Speculative fiction (and nonfiction about speculation fiction) by Chris Baker. My work has been published by Wired, Flash Fiction Online, Underland Press, Slate, Shacklebound Books, Alta Journal, and Rolling Stone. My history newsletter is PopCulturalPrecursors.com
The Reagan-Era Game That Feels Like It Was Made for 2026
NEW NEWSLETTER: In 1985, an ambitious game simulated the ruinous long-term effects of a conservative political agenda on a Midwestern city. It now feels less like dystopian sci-fi and more like current events. Read it here. |
Genre Exercises
Speculative fiction (and nonfiction about speculation fiction) by Chris Baker. My work has been published by Wired, Flash Fiction Online, Underland Press, Slate, Shacklebound Books, Alta Journal, and Rolling Stone. My history newsletter is PopCulturalPrecursors.com
Here are some fiction and non-fiction pieces I forgot to post about... LATEST POP CULTURAL PRECURSORS NEWSLETTER: Before there was Battle Bots or Real Steel or Pacific Rim or even Robot Jox, there was the Critter Crunch. Read the epic story of the world’s first robot death match at the 1989 Denver MileHiCon. I’m trying out a different format for this post—an online version of an 8-page zine. Read it here. History article presented as an 8-pg zine FLASH PIECE: I have a story in Flash Fiction...
I examined a tragic real-life event in Texas history through the lens of Mexican ghost ballads, dark fantasy pulp, EC horror comics, Swinging Sixties steampunk, spaghetti Westerns, sci-fi manga, & a psychedelic Jodorowsky fever dream. Flash piece in the anthology Twisted Trails: Tales of the Weird Wild West. Buy it here and read my story: “Specters of the Crash: A Cross-Media Survey of Paranormal Narratives Surrounding the Crush Collision of 1896 (Journal of the Texas Folklore Society, Vol....
In 1987, Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game added vital details to the sci-fi universe that are still used today.The impact is still felt in movies, games, novels, and streaming series. I updated and retrofitted an article I wrote for Rolling Stone a while back and posted it on my newsletter. Read it here.