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/09b/gd280.htm Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT The book follows 45 years in the life of General Peter Justice Black and his illegitimate daughter, Justa, as civilization collapses back into a pre-industrial mode, helped along more than a little by its supreme ruler, the Emperor Luke Anthony. It seems apparent that the book is heavily based upon the fall of the Roman Empire some 2,000 years earlier. http://www.sfsite.com/09b/mg280.htm Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT For as long as she can remember, 17-year-old Jazz and her mother have been taken care of by the enigmatic dark-suited men known as the Uncles, equally relying on and fearing them. For that same length of time, Jazz's mother has drilled into her a sense of paranoia and distrust, to be wary of everyone, no matter what their outward appearance. There's the feeling that they're all waiting for something to happen, and one day, it does. Jazz comes home to find her mother murdered by the Uncles, and a last message written in her own blood: Jazz hide forever. http://www.sfsite.com/09b/ju280.htm Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT The SF featured tends to have a slightly old-fashioned feel. As with many small press publications, the stories are generally short. The presentation is simple but clean and attractive. As a special feature for the fifth anniversary, issue XXI has a color cover, and rather a nice one, by Jesse Speak. There is typically one poem per issue, and very occasionally another feature -- but mostly we're talking lots of fiction. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/rick280.htm Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT So far this month, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Fringe have aired. Rick enjoyed one and he was bored by the other. He has some thoughts on why he enjoys SF on TV and what catches his fancy. http://www.sfsite.com/09b/eo280.htm Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT More than a generation ago, original SF short story series like Orbit, Universe, and New Dimensions featured writers such as Ursula K. Le Guin, James Tiptree, Jr., Gardner Dozois, Gene Wolfe, Joanna Russ, R.A. Lafferty and Kate Wilhelm. Every so often someone tries to revive the original anthology series. Now Jonathan Strahan is having a go with Eclipse, and specifically taking Universe as his model. http://www.sfsite.com/09b/bk280.htm Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT The Winter Kingdoms are in turmoil. In Margolan, Prince Jared has brutally seized the throne, and now troops loyal to him wreak havoc and spread terror throughout the land, crushing all those who dare oppose him. His advisor, the undead mage Foor Arontala, continues to feed souls to a dark artifact, all in the hopes of resurrecting the dread Obsidian King by the time of the Hawthorn Moon, which approaches swiftly. Creatures born of magic stalk the borders of neighboring kingdoms, and the restless spirits of the unjustly dead cry out for revenge. http://www.sfsite.com/09b/ww280.htm Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT Warrior Wisewoman is the first volume of what's to become an annual anthology put out by Norilana Books as a sister-series to Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress. The idea is to have a series devoted to women's science fiction with a strong focus "on the interface between scientific exploration and our sense of wonder." It consists of twelve short stories, by Douglas A. Van Belle, Rose Lemberg, Catherine Mintz, Bhaskar Dutt, Nancy Fulda, Fran LaPlaca, Mary Catelli, Anna Sykora, Peg Robinson, Vylar Kaftan, Colleen Anderson and Sally Kuntz. http://www.sfsite.com/09b/br280.htm Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT The Bearskin Rug finishes the story began in The Brass Bed and The Velvet Chair. The three books came out one a month. The Bearskin Rug stands alone; the author interleaves the developing plot with flashbacks that not only illuminate Jewel's early life as a Wisconsin teenager inheriting her grandmother's failing farm, but paints in the relationships established in the previous books. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/graphica280.htm Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT The "Janes" have been reigning, to certain degree, over the graphic novel world. Those would be the P.L.A.I.N. Janes created by writer Cecil Castellucci and artist Jim Rugg, the kick-off title to DC/Vertigo's Minx line of graphic novels, the marketing ploy being that they are more femme-friendly types of comics, and the irony being that Cecil was one of the few actual femmes initially writing for the imprint. Mark London Williams gives a little history and has an inteview with Cecil. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/audio280.htm Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT At times it's more convenient (and enjoyable) to hear the latest in science fiction and fantasy. Recent audiobook releases include works by Orson Scott Card, Allen Steele, Jon Courtenay Grimwood, M. John Harrison, Philip K. Dick and Elizabeth Bear. http://www.sfsite.com/books/new280.htm Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT Our latest new arrivals include new books from Terry Pratchett, Lee Driver, Ian C. Esslemont, Steven Erikson, Dave Duncan, and forthcoming books from Charles de Lint, Thomas M. Disch, Christopher Barzak, new anthologies, and much more. http://www.sfsite.com/09b/rf280.htm Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT As a preface, it is worth pointing out that these titles are written by academics, largely for academics in the field of English literature, so even if you are an academic like Georges, but in the field of agriculture, some of this is difficult to wade through if one isn't knowledgeable in the field's jargon. He admits he had to take notes to sort it all out. This isn't to say the material isn't interesting or the approach valid, just that these aren't the sort of books one takes to the beach. http://www.sfsite.com/09b/so280.htm Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT Joanna Archer belongs to a wealthy Las Vegas family, but she didn't turn out quite like Olivia, her glamorous sister. Brutally raped at the age of 16, Joanna learned how to fight back and is now a photographer, documenting the side of Vegas that the tourists don't see. But, when a blind date turns sour, she discovers that there's a whole lot more out there than even she knows about. Every major city has its own Zodiac troop, a dozen people with extraordinary powers of strength, healing, and more besides; they are the Light, whose mission is to maintain peace and battle their Shadow counterparts. http://www.sfsite.com/09b/ct280.htm Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT Unknown by most, there has been a conspiracy to return some aliens to their former god king status with the help of their human underlings who have been maintaining and managing their master's agenda for millennia. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/graphica279.htm Mon, 1 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT Things changed earlier this decade. Graphic novels, largely ignored by both comic and book collectors, suddenly acquired a collectible status similar to their prose and periodical brethren. Rick Klaw first noticed this phenomenon about five years ago when a customer came into Half Price Books to sell Miracleman Book 3: Olympus. http://www.sfsite.com/09a/db279.htm Mon, 1 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT Fantasy has desired dragons -- if not always as profoundly as one would like, then at least profusely. E.R. Eddison invoked the beast as a symbol of eternal return in The Worm Ouroboros. John Gardner, delving into similar mythological mines in Grendel, unearthed a creature existing outside of time, an intelligence spearing the past, present, and future on the tip of its claw. Most other authors, however, fashion serpents only scale deep, imagining them as gigantic sand worms (Frank Herbert), fire lizards (Anne McCaffrey), or leonine raptors (Dragonheart). Among contemporary writers, Robin Hobb is one of the few to express a deeper interest in the metaphysical properties of dragons. Michael Swanwick's dragons, however, are one of a kind. http://www.sfsite.com/09a/ch279.htm Mon, 1 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT On the planet Brxx, a little girl called Trxx is born with no fur. At first her mother and father, Qxx and Fxx, and her older brother, Pxx, don't know what to make of this strange, disturbing disability. But gradually they learn that Trxx's difference does not affect her ability to enjoy life. http://www.sfsite.com/09a/ic279.htm Mon, 1 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT If the world of SF were a stock market then Greg Egan would be a blue chip company. Hugely respected and a doyen of the Hard SF scene, he is not what you would call unpredictable. This, his first novel in six years, is as blue chip as ever in that not only does it give you what you would expect from a Greg Egan novel, it has also prompted a number of equally predictable reviews that have lavished hundreds of words upon the trite received opinion "nice ideas, shame about the characters, plot and prose." Jonathan calls this a received opinion as he does not think it is in the least bit true; Incandescence is a thought-provoking story about science as a community and as a part of the community. http://www.sfsite.com/09a/sv279.htm Mon, 1 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT In the second Fable of Tonight series John Justin Mallory is still living in the alternate Manhattan. It has been nearly a year since the events in Stalking the Unicorn and things are looking up for John Justin. He still doesn't have his Velma, but he does have a loyal partner in Colonel Winifred Carruthers, a thriving detective agency, an office cat-person and a magic mirror. There's not much more a Manhattan gumshoe could ask for. http://www.sfsite.com/09a/df279.htm Mon, 1 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT What would you do if tomorrow morning your cell phone stopped working? What if it weren't just your phone, but also your computer, car, and refrigerator? And what if it weren't just your electronics, but those of everyone? What would you do? Could you find enough food to survive? Could you defend it against other people who want to take it from you? http://www.sfsite.com/09a/sr279.htm Mon, 1 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT Ringil is a war hero entering the middle years of his life. He lives in retirement, feeding himself from the proceeds of minor mercenary work and the telling of tall tales of his prowess. His fame stems largely (and deservedly) from the part he played in an infamous battle against the lizardmen who so nearly conquered his people, and perhaps without his actions, the war might have been lost. However, the gloss has faded somewhat on Ringil. One day, his mother arrives unannounced to ask for his help in tracing a relative recently sold into slavery. http://www.sfsite.com/09a/pl279.htm Mon, 1 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT Marla Mason is back from San Francisco, and it's time for her to kick some ass and take care of business at home once again. Felport's up to its sewers in magical trouble, and as always, it's Marla's job to make sure things don't get too messy. Not only does she have to keep the city's assorted magic practitioners from killing one another over the usual stupid things like privilege, property, territory and ego, but there's been a breakout at the Blackwing Institute, the combination mental hospital/prison which houses some of the nastiest, scariest, most insane sorcerers to wreak havoc in the area. http://www.sfsite.com/lists/ps-volume01.htm Mon, 1 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT In the spring of 2004, PS Publishing launched a new magazine called Postscripts. Originally, the magazine was to be digest-sized featuring about 60,000 words of fiction, a guest editorial, book reviews, and the occasional non-fiction article in each issue. Fiction includes SF, fantasy, horror, and crime/suspense. Recently, Issue #15 (Summer 2008) was published and its contents have been added to our pages sorted by author, title and volume. http://www.sfsite.com/09a/sn279.htm Mon, 1 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT Few modern novels divide opinion among science fiction fans with quite the sharpness of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, the book that blasted him to geek-hero status after its original publication in 1992. Subterranean Press's handsome limited edition re-release seems as good a reason as any to look at Snow Crash with the benefit of hindsight, and ask why it is a sacred text for some but an execrable failure for others. http://www.sfsite.com/09a/vc279.htm Mon, 1 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT Jewel Heiss is the heroine, a cop of sorts in a slightly alternate Chicago. To say "cop" is slightly misleading since Jewel works for the Department of Consumer Services, so she is restricted to investigating fraud and out of date licenses and so on. Oh, and magic -- or as it is called, "the hinky stuff". In the case of the latter, her main job is to suppress evidence of any "hinky stuff" -- after what happened to Pittsburgh, the city mayor is determined not to let his city lose control to magic. http://www.sfsite.com/09a/tt279.htm Mon, 1 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT There's a secret war raging on the streets of Las Vegas, with the hearts and souls of all who live there at stake. Two opposing troops of superhuman individuals known as the Zodiac, one representing Light, the other championing Shadow, meet each other on rooftops and in back alleys, in clubs and in the casinos, locked in an eternal struggle for dominance. However, several things have happened in recent memory to upset this delicate balance. http://www.sfsite.com/books/new279.htm Mon, 1 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT Some of the latest books to arrive at the SF Site office include new and forthcoming works from Neal Stephenson, Michael Moorcock, David Weber, Richard Morgan, Kage Baker, Ben Bova, Mike Carey, Kelley Armstrong, Alan Dean Foster, Paul Kearney, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Kim Wilkins, Arthur C. Clarke & Frederik Pohl, plus some new editions of classics by Robert Silverberg, Tim Powers, Robert E. Howard, Ray Bradbury... and much more besides. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/booknews279.htm Mon, 1 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT This month, Sandy has information on Karen Marie Moning's free podcast of Darkfever; Simon Clark on Stone Cold Calling; Doctor Who audio stories; debut novel from Thomas Nevins; and French Fantasy is translated into English with The Cardinal's Blades. http://www.sfsite.com/09a/tr279.htm Mon, 1 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT Premiering on September 8, 1966 to lackluster ratings, Star Trek ended its three-season run in 1969, but almost immediately began a very successful syndicated existence. The once-doomed program eventually spawned five more original series, ten motion pictures, and an abundance of pop culture paraphernalia, that shaped the cultural zeitgeist. Phrases such as "Beam me up, Scotty" and "red shirt" entered the popular lexicon. NASA named the first space shuttle "Enterprise." To celebrate the 40th anniversary, Paramount, the custodian of the venerable franchise, decided to give the 23rd century a face-lift. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/rick279.htm Mon, 1 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT It is time once again for Rick's annual Fall Preview of TV shows. He predicts those he thinks will have a full season. He also gives us a list of what SF is on TV in September. http://www.sfsite.com/09a/wi279.htm Mon, 1 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT The thirty-three essays assume a certain level of familiarity with science fiction as a whole and with the specific authors and sub-genres. This means that when the author discusses authors who are better known in Britain than in America, he may lose some of his North American readers, but it also demonstrates just how heterogeneous science fiction is. Despite an increasing globalization, there are still regionalisms even within the realm of Anglophonic science fiction. 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.