Scide Splitters: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Thursday Next, the plucky female lead character of The Eyre Affair, is a literary detective in an alternate 1985 England.
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
Lisbeth Salander
We’ve been having some pretty wild weather here in the Wairarapa lately, which meant that I’ve been sitting without power for over 24 hours earlier this week. While sitting around waiting for the contractors from the power company to turn up and put me back on the grid, I’ve managed to read myself through a substantial chunk of Stieg Larsson’s “Millenium” trilogy*: finally! I should say!
Review: The Colors of Space
In the tradition of Heinlein, The Colors of Space by Marion Zimmer Bradley is a provocative space adventure for young adults. But upon closer look, there is a lot more to the story as it becomes a prime example of an archetypical hero’s journey.
Interview with Peter F. Hamilton, author of Great North Road
Peter F. Hamilton is one of Britain’s best-selling SF authors. Hamilton’s novels hark back to the great days of science fiction, reveling in big ideas and unafraid to tackle hard science.
Fall 2013 anime preview
There’s a veritable stampede of sf headed your way this coming season: 25 series to choose from!
Review – Searching for Ray Bradbury by Steven Paul Leiva
A loving tribute to the memory of one of the most important figures both in the history of our genres and in American popular culture and the literature of the 20th century.
Review: The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)
While there is a decided absence of magic in the novel, the one thing that truly stands out here is how eloquently Rowling has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that her writing chops stretch far beyond Hogwart’s hallowed halls.
Review: Countdown City, by Ben H. Winters
Countdown City By Ben H. Winters Quirk Books 2013 The world is still going to end. That’s the reality facing former Concord, NH, police detective Hank Palace as Countdown City, the second book in Ben […]
Villains and Heroes Come to Life in Masked Mosaic – Canadian Super Stories
Masked Mosaic – Canadian Super Stories is a wide range of stories by Canadian authors about Canadian super heroes and villains, all bound together in this beautiful anthology.
Anime roundup 7/19/2013: Expository Lumps
And now, the rest of your season premieres! For those who were eagerly awaiting Symphogear G or the new Milky Holmes, I regret to inform you that they haven’t been picked up for international streaming. […]
Joyland by Stephen King – review
In Stephen King’s best novel in years, 11.22.63 (2011), the veteran author revisited the period of his youth, the 1950s and ‘60s. A character from the present, our present, went back to 1958, encountered love, […]
Summer 2013 Anime Preview
So, you heard about that Sailor Moon reboot everyone is all excited about? It’s been pushed back to 2014 at least. Instead, here are the more notable examples of what you’ll have to tide you […]
Crossroads: The Difficulty of Police Procedural Speculative Fiction
Police procedurals are a complicated genre to explore because they intersect so fluidly with so many other genres. On the one hand, they solidly rest within the mystery tradition: there is a crime that needs […]
You Can’t Beat a Double Ace
The double novels produced by Ace Books were works of art, inside and out. You just can’t beat holding a double Ace in your hand.
Psychics are Dark Fantasy
I remember being uncomfortable about the “psionics” in Dungeons and Dragons back when I was a kid. Psychic powers seemed more appropriate in science fiction than fantasy. I mean, we had Mr. Spock’s mind meld […]
CROSSROADS: Right Place, Time, and Tech – The Hitchhiker’s Guide
Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy trilogy (itself spread across five books with a six written by Eoin Colfer), with its friendly, green warning against panic, casts a huge shadow over the field of […]
April is National Women’s History Month
Which is kind of short-shrift for women – one month only – considering that homo sap history is women’s history and, like, there’s this whole birth thing which kind of suggests that without women there’d […]
Sequential Wednesdays #7 – Tales of Tails
Animals have a very special role to play in stories, at least according to the long history of tales utilizing their presence as potent symbolism. Throughout the world of story-telling, a multitude of beasts have had very […]
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 […]
Review: The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
Alright we are back with my coverage on SF detectives and we return with the classic SF/mystery novel, written by the grand-daddy of SF himself, The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov. This first novel in […]
Review: When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger
When I punk, it’s usually with steam. Any SF fan, regardless of his particular poison, thinks about the future. With my historical background, however, my gaze tends to be fixed on the past and I […]
Elementary, my dear Watson-bot 2.0!
Crime and punishment. Both words are synonymous with genre fiction. Whether it is the flashy superhero racing to stop the next crisis or the “I’m too old for this shit” beat cop who stumbles upon a global […]
Crossroads: Where Genres Meet in the Night
Speculative fiction’s ability to stay fresh is a direct result of its ability to blend with other genres: the mash-up, the hybrid, the literary crossroad are where science fiction has always found innovation. We’re a magpie genre, and I think that should be celebrated and explored.
Latest Posts
Recent Comments