Sixty Days and Counting by Kim Stanley Robinson
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
There has been one more winter of wildly careening weather since the winter of Fifty Degrees Below. Frank Vanderwal is
still working for the NSA, coordinating projects aimed at combating the causes of rapid climate change. With the election
of Phil Chase as President, Frank and his co-workers' jobs are about to gain in influence and importance. Charlie Quibler,
Frank's friend, is pulled away from working part-time at home and raising a son to being a full-time science advisor to
the President. Frank's new love, Caroline, has gone underground, pursued by the same black ops organization whose plans
to fix the election Frank and Caroline helped thwart.
Geeks With Books
a column by Rick Klaw
In the third part of the article on the making of Weird Business, the 400+ page comic book anthology he
co-edited with Joe R. Lansdale, Rick tells us how he was able to bring in a few big name contributors, most notably
the legendary Michael Moorcock.
1824: The Arkansas War by Eric Flint
reviewed by Steven H Silver
The lower Mississippi is the focal point for this book. Following his version of the War
of 1812, a confederation of Indian states has been established west of the Mississippi River. A dozen years later, the expanding
United States finds the Indian country in the way. Making matters worse is the fact that the Arkansas Confederacy has made itself
a haven for runaway slaves and abolitionists.
Into A Dark Realm by Raymond E. Feist
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
In book two of the Darkwar sequence, we follow Pug, Nakor, Magnus and Ralan Bek, as
they prepare and ultimately journey into the heart of darkness that is the Dasati home world. Running in parallel with this is
a riveting tale centred around a Dasati youth named Valko. There's an evil sparkle here, brighter and hotter than any of
his works since the Magician trilogy.
New Arrivals
compiled by Neil Walsh
Some of the new arrivals here in the SF Site offices include the latest from David B. Coe, Elizabeth Cunningham, Brian Aldiss, David Drake, Adam Roberts, Glen Cook, Cory Doctorow, as well as re-released classics from Stephen Donaldson, Rudyard Kipling, Joan D. Vinge, plus much more.
The Host
a movie review by Rick Klaw
Structured like a 50s American monster movie, The Host opens on a United States military base in Korea as an
American doctor orders his Korean assistant to dump toxic chemicals down a sink drain that leads directly to Seoul's
Han River. Several years later two fisherman discover a mutated fish.
Capacity by Tony Ballantyne
reviewed by Rich Horton
The Earth, the Solar System, and local star systems, are inhabited by a mix
of humans and AI's. Many of the AI's are uploaded copies of humans. All is under the control
of the Environmental Agency, and its arm Social Care, which keeps an eye on the psychological health of everyone. There
is a persistent belief that the real power in the entire system is a super-intelligent AI called The Watcher, which
may be of alien origin. All this leads to asking what is the difference (if any)
between "natural" and "artificial" intelligence?
Hub, Issue 1, Christmas 2006
reviewed by Rich Horton
Here is a brand new UK magazine. It has a slightly unusual format -- 80 all slick, rather thick, pages, with plenty of layout tricks,
in a curious squarish shape, 21 cm by 21 cm. It is heavily illustrated, mostly by photographs. Some may find it a bit difficult
to read at time -- perhaps there is a certain sacrifice of readability on the altar of coolness of appearance.
|
|
Fugitives of Chaos by John C. Wright
reviewed by David Soyka
Five boarding school students discover there is something decidedly strange about themselves; in fact, neither
they nor their teachers are human. The students do not age beyond adolescence because the isolated school environment is
actually a subterfuge to control their powers that, unleashed into the world, threaten not only the pagan gods who have
confined them, but the very fabric of the universe.
Dispatches From Smaragdine: April 2007
a column by Jeff VanderMeer
Since March is the most boring month in Smaragdine, Jeff decided we needed a special treat.
Felix Gilman has signed a two-book deal at Bantam. But Jeff had already met and interviewed him.
Now we get an excerpt from Felix's new novel. Jeff also has had time to do a lot of reading and
he has given us capsule notes on what is teetering on his "up next" pile.
Babylon 5.1
TV reviews by Rick Norwood
Rick has some news about the future of Battlestar Galactica.
He also gives us a list of what to watch on TV in April.
Breakfast with the Ones You Love by Eliot Fintushel
reviewed by David Hebblethwaite
Sixteen-year-old Lea Tillim is a girl with a talent. Well, maybe "talent" isn't the most appropriate word. An
ability, let's say. A power. The power to make people ill with a thought, even to kill them if she wants. But there's one
boy who considers it a talent: Jack Konar, who says he is one of the God Tetragrammaton's Thrice Chosen, and is building
a "spaceship" in a forgotten part of a Sears and Roebuck store, in readiness for the coming of the Meschiach. And he needs Lea's help.
Star Trek, The Animated Series: Logs One and Two by Alan Dean Foster
reviewed by Steve Lazarowitz
The Star Trek Logs are historically important
to Star Trek fandom. Those who haven't been fans since the original series will no doubt require an explanation.
Star Trek Log One was first published in 1974. At the time, there were three seasons of the original episodes often played
in rerun, James Blish's adaptations of the original series, and a handful of novels, and nonfiction
books, such as Spock Must Die and The Making of Star Trek. This was three years before Star Wars.
Lost In Translation by Edward Willett
reviewed by Donna McMahon
As a child, Kathryn's life was devastated when her parents were killed in an unprovoked attack by the alien S'sinn on the
human farming colony of Luckystrike. She might easily have grown up in an orphanage, if her rare empathic abilities hadn't been
discovered by the interstellar Guild of Translators. Instead, she grew up with the Guild, being trained for the prestigious and
critical job of translating between species.
Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick by Lawrence Sutin
reviewed by Tom Marcinko
Philip K. Dick's reputation has steadily grown since his death in 1982 at the age of 53. Those who were reading him
in the 60s and 70s can feel vindicated by the forthcoming Library of America edition of four of his best novels.
Like its subject, this highly entertaining and generous-spirited biography
is more timely than ever. Given the movies, music, and books inspired by Dick, even those who have yet to read
the man feel his continuing influence. That in itself is an unsettling theme since his first novel: life
is a nightmare, but who exactly is dreaming it?
|
