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/05b/wk296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Blind since birth, teenage mathematical genius Caitlin Dector has compensated quite well for her lack of sight, embracing life online as her way to communicate and keep up with the world. Blessed with a supportive family, she's doing quite well for herself, even though she's currently adjusting to a recent move from Texas to Toronto. But now a unique opportunity has presented itself, in the form of a revolutionary new technology developed in Japan. If successful, a surgically-implanted device would help to process the signals received by her eyes, granting her sight at last. http://www.sfsite.com/05b/to296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Imagine if Mahjong were not just a game, but also cleverly disguised mystic system which could be used to bind mystic forces to do your bidding. How did this happen? Well several generations ago, a group of power magicians fled to our world from a mystic China to protect their emperor. They used their powers to develop the enhanced Mahjong game to protect themselves. http://www.sfsite.com/05b/or296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT The Clone Wars nears its conclusion. Kal Skirata and the members of the Null ARC squad are making their choices on whether to stand with the ever changing GAR or set off on their own as Mandalorians. Will Darman find out about the son he didn't know he had? Will Fi recover from his grenade injury? Will Scorch lose it? And what of Niner, Jusik, Ordo and the rest? Have no idea what any of this means? http://www.sfsite.com/05b/cu296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Cassandra Palmer has accepted the mantle of Pythia, making her the world's most powerful psychic, able to see the future and travel through space and time. Unfortunately, there are those who would rather see the power go to someone more easy to manipulate, and so the mages of the Silver Circle are out to kill her. Worse still, the previous Pythia died before teaching Cassie the ins and outs of the job, leaving her to figure it out by trial and error. http://www.sfsite.com/05b/tr296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Emotionally, Rick was caught up in the whole experience. It hit all the right notes, from the action filled beginning to the closing credits. Captain Kirk looked like Captain Kirk. Rick loved Scotty. Rick didn't even mind the Romulan who was thoughtful enough to bring along a bladed weapon, just to give Sulu somebody to fence with. http://www.sfsite.com/05b/ba296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Rick really wanted to enjoy this 3-D animated science fiction movie. It is a real sf film, not in that increasingly common genre of animated movie he thinks of as "guinea pigs in space." It has a good heart, and some cute characters. http://www.sfsite.com/05b/xm296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT There was a time when most science fiction movies and all superhero movies were badly written. There were fewer writers in those days, so even bad writers could get a job writing B-movies. There may be more great writers now than there were then, but there are a lot more good writers. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a well-crafted entertainment. http://www.sfsite.com/05b/du296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT In Charles de Lint's world, the skin between the mundane business of everyday life and the realm of magical mischief is always thin. Passing from one to the other is effortless and can take but a moment. Often, his characters are deep into the doings of the world beyond before they begin to notice or admit that anything unearthly is going on. Some of de Lint's characters acknowledge and embrace the other realm that lies just on the other side of that thin and permeable barrier, while others clasp their skepticism close, denying the evidence of their senses for as long as they can. http://www.sfsite.com/05b/mb296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT In an alternate Atlanta, Kate Daniels is on a mission. Kate, a magically adept mercenary, is hunting for the person or persons who brutally murdered her guardian, Greg. As an investigator for the Guild, an organization meant to police the supernatural beings of Atlanta, he was working a case involving missing shape shifters. Into the picture arrives the "Masters of the Dead," a group of necromancers that "drive" vampires much like puppets. http://www.sfsite.com/05b/da296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT The story begins as the demon Dactyl awakens after spending an eon encased in stone. The sound effects used to reflect his coming back to life are extremely well done and the audio engineers at Graphic Audio deserve lots of credit for creating an attention-grabbing opening scene. http://www.sfsite.com/05b/pg296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Things just never get easy for Harry Dresden. The White Council, who always had it out for him, has recently made Harry a Warden for the White Council (basically the police force for the wizarding community). You'd think with this promotion, the intrepid wizard/private investigator would be more accepted. But at the beginning of this book, a trial is being held for a young man that has used magic to influence the mind of a human. http://www.sfsite.com/05b/cc296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Payseur & Schmidt publishes more than just books; they publish high-quality multi-media art events. Cosmocopia is a fine example. It's not only a short novel by Paul Di Filippo, it's also a 513-piece jigsaw puzzle and colour poster with artwork by Jim Woodring -- the whole delightfully packaged. Let's begin with The Origin of the World, dating back to 1866... http://www.sfsite.com/05b/ec296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT The early years of the twenty-first century are a time of resurgence for non-themed anthologies, pointing to a resurgence in short fiction, from which science fiction has traditionally garnered its biggest names. Jonathan Strahan has now published Eclipse Two, the second of his non-themed anthologies. The joy of this sort of anthology is in the discovery of authors or stories otherwise unknown to the reader. http://www.sfsite.com/05b/so296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Faina is a young girl sent to the rich and privileged land of Vestiga Gaesi ostensibly as part of her education, but actually as a hostage against the debts of her unfortunate parents. Faina lives -- or rather, is tolerated -- at the decadent court of Viscount Palus and his Mercurial wife, the Viscountess Chrysanth. However, this previously peaceful land is under threat from the depredations of a master assassin known only as Sorrow. http://www.sfsite.com/05b/sg296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Spell Games, the fourth novel in the ongoing saga of Marla Mason, like all its precursors is a self-contained adventure. Having said that, it definitely helps to know what has gone before. Marla, for the uninitiated, is the chief sorcerer of Felport, who operates like a benevolent crime boss among the magical elite, cracking heads together when necessary and protecting the city from all eldritch dangers. It's a job for life, with plenty of perks and an equal amount of danger, both for Marla and those in her immediate circle. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/booknews296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Two exciting new series begin for science fiction and fantasy fans alike: Tony Ballantyne introduces us to the robot infested planet of Penrose as it descends into war in Twisted Metal; and Juliet McKenna takes us behind the scenes of Irons in the Fire as rebellion causes chaos in the dukedoms of Lescar. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/graphica296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Remember those funky Star Trek comics from the late 1960s/early 1970s published by Gold Key that never seemed to get things right? The ones with flames coming out of the Enterprise's nacelles. Well they weren't alone. At the same time that Gold Key was publishing its infamous series, other, equally bizarre, Star Trek stories were being published on the other side of the Atlantic. Mark London Williams has engaged the talents of guest columnist Alan J. Porter to give us a glimpse of how Star Trek fared as a comic in the UK. http://www.sfsite.com/books/new296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Some of the hottest new titles to arrive on our doorstep include the latest from Kage Baker, China Mieville, Karl Schroeder, Jacqueline Carey, David Gunn, Alan Dean Foster, and many more! http://www.sfsite.com/05b/fh296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT The most striking aspect of this volume is the author's ability to write serious criticism that is accessible, personal in nature, and that speaks directly to its audience. At the same time, Darrell Schweitzer shows respect for his subject matter and for the reader without condescending to either. http://www.sfsite.com/05b/et296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Call it the anti-apocalypse book. Here, the author cuts across the grain of popular future disaster and end-of-the-world scenarios and argues that what the universe will be like and what might be going on billions of years from now is worth thinking about. Because we could very well be there. http://www.sfsite.com/05b/hb296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT A non-fiction anthology assembling a number of critical essays and commentaries on horror and supernatural literature published between 1750 and 1917, the present volume provides an interesting overview of how that genre's body of work was critically received at the time of its first appearance in print. http://www.sfsite.com/05b/7b296.htm Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT What makes this book significant is that it marks a necessary, if belated, corrective to the orthodox Marxist view of science fiction that has been the more or less default academic response to the genre since at least the work of Darko Suvin. As such, The Seven Beauties of Science Fiction is likely to become the central point of sf criticism for some time to come. http://www.sfsite.com/05a/ff295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT No one has managed to kill Zachary Nixon Johnson, the last freelance P.I. on Earth yet. That's the good news. Thebad news is that it's still early. That's about how you can sum up any day for our hero. And when a mysterious woman appears in his dreams and asks him politely not to try and find her, he's surprised... but only a little. And when the military summons him to try and find their missing secret weapon, an impossibly-dangerous psychic named Natasha, who just happens to look like his earlier visitor, Zach has no choice but to take the case. http://www.sfsite.com/05a/ju295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Let's go story by story. Lee Moan's "The Weight of Shadows" tells of a young woman from Earth who has gone to another planet to care for children orphaned by an ongoing war between the "watusi" and the "rifiri", rival races of aliens. In Huw Langridge's "The Darken Loop" a group of freelance scientists is urged by an AI to make use of an unexpected means of a sort of time travel to save the girlfriend of one of them. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/graphica295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Following the success of their EC-inspired horror anthology Creepy, publisher James Warren and editor Archie Goodwin began Blazing Combat in 1965. The new magazine employed a similar format, using many of the same artists of the previous Warren publication -- Joe Orlando, Reed Crandall, John Severin, Al Williamson, Gray Morrow, Russ Heath, Alex Toth, and Wally Wood. Like Creepy, Blazing Combat also featured Frank Frazetta covers, and Goodwin scripts in a magazine format. But unlike its predecessor, Blazing Combat died a ignoble death after just four issues. Rick Klaw follows the trail of Blazing Combat along with that of Jack Kirby's The Losers. http://www.sfsite.com/05a/gr295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT In the back alley behind a smoke-filled bar, young art student and ne'er-do-well Kyle Rayner encounters a strange blue gentleman in a red nightshirt. The gentleman gives him an odd green ring, then disappears. Soon Kyle finds himself possessed of powers he doesn't understand. He is invited to join the Justice League, only the League, and the Watchtower, suddenly vanish. http://www.sfsite.com/05a/lt295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT In this sequel to Shadowbridge, we return to his world of giant bridges spanning endless swaths of ocean. We return to the story of Leodora, a young orphan following in her father's footsteps and earning her fame as greatest living shadow puppeteer and storyteller since her father, Bardsham. We even return to the exact moment where the previous novel ends, with Leodora taken to Edgeworld, the realm of the gods. http://www.sfsite.com/05a/cd295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Chapterhouse Dune takes place ten years after the events in Heretics of Dune, which left the planet Dune completely destroyed by the