GOODBYE TO VONDA and MY FAVOURITE TV SHOWS
After a short absence, Steve returns to bid farewell to a beloved SF author, Vonda N. McIntyre, and to talk about his TV addiction… er, favourite shows!
WHO WAS HENRY KUTTNER (LEWIS PADGETT)? DO YOU KNOW?
This week Steve examines a prolific author of the ‘40s and ‘50s who seems to be nearly forgotten today. Maybe we can change that!
THE DEVIL YOU SAY! Reviews and Comments
This week Steve looks at a Hellacious TV series, all about the Devil in Los Angeles, then jumps back and looks at Modesty Blaise in graphic format. Take a peek!
Presencia hispanohablante en la WorldCon 2017
Happening in Helsinki! Tanya covers the beat.
The Science Fiction Romance New Releases Never Stop
New releases in science fiction romance, and some good news about one of Veronica Scott’s books.
Death
2016 takes its toll
Can you Hear Me, Major Tom?: The Death of David Bowie
Ziggy Stardust has gone back to Mars. Major Tom can’t hear us anymore.
Scide Splitters: Unidentified Funny Objects 4 edited by Alex Shvartsman
Unidentified Funny Objects returns with its fourth annual anthology, this time engaging a theme of dark humor and including stories from the likes of George R. R. Martin, Mike Resnick, Eric Kaplan, Tim Pratt, Piers Anthony, Jody Lynn Nye, Gini Koch, Esther Friesner and more.
A Quick Look at Three Current Kickstarters
Three really great Kickstarter campaigns you ought to know about.
Haunted Holiday Gift Guide: Book Lover’s Edition
Use these suggestions to have a “horrible” holiday
Judging More Books by Their Covers: The Silver Warriors
Judging books by their covers is made more difficult when the book in question has two titles as does Michael Moorcock’s The Silver Warriors
AMAZING NEWS
Brianna Wu’s stand for women in gamine is prominent throughout the media – genre AND mainstream
The Five Year Retrospective: Babylon 5, Season Two
When people talk about what they love about Babylon 5, season 2 is usually where that love comes from.
FutureDaze2: Reprise Review
A review of the second volume of this successful YA anthology series.
Scide Splitters: The Hogben Chronicles by Henry Kuttner
In the latest Scide Spitters series, David Kilman takes a look at the new collection, The Hogben Chronicles, with stories from Henry Kuttner and an introduction by Neil Gaimon.
A Fan’s History — Fanzines, Continued….
Fanzines, continued: Okay, Mr. Smartypants, what’s a “sercon” zine? Actually, I’m glad you asked that question. It’s another of those annoying (well, to an outsider) fannish neologisms and acronyms. In this case, we have “serious” and “constructive” all smashed together to form “sercon.” (If they were complete words, we’d have what Humpty Dumpty called “portmanteau” […]
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 […]
Photographs, Fantasy, Cover Design and Neil Gaiman
Let’s take a break from looking at artwork. Let’s look at some photos instead. Most people like looking at photographs. Usually these are family photographs, sometimes in an album, sometimes projected on a screen with an old slide projector, sometimes stacks of prints and polaroids. Do you remember that? There’s that sense of nostalgia that […]
Sequential Wednesdays #16 – San Diego Comic-Con 2013
It’s finally here! I’ve attended San Diego Comic-Con in mid-July for about the past 11 years and it’s never been stale. Sure, there are lines out to Tijuana and back, but there’s really nothing wrong with that – I’ve met some friends in these lines! Sure, it’s overwhelming, but I love being completely subsumed into […]
Stardust: The Ruby Castle Stories, by Nina Allan
Stardust is one of three books by Nina Allan published so far this year. First was the story collection Microcosmos. Next came the novella, Spin. Now we have Stardust, published as a very striking hardback by PS Publishing as PS Showcase #11. Stardust is subtitled The Ruby Castle Stories, but who (or what) is Ruby […]
Review: Hauntings, edited by Ellen Datlow
Ellen Datlow anthologies are dependable reads, especially when it comes to delivering a wide selection of high quality of fiction. This holds true with Hauntings, Datlow’s new reprint anthology of ghost stories–all of which were originally published between 1983 and 2012– is packed with well-written and engaging tales. One of the best things about reading a […]
A Commissioning Editor Speaks: David Moore of Abaddon Books
Britain’s Abaddon Books is a seething brew of villainous steampunk, sleek spaceships, cruel sorcery, and blood-soaked horror. I tracked their commissioning editor David Moore down to his lair, where I forced him to unravel a cracked and crumbling papyrus to reveal an ancient secret: what does a commissioning editor do all day? Thanks for speaking to Amazing […]
My top 10 SF and fantasy picks for the big-screen treatment
Science fiction and fantasy are taking over the realm of the Hollywood summer blockbuster, no question about it. Marvel Studios is gearing up to launch the Avengers franchise into space with the forthcoming Guardians of the Galaxy film, Neill Blomkamp’s about to wow audiences with his sophomore full-length feature, Elysium, and Christopher Nolan’s next movie is […]
East vs. West: Comic Book Showdown
Though my position here, such as it is, is that of “anime blogger,” I think that my real interest in media from the Land of the Rising Sun is comic books, otherwise known as manga. Despite being exposed to Western comics fairly early on in my life, it wasn’t until I started reading manga that […]
THE WOLF AT THE END OF THE WORLD – A Novel by Douglas Smith (excerpt)
THE WOLF AT THE END OF THE WORLD An urban fantasy novel by Douglas Smith (Estimated release date: Summer 2013) Set in modern day Northern Canada, THE WOLF AT THE END OF THE WORLD is an urban fantasy incorporating First Nations mythology. With an introduction by World Fantasy Award winner, Charles de Lint, the book […]
Crossroads: Negotiating the Unreal in Magic Realism and Fantasy
Perhaps the most important insight I’ve gained from my research for my Crossroads series is that the borders between genres are very fluid, and the more one genre (or sub-genre) resembles another, the more contentious their relationship is likely to be. Gene Wolfe once condescendingly remarked that “magic realism is fantasy written by people who […]
JACK VANCE: VISIONS OF A DYING EARTH
After the last few S&S works of the early 1940s, such as “Dragon Moon” by Henry Kuttner and the short-lived Unknown, Sword & Sorcery lost steam. With Robert E. Howard dead for five or more years, Heroic Fantasy became a thing of the past with only the occasional Edmond Hamilton Weird Tales fantasy or anomalies […]
Anime As An Art Form
One of the greatest things that anime ever did for me was give me the desire to create. I was a really bookish kid, and the idea of writing had always been pretty appealing to me. Anime – and later on, manga as well – introduced me to the idea that I could not only […]
It’s Pretty – and Deadly: Horror Animanga
[Author’s warning: the following post contains images with some violent and/or graphic themes. Please proceed with caution.] Any of my friends could tell you how much I hate horror movies. Whether it’s the hack-and-slash or the jump-out-and-terrify, I’m not into it. I have no desire to see the serial killer fantasy played out for my […]
