http://www.sfsite.com/ The new issue of the SF Site is now online. Copyright 1996-2010 SF Site en-us http://www.sfsite.com/images/sfspot1.gif http://www.sfsite.com http://www.sfsite.com/10b/lm210.htm Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT The author's new novel is the real thing -- head-snappingly cool SF, with big and clever ideas, almost believable transcendence, and a way to map human scale stories into a world where "post-human" powers exist. It's set in the fairly far future, in a Solar System populated by humans living in space habitats, by post-humans -- humans who have gained "god-like" computational powers, and possibly by aliens. Ultimately the story concerns people trying to live human scale lives, yet also lives with meaning. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/wh210.htm Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT Pulp science fiction may be an acquired taste, but what better time to acquire it than when you're young? And if you're older, all the better, for you'll have the proper background to truly appreciate the fine, full bouquet of a good, meaty pulp sf story -- as well as the postmodern layers of self-deprecating humor and deft message of empowerment knitted into this book. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/bb210.htm Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT It's uncommon to discover a contemporary novel that successfully captures the tone and spirit of early epic legend or literature, such as the Eddas or Le Chanson de Roland, while at the same time couching itself within a postmodern aesthetic. At least two recent and notable efforts -- Gene Wolfe's The Wizard Knight and John Wright's Everness -- that while admirable in their display of postmodern approach to an earlier tradition, fail to entirely attain the identity they are in part reinventing and emulating. The same cannot be said for this novel. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/sasc210.htm Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT "Just look at the word horror, it's from the French word horreuse which means 'to bristle.' Looking at my dog, I try to look through his eyes sometimes. He's a creature who responds at an emotional and purely instinctive level, rather than at an intellectual level. If something scares him, his fur literally bristles. When he sees something that frightens or disturbs him, he's pulling away but he's also looking at it, he's fascinated by what it is." http://www.sfsite.com/10b/as210.htm Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT As a howling mob closes in upon a cursed castle, its vampiric queen unleashes an unholy power to protect her people and herself from utter destruction. In seconds, the castle is overtaken by living vines and giant black roses, as the queen herself sinks into an enchanted sleep, a spindle through her heart. There she will lay, until rescued from the consequences of her dark pact. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/eb210.htm Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT David Cooper, with his wife Ellen, have come to an isolated seaside cottage near the one where they spent their honeymoon; they hope to repair the damage done to their marriage by David's recent infidelities. Almost immediately, things start going wrong on their vacation as David discovers that the dilapidated cottage is haunted by the spirit of Marianna, a dead girl whose evil, lust-filled ways have doomed her to becoming trapped on earth and confined to the house where she sinned. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/rick210.htm Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT Rick offers his thoughts on the changes to the lengths of TV shows and seasons along with an episode guide to Battlestar Galactica. http://www.sfsite.com/lists/award-britishsf01.htm Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT The BSFA Awards are presented annually by the British Science Fiction Association, based on a vote of BSFA members and -- in most recent years -- members of the British national SF convention (Eastercon). BSFA members can nominate as many works as they like in any category -- but an individual's nomination for a specific work will only be counted once. http://www.harpercollins.ca/gaiman Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT HarperCollins Canada and SF Site have teamed up to offer you a chance to win a Neil Gaiman HarperCollins library! The contest grand prize includes copies of Anansi Boys, American Gods, Mirror Mask, Neverwhere, Smoke & Mirrors, Stardust, Coraline, Wolves in the Walls, and Sandman Book of Dreams. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/gb210.htm Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT "Natalie Lindstrom did not recognize the Corps Security agent who followed her to the movie theater that May afternoon: a man not much taller than she, of Southeast Asian Indian extraction, with slick black hair and sideburns. His gray suit seemed to blend chameleonlike into whatever background he passed." http://www.sfsite.com/10b/bg210.htm Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT The threesome are back from their adventures in America, where Ax and Sage rescued Fiorinda from a cult intending to use her mojo to trigger a "neuro" bomb that would probably be as devastating to the initiators as the target (shades of the cold war all over again). The British leadership want Ax to resume the largely ceremonial powers of President to placate the masses, giving them breathing room to pursue their own -- not necessarily in the general interest -- agendas. However, the troika isn't about to let the fate of England fall into their hands, as a daring raid to free Ax's family from literally right beneath the leadership's noses demonstrates. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/sagj210.htm Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT "Some people are only interested in music when they're teenagers, due to peer pressure; some people stay interested. I'm one of those, stayed with rock and roll all the way through its permutations, and dare I say it, stayed with the idealistic hedonism. Bold As Love came from there." http://www.sfsite.com/books/new210.htm Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT New books this month include the latest works from Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Sarah Ash, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Juliet Marillier, Raymond E. Feist, Robert Jordan, and many others. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/dm210.htm Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT The book opens in the middle of the American Revolution as George Washington is trying to figure out how to finally defeat the British. To this end, he has sent tracker Daniel Boone into the interior to attempt to form an alliance with the Shawnee. Although Shawnee chieftain Black Fish rejects Boone's offer, he does provide Boone with two companions, the runaway slave Pompey and the Shawnee Grey Eagle, as well as a quest. There are rumors that somewhere out west there are dragons. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/sn210.htm Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT Since recorded history, human beings have looked to the skies for wonders and inspiration. We have found everything from myths and legends to confirmation of scientific theories in the observations made of space and what it contains. Imagine the implications, for both human understanding and human psychology if one night the sky was taken away. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/ct210.htm Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT This is a collection of "suburban faerie tales" that take place in some morphing collision of reality and unreality pulled primarily from three sources. The first source is the bizarre and macabre folk tales of Eastern Europe as carried to the Canadian prairies by immigrants. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/fg210.htm Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT This book is companion to the popular fantasy series The Spiderwick Chronicles, but you don't need to have read the Chronicles, to enjoy this gorgeous tome. The opening chapters contain all manner of helpful information for those seeking to explore the world of fantastical creatures. For example, fairies like milk and are drawn to it; they like lukewarm the best. And for getting rid of them, a bag of salt is likewise handy. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/sw210.htm Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT The series opens with the Grace family, moving into their great aunt Lucinda's decrepit old Victorian house. Mom tries to put a hopeful spin on things, but the Grace children -- daughter Mallory, the oldest, and twins Simon and Jared (our narrator) -- are not happy campers. Aunt Lucinda's house is full of cobwebs and creaky old furniture, untrustworthy electricity, and a strange scrabbling in the walls. While investigating the noises, Jared discovers a secret room full of pilfered knick-knacks. This is home to the grumpy household brownie Thimbletack, who doesn't want outsiders in his house. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/tt210.htm Sun, 16 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT Set in present day, this novel explores the timely concept that we are being watched by the Vast Machine, in an elaborate plot to exert control over society. There have always been a certain few people who can exit our realm and visit other realms bringing back with them new ways of seeing the world and novel ideas. Ideas that would, eventually, free us from this societal control. http://www.sfsite.com/10a/gc209.htm Sat, 1 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT "This is the easiest answer of all. Write. Don't talk about writing. Don't tell me about your wonderful story ideas. Don't give me a bunch of 'somedays.' Plant your ass and scribble, type, keyboard. If you have any talent at all, it will leak out despite your failure to pay attention in English. And if you didn't pay attention, learn. A carpenter needs to know how to use a hammer, level, saw, and so forth. You need to know how to use the tools of writing." http://www.sfsite.com/10a/on209.htm Sat, 1 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT In 2002, the author stunned just about everybody by taking on a job in a large British bookstore chain. It is this experience which underlies this novel of a what occurs to the staff of an American style mega-bookstore situated in a drained fen with a genius loci that is rather inimical to amicable interpersonal relationships and whose "physical expression" is actively fatal to people. http://www.sfsite.com/10a/hg209.htm Sat, 1 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT It's not just that these are even better than the novels, or that they compensate for the well-meaning dud of a movie. The Guide, originally conceived as a radio show, still works best in its original medium. (Please note that these are not audiobooks, but full-cast dramatizations, complete with actors, music, sound effects, and things blowing up.) http://www.sfsite.com/10a/se209.htm Sat, 1 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT The film is based on the short-lived Joss Whedon television series Firefly (2002). Firefly told the stories of nine people on a smuggler. In addition to the crew of five, there was a registered companion (whore), a preacher, and two fugitives. While all nine of these characters appear in the film, Whedon wisely holds off on introducing two of them until the viewer can get comfortable with the other characters and the situation. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/rick209.htm Sat, 1 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT What's on TV in October? Smallville is the only thing worth watching. Rick wrote individual reviews for each of the six new genre shows of the Fall season, three SF, three fantasy. But he says they really aren't worth that much of your time and attention. http://www.sfsite.com/10a/ew209.htm Sat, 1 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT Some people have it easy. They haven't gone into business for themselves as a bounty hunter, with a hyperactive pixie and an actively-prowling vampire as their partners. They haven't made a deal with a demon to take down an ancient vampire crime lord. They haven't made the occasional dubious alliance with an elven drug runner. They don't have attempts made upon their life on a daily basis. http://www.sfsite.com/10a/ws209.htm Sat, 1 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT This first collection of stories is both a strong debut and the record of a growing writer. Checking the original publication dates of the stories, it was pleasant to note that the story considered weakest was the first published (1992), and the two strongest, "Summer's Humans" and "Island of the Moon" were most recent. http://www.sfsite.com/10a/ar209.htm Sat, 1 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT One of the drawbacks of the average science fiction anthology is the mixture of good and bad stories. One story will entertain while the next will have you groaning at the approach of a predictable conclusion, or just struggling to contain your boredom as you skim ahead to the next story. As a reviewer, these stories are a bit more fun because you know you'll get to skewer them. http://www.sfsite.com/10a/ha209.htm Sat, 1 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT This is the third and last in The Dark Age series, which has focused on a second set of Brothers and Sisters of Dragons as they come into their powers. We've already met three of the team in Devil in Green and Queen of Sinister, and now we're introduced to the final two that make the mystical Five required to save the world. And the world is in dire need of saving. http://www.sfsite.com/10a/mc209.htm Sat, 1 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT "Much of my writing is about duality, how everything is defined by its opposite. You can only understand true goodness by seeing it in the context of evil. And the issues of hope, redemption and transcendence that I tackle in Devil In Green needed to be set against despair. That's why I love fantasy -- because it allows you to tackle big issues in a big way. Overcoming the worst possible scenario means you need the best possible abilities to do it. The issues become polarized, and therefore very clear." http://www.sfsite.com/10a/sn209.htm Sat, 1 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT Through the courtesy of the Science Fiction Book Club, Jonathan Strahan returns for a second anthology of the Best Short Novels. The 2005 volume, which includes ten novellas first published in 2004, provides excellent stories representing a variety of voices in science fiction. http://www.sfsite.com/10a/sy209.htm Sat, 1 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT "This is going to be the shortest review I've ever written. Go see Serenity. And do not let anybody, not even me, tell you anything about it before you see it." http://www.sfsite.com/10a/ab209.htm Sat, 1 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT Guilty Pleasures is where Laurell K. Hamilton began what was to become her vampire franchise, a kind of fast food version of Anne Rice, but with more mouthwatering ingredients. Here, readers got their first glimpse of Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter. The character is the type of woman -- most often an American woman -- that has risen to prominence in recent years. http://www.sfsite.com/10a/sd209.htm Sat, 1 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT At a time when the President of the United States apparently equates teaching Intelligent Design with teaching Evolution, the authors provide in a nutshell an explanation of why comparing Intelligent Design and Evolution is like comparing sapient pearwood and a nauga. http://www.sfsite.com/10a/mf209.htm Sat, 1 Oct 2005 11:00:00 GMT First published by Roadkill Press in 1992, this is the debut collection by an author who has become one of the most prolific and respected writers in the horror field. The present edition collects all the stories appeared in the original volume plus a bunch of early tales from the beginning of his successful career. http://www.sfsite.com/rssfeeds01.htm Sat, 1 Jan 2005 11:00:00 GMT After constructing our first RSS feed, it soon became apparent that the size of files could grow quickly. We decided to separate them into smaller ones, breaking them up by month. On this page you will find RSS feed files for all of our content beginning with January 2005.