Osama by Lavie Tidhar
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
On a hot day in Vientiane, a private detective named Joe is hired by a mysterious woman to find the author of a series
of cheap paperback thrillers, the kind of books that are kept on the back shelves of porn shops. The books seem to be set in
a different world, one where the secretive Osama bin Laden conducts a vigilante, terrorist war against the decadent
West. It's a world where, from Joe's viewpoint, fantastic technologies are used to destroy imaginary buildings and blow
up imaginary hotels.
Ghosts: Recent Hauntings edited by Paula Guran
reviewed by Mario Guslandi
If you think that the ghost story is a literary genre which, after its golden era in the Victorian and Edwardian ages, is
gone out of fashion, you're completely wrong and this anthology of modern ghostly tales is here to prove it. The editor
has assembled thirty pieces of contemporary fiction (mostly reprints) dealing with spectres, apparitions and
spirits visiting today's world, lurking in our cities, haunting our modern houses, disquieting our skeptical, technological minds.
The Complete Alcatraz by Brandon Sanderson
reviewed by Nathan Brazil
Alcatraz Smedry is a 13 year-old foster child sent a bag of
sand as his sole inheritance, only to find himself playing a pivotal role in a world that is so much more than he'd ever
imagined. The sand, which is also more than it seems, is almost immediately stolen, thus beginning a chain of events leading
to the young Smedry discovering he is part of a family with unique individual talents. A family at the forefront of a secret
war being fought between the Free Kingdoms, and a totalitarian conspiracy known as the Librarians.
The End of Earth and Sky by Tom Simon
reviewed by Sherwood Smith
The End of Earth and Sky is a frame tale set in an alternate universe, opening with an introduction
by the narrator, Calin Lowford, in response to a comprehensive indictment that claims he is the most heinous of
mega-super-extra-evil villains. Each chapter begins with a quote from this indictment, which, Calin explains, is written by
someone whose world indeed ended.
Calin is an ordinary young man, given to plumpness. He's termed lazy by many of his elders, and he's certainly tried several
apprenticeships unsuccessfully before being made into...
Pravic: A New Grammar for Science Fiction, Issue 1, Fall 2012
reviewed by Cyd Athens
At a time when the publishing world is acknowledging that its face is changing, and industry notables such as Donald Maass are
encouraging writers to embrace that change and accept the challenge of using high impact techniques to "capture the minds,
hearts, and imaginations of" today's readers and markets, Pravic is timely.
Acetone Enema by Nicholas Alan Tillemans
reviewed by Sandra Scholes
No one really knows what goes into the making of a novel or collection of short stories and poems, but
the author lets us into his own private world of getting published in his preface. Here he shares
the ups and many downs of writing stories, in the vain hope someone will like them enough to publish
them. From his college years to the present, his persistence is admirable, and many will empathise with
his struggles.
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Vote for SF Site's Readers' Choice Awards for 2012
Here we are again, offering you your annual chance to let the world know what you thought was the best of
all the speculative reading material you encountered from the past year. If you've been a regular visitor to
the SF Site for more than a couple of years, you are quite probably already familiar with this annual
event. If you're new to us, all you need to know is that we want to hear what you believe was the very best
of what you read from the past year.
If you've forgotten what you chose in previous years,
you can find them all linked at Best Read of the Year including
Ghost Ship by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller which was the top choice last year.
The Time Ship: A Chrononautical Journey by Enrique Gaspar
reviewed by Paul Kincaid
Jules Verne sent his travelers on extraordinary voyages into space and into the bowels of the earth, through the skies and
through the ocean depths, but he didn't send his characters on journey through time.
That lack seems to have been filled by this Spanish writer who indeed specifically mentions Verne in
the penultimate paragraph of this curious novel.
Dinocalypse Now by Chuck Wendig
reviewed by Trent Walters
The author's website usually has 25 tips for writers on various subjects, told in a
no-nonsense tough-guy voice. Plus, how could one
pass up Dinocalypse Now, a 40s-era, pulp-flavored lark with universe hops, Atlantean technology, sentient
chimps, mind-manipulating dinosaurs, and a mad scientist? What's not to like?
What If What's Imagined Were All True by Roz Kaveney
reviewed by Sandra Scholes
If you, like me, enjoy thumbing through small books of poetry, you will really appreciate this one. It is labelled as poetry
but there is something for everyone with science fiction and fantasy, and other poetry that is much broader than
imagined. The mere fact it is small enough to fit in your back pocket, or get tucked in your handbag is enough.
New Arrivals
compiled by Neil Walsh
New this time, we're looking at the latest from L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Fiona McIntosh, James Lovegrove, Ramsey Campbell, Peter V. Brett, anthologies by Ellen Datlow, Rick Klaw, and plenty more.
Babylon 5.1
TV reviews by Rick Norwood
Every year about this time, Rick gives his picks of the upcoming sf and fantasy films, based on the writers. How did he do last
year? His picks were: The Hunger Games, The Avengers, Men in Black III, Prometheus, Brave,
Abraham Lincoln – Vampire Hunter, The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Spider-man, Skyfall, Gravity, The Hobbit,
Dark Shadows and Cloud Atlas.
This year his choices are...
Nexus Graphica
a column by Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams
After three months of no new reviews, things have piled up a bit for Rick Klaw at
Nexus Graphica in Texas. In an attempt to catch up, he's providing us with nothing but reviews this month.
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