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/11a/ev283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT Joe Pitt is one of those men who could start a fight in an empty room. Not that he needs to, there's a whole city full of vampires who have an axe to grind with him. After the events of the last book, Joe has been exiled the South Bronx. He's doing his best to keep a low profile and eke out enough of a living to keep him in blood, bullets and smokes. It's not easy. He's there on sufferance -- despite the tolerance and interest of local boss Esperanza -- and he's down to his last three bullets. http://www.sfsite.com/11a/mn283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT Lazy summer days and nights are the common ground for a collection featuring some Ray Bradbury stories from the 50s and a bunch of new short stories (the latter -- alas -- mostly little more than sketchy vignettes). Summer is the season and Green Town, Illinois, apparently the constant location for stories which may not be equal to Bradbury's masterpieces but which manage to subtly move and think about the secret meaning of human life with its glory and its miseries. http://www.sfsite.com/11a/bm283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT When he's on form, there is no one writing today that can do urban gritty magic as well as Mark Chadbourn, and this book is very much on form, in terms of its action, exciting storytelling and sheer force. This is the penultimate book of a nine book series, and something one could describe as a lightning rod for the author's barbed dark fantasy. In addition to his favoured base of Celtic mythology, we also get samplings of Norse, Chinese and Egyptian deities, some portrayed in refreshingly different ways to the norm. http://www.sfsite.com/11a/rg283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT Both novels are about teenage girls growing up to become young women under the impetus of having to survive after a planet-wide disaster. However, each takes a radically different approach to their subject. Both are entertaining reads, seemingly achieve the effect they intend, and neither suffers from major faults in their respective genres, though neither are entirely original or groundbreaking either. http://www.sfsite.com/11a/lf283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT Captain John "Black Jack" Geary never asked to be a hero. He never dreamed of becoming a legend. In fact, by all rights, he should be long dead by now, one of the earliest casualties of the war between the Alliance and the Syndics. Instead, thanks to a fluke of fate, he spent a century in suspended animation, only to be rescued and brought back into service, just in time to assume command of the massive Alliance fleet, lost deep within Syndic territory. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/graphica283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT A friend of Rick Klaw revealed his Obama presidency fears to Rick. While he stands firmly with the candidate, desiring a change from the Republican rush to ruin of the previous eight years, he fears that the neo-Nazi racists of the extreme far right, fermented by the assertions of neo-cons and their new poster child, Sarah Palin, will come to believe that Barak Obama and his "terrorist" friends will destroy the so-called "real" America of the pro-life, gun-toting, evangelical Christians. These worries over unlikely scenarios lies beyond his control, yet it paralyzes and consumes him. Rick Klaw understand the instinct to freeze when confronted with the overwhelming. He encounters a similar situation every day, http://www.sfsite.com/books/new283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT New here at the SF Site are the latest from Piers Anthony, Tim Waggoner, Sergei Lukyanenko, Laurell K. Hamilton, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, David Farland, Cory Doctorow, and much more. http://www.sfsite.com/11a/ha283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT The author returns to his world of The Waterborn with a collection of short stories which focus on the barbarian character Fool Wolf, who is possessed, or at least shares a body, with a rather blood-thirsty goddess, Chugaachik. The collection is written in a style reminiscent of the Weird Tales stories of Clark Ashton Smith or Robert E. Howard with a healthy dose of Fritz Leiber and Michael Moorcock thrown in. http://www.sfsite.com/11a/jh283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT Jhegaala, the eleventh book about Vlad Taltos, is a flashback that takes place between Dzur and Issola. It chronicles Vlad's journeys in the East as he attempts to both distance himself from the Jhereg who have a price on his head and to try and discover more about his family tree. http://www.sfsite.com/11a/re283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT This seventh volume in the Malazan Book of the Fallen returns to the Empire of Lether and the characters first introduced in Midnight Tides. In that volume, the Tiste Edur led a successful rebellion against the Letherii and actually took over the Empire. Now, although the Tiste Edur Emperor Rhulad still sits on the throne, the institutions of Lether have remained intact. And while the Tiste Edur hold a privileged place in society, the Letheri secret police are terrorizing the populace, there are revolts along the border, and