http://www.sfsite.com/ The new issue of the SF Site is now online. Copyright 1996-2010 SF Site en-us http://www.sfsite.com/images/sfspot1.gif http://www.sfsite.com http://www.sfsite.com/books/new198.htm Wed, 16 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT New and forthcoming books that showed up at the SF Site office in April include the latest offerings from Arthur C. Clarke & Stephen Baxter, Robert J. Sawyer, Tracy & Laura Hickman, Laurell K. Hamilton, Robert Charles Wilson, Neal Asher, Ramsey Campbell, and others. We also received some re-issued classics from Richard Matheson, Rudy Rucker, and the short fiction of Robert E. Howard. http://www.sfsite.com/04b/tr198.htm Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT You may think it a myth, but more often than not, it's true: a writer has a trunk, a dusty, heavy, hardly-spoken-of piece of furniture that sits in a shadowy corner of the garret. It's a repository for the wretched orphans of imagination, the stories that no-one cares about -- stories tossed into a baggage compartment and destined, like prose poetry, never to reach the end of a line. http://www.sfsite.com/04b/tt198.htm Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT This is a formidable if occasionally entropic collection of 24 short stories, published between 1975 and 2000. He is a writer's writer, deep diving into the abyss of human consciousness with a style and acuity matched only by the disturbing visions of Jonathan Carroll. The tales presented here are filled with people in places that we can all recognise, if only from peripheral vision. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/vox198.htm Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT Scott Danielson is looking at audio SF -- on tape, on CD, on whatever. This time out, he has been listening to The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series and Lois McMaster Bujold's Paladin of Souls. http://www.sfsite.com/04b/sc198.htm Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT Gory, sexy, occasionally infuriating, but always thrilling, the movie is so uncompromising that it's bound to polarize nearly everyone who sees it. Set in a kind of dreamworld dipped in memories of black-and-white crime dramas, it belongs to no particular time or place. Unapologetically brutal, it's a fantasy of power, lust, corruption, and violent retribution. http://www.sfsite.com/04b/fg198.htm Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT Most readers of Rick's generation first learned of Conan and Robert E. Howard from the popular 70s Marvel comic book Conan the Barbarian and its companion magazine The Savage Sword of Conan. Initially written by Roy Thomas with elaborate art by Barry Windsor-Smith (and later John Buscema), the series ran until the mid-90s, when Marvel dropped the property due to lagging sales. http://www.sfsite.com/04b/hg198.htm Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT This is a newly revised, second edition of selected works by H.G. Wells. There are all-new comics adaptations of The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and The Inexperienced Ghost, as well as other stories which did not appear in the first edition. For those familiar with the author, reading these adaptations is like meeting an old friend over coffee. http://www.sfsite.com/04b/em198.htm Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT The superhero is one of those rare cultural icons that seems to have transcended time and place to become a familiar staple of pop culture and modern mythology. And yet despite the numerous appearance of spandex-clad crusaders in comic books, television and film, the superhero has often been criticized as a superficial and one dimensional construct devoid of any substance or depth. Fortunately, thanks to the continued evolution of the comic book medium over the past two decades, the superhero has now become a vibrant, multi-layered and intriguing new creation. http://www.sfsite.com/04b/ts198.htm Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT Syaoran, Fai, and Kurogane have finished their mission in the Hanshin Republic. The recovery of her first feather means that Sakura has awakened with just a single memory of her life. Now, the group travels to the town of Ryonfi in the medieval fantasy world of Koryo. Aboji, a wandering magician deposed the former ruler of the country and now uses his magical prowess over the elements to unjustly subjugate the people and destroy their livelihoods through inflated taxes and thuggish enforcers. http://www.sfsite.com/04b/sagi198.htm Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT "I tend to want to get the script right before I start drawing, but I'm thinking of both as I write. I might modify the script a little as I draw it. The bit I really enjoy is the visual storytelling and that overlaps both sides of the boundary, so there's no strict mental divide. Writing is more about ideas while drawing is more about craft." http://www.sfsite.com/04b/yo198.htm Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT The novel opens with the Awian King, Dunlin Rachiswater, leading a suicide charge against the Insects. This leaves his throne in the hands of his very weak brother. His brother's disastrous mistakes lead to further Insect advances, which also lead to dissension in the ranks of the Eszai, particularly among two women who each wish to become Immortal in their own right, rather than by marriage. http://www.sfsite.com/04b/es198.htm Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT The novel offers a standard fantasy medieval setting complete with a headstrong young queen in the midst of a dilemma and a mysterious maverick soldier who comes to her aid -- and her bed -- along with generous helpings of mythology amidst various treacheries and battles between the forces of good and evil. This is not the first volume in fat book trilogy, but a self-contained