STALL, DAMMIT—FLINT’S ALIVE! (Retro Review)
James Coburn had a long TV and movie career, but his first starring role in a movie was as Derek Flint, superspy, in the 1960s. Who is or was Derek Flint? Read and find out, young padawan!
“MRS. PEEL—YOU’RE NEEDED!” (THE ORIGINAL AVENGERS TV REVIEW)
There was a TV series The Avengers in the 1960s before Marvel decided to team up its superheroes. Most of us—especially young men—who grew up in the ‘60s remember Diana Rigg’s character Mrs. Peel very fondly. And overall, the series was better than much semi-genre TV of the era in my opinion. Have you seen it? What do you think?
DAME ENID DIANA ELIZABETH RIGG, FAREWELL!
Yesterday, the world and our genre lost a terrific actress, Dame Diana Rigg (of The Avengers). Steve pays tribute to her this week.
REDUX: SIXTIES, SCIENCE FICTION AND SECRET AGENTS
Steve repeats (with lots of new edits) a column from 2013 about one of his favourite movie series.
NANOWRIMO and COLUMN 25 REDUX!
Steve uses his personal time machine to share an early post about Modesty Blaise—he’s off doing NaNoWriMo! (Don’t know what that is? Read on….)
“MRS. PEEL—YOU’RE NEEDED!” (THE AVENGERS REVIEW)
Before there was a Marvel version, there were The Avengers! Join Steve in a look back at some less-than-super heroes, but maybe a lot more fun ones! (And no CGI!)
Book Review: License to Quill by Jacopo della Quercia
Shakespeare vs Cthulhu? The Bard as Bond? I think I need ‘Q’ to explain all of this to me….
Review: Gestapo Mars by Victor Gischler
Gestapo Mars by Victor Gischler is the quintessential example of a guilty pleasure. You might feel a little guilty afterwards, but you’ll be anxiously awaiting a sequel.
Scide Splitters: Envoy to New Worlds by Keith Laumer
Scide Splitters examines Keith Laumer’s first collection of stories featuring the less-than-diplomatic diplomat, Retief.
Assisting Entropy
Entropy happens whether we want it to or not. Why are we so fascinated with helping it along?
“CLASSIC” Movie Reviews, OUR MAN FLINT and IN LIKE FLINT
Steve revisits a favourite–classic–“spy spoof” from the ’60s. Many people loved these James Coburn films!
Scide Splitters: Unidentified Funny Objects 3 edited by Alex Shvartsman
Science fiction and fantasy’s only annual humor anthology returns with stories from Robert Silverberg, Mike Resnick, Tim Pratt, Piers Anthony, Kevin J. Anderson, Jody Lynn Nye, and more.
Review: THIS “YEAR’S BEST” ANTHOLOGY REALLY *IS* THE YEAR’S BEST!
Steve reviews Gardner Dozois’s marvelous 31st Annual Year’s Best SF!
The Top Ten Greatest Spaceships of All Time
A list of the top ten greatest spaceships of all time, following some rules, of course.
Cloud Atlas, Skyfall and the McDonaldization of Hollywood
Gary Dalkin reviews Cloud Atlas and Skyfall and talks about the homogenization of American cinema.
Sixties, Science Fiction and Secret Agents
Secret agent tales have always carried a hint of science fiction with them – futuristic gadgets, threatened world-wide annihilation. Steve examines Bond’s 60s rival – Flint – and reminds us that James Coburn was COOL.
A Fan’s Anniversary of Sorts
Some personal fannish history, a couple of takes on Amazing Stories from 1938, a recap of Modesty Blaise, a pic of John Travolta and a review of John M. Whalen’s Vampire Siege at Rio Muerto. What’s not to like?
Springer’s “Science and Fiction” Series Launched!
How does Einstein’s description of space and time compare with Dr. Who? Can James Bond really escape from an armor-plated railroad car by cutting through the floor with a laser concealed in a wristwatch?
“Don’t Worry Grandma! I Don’t Read Comic Books, Just the Classics!”… (Illustrated)
The combination of visual simplicity and effective story telling awakened my sense of wonder and exposed me to new ideas which widened my understanding of life and reality.
Review – The Man Who Haunted Himself (Blu-Ray/DVD)
The Man Who Haunted Himself is, as the title suggests, both a ghost and a doppelgänger story
Book Review – Feast and Famine by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Imaginings Volume: 6 – Feast and Famine is a collection of ten short stories by the British writer Adrian Tchaikovsky, best known for the nine-volume (and counting) fantasy series, Shadows of the Apt, published by Tor.
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.
Crossroads: Society, World-building, and Estrangement in Spy Fiction
Growing up in a household where the legacy of Communism loomed large (my parents had fled Communist Poland during the ’60s), poison-tipped umbrellas and double-or-triple-agents were regular mealtime conversation. And with no James Bond showing […]
Crossroads: I Spy, with My Little Eye…Espionage in Speculative Fiction
Hello and welcome to August! I was away for much of July on a “blogging vacation”, and I very much missed you and our ongoing genre mash-up conversation while I was gone. Now that I’m […]
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 […]
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