An Interview with Stephanie Osborne
Adam Gaffen for Amazing Stories: Welcome! It seems appropriate that there’s a science fiction author who is a rocket scientist; how did one lead to the other? Stephanie Osborne: Thank you! And thank you for […]
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The Monster Makers
The spotlight last month fell on the special effects wizards who make SF monsters come to life. The crowning glory was the award of the Best Picture Oscar for Argo. This spy drama focuses on […]
John Carter Through the Years
In light of John Whalen’s review of Michael Seller’s John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood, I thought it might be instructive to take a look at the different artistic depictions of the world’s first […]
The First Rule of Time Travel
Dr. Jeremy Stone: Do you believe in time travel? Dr. Angela Noyce: Sure! As much as I believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. That is just to say that I love the idea […]
Metadrama and Science Fiction in Affleck’s Argo
I had given some thought to doing an Oscars recap this week, tallying the various gains and losses of the science fiction and fantasy fields within that most prestigious of movie awards ceremonies. But given […]
Now with more Pulp!
Pulp… no, wait… it should be written like this: PULP! What I am referring to is not what you find in your orange juice. It refers to a type of low grade paper that was […]
Dynamo – Unsuccessful Wooing, Decrees from Rashmon & A Silent, Bearded Man
If there’s a recently popularized term that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, it’s “webisodes.” This demeaning and fun-sized determination of quality stems from the misconception of tacked-on extra content pumped out in the […]
The Science Fiction Fan’s Bucket List
I’ve been fortunate to be able to travel a lot and do many things I’ve always wanted to do. Some of my opportunities have been work related (e.g. using the Hubble Space Telescope, and helping […]
Me and My Sofa.
Ah yes, me and my Sofa. I feel confident calling it my Sofa. With a capital S because the sofa I’m referring to, StarShipSofa, is a podcast magazine. And I can call it mine because […]
Crossroads: Is this a Kissing Book? SFF’s Relationship with Romance
Whenever I think of speculative fiction’s relationship to romance, I am always reminded of that scene in The Princess Bride where Fred Savage’s character interrupts his grandpa and – voice dripping with scorn – asks: […]
Amazing Stories Featured in Concord Monitor’s A&E Section
On Tuesday Steve Davidson, the publisher of Amazing Stories, was interviewed by Sarah Earle for a feature in the Concord Monitor, one of New Hampshire’s leading daily newspapers. Davidson and others involved with the project […]
Sequential Wednesdays #2 – To Stand The Gap: The Secret Truth of S.H.I.E.L.D.
This is not how the World ends. This oft-spoken mantra, among others, repeated throughout the narrative of the Marvel comic S.H.I.E.L.D. is a tried and true indicator of how much I adore this work. Created by heralded […]
Living in a Glass House
Welcome internet traveler. I will be stockpiling neatly organized bits into a collective known as a blog along this portion of your journey. Do not fear for your personal safety, as I will take great […]
Characters: Per Langstaff from Typhon’s Children
Oh, Toni Anzetti, or Ann Tonsor Zeddies, whichever. She’s magnificent in her creation of alien worlds. Not so magnificent in her characters. The Typhon series isn’t widely known, and I’ve never really met another who’s […]
Serial Fiction for Beginners
Serial fiction is old school and the best examples I can think of is probably comic strips, soap operas and the black and white episodes of Flash Gordon, Doctor Who and Lost in Space that […]
Video: Cory Doctorow in Concord NH
Cory Doctorow made a stop at Gibson’s Bookstore (oldest book store in NH) yesterday, Sunday February 24th. Amazing Stories was there to tape the event, one stop of a 24 city tour promoting Cory’s latest […]
Claire Winger Harris: Breaking Amazing’s ‘Cosmic Ceiling’
Brian Aldiss identified Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as the first science fiction novel in his seminal history The Billion Year Spree. Although the genre often looks back on this work as its starting point, it was […]
Amazing Stories from Mexico – Book Review: Three Messages and a Warning – edited by Eduardo Jimenez Mayo and Chris N. Brown
Three Messages and a Warning – Contemporary Mexican Short Stories of the Fantastic – edited by Eduardo Jimenez Mayo and Chris N. Brown Small Beer Press 2011 Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-193152031-7 I was drawn to […]
No.8 Isaac Asimov, Psychohistory, Robot Crimes, and Positronic Brains.
2013Feb24 Isaac Asimov, Psychohistory, Robot Crimes, and Positronic Brains. Isaac Asimov, aka: Isaak Yudovich Ozimov, aka: Исаак Юдович Озимов, is another member of the Big Four of the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Isaac Asimov […]
The Artful Collector: Collecting Strategies Part 2 “Whatever It Takes”
Rich men (I am going to fall back on the male gender because most of the collectors in the field of illustration art and books are male) don’t let scarcity stop them from getting what […]
Ten Totally Illogical Science Fiction Premises
Over on my own blog I wrote about eight science fiction tropes of convenience, mainly about unlikely or impossible technology or assumptions that are made not because they make sense, but because they’re convenient for […]
Various and Sundry Science Fiction Poetry
Welcome back! I have a bit of a hodge-podge for you today. The interview with Bruce Boston has been postponed for two weeks – life got in the way for both me and Bruce. But […]
A DOCTOR FOR THE ENTERPRISE: New Art, New Pages
Troy Boyle reports that he’s been sending completed pages to the inkers, letterers,colorers and who knows who else at a breakneck pace! We’re closing in on sending this book to the printers and may even […]
Crossroads: Science Fiction Romance – A Niche Before Its Time?
Last week, we talked about paranormal romance and the ways in which it uses longstanding cultural archetypes (vampires, werewolves, etc.) to explore power, sexuality, and possibly even deeper existential themes. But speculative fiction is composed […]
The Chocolate Teapots of the 21st Century
Looking back at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear disaster of 3/11/2011, I ask more questions about Japanese robotics. Baudrillard and M. John Harrison are roped in to help. Also, we bought a Roomba.
Cloud Atlas Shrugged – or let the Skyfall
On Monday Skyfall was released on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK. Tomorrow Cloud Atlas will open in UK cinemas. Two films, poles apart. Skyfall, the 23th entry in probably the world’s longest running and […]
Characters: Ned Henry from To Say Nothing of the Dog
I’ve just finished reading To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. I’m a fan. There are far too few comedies within SF/F, and those that exist still find a way to take themselves […]
Mouldy Old History
For a number of years I wrote The Crotchety Old Fan blog. One of my favorite posts to write was finding new and interesting ways to bring the older works to the attention of new […]
Top Ten RPG Game Systems of All Time
Pull the blinds and turn off the phone, it’s time to head to the Game Room and lock in on some hardcore meta-gaming action. In the Game Room we will explore the world of gaming […]
No. 7 Andre Norton, Telepaths, Telempathic Animals, and The Entrepreneurial Spacer.
2013Feb17 – Time spent in front of a computer will suck you into a rift in the space-time continuum. You doubt this? Leave a clock near your computer and voila … tempus fugit. (If you […]
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