story with little hint of, or need for, a sequel. http://www.sfsite.com/04b/sagk198.htm Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT "I tend to start from setting and theme, and characters arrive out of research and thinking on these things. But there really is no set formula for me, different figures have emerged in widely varying ways. Some have literally 'walked in' to the books, surprising me with their first line of dialogue." http://www.sfsite.com/04b/kf198.htm Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT Talwin Hawkins a fully formed, remade man. From his origin as a boy in a tribe not unlike Native Americans, he was now submerged under a constructed persona. A combination of the Flashing Blade and Jimmy the Hand, with a dash of Casanova. The story still revolves and evolves around one man. The disadvantage of this is that it makes Talwin Hawkins very obviously indispensable. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/rick198.htm Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT Rick offers his thoughts on TV with reviews of the episose of Battlestar Galactica titled "Kobol's Last Gleaming," the Smallville episode "Onyx" and the Star Trek - Enterprise episode "Bound." http://www.sfsite.com/04b/ah198.htm Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT The book highlights the process and precision of creating such art in a way not common to the artistry world. On the one hand, many who work in art do not consider interactive entertainments like gaming to be of the same caliber. Alternately, many graphic artists who work in the video game world do not want to be associated with 'real' artists, preferring the commercial world and the freedom to create new game environments. So a book about making this sort of art is not a usual fare, but it has the potential to fill a much-needed gap. http://www.sfsite.com/04b/wt198.htm Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT The book includes discussion of crop circles, UFOs, Egyptology, alchemy, religion, evolution and creationism, among other subjects. The author touches upon many issues, without becoming bogged down in any one. Don't be put off if you think you've heard it a million times before, because this book includes a little nugget of gold, or to be more accurate, white gold. Like Fox Mulder, he wants to believe, and his enthusiasm is infectious. http://www.sfsite.com/04b/th198.htm Sat, 16 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT The small Californian desert community of Madelyn is populated with a wide variety of people: a reformed serial killer in hiding, an amoral teenage serial killer in training, a doomsday religious cult with a con-artist leader who has just seen the light, his sadistic and violent but not too bright lieutenants, a pair of UFOlogists and their shadowy government nemesis, some honest to goodness UFOs, and a complement of good-ol'-boy (and girl) ranchers. http://www.sfsite.com/04a/hs197.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT While certainly any James Tiptree, Jr. devotee might quibble with the selection of stories, this is undoubtedly the best introduction to Tiptree's work that exists, and has long deserved an affordable paperback reprint In his original introduction of the Arkham House edition, John Clute called the book "one of the two or three most significant collections of short science fiction ever published." The passage of time has not rendered this judgment any less accurate. http://www.sfsite.com/04a/es197.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT Readers who are familiar with the author through his novels, especially the connected series of novels that make up works like The Book of the Long Sun will find many of the themes that loom large in those works present in many of the stories in this collection. There is the love of language, the religious imagery, the mingling of physics and engineering with myth and legend, and the re-casting of classic story forms into the stuff of science fiction and fantasy. http://www.sfsite.com/04a/si197.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT One can never really go home again. Lanara, a young queenswoman can't go home because the great queen she thought she knew has proven to be a sham and this has led to her best friend's death. Nellyn, a member of an quasi-amphibian race is shunned Amish-like when he leaves then returns to his riverine community devoted to the status quo. Aldron a teller of the Alilan race, is banished for using his special telling powers, and dies miserably in a foreign land trying to undo his work. http://www.sfsite.com/04a/sh197.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT The book starts with Talon, a young boy on the edge of manhood in a nation not unlike the Apache. The only survivor of a genocide, as far as he knows, Talon is taken under the protective wing of those allied with the Conclave of Shadows. He grows to manhood and, through a series of events, takes on an new identity, that of the man known as Talwin Hawkins. http://www.sfsite.com/04a/sd197.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT Leesil, half-elf and half-human, has just found out that his elvish mother, Nein'a, is still alive. He believed his parents were executed after he deserted employment as an assassin to a powerful lord. He has vowed to find her. Magiere seeks to find out why she was created. Her mother, Magelia was impregnated by a Noble Dead and died shortly after Magiere's birth. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/rick197.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT Rick offers his thoughts on what to watch on TV in April, what series are finishing for the season along with which ones are being singled out for their quality during the 2004-2005 season. http://www.sfsite.com/lists/award-britishfantasy01.