Nexus Graphica
a column by Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams
Amongst the various releases during May's Free Comic Book Day festivities,
Boom! Studios premiered the initial installment of Elric: The Balance Lost,
the first non-Michael Moorcock crafted Elric comic story in 35 years. Acclaimed
writer Chris Roberson and artist Francesco Biagini usher Elric through his latest graphic epoch.
The White Wolf initially leaped into the four color pages with Marvel's Conan
the Barbarian #14-15 (1972). Rick Klaw takes a look at the history of
Michael Moorcock's work in comics.
The Buntline Special by Mike Resnick
reviewed by D. Douglas Fratz
Steampunk technology from Victorian England, along with fantasy tropes like zombies and vampires, come to 1880s
Arizona at the time of the OK Corral gun fight in a light-hearted mash-up that cannot help remind
one of the Wild Wild West television show of the 60s. But the author also throws in vampires,
zombies and Indian magic, along with many of the most famous real historical characters of that era.
Delicate Toxins edited by John Hirschhorn-Smith
reviewed by Mario Guslandi
Hanns Heinz Ewers (1872-1943) was a renowned German author of weird and decadent fiction, whose work nowadays
is largely forgotten and/or scarcely available because of his personal involvement with the Nazi party.
UK-based Side Real Press, which is endeavoring to translate and reprint most of Ewers' work, has produced an
elegant volume of original short stories by contemporary writers, inspired to the fiction and the cultural
milieu of the German author.
The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares
reviewed by Seamus Sweeney
The story is of an unnamed narrator, a fugitive from Venezuela after some unnamed crime, who comes to an island
in what seems to be the Indian Ocean. As the narrator's informant, an Italian rugseller in Calcutta, puts
it "Chinese pirates do not go there, and the white ship of the Rockefeller Institute never calls at the
island, because it is known to be the focal point of a mysterious disease, a fatal disease that attacks the
outside of the body and then works inward."
Bull Spec, #4
reviewed by Sandra Scholes
Of all the work in this magazine, the fiction stands out most of all. First up is "Freedom Acres" by Andrew
Magowan where Carolyn, a neighbour in Freedom Acres notices a new man moving in over the road from her, and,
from the moment she sees him she has a deep sense of unease. She does not know why she feels this way, but she
fears for herself, her husband and their child while he continues to move in. Up until now, the place has
been quiet, and uneventful, but a dark cloud has come over Freedom Acres.
Super 8
a movie review by Rick Norwood
Rick wanted to like Super 8 more than he did. It is not a bad movie, neither is it a great one.
There is a character in the movie who says that movies are not just about action, they are about making the
audience care about the characters. Rick got the feeling that J.J. Abrams was trying too hard.
X-Men: First Class
a movie review by Rick Norwood
In two comic books, both with a cover date of Sept 1963, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created two new superhero
teams, The Avengers and The X-Men. The Avengers was Marvel's answer to DC's Justice League of America, a
team-up of their most famous solo characters. The X-Men was something else entirely, all new heroes attending
a school for mutants. Jack Kirby based the story loosely on Wilmar Shiras's book Children of the Atom.
Babylon 5.1
TV reviews by Rick Norwood
Two new genre tv shows premiere this month. The first, Teen Wolf, has already aired. It is
roughly a half hour of typical teen high jinks with about eight minutes of werewolf spliced in.
Falling Skies premieres June 19. Aliens conquer Earth. Humans fight back.
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New Arrivals
compiled by Neil Walsh
New books from Kelley Armstrong, Stephen Deas, David Anthony Durham, Sara Douglass, Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Charles Wilson, and many more are featured here.
Golden Reflections by Fred Saberhagen
reviewed by Sandra Scholes
This is a compilation of several stories from some of the best-known fantasy and SF writers around. The reader can look forward to two bonuses,
as the first half contains Fred Saberhagen's novel, Mask of the Sun, and later
seven original stories by contributors: David Webber, Harry Turtledove, Walter Jon Williams, John Maddox Roberts,
Jane Lindskold, Daniel Abraham and Dean Wesley Smith.
From Hell With Love by Simon R. Green
reviewed by Michael M Jones
When it comes to secret organizations dedicated to protecting the world from all threats, both internal and external,
no group is as resourceful, widespread, or potentially insane as the Droods. And of that infamous family, none is as
dangerous or misunderstood as Eddie Drood, who has saved the world more than a few times in his checkered career. After
a stint as head of the family, he's back to being a nice, normal field agent like he prefers.
The Fuller Memorandum by Charles Stross
reviewed by Ernest Lilley
Besides the obvious and delightful spy-geek-Chuthluian horror cocktail that Charles Stross shakes together in his
Laundry series, there's a bit of Stargate to it, what with the openings of gates into
otherwhere and heroic types stepping through them. It has been that way since the beginning, when our man from the
Laundry, a geek turned applied demonologist and secret agent, stepped through a hole in space to rescue the damsel
in distress.
Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds
reviewed by Rich Horton
The story is set on Earth (perhaps), far in the future, as the climate is failing. The dominant "city" is called
Spearpoint -- a vertical city, spiralling around a structure that seems to extend all the way to space. As the
levels in Spearpoint increase in altitude, there is also an increase in what technology works. From the top
comes Quillon, a posthuman renegade who discovers that his former masters are sending newly modified angels to kill him.
The Long Man by Steve Englehart
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
The story kicks off when Max August is summoned by a dying friend, in the hope that he can save Dr. Pamela Blackwell from whoever
is trying to use magic to kill her. Blackwell's research is something that has the potential to save the lives
of millions, and that has accidentally put her in the sights of a clandestine organisation called the FRC.
Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik
reviewed by Rich Horton
Temeraire and Laurence have been transported to Australia. Laurence
remains loyal to England, with misgivings, and Temeraire of course is utterly loyal to Laurence.
Australia has recently undergone a sort of revolution, with the local landowners deposing the cruel and
incompetent Governor Bligh (of the Bounty, yes). But this cannot stand, and Bligh angles for restoration
to his seat.
The Godfather of Kathmandu by John Burdett
reviewed by Jason Erik Lundberg
For Thai police detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep, our humble narrator, release
from samsara is urgent: his six-year-old son Pichai has been killed in a traffic accident, and his wife
Chanya has fled to a nunnery in her grief. The beginning of the novel sees Sonchai as a broken man, surviving
his despair through liberal consumption of marijuana and the recitation of an ego-annihilating mantra given
to him by a Tibetan yogin in Nepal.
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