ConnectiCon 2016 was a pleasant surprise following the crowds at Dragon Con. The Connecticut Convention Center was the perfect size for thousands of attendees. This allowed fans to walk through the vendor area with ease, lines were short and everyone seemed to be in a terrific mood. There seemed to be a roughly 50-50 split between male and female attendees, and a good proportion of cosplayers. Anime inspired much of the costuming. Steampunk, Game of Thrones and video game characters also strolled the causeways.

The featured guests included Michael Dorn (Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation), Sean Astin and John Rhys-Davies, who was quite a bit taller than his alter-ego Gimli from the Lord of the Rings movies.

Literary guests included the amazing David Farland, R. A. Salvatore, Kevin J. Anderson, and a host of other luminaries. My favorite panel examined science fiction and fantasy world-building. One of the most interesting points was that sometimes writers over explain the science or magic in their worlds to the detriment of the story. Keeping a little mystery helps the reader to engage their imagination as to the causes of certain effects.

I’m already looking forward to next year’s event!