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT The British Weird Fantasy Society began in 1971 as an off-shoot of the British Science Fiction Association. The "Weird" was soon dropped and the BFS was born. Dedicated to the promotion of all that is best in the Fantasy and Horror genres, the BFS won the Special Award: Non-Professional at the World Fantasy Awards in 2000. The membership of the BFS votes for the annual British Fantasy Awards. http://www.sfsite.com/04a/hr197.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT When Erik Morrison is transferred by his company to Villanueva Base, a corporation-controlled city which acts as the center of civilization for the Moon, he understands that it's both a last-ditch effort to redeem his dying career, and a chance to make his mark on things. His bosses at EnTek have a mission for him, but aren't clear about spelling it out. As a result, Erik's forced to do some investigating and stone-overturning. http://www.sfsite.com/04a/to197.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT The Vlagh, the evil insect queen, sends her workers out from the Waste to find food. This means invading the more prosperous lands outside the Waste in the land of Dhrall, overseen by four gods, two sisters and two brothers. These brothers and sisters are part of a cycle with four other gods, who are all asleep. Dahlaine, the dominant god for this cycle, decided to wake the others up early. http://www.sfsite.com/04a/saac197.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT Being on the shortlist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award is one of the most prestigious places an author could find themselves. Each year, the Award shortlist exists as a pointer to quality science fiction and fantasy novels and some satisfying stories. So what are the must-reads of 2002? http://www.sfsite.com/04a/kh197.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT On inspiration: "I know a lot of writers find inspiration from other's works, but my muse lives in music, not the printed page. I'm a firm believer in outlines and will not write anything but the last chapter without one. Having said that, I have to admit that I never keep to it, and it's letting my characters take over and direct the plotlines that keep me interested." http://www.sfsite.com/04a/go197.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT Rachel is back with a vengeance along with Jenks, her pixie sidekick, and Ivy, the living vamp. The story begins about a month after the conclusion of Dead Witch Walking. Rachel is still struggling to earn her half of expenses at the church with Ivy. On the surface her new case appears simple -- Sara Jane's warlock boyfriend has disappeared. Normally, the police force for supernaturals would handle the case, but they have a 72-hour waiting period. Rachel jumps at the chance to be involved. http://www.sfsite.com/04a/gg197.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT It begins at night, in Riverside Park on the edge of Manhattan Island, where a small group has gathered for a ceremony. They are of two distinct racial types, one being dark-haired and olive-skinned, while the others are shorter and built like wrestlers. The groups have come to seal a deadly bargain, intended to stop an old war reigniting. The price, is the life of a 12-year-old girl named Melantha Green. http://www.sfsite.com/04a/mt197.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT Thylacon is the 44th annual National Australian Science Fiction convention; the first convention Steve will be attending since moving to Tasmania. He has attended many in the US, including a couple of World Cons, but this is the first time he has seen how a con is put together. http://www.sfsite.com/04a/ba197.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT He is best known to many science fiction readers for his Callahan's Crosstime Saloon series (which has spawned everything from conventions to Usenet newsgroups), or his recent efforts with Robert A. Heinlein's estate, and much less for his equally impressive body of non-Callahanian work. Although quite gifted with futuristic ideas, humorous science fiction, and bad puns, his skill with creating well-rounded human characters and his warm regard for human life (even as he is destroying it or bemoaning its stupidity in his writing) is what has truly carried his career and created a loyal following. http://www.sfsite.com/04a/cy197.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT From 1996 until 2004, Spider Robinson, born an American but (eventually) a citizen of his adopted Canadian home, wrote editorials for The Globe and Mail; the series was called The Crazy Years. Rarely has a science fiction writer been afforded such a regular opportunity to hold forth on issues of importance and Robinson took great advantage of it during his tenure. With apparently almost free reign when it came to the topic of each essay, they range from the evils of the drug war to loving paeans to the underappreciated wonders of his favourite country. http://www.sfsite.com/04a/sw197.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT Lightsabers, Ion Cannons and Wookie bow casters may be second nature to Star Wars fans, but what about Plasma Cannons, Amphistaffs and Vonduun-Crab-Shell-Plated Armor? All these bizarre pieces of technology and more are there for the learning in this compendium of weapons and technology. http://www.sfsite.com/04a/tc197.htm Fri, 1 Apr 2005 11:00:00 GMT As pointed out by P. Willems in his lengthy and rather erudite introduction, and John Clute in his Excessive Candour column, this is an important work of early science fiction. Important in that the author, as possibly the first dedicated science fiction illustrator, gives us something part ways between a mere illustrated novel and a graphic novel, with illustrations that go far beyond depicting the mere text, adding visual information and details which expand one's view of the world he creates.