the wave of AIs with natural language capabilities herald the end of fiction?’—and provides some intriguing answers. Three human-created stories follow. In ‘A Dead World Wakens’, Amy Dawn Buchan has a unique take on a post-apocalyptic Earth, combining the concept with alien colonisation and the ethical conundrum of reviving an extinct species. J R Dunbar’s ‘The Bridge from the City Midst’ is a thoughtful tale of the loss of health, faith, life, and purpose. ‘Are you Shivering?’ by John W M Thompson is an ominous story, with a sympathetic and realistic depiction of mental illness mirrored in the disintegration of reality. Our three human-created articles follow. Stuart Olver revisits The Good Place five years in ‘Holy Forking Shirtballs! Ani White gives us ‘Everything for Everyone: A Utopian Novel Without Illusions’. Claire Fitzpatrick takes a look at ‘The Continuing Longevity of Speculative Fiction Spinoffs’. And don’t forget to check out the original artwork and the many reviews of the latest SF.