the Chancellor plots to overthrow the Emperor. With all this going on, it's no big surprise that members of the Emperor's court are not paying much attention when another momentous event takes place. http://www.sfsite.com/11a/ce283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT The novel opens with three new arrivals in present-day Seattle. All are young, disconnected, marginalized. They are also running away from something, indeed they have spent their entire lives running away, though what it is that is after them neither they nor we have any clear idea. All three carry with them a stone. One of them, Ginny, is directed to a strange warehouse, where she finds accommodation and a sort of job helping a strange old man, Bidewell, sort through an immense collection of old books in search of anomalies. The second, Jack, earns a precarious living as a busker juggling live rats, shares an apartment with someone we never meet and who seems to keep forgetting Jack's existence. http://www.sfsite.com/11a/mb283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT At first, Carmen Dula is thrilled to have the opportunity to travel to Mars with her family, where they'll be part of opening up mankind's next great frontier. Once reality sets in -- that space travel is long, dull, cramped and uncomfortable -- she's not quite as excited, even with the new friends she's making along the way, and not even the attentions of the handsome pilot of the John Carter of Mars -- their home for the next six months -- can entirely cure the feeling that she's giving up everything she knew for an experience bordering between boring and deadly. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/booknews283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT Tom DeFalco gives us the inside line about the Marvel Chronicle; Alison Goodman talks about oriental fantasy The Two Pearls of Wisdom; Suzanne McLeod talks urban fantasy with The Sweet Scent of Blood; Graham Joyce on demons and the Memoirs of a Master Forger; and Jay Amory tells us about flying in his YA omnibus The Clouded World. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/rick283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT Rick has been enjoying Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Heroes. He has not been enjoying Fringe or Smallville. A peek at Life on Mars has raised some comparisons to the original UK version. He also gives us a list of what SF is on TV in November. http://www.sfsite.com/11a/mh283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT Sara Kendall discovers some strange items in the storeroom of an Ottawa antique store she runs with her uncle, Jamie Tamsin. The objects are interesting in themselves -- a detailed painting depicting the meeting between a Native American shaman and a European bard, a bone disk with strange engravings on it, and a gold ring encased in clay -- but even more extraordinary is the way that these artifacts seem to tug on Sara's consciousness, pulling her into the forest primeval, into a world of magic, mystery and danger. http://www.sfsite.com/11a/pd283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT Paul of Dune takes place essentially between the time of the original novel Dune and the second book Dune Messiah. Paul Maud'Dib is in control of the planet Arrakis, Dune, and is the emperor of the known universe. The former Padisha Emperor Shaddam Corrino, IV, has been exiled to the planet Salusas Secundus, the training planet for his Sardaukar army which were defeated by Maud'Dib and have since joined the jihad of Maud'Dib. http://www.sfsite.com/11a/ed283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT The episode begins with the Doctor and Jamie trying to track down thieves who stole the TARDIS. After some mysterious clues the Doctor and Jamie track down an antiques dealer whose antiques are authentic but new. This leads the Doctor and Jamie to be captured by the dealer and the Daleks and taken back in time to 1866. http://www.sfsite.com/11a/il283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT The story is narrated by the newly freed, but shortly re-enslaved, Ilario. Ilario had been raised by foster parents who gave him into slavery to serve as King Rodrigo's court freak; eventually his real mother who gave him up, now wife to the king's chief counselor, Videric, acknowledges him. She also tries to kill him. Several times. http://www.sfsite.com/11a/di283.htm Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT If you were too young, were too old or not in any way, shape or form British, what was it like living through that crazy era of the 70s and the effect Doctor Who was having on the population? Writer Nick Griffiths doesn't try to answer that. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/fs282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT These short stories, set in Califa, have been among the most delightful and original fantasies of the past few years. Flora, called Segunda because her now deceased older sister was also named Flora, is within days of turning 14. She is a member of one of the four great Houses of the city of Califa which seems roughly located where San Francisco is. But, in Flora's time, Califa is in decline, having been forced into a humiliating peace with the Axtec-like Huitzils. