Greetings, carbon-based bipeds! I’m O. A. Beckett. I read a lot, and sometimes I write things.

Contact

You can find my work through my Amazon author page and on this site. I can also be reached by email at: beckettscifi(at)gmail(dot)com.
I’m excited to connect with fellow readers and writers of science fiction, along with all manner of misfits, heretics, and free thinkers.

About Me

I’ve compiled the following Q&A for curious readers:

Q: So, are you related to any other famous “Becketts”? Like Samuel Beckett?

A: Nope. “Beckett” is my nom de plume. It’s an anglicization of “Bekhit,” the name of my Egyptian Arab great grandfather.

Q: What is your dream job? (you know, besides science fiction author)

A: Philosophizer.

Q: Would you describe yourself as liberal or conservative?

A: Neither. I’m what you might call a “poxafarian” (as in, “a pox on both of your houses!”). In slightly less acerbic terms, I’d describe myself as an anarcho-cynicalist.

Q. Who are some of your favorite “genre” writers &/or influences?

A. I think that writers are influenced by everything they read. I grew up reading the “big three” (Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke), and still enjoy reading and re-reading them.  As a youngster I also consumed healthy servings of Robert Silverberg, H. G. Wells, Clifford Simak, Alice Sheldon (James Tiptree Jr.), Larry Niven, Damon Knight, Ben Bova, Tolkein, Bradbury, Vonnegut, Poe, and Arthur Conan Doyle. Later, I discovered Ursula Le Guin, and fell in love with pretty much all of her work–her humanity and genius is something we should all aspire to. I also admire and enjoy Joanna Russ, Samuel Delaney, Octavia Butler, Piers Anthony, John Brunner, Mary Rosenblum, J. G. Ballard, Phillip K. Dick, Patricia Highsmith, Hugh Howey, and George R. R. Martin. Of course there are others, but I don’t want to bore you.

Q. What is your favorite soda?

A. Fresca.

Q. William Shatner or Patrick Stewart?

A. Definitely Patrick Stewart (with all due respect to TOS). Although I’d take Spock (Leonard Nimoy) over either of them.

Q. What is your favorite invertebrate?

A. The tardigrade. Runner ups include the giant squid and Charybdis (I’m assuming she’s an invertebrate).

Q. Who would you have most liked to see sitting on the Iron Throne?

A. Varys.

Q. Why Varys?

A. Because I always root for the underdog. Plus he’s very cerebral, being, shall we say, unencumbered by certain earthly desires.

Q. If a movie was made of your life, who would you like to star in the leading role?

A. Laurence Fishburne (because I wish I was Morpheus).

Q. What fictional world would you most like to live in?

A. Anarres from Ursula Le Guin’s The Dispossessed.

Q. What fictional world would you least like to live in?

A. Seinfeld. Or any episode of Black Mirror.

Q. Why those two?

A. Because despite being superficially light-hearted in tone, Seinfeld has one of the darkest moral universes and bleakest depictions of human nature of any fiction I can think of. Ditto for Curb Your Enthusiasm, actually–add that fictional universe to the list. And have you seen Black Mirror? (although maybe we do live in that universe!).

Q. What is your favorite Shakespeare play?

A. King Lear. Madness, eye gouging, betrayal, invasion, cosmological disputes, vengeful bastards, misogyny–what’s not to love? (OK, maybe not the misogyny, but the rest!).

Q. What fictional character would make the best US President?

A. Bokonon from Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle. Think about it.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

A: Live long and prosper,

–O. A. Beckett