mysterious enemy from the scattering, the Honored Matres. Threatened with their own destruction at the hands of the Honored Matres, the Bene Gesserit must defend themselves. http://www.sfsite.com/05a/tc295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Harry Dresden has recently been appointed a warden of the White Council. Now, the strange part about Harry being made a warden is that he was once on probation for the possibility that he was starting to lean to the dark side. While Harry was on probation, Warden Donald Morgan was assigned to watch over Harry's every move. Morgan did his job well, to the point of accusing almost every move of Dresden's to be black Magic. So when Morgan is accused of murdering a member of the White Council and escaping their prison, no one would ever expect Harry Dresden to hide him from the others. http://www.sfsite.com/05a/ba295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Even with the demise of The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, there are many Best of the Year anthologies out there. But Paul notes, and applauds, about this selection of stories is that the wide range of sources challenges our notions of fantasy. This collection takes us far away from the standard tropes of wily magicians and mighty-thewed heroes and young boys destined to become king and the like. http://www.sfsite.com/05a/si295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT First there is the story of Meni Mendel, an astrophysicist who discovers and decodes a message from another planet that has been encoded into a pulsar. Fearing that no one will take his discovery seriously, he has a breakdown and ends up in an institution for rich and/or well connected crazy people. His doctor attempts to get his manuscript published as part of his therapy. It leads to the story of the aliens, who are apparently just like us except for the fact that they are blue and sweat instead of crying. http://www.sfsite.com/05a/wn295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT This collection is a great way to introduce yourself to the fabulous work this wonderful writer has been doing these recent years. He made his reputation with the magnificent 60s novels, A Fine and Private Place and The Last Unicorn, and cemented it work outside the field like I See By My Outfit and with later novels like The Innkeeper's Song. http://www.sfsite.com/05a/ig295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT The novel opens with its protagonist, Whistle, coming to realise his runtish position in his underwater tribe. He is small and weak and his tail is curiously bifurcated. Before long he is abandoned by his mother and forced up, out of the sea and into a new, terrifying world. It is an alien place; saltless and baffling, characterised by blinding colours, meat stink and impossibly thin air. http://www.sfsite.com/05a/dr295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT In her years as chief sorcerer of Felport, Marla Mason has dealt with any number of magical threats and occult menaces, slapping down unimaginable horrors and upstart magical practitioners on a weekly basis. Whether she's playing cat herder with the prominent sorcerers of the city, or preventing necromancers from creating servants out of the recently deceased, she's got it all under control. Well, mostly. http://www.sfsite.com/05a/ca295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Diamond Star the CD might well have been given the subtitle: "Musical Energy Erupting from a Fusion of Two Creative Minds." Energy, creativity, imagination, and drive are the obvious keynotes when interviewing award-winning author Catherine Asaro (who also happens to be a physicist and dancer) and Hayim Ani (whose promise at age 17 had already resulted in the production of a prior CD with the band Point Valid). Their differences in background and experiences emerge not as a collision of styles, but as a harmony of complimentary visions that allowed them to bring a unique blend of diversity and common-mindedness to their project. http://www.sfsite.com/05a/rc295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT The book tells the story of an FBI agent who is responsible for inter-dimensional copyright. When the wrap-up a fairly standard bust results in a dead munchkin, Agent Matt Anders is pulled into a conspiracy that affects his whole department and takes him through Oz all the way to Dorothy's Kansas. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/booknews295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Liam Sharp talks about new book God Killers, wish-fulfilment heroic sagas, and being under the influence of Moorcock and Silverberg; Alex Irvine does the double with controversial new novel Buyout and brand new comic adventure with Daredevil Noir; and John Higgins on the Watchmen movie and his new twisted story in the collected Razorjack graphic novel. http://www.sfsite.com/books/new295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Some of the highlights this month include new editions of old favourites from the likes of Robert E. Howard, L. Ron Hubbard, Ben Bova, Charles de Lint, plus a wide array of sparkly new books too. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/rick295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT And another TV season winds to a close. Rick offers his thoughts on what he was looking forward to watching and what caught his attention. He also gives us a list of what SF is on TV in May. http://www.sfsite.com/05a/gl295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT This is a debut novel, and what a debut it has been so far. This has been one of those books that has been gathering buzz as it rolls along until it has reached the point that it somehow inevitably pops up in any discussion on the topic of YA literature. It managed to make it into New York Times Review of Books, and received starred reviews in Publisher's Weekly, School Library Journal, Booklist, not to speak of the notoriously hard-to-please Kirkus Reviews; it won, was a finalist in, or was nominated for a slew of industry, critical, readers' and bloggers' "best of" lists and awards. But... http://www.sfsite.com/05a/da295.htm Fri, 1 May 2009 11:00:00 GMT Originally self-published in 2006 using a POD service under the name Leinad Zeraus, Daemon is a top quality techno-thriller about the potential power of the internet. More precisely, it is about what that power could do, if harnessed and exploited by someone who truly understands how virtual and actual reality intermesh. In this case, by computer gaming legend Matthew Sobol, an individual who cannot be stopped in any conventional way, because he is already dead. 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.