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/sf282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT To say Harry Dresden leads a complicated life would be an understatement of the highest caliber. In fact, he's at his least comfortable when no one's trying to kill him, because it means he doesn't know who his current enemy is. But for a few months now, things have been quiet, almost blissfully so. Of course, that just means it's the calm before the storm, and in this case, a major storm's a-brewing. And this time, it involves one of the most dangerous people Harry has ever had the misfortune of dealing with. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/wg282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT Thomas Disch is God. Or rather merely a god, you're free to worship other deities of your choice as well. The book is both the of memoir of Disch the writer as well as Disch the god, with a little bit of fictional storytelling thrown in. It is really an odd little mixture; fun and clever but with a serious undertone. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/in282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT There are hard science fiction writers in the world, and then there's Greg Egan. At their best, his stories and novels combine near outrageous speculation with a rigorous grounding in scientific fact. Several of Egan's novels, including his latest, come complete with lists of research papers and reference sources intended to give the reader some background and insight into the ideas that spurred him to write. At the same time, he has adopted a minimalist approach to exposition inside the stories themselves. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/qu282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT As children, Rick and his sister fought over the TV. During the 70s when they had only one TV, five channels, and no VCR, they raced home after school to claim the television. The sprint only served as the prelude to the inevitable pitched battle. Like some eternal time loop, the combat re-occurred every weekday. At 3 PM everyday, one channel showed Looney Tunes and another The Brady Bunch. His sister in her insanity, preferred the latter. For a brief, magical period in 1978, Friday nights matched the after school chaos. Quark, the comedic adventures of the eponymous intergalactic garbage man, ran opposite his sister's favorite show, the musical variety hellspawn Donny and Marie. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/rick282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT Rick takes a look at writers -- J. Michael Straczinski, Joss Whedon, Ronald D. Moore, Brannon Braga and Tim Kring -- and how their visions of SF on TV has changed the small screen along with where they have continued to ply their trade. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/la282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT The heart of the novel tells the story of Ranjit Subramanian, a Sri Lankan man who is fascinated by mathematical tricks and finds his muse in Fermat's Last Theorem, a riddle posited by Pierre de Fermat in 1637 and still unsolved. Aside from working on a solution to Fermat's riddle, Subramanian tends to drift through life, mostly supported by a few close friends. Even his resolution of Fermat's problem comes about because of events beyond his control. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/cf282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT In this fourth book of the Codex Alera, Tavi's mysterious origin is discovered. It seems Tavi has more in store for his future than simply being a captain of the First Aleran Legion. The book is a pivot in which Tavi begins his transformation, as do many other characters in the series. The beginning of this story finds Tavi in charge of an attack on the raiding Canim, a race of wolf-like humanoids that have invaded Alera by crossing the sea. It turns out not to be an invasion, http://www.sfsite.com/10b/ij282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT The Celestial Empire is an alternate world where Imperial China did not retreat within its borders in the 15th century but expanded until a thousand years later it had colonized and begun terraforming Mars. The book tells the tale of two young people who find themselves in a position to bring the corruption of the government to light and improve the fates the inhabitants of Fire Star. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/fi282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT The war is over, the Empress is dead and the hero has risen to take her place. Only instead of enjoying the fruits of his endeavours, the Emperor Lucius is fighting the slow degeneration caused by the magical grafting of two souls into one body. Those two souls, Scholar-monk Josan and aristocrat Lucius, may have come to an uneasy truce, thwarting those who'd sought to use them as a political tool, but their alliance does little to slow the wasting of both body and soul that afflicts them. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/au282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT Aurealis usually mixes SF and Fantasy fairly evenly, but this time around all the stories are Fantasy. The non-fiction includes and interesting science article from Patricia L. O'Neill -- here lamenting the failure of the future we have to live up to the future that SF promised us. (That is, this is another "what happened to my flying car?" article -- and nicely done, though O'Neill explicitly denies caring that her car doesn't fly.) Book reviews are by Keith Stevenson (SF) and Kate Forsyth (Fantasy). http://www.sfsite.com/columns/graphica282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT It's hard to know what's meant by "rebel" anymore, when a pro-corporate Presidential candidate, whose supported nearly the entire agenda of his wealthy predecessor, can insist he's a "maverick." Or when a large computer corporation insists you can "think different" by, well, ponying up for their products. Or to put it another way, if there is a "rebellion," and it's not televised, will it simply be diffused in the numerous blog posts of the individual participants? Mark London Williams has some thoughts about Rebel Visions by writer/filmmaker Patrick Rosenkranz and what it was like growing up in the heady days of underground comix. http://www.sfsite.com/books/new282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT Highlights from our most recent new arrivals include the latest from Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, Jim Butcher, Kelley Armstrong, Kelly Link, Matthew Stover, Steven Erikson, Fiona McIntosh, plus much more. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/is282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT Stalwart adventurous everyman, Indiana Jones explores mysterious jungles, battles angry natives, treks through treacherous temples and outwits ancient traps in the hopes of uncovering mysterious artifacts and ancient secrets. Armed only with a whip, a hat and his courage, he journeys through worlds that audiences and fans can only dream of. His adventures have spanned three feature films, video games, novels and many other elements of multi-media. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/audio282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT At times it's more convenient (and enjoyable) to hear the latest in science fiction and fantasy. Recent audiobook releases include works by Terry Pratchett, Arthur C. Clarke, Orson Scott Card, Philip K. Dick, Anne McCaffrey and Neil Gaiman. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/ad282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT If Anne Rice and Mickey Spillane had a baby, Joe Pitt would be that child. Charlie Huston brings a new twist on the classic vampire story. Part detective drama, part horror show, the story brings to "life" the tale of Joe Pitt, a semi-detective and full time heavy with a soft spot for kids. He struggles with his past as he works odd jobs and tries to stay out of the grasp of the Mafia-like vampire factions that rule Manhattan. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/wy282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT Originally published in 1987, this is a quest story involving a teenage girl discovering the truth about her heritage and her birthright, and setting about the fulfillment of her destiny, as decreed by ancient prophecy. Patience learned at the age of five from her father, Lord Peace, that they are the rightful heirs to the throne: part of a long line of Heptarchs that once ruled the entire planet of Imakulata, and have held onto the realm of Korfu for the last thousand years. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/sk282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT A dam near Gotham City is about to burst and Batman has determined the dam cannot be saved but the citizens of Gotham city must be protected. Batman calls for the help from Justice League members to create a "safe dam break." After the turmoil when all the Justice League members are getting their breath and looking over the destruction created by the rushing waters, The Green Lantern notices a strange object. Uncovered by the erosion of the sudden rushing waters is a pyramid, not unlike those in Egypt. http://www.sfsite.com/10b/lt282.htm Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT The story revolves around Huckleberry Lindbergh, an ex-cop from the city of New Seattle who returns to the city after an eight year absence to find that things are not as they seemed before. As he adjusts to this new city, he gets involved with a mysterious woman and a gang of talking, (semi-)intelligent fridges she is taking to safety. Or rather, a gang of fridges and a spin dryer. His involvement with the woman, Nena, gets him on the wrong side of the law as he helps unearth a vast conspiracy that threatens New Seattle. http://www.sfsite.com/10a/ps281.htm Wed, 1 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT There's a problem at the Blackwing Institute. This is a kind of Azkaban for grown ups, where psychologically disturbed sorcerers -- some criminal some just ill -- are kept away from society. One of the patients is a woman called Genevieve, who has the ability to reweave reality according to her whim. She is not a criminal, but rather a rape victim, whose trauma has made her unstable, and therefore highly dangerous. Genevieve has been mostly catatonic for 15 years, until a failed attempt to break out one of the real criminals, accidentally caused her to wake. http://www.sfsite.com/10a/qb281.htm Wed, 1 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT From the moment of her birth, Belinda Primrose has been a dangerous secret. Born the bastard daughter of Lorraine Walter, the Virgin Queen of Auron, her very existence was a threat to her mother's crown; a state secret known only to Lorraine and to Robert Drake, Belinda's father. Twenty years later, she is the Queen's most loyal assassin, killing on her spy-master father's word and in her mother's name. http://www.sfsite.com/10a/sb281.htm Wed, 1 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT This short but very tidy anthology initially seems something of a hodgepodge. Used as we are to themed anthologies, the title here is loose and generic enough to capture virtually any kind of genre story that has something strange in it. As such, it is indeed an eclectic mix of works, but it is the consistent excellence of the material that gives this collection its cohesion as much as the fantasy content of the stories. