Magdalen Rising by Elizabeth Cunningham
reviewed by David Soyka
The four Gospels account of the life of Jesus suffers from a "Rosemary Woods" gap -- a period of roughly eighteen years between
the ages of 12 and 30 in which either Jesus did nothing worth noting or was entirely absent from Palestine. There is some
Biblical evidence to suggest the latter view. John the Baptist failed to recognize his own cousin, implying that he hadn't
seen Jesus for quite some time. Also, Matthew 17:24-27 recounts that Jesus had to pay a Roman enforced "strangers tax"
levied upon aliens. Another speculation goes that his great uncle, Joseph
of Aramathea, reputed as one of the first Christian missionaries to Britain and the founder of what became Glastonbury Abbey,
might conceivably have taken the young Jesus up North for vacation.
Manna From Heaven by Roger Zelazny
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
Roger Zelazny has always been admired and praised by other writers for his way with words. The near poetic prose of
stories like "A Rose for Ecclesiastes" and "24 Views of Mount Fuji, by Hokusai", and the unique mix of mythology,
religion, and technology in novels like Lord of Light were often imitated but seldom matched. And in his most popular
works, the long-running Amber series, he found mass popularity to match his stylistic talent
and ambition.
The New Weird edited by Ann & Jeff Vandermeer
reviewed by Paul Kincaid
These days it seems that barely a week goes by without
another anthology that has an agenda, that is meant to work as propaganda. We are being assailed with collections that are
designed to convince us that something old has been revitalised (the new hard SF, the new space
opera) or that something new has been discovered (the slipstream anthology, the interstitial anthology, the post-cyberpunk anthology).
If we enjoy good stories in these books, it is secondary to being convinced that this totally fresh way of looking at the
genre is valid, is going to take over literature.
New Arrivals
compiled by Neil Walsh
It's been a busy month for new books, including the latest from Iain M. Banks, Robin Hobb, Raymond E. Feist, Stephen Baxter, as well as new editions of Greg Egan, Michael Moorcock, Neal Stephenson, Henry Kuttner, Leigh Brackett, and much more.
SF Site's Readers' Choice: Best Read of the Year: 2007
compiled by Neil Walsh
This year is the 10th anniversary of the SF Site Readers' Choice Best of the Year Top 10 List. Come and see
the results of the the votes you and your fellow SF Site readers submitted. Whether your own personal
favourite is on our Readers' Choice Best of 2007, you're sure to find some great books here.
The Lost Fleet: Courageous by Jack Campbell
reviewed by Michael M Jones
Captain John "Black Jack" Geary is in for the fight of his life. He awoke from a century-long slumber in a survival pod to find himself
rescued by a fleet that reveres him for his military record and heroic actions, a fleet that seems to have forgotten everything it
once knew about intelligent tactics, smart battle maneuvers, and military strategy. And when the highest-ranking members of the
fleet's command structure were killed, he was forced to assume command by virtue of technical seniority.
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Overlooked or Over-hyped?
a column by Neil Walsh
Many of us are drawn to stories about characters suffering from some form of memory loss. These tales
can be a great deal of fun because they allow the reader to share in the character's self-discovery. This column
looks at two books where memory loss is an integral feature of the story – one is a recent award winner, and the
other is more than a quarter century old and has recently been reprinted.
The Day Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
Despite being compared by some to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series,
the Night Watch Trilogy involves realistic contemporary (post-communism modern,
slightly decaying Russian) urban landscapes, strictly adult characters, with adult interests, motivations and
issues, organized in highly hierachical multi-member fraternal organisations, battling on many fronts, and trying
to intrigue their way to superiority over the other side. In this sense, they
are much more reminiscent of the title characters in Katherine Kurtz's early Deryni titles.
Return of the Over-Used Muse by Rob Schrab
reviewed by David Maddox
In 1994 a small, independent comic from an even smaller independent label, Fireman Press, debuted. Set in the future, the story
featured a world where robot assassins could be purchased through vending machines, assigned a target and would self-destruct
upon completion of their mission. It was all the brainchild of creator Rob Schrab and he called it Scud:
the Disposable Assassin. Weird, right?
The Spiderwick Chronicles
a movie review by Rick Norwood
The Spiderwick Chronicles is a charming children's movie, which adults can enjoy -- though probably not the same adults who
enjoy, say, 30 Days of Night. It is aimed at a younger crowd than The Golden Compass, and requires a certain
tolerance for "cute." Still, it is considerably better than the pervious fantasy film aimed at this age
group, The Dark is Rising.
Babylon 5.1
TV reviews by Rick Norwood
The writer's strike is over. The networks are spacing out the shows they have to try to cover the gap due to
the strike, so there is very little SF on TV. But what there is, Rick gives us a list of what to watch in March.
Gods of Manhattan by Scott Mebus
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
Gods of Manhattan was not at all what Nathan expected. As a former MTV producer and author of two
BlokeLit novels, Nathan was anticipating this author's venture into Harry Potter territory would be loaded with modern cultural
references, and techno clever-dickery. Instead, what he found was a quaintly old-fashioned work, brimming with quirky
invention and subtle charm.
Firefly Rain by Richard Dansky
reviewed by Kit O'Connell
The novel begins normally enough -- Jacob Logan returns to his rural family home after
his business collapses. He has been away for years, and lost his country ways; the townspeople, including the old family friend
he left in charge of the house, react with hostility to his metropolitan behavior. As Jacob attempts to relax and find himself,
he instead finds mysteries -- starting with the discovery that fireflies would literally rather die than come onto his property.
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