Enemy Mine – Blu-ray review
Enemy Mine is a science fiction film from 1985, now released in a limited edition Blu-ray by Twilight Time. The film is based on, though greatly distorted from, the novella of the same name by […]
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Robots and Cyborgs and Androids, Oh My!
Author’s Note: Last week I wrote about one of my favorite Star Wars characters, Admiral Motti played by Richard LeParmentier. It is with disappointment and sadness that I learned of his death this week. (04/16/13) […]
City Lights, City Grunge
From Metropolis to Blade Runner, the city of the future has been a subject for science fiction artists and film makers, who have vented both dreams and deep-seated fears. This blog post offers a collection […]
Are Vampires So 2012?
Vampires have been the top of popular sci-fi culture with the masses for quite a few years now, but are people starting to get bored of them? Moonlight was the first on the scene with […]
Synthetic Voices #16 – March 2013 Top Picks
This was one of those wonderful, terrible months where there were simply too many good stories to choose from. Buckle up! [powerpress] Discuss on:
Sequential Wednedays #9 – Boston, Where Yo’ Con At?
There are few things genuinely more enjoyable than conventions. It’s sprawling enjoyment catered to all your tastes and more if you’re attending the right one. My convention experience is a little bizarre compared to most […]
From the In Box: Oblivion Already Taking Hits
The latest Tom Cruise vehicle – Oblivion – has hit the theaters outside the US and is apparently doing fairly well – at the Box Office. It’s also doing fairly well as a punching bag […]
Review: Zombie Jesus and Other True Stories
Horror and alternate history are difficult genres to mash up. You just don’t see them together very often and despite my firm belief in the adaptability of alternate history, it is rare when you see […]
Characters: Mat Cauthon from Wheel of Time
For better or worse, Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series is filled with characters. Encyclopedia WoT has the total at around 2200. Most, thankfully, are minor. Some have small roles. Others are given a single […]
A Visit To A Cinema Pub
My family used the occasion of two close family birthdays as an excuse to visit a Cinema Pub. I don’t know how common such things are in other regions of the country, but in the […]
NaNoWriMo Woes
After last week, I talked about the whole process of writing and winning National Novel Writing Month – or in this case, it’s summer camp incarnation. You have thirty days to write a fifty thousand […]
Is This the Greatest Era for Horror TV?
While researching my article on this spring’s horror TV debuts, I was struck by the volume of new programs. Six new horror shows joining a field already somewhat dense with genre series felt unusual. I […]
Acceptance or Exploitation?
Author’s Note: The following post will discuss depictions of sexuality in media. As such, content may not be acceptable for young children. Please read responsibly. In light of Zach’s recent post, I’ve decided to finally […]
From the In Box 4/15/13
John Scalzi reminds us that today is the last day to vote for the Locus Awards. You can read his reminder and vote here. ANYONE can vote; subscribers to Locus get more weight behind their […]
Writing Plans
I’m really tired, and need to study, I have an exam Monday on the Nervous System and the Brain. This week has been really busy, and I’ve been falling behind in my daily wordcount. Some […]
Racing to Adventure
Race to Adventure! Evil Hat Productions Modular Board Game, $30 This week’s post is going to be a little different. Instead of reviewing a book, I’m going to review a game, or rather I’m going […]
Book Review: Hope Reborn by S.M. Stirling and David Drake
Hope Reborn by S.M Stirling and David Drake Baen Books 2013 978-1-4516-3877-6 (Trade paperback) Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction that has long been the mainstay of Baen Books. True, Ace has […]
Epic Fantasy Analysis April 8, 2013
This is the sixth in the series and is from data as of 4/08/2013. Links to review previous data: 01/03/2013 01/24/2013 02/17/2013 03/03/2013 03/14/2013 As always this data comes from the Amazon Kindle Epic Fantasy Bestseller […]
No. 13 – The Number Thirteen, Black Magic, Mysticism, Swordplay and Sorcery
Number 13: a 13th Amazing Stories post. I interrupt my regularly scheduled posts, in my ongoing series of discussing writers of classic science fiction (and the inner meanings therein), to consider the number 13 (and […]
Lost in Space! Reviews of Unknown or Under Appreciated Books #6: Farnham’s Freehold
Hello and welcome to what will be an occasional feature on my blog! So – what, exactly, do I mean by ‘unknown or under appreciated’? To put it simply – not everyone is a Kevin […]
Anime roundup 4/14/2013: This Will Be on the Test
A big stack of first looks this week, and then it’ll be time to make decisions about what to add for the regular weekly commentary. Those of you worried about the absence of Attack on […]
The Artful Collector: In Praise of Tangibility
First, and let’s get this out of the way right at the start: I would never say that digital art isn’t Art. I have never claimed that digital artists aren’t “real artists” – as some […]
From the In Box 4/13/13
Thanks to the Chums on Fictionmags (an invite group), this article in Popular Mechanics features a house designed and built by the author of And He Built A Crooked House. Yes, Robert A. Heinlein’s dream […]
Discovering Planet Stories
As a fan of the classic Science Fiction and Fantasy pulp magazines (exemplified by my thrill to be involved here at Amazing Stories), I find myself a bit giddy whenever I stumble upon an old […]
IT’S (NOT) ROCKET SCIENCE: Distant Habitable Moons
A recent report in Astrobiology raised the possibility of new places to look for extraterrestrial life: on the moons of distant planets. Astronomers have now discovered evidence of well over 3000 extra-solar planets (that is, […]
Playing the Short Game: How to Sell Your Short Fiction (Part 13 in series)
The Numbers Game: What to do after you’ve submitted a story Welcome back to my weekly series on how to market and sell short fiction. These posts are written in a very specific sequence, with […]
Individualism, Atheism, and the Search for God in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road
The following essay originally appeared in issue number 111 of the quarterly journal Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction, edited by Graham Sleight. Revised and expanded, 2nd ed. Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel The Road […]
Finding the Write Time and Place
Look and you will find it—what is unsought will go undetected —Sophocles Finding the Right Time and Place to Write During a time when I had a demanding job as an scientist with […]
Amazing News, Friday, April 12, 2013
The Eaton Science Fiction Conference at UC Riverside commenced yesterday; Amazing Stories has been carrying advertising for the program for the past several months. This years headliners are Larry Niven, David Brin and Gregory Benford […]
The Coolest Thing I’ve Seen All Week
I’m an astronomer, but I also have a background in engineering, and when I was six, dinosaurs rivaled space for my primary interest. I’m grown-up now, but must admit I still love toys. The bigger […]
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