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/graphica281.htm Wed, 1 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT An essential aspect of comics since almost the beginning of the medium, the first all horror anthology, the one-shot Eerie Comics (Avon), appeared in 1947 with six stories including early work from art pioneer Joe Kubert. The following year, B&I Publishing (later known as American Comics Group) published Adventures into The Unknown, the first ongoing horror title. Featuring primarily ghost stories, the series ran for 174 issues for over twenty years. Rick Klaw says that both of these titles later seemed tame in terms of violence, gore, and content when compared to the emerging the EC line of terror tales, the first great horror comic books. http://www.sfsite.com/10a/dl281.htm Wed, 1 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT This is the final book in the author's YA series of adventures about Jack Morgan and his alien companion Draycos. Draycos and his people are refugees from another galaxy, with the unusual ability to become two-dimensional and be sort of a tattoo on appropriate hosts -- which, fortunately, humans are. Draycos' people, the K'Da, are fleeing maximally evil aliens, the Valahgua. http://www.sfsite.com/10a/tf281.htm Wed, 1 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT Huckleberry Lindbergh is an ex-Cop who returns to New Seattle after an 8-year self-imposed exile following the death of his wife. Thanks to a random police stop, Huck is pulled into a plot to liberate a group of fridges and take them to freedom in Mexico. Soon he is on the run from the police, the Fridge Patrol and New Seattle Health and Safety. http://www.sfsite.com/lists/yb-fh-volume07.htm#21 Wed, 1 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT In 1988, Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling collected together what they thought was the best short fantasy and horror from the previous year. They went through as many of the magazines, collections and anthologies published in 1987 that they could find and chose those stories which they decided best represented the field. Originally conceived by him, Jim Frenkel arranged for its publication by St. Martins's Press. In 2003, Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant took over from Terri Windling as the fantasy editor. http://www.sfsite.com/10a/ub281.htm Wed, 1 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT The late 60s was an interesting time for Philip K. Dick. He had begun to experience some of the mystic revelations that would preoccupy his later years, but these were only obliquely feeding into his fiction. It was perhaps most overtly recognised in Ubik, one of his best if most complex novels, in which reality is constantly being undermined and questioned. In 1974, a French film producer approached Dick with the idea of turning Ubik into a movie. http://www.sfsite.com/10a/kt281.htm Wed, 1 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT In Kitty Goes to Washington, Kitty, the host of a late night talk show about the supernatural, and a werewolf to boot, underwent the transformation while on national television. This led her to become a spokesperson and advocate for werewolves before a McCarthy-istic Senate Committee. So what is more natural, in Kitty Takes a Holiday, the third title in the Kitty Norville series, than for Kitty to take a break, put the talk show on hiatus, spend some time in a remote cabin and write her memoirs? http://www.sfsite.com/columns/booknews281.htm Wed, 1 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT This month: A Comic Book Retrospective for Vertigo with Alex Irvine; Stan Nicholls warns that the Orcs are coming; Peter V Brett's new and original fantasy The Painted Man; Nigel Suckling talks fangs with The Book of the Vampire; and the Fall season line-up from Small Press publisher Telos. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/rick281.htm Wed, 1 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT The new seasons of Smallville and Heroes have premiered. Rick enjoyed parts of Smallville and he really liked Heroes. He also gives us a list of what SF is on TV in October. http://www.sfsite.com/dm281.htm Wed, 1 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT Simon Canderous is a psychometrist, able to psychically read the histories of objects and people with which he interacts. In its time, this power has been both blessing and curse, putting an end to more relationships than he can count, but letting him enjoy a small sideline as a handler of antiques and secondhand goods. However, he's sworