A Conversation With Howard Andrew Jones
An interview with Steven H Silver
On partners:
"It is clear with all of these characters that they are stronger together than apart, and I definitely worked to show this with Dabir and Asim. Once
they learn to trust each other and work together in this book, they are greater than the sum of their parts.
I guess Asim came first, but only by a few seconds, because as soon as I could hear his voice, I knew he was
talking about the adventures he had with his scholarly friend."
The Five by Robert McCammon
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
At heart, this is a straightforward thriller, the premise of which is a jobbing rock band, being stalked
by a deranged sniper. The band are the Five, and they're portrayed as musicians, slogging away at their craft,
but never quite getting the big break. Something starts going right, when a video for their latest song is
commissioned. The problems begin when the video is broadcast as it
gives the false impression that the band are disrespecting the US military in Iraq. The show is seen
by one Jeremy Pett, a former US Marine sniper, now a dark shadow of his former self.
Sleight of Hand by Peter S. Beagle
reviewed by Paul Kincaid
Peter S. Beagle has a readily identifiable voice. It is weighed down with loss and regret; the voice of someone
all too aware of the approach of death yet who regards it, if not with indifference, then with acceptance; it
talks more easily about the past more than the future.
And that voice is fully in evidence in this latest collection of stories. They are stories of memory, filled
with sentiment that just occasionally slips over into sentimentality.
Subterranean Tales of Dark Fantasy 2 edited by William Schafer
reviewed by Sandra Scholes
Subterranean Tales of Dark Fantasy was the beginning of a monster, and that monster spawned a second
helping of stories under the guise of dark fantasy, in Subterranean Tales of Dark Fantasy 2.
With some of the best known names in dark fantasy and horror, we get stories by
Caitlin R. Kiernan, Bruce Sterling, Joe Hill, Kelley Armstrong, Glen Cook and William Browning Spencer.
Crucified Dreams edited by Joe R. Lansdale
reviewed by Mario Guslandi
Editors of anthologies featuring only original stories have to make the best of the solicited or unsolicited
submissions they receive and select what they think are the most accomplished contributions.
On the other hand, when assembling reprint anthologies editors are free to include anything they deem to be
suitable from the huge material already appeared in books and magazines. A great advantage indeed, especially
when dealing with theme anthologies.
Hamlet's Father by Orson Scott Card
reviewed by David Soyka
Authors have been riffing off of Shakespeare just as Shakespeare himself lifted the plot of Hamlet off of
Thomas Kyd. The trick to appropriating someone else's characters and story line, particularly those as canonical
as Shakespeare is saying something beyond mere mimicry. Hamlet would be long since forgotten had not Will imbued
an old (even for his time) Danish tale with personalities Harold Bloom famously termed "the invention of the
human."
Journal of a UFO Investigator by David Halperin
an audiobook review by Dale Darlage
Danny Shapiro's world is crashing down around him. His mother is slowly dying from heart disease. His
father does not understand him. He is Jewish in the heavily Christian suburbs and as he gets older
this is becoming much more of an issue. He cannot date the girl he wants to date because she is not
Jewish and it would crush his already weak mother. His family is Jewish but does not attend services
so Danny does not feel the comfort of ancient traditions. Danny is alienated, to say the least. His
one and only outlet is his journal of his experiences with UFOs and UFO research.
Greed by L. Ron Hubbard
an audiobook review by Gil T. Wilson
Galaxy Audio has taken 150 short stories written L. Ron Hubbard during the 30s through the 50s
and turned them into a collection of audio pulp fiction. As you might imagine, many of these are science
fiction, and each one has been re-imagined into two-hour audiobooks. This installment of the L. Ron Hubbard
collection contains three stories that take a unique approach to science fiction
story-telling -- "Greed," "Final Enemy" and "The Automagic Horse."
|
|
Bloodshot by Cherie Priest
reviewed by David Soyka
Raylene Pendle (aka Cheshire Red) is a vampire who pretty much keeps to herself, even avoiding her own
kind, with a personal moral code that doesn't allow for killing humans to suck their blood unless, of
course, there's a good reason. She's even such a softie that she harbors two homeless kids in a Seattle
warehouse where she stores her stuff. Not just any kind of stuff, but stuff she has stolen. She is a
professional thief for both pay and pleasure, and when you're undead, things start to collect after a few centuries.
Greatest Uncommon Denominator #6, Summer 2010
reviewed by Seamus Sweeney
The cover image sets the tone for a somewhat darker collection this time. There seems to be a lot more
poems (worthy of particular mention is Jim Pascual Agustin's "Sand Clings To Me Toes, Daddy"
with its capturing of one of those moments in childhood that are both magical and sad, presaging the
inevitable passage of time), the stories seem to be longer, and there are none of the short comics of the
previous volume. As well as being longer, there seems to be a darker tone to these stories.
Fairy Tales in Electri-City by Francesca Lia Block
reviewed by Sandra Scholes
There is a lot to enjoy with this collection. Starting when the reader first looks at the book, they will be surprised at how
small the book is, and also how well designed it is.
Her poetry and stories are about several fantasy creatures; elves, centaurs, fairies, and nymphs. There
are some erotic ones though too.
New Arrivals
compiled by Neil Walsh
New and forthcoming this time, we look at the latest from Terry Brooks, China Miéville, Mark Charan Newton, Cherie Priest, Harry Turtledove, several new Star Wars titles, plus a whole lot more.
Nexus Graphica
a column by Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams
With summer rapidly approaching and a large selection of goodies arriving in the Texas Nexus
Graphica offices, Rick Klaw decided to forgo his usual monthly missives in favor of a column devoted to
a handful of recent reads (and views). Next month, he'll return with a more traditionally Nexus Graphica-style
piece.
News Spotlight -- Genre Books and Media
a column by Sandy Auden
It's all happening on the Supernatural TV show at the moment with Season
Six drawing to an exciting close and the news breaking this week that the show's seventh
season has definitely been picked up by the CW network. But as the series goes into its
usual summer break, we'll all be looking around for somewhere to get our Supernatural
fix during the long lazy evenings. So why not try listening to music from
Supernatural convention veteran Jason Manns or delve behind the scenes
in Nicholas Knight's Official Companion books?
Thor
a movie review by Rick Norwood
When a major high-brow director makes a movie based on a comic book, it does not usually turn out
well: witness Ang Lee's Hulk and now Kenneth Branagh's Thor. Rick loves Branagh's Oscar-winning film
of Shakespeare's Henry V. Thor, not so much.
Babylon 5.1
TV reviews by Rick Norwood
The first two weeks in May brought us the season finale of Fringe and the series finale of
Smallville. The end of Smallville was worth watching. If you have not seen these episodes
but plan to, stop reading now.
Timeless Adventure: How Doctor Who Conquered TV by Brian J. Robb
reviewed by David Maddox
A lone traveler in a battered blue police box traveling through time and space, righting wrongs and
keeping the universe safe. Doctor Who is an amazing show with a phenomenal 40-plus year history. But
more than being the longest running and greatest resurrected television show ever, it's a reflection of the
culture that created it. The writer captures the show's cultural importance with
here, a critical study of the impact the show has had
on British society and, through that, the world.
|
