Privacy Policy
|
|
A Conversation With Kage Baker
An interview with Nick Gevers
On saving creatures from extinction:
"...took root at an early age. I remember my mother reading to me from a National Geographic
about coelacanths, supposedly extinct for millions of years but in reality very much alive, which impressed me no end. And at
about the age of four, I had a little book about a puffin, with a rhyming story, and for some reason my mother was under the
impression that puffins were extinct. She solemnly explained that there were no puffins anymore, and I used to cry about the
poor sad puffins, until I discovered she'd been mistaken. By then I was permanently scarred, of course."
|
The Haunted Air by F. Paul Wilson
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
More compassionate than Andrew Vachss' Burke. More slippery than John Sanford's Davenport. Repairman
Jack is a man who lives under the radar,
invisible to society at large, but available to make your worst problems go away -- if you aren't a
problem yourself. Play it straight with him and he'll use his special brand of troubleshooting to help
you out; try to use him and he is going to make it a point to make your life a living hell, or maybe
make sure your life is over.
The Xenocide Mission by Ben Jeapes
reviewed by Rich Horton
This novel opens on the joint Human/First Breed satellite called SkySpy, which
is monitoring the fearsome aliens known as the Xenocides, or XCs, because they brutally exterminated the other
intelligent species in their solar system. Young Joel Gilmore and his First Breed (or "Rustie") partner Boon Round
are making an external repair when the XCs mount a surprise attack. The first priority is to assure destruction of
the computer banks and the removal of any chance of the XCs gaining FTL technology.
A Conversation With Karin Lowachee
An interview with Alexander von Thorn
On background music:
"Music is a muse for me. I usually write with it on. Certain types of music will help the mood of a scene. For
instance, in fight scenes, I usually play harder music. The lyrics and vocalists have a lot to do with mood as well. The
lyrics go with a theme, or the psychology the characters are going through at the time. Music really does influence me,
and I don't think I'm alone in that as a writer. I pull a lot of different varieties of music, depending on what scene
I'm on or who I'm dealing with. For Joss, it was anything from new metal or rock guitar music to ballads or electronic music."
Warchild by Karin Lowachee
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
Jos Musey is 8 years old when his world is destroyed by pirates. He and a few other children are imprisoned,
taken off the merchant ship Mukudori. Everyone else, including Jos's parents, are killed. Jos, because he is
exceptionally pretty, is kept by the notorious pirate Falcone for his own purposes. Falcone trains him, and does
other things that are too terrible to be more than hinted at, things which will dominate him and his actions
through out the book. Joss manages to escape, only to be captured by another enemy.
Babylon 5.1
TV reviews by Rick Norwood
Rick shares his thoughts after watching an episode of Farscape, going to the movies to see Lilo and Stitch
and Reign of Fire and cueing up DVDs of It Came From Outer Space, Silent Running and Legend.
The Bagpiper's Ghost by Jane Yolen
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
Twins Jennifer and Peter are visiting their grandparents in Scotland. The talking dog that lives with them
leads them to a graveyard, where he tells them about the Lady in White. The twins sneak out at
midnight to see if she appears, and Peter is possessed with the ghost
of The Lady's brother, who refuses to let her go to the ghost of the man she would have married, a bagpiper
whose keening music hold a key to the mystery. The dog knows more than he lets on, and Jennifer and her
Grandmother must solve the mystery of what the brother wants before Jennifer loses her brother to the ghost forever.
A Year in the Linear City by Paul Di Filippo
reviewed by William Thompson
The premise for this novella is intriguing: a city laid out along a single thoroughfare -- a ubiquitous Broadway -- a
single block of buildings to either side, divided by numbered Cross Streets equally a block in length counterpoint,
seeming to stretch limitlessly both Up or Downtown, delimited only by Boroughs separated by a single street. The
residents live either on the Trackside or Riverside of the central boulevard: if lucky, with a Steetview looking
onto Broadway.
Signs
a movie review by Rick Norwood
The plot is as old as Job, but M. Night Shyamalan tries to answer the unanswerable.
The movie is a powerful entertainment and you do want to see it. Go. Read this when you get back.
The 3rd Alternative, Issue #30
reviewed by David Soyka
Besides its very cool illustrations and graphical layout, one way to figure out whether you're likely to enjoy the kind of
stuff that appears here -- a British mag edited by Andy Cox -- is whether you can swallow the premise
of Robert Wexler's "Tales of the Golden Legend" that loaves of bread can talk and certain people can hear them.
Guises by Charlee Jacob
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Within this collection, the author explores endless variations of the masks -- literal and figurative -- that hide
human frailties and reveal the true nature of the wearer. From the works of art in the titular story to
the seemingly surface attraction of the weary hero of "The Piper," the nature of the camouflage ranges
from the breathtakingly beautiful to heart-stopping horror. And sometimes, the extremes are indistinguishable
from each other. Such is the makeup of appearances.
