Somehow, I keep on getting the second book in a series for review. Previously, it was “Rise of the Iron Moon” by Stephen Hunt. Each time I’m presented with the second book I’m aware of the risk jumping in on a story already in progress. I don’t know the characters, I don’t know the world, [...]
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You know that conversation you had at Denny’s at 3AM in college? Maybe it was a Village Inn. Definitely not an IHOP because IHOP doesn’t have the right atmosphere for those sorts of world moving conversations that happen at 3AM. It takes just the right ratio of greasy table to crappy food to bad attitude waitress to facilitate this kind of discussion. And IHOP’s Belgian waffles are too good to be part of that equation. They’re universe displacing, those things.
This book is like that conversation. Only not stupid.
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Trouble and Her Friends is a very good read. What’s most satisfying about it is that it’s not just about the technology; that part is almost incidental. Trouble and Her Friends is great story about identity and how we define it, whether it’s through lovers or friends or work or something else, and what we’ll do to keep hold of who we are.
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On the heels of canceling Caprica, Syfy has canceled Stargate: Universe. This has gotten me thinking about my middle school crush, Johnny Daniels. As it turned out, Johnny Daniels was an idiot.
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A review copy of The Barsoom Project arrived from Tor Books the other day. There was no info included in the envelope, so I assumed it was something new from Larry Niven and started reading. A few hours later, John asked my thoughts on it.
“Maybe it would’ve been edgy in 1988 or 1990,” I said. “But in 2010 it feels dated, like the writers never left the 1980s.”
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The structure of Colonial society was far more interesting than the Cylon bits or the religious bits and could have led to deeply thought-provoking discussions. Caprica was a missed opportunity to do some hard-hitting science fiction addressing the multitude of problems on Earth (terrorism, which has been well represented in the show, is not the only problem we have; nor is it the biggest).
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The existence of this video makes me sad that Ray Bradbury hates the internet. I bet it would make an old man happy. (Totally not safe for work, BTW).
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By Jeff Nieves – What if you could commission an all-star crew, for a starship, choosing from the characters of any sci-fi franchise? The obvious starting point here is, “Who’s your captain gonna be?” There are a lot of credible choices out there, but for me and I’d guess many others, this boils down to an age-old rivalry.
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By Shawn Deena – Let’s be clear – I’m never going to refer to this channel with their new name. It’s stupid. Before the name change there was once a time that the Sci-Fi channel had some really good programming. Then little by little things started to go south until suddenly we get a rash of Sci-Fi original movies all based around some hybrid monster, D-list actors and animation and computer graphics that makes South Park look like Avatar.
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by Amy Ratcliffe Steampunk. It’s a word that’s been around for a while. Even when the word wasn’t there, the definition and style of it was. The movement has been gaining popularity though (notice how I didn’t say steaming ahead.) and more people are asking everyday – what is steampunk? Related Stuff:
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by Amy Ratcliffe I admit it. I’ve ransacked the boys section of most department stores to find my handful of Star Wars t-shirts. The extra large shirts work, even if I have to layer them over a tank top. The truth is that the lack of Star Wars fashion made for girls is glaring. The [...]
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By Lisa Fary – Snowpocalypse has me stuck inside but, I’m trying to look on the bright side. When the snow stops, our regularly garbage covered street will look clean and new (until it gets saturated with cigarette butts, beer cans, and piss, which will take about ten minutes). Also, as much as it sucks to be snowbound in my apartment, at least I’m not snowbound in any of these places:
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By Lisa Fary – It’s still January and 2010 is already way more impressive to my sci-fi dreams than the entire last decade.
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By Lisa Fary – This episode of V, “There is No Normal Anymore”, was like drinking Bud Light while listening to Matchbox 20 and wearing the chino pants/ white tee/ cardigan combo: an exercise in lifeless predictability and blandness.
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There’s no place for women in science fiction. It’s about men! Manly men! Doing manly things! For the entertainment of other men! Men viewing at home, not in their respective fictional ‘verses! But, not in a slashy way! You know what I mean!
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By Lisa Fary – Damn it. Didn’t we just go over this? I really have to address this wacko female-gay ghetto idea again? Screw you and your barbaric idea of gender appropriateness! Now get your ass in the kitchen and make me a potpie. Oh, right, that’s supposed to be my job. You know, because I have a vagina and the most sci-fi piece of machinery I’m supposed to operate is the microwave.
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By Lisa Fary – Even in the future, corporate intrigue isn’t all that interesting. But, throw in a space colonization and a dead woman’s mental presence in the fish population, and the story gets pretty interesting.
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