Improbable Interviews – Cherith Baldry
An interview with Cherith Baldry, one of the contributors to the anthology Improbable Botany.
Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by John Tiffany, Jack Thorne & J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child can be enjoyed as a non-canon Harry Potter story unconnected to the previous tale.
Weddings in Science Fiction and Fantasy
SF weddings: here’s hoping yours isn’t like some of theirs!
The Greatest Fantasy Novels of All Time Part 3
Find out what novel has just been added to the Greatest Fantasy Novels of All Time list
NEW FORMAT FILM REVIEWS: LUCY and MALEFICENT
Steve looks at two newer films: Lucy with Scarlett Johansson and Maleficent with Angelina Jolie. Are they good or bad? You’ll find out…
MOVIE REVIEW(s): DIVERGENT and an oldie
Steve dissects two movies: a new one and an oldie. But are they goodies?
Top Ten Science Fiction Movie Sidekicks
Who are your favorite SF movie sidekicks? RK has quite a list for you to ponder….
MORE ON THE RAH FRONT: Robert A. Heinlein, continued
Alexei Panshin is a well-known critic/reviewer of Heinlein and his works
The Ten Greatest Wizards of All Time
A bit problematic, this list. My experience with wizards tells me they are a fickle lot and prone to hubris. And they have powers….Perhaps ranking them might not be such a good idea….
Top Ten Greatest Swords of All Time
A look at the top ten greatest swords of all time.
Interview – Jonathan Oliver
Gary Dalkin interviews one of the hardest working editors in the UK – Jonathan Oliver
Top Ten Best Science Fiction Movie Villains of All Time
The top ten villains to grace the screen.
My List of the Best Time Travel Films
A survey of the ten best time travel films of all time
The Great Harry Potter Reread #3: The Prisoner of Azkaban
Matt Mitrovich tackles the third in the Harry Potter Series, The Prisoner of Azkaban, and reflects on reading aloud and impending fatherhood.
The Great Harry Potter Reread #2: The Chamber of Secrets
Enough time has gone by to justify a re-read of this instant classic.
The Great Harry Potter Reread #1: The Sorcerer’s Stone
Review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone with an eye towards the hero’s journey.
Book Review: Black Magic Academy
Black Magic Academy isn’t your classic school story with magic. Not really.
A Science Fiction Timeline: Yesterday and Tomorrow
A timeline of the development of science fiction, from one fan’s viewpoint.
The Geek Test: What’s Your Score?
I believe people of all types should be able to join in geek events and have fun whether they’re sufficiently geek credentialed or not, but I wondered how one might one go about quantitatively evaluating “geekiness”
It’s All My Fault – An Apology
Another summer of cinematic wilderness is drawing to a close and I owe you all a big apology. Why? Because I am responsible for the terrible state of mainstream American cinema today.
Sequential Wednesdays #17 – Comic-Con: A Recounting
Another year, another Comic-Con touches down in San Diego’s historic Gaslamp district and billows the hell around and makes a metric ton of people really excited. I love being one of those people and for as long as Comic-Con remains in the beautiful marina of San Diego’s downtown area, I will continue attending; no matter […]
Doujinshi: Distinctly Japanese
There are many expressions of fandom that cross genres and cultures – fan fiction, fan art, even cosplay. But there is one form in particular that is distinctly Japanese, both in its origin and in its current form, and that is doujinshi. The term refers to anything that is self-published (“doujin” means “same person”), but […]
How Young is a Young Adult?
The science fiction novels I read as a teen weren’t written for that age group. The themes were adult, as were the character dynamics and main issues. There just weren’t enough young adult books to keep me satisfied – at least any that spoke to the issues that were important to me at the time. […]
Characters: Kvothe from The Name of the Wind
Among fantasy titans, Patrick Rothfuss shocked just about everyone by carving a place for himself with his book, The Name of the Wind. It centered on Kvothe, a character of a hundred different stories and the truth behind those stories. Then Rothfuss did it again with The Wise Man’s Fear, the second book to feature […]
Sequential Wednesdays #11 – The Quiet Majesty of Kazu Kibuishi
Out in the world of beautiful stories, digital art, and ironclad contracts with Scholastic exists a beautiful man, in every sense of the word, named Kazu Kibuishi. For years, Kazu has worked on, collected, and made nothing but monumentally gorgeous comics for mostly younger readers that surpass all expectations of what one can expect from […]
The Greatest Fantasy Author of All Time
This week some in the world are celebrating the birth/death of the Bard of Avon also known as William Shakespeare. Shakespeare as you might have heard was a well-known English playwright and poet. Curiously enough his birthday matches exactly with the date of his death April 23. Born in 1564 to humble beginnings in the […]
The Invisible World
When I walked out to my back patio, I unexpectedly met resistance. My throbbing forehead had crashed against an unseen force. I stepped back to look more closely and noticed a barrier standing between me and my escape. I determined quickly that it was an invisible force field the humans have named glass. My surprise […]
Defending Quality Over Popularity
It is to my ever increasing frustration that I continually see true literary talent dismissed as ‘too complex’ or ‘deep’ in favour of the mildly-talented easy-way-out authors who have become ‘popular’ in a day and age where mediocrity seems to be paramount. Pratchett vs. Rowling During the middle of the last decade – when I […]
The Artful Collector: Collecting Strategies Part 3 “The Easy Way”
Previously, in parts 1 and 2, I talked about collectors whose ambition, in collecting, was to have every one in set (“completists”) and those who had to have every one they wanted, however much it costs. Those two strategies may be satisfying, but there are easier ways to collect, ones that can be just as […]
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 most successful film franchise. An undemanding, commercially safe example of formula film-making and an enormous box-office hit. Cloud Atlas a […]