Mistress of the Catacombs by David Drake
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
Prince Garric of the Isles has growing concerns over the Moon Wisdom cult that has recently sprung up. His
concerns increase when one of his spies, who after meeting with the cult is constantly tortured by evil
dreams, disappears before his eyes. The Intercessor of Laut requests an audience, and Prince Garric chooses
the neutral ground of a garden bridge. The Intercessor is actually a wizard, who tricks Garric into looking
into the pond. He topples into the water, and his long time friend, Cashel, dives in after him.
|
|
The Standing Dead by Ricardo Pinto
reviewed by William Thompson
In 1999, his novel, The Chosen, flew largely under the radar, ignored
by most readers and reviewers, except for the foresight of a few publications.
Granted, on the surface it appeared to be just another epic fantasy, one more
candidate for attention in an arguably already glutted market. But anyone who took
the time to read the novel should have immediately recognized that, despite its flaws, it
potentially announced a significant new voice in the genre, notable both for its original,
imaginative and at times obsessive world-building, an approach almost anthropological in
its treatment of characters and society, as well as its bold focus, within a traditional
audience noted for its predominant heterosexual and white-boy makeup, upon a gay protagonist.
Fire Logic by Laurie Marks
reviewed by Margo MacDonald
It is a tale of war and magic, of duty, love and betrayal, of despair encompassed by hope. The
magic in this world is inherent to the people who wield it -- it is in their blood and part of their soul -- and
though most people do not carry magic in them, every once in a while a child is born with it as part of their
DNA. There are four types, based on the four elements of water, air, earth and fire. The type of magic as well
as the personality of the wielder are determined by which element is in their blood. Earth blood means healer;
water means time and space; air means truth-seeing; and fire means prescience and passion.
SF Site News
compiled by Steven H Silver
Every day, items of interest to you arrive in our email. Our bi-monthly format doesn't lend itself to daily updates.
However, this is a small inconvenience to our Contributing Editor Steven H Silver. He's begun a new column which
will fill you in on recent news in science fiction. We'll be updating the page as he sends in new items.
Richard Matheson's The Twilight Zone Scripts, Volume Two edited by Stanley Wiater
reviewed by Alma A. Hromic
Scriptwriter, short story writer and novelist. He produced such cracking good tales. Why?
He understands people, and he deeply believes in what Ray Russell, in the preface
calls "... everything super-, para-, preter-, extra- or un-natural."
There can be no greater credentials for writing stories of enduring value for a show of enduring value: a TV
show that has transmuted its very name into an English language concept. How can you do better than that?
SF Site: Best Read of the Year
compiled by Rodger Turner
It seems everybody has a "Best of the Year" list. The concept of "best" is a relative term since it involves intangible decisions, made
at some point in time without measurable criteria. But why let such things stop us? SF Site does these lists each year.
Best Read of the Year is compiled by asking our contributors what impressed them most during the year without reference
to date of publication. Readers' Choice: Best Read works the same way except we ask you to send us your list.
Wayne MacLaurin's Fat Fantasy Awards are a list of what Wayne says "tests the
structural properties of a sturdy bookcase."
The Writing of Dennis L. McKiernan: From The Silver Call to Dragondoom
reviewed by Sherwood Smith
It's inevitable that his work is going to be compared with that of J.R.R. Tolkien. In fact, we may as well
state (as he does, in his Introduction to the reissue of The Silver Call) that the Tolkien influence is obvious, especially
in that earlier work, and get past it. Lambasting him for his analogues to hobbits (Warrows) his Dwarves and Elves and
Rucks (if they aren't Orcs, they may as well be) is so easy it's kind of pointlessly boring. Is McKiernan wrong?
The Mabinogion by Lady Charlotte Guest and The Mabinogion Tetraology by Evangeline Walton
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
Wow! The people at Harper Collins/Voyager really put together a beaut' here, something reminiscent of
the lovely illustrated editions of late Victorian and Edwardian times. A lovely, evocative and eminently readable, if
bowlderized, translation of the 14th century Red Book of Hergest and the late 16th
century "Peniardd M.S." with 50 gorgeous colour plates by Alan Lee make this edition of the Mabinogion a joy
to behold, to read, and the quality of its production make it an edition worthy of a prominent place on anyone's bookshelves.
The Emperor of Dreams by Clark Ashton Smith
reviewed by William Thompson
Shifting sands and forgotten ruins. Oriental towers and odalisques. Medieval castles and haunted woods. These are but
some of the fictional realms of Clark Ashton Smith, worlds of dark wonder and necromancy; familiar paths that
imperceptibly veer into other realities where horror and often death await.
Bug Jack Barron by Norman Spinrad
reviewed by Martin Lewis
Jack Barron is the host of Bug Jack Barron, a television phone-in show with an audience of 100 million and the power
to make or break reputations. Benedict Howards is the billionaire director of the Foundation for Human Immortality,
a cryogenics institute that will freeze anyone for $500,000. Legislation, in the form of the Freezer
Utility Bill, is currently being proposed that would give the technically non-profit Foundation a legal monopoly on freezing.
Starfish by Peter Watts
reviewed by Donna McMahon
Nobody in their right mind would want to spend a year working in a geothermal power station three THOUSAND feet
under the surface of the Pacific, surrounded by pitch black, icy, crushing water, and perched on the edge of the
unstable volcanic Juan de Fuca rift. And nobody in their right mind would want to have their lung cut out and
replaced with a machine, or have their human genes rewritten as part fish to accommodate this job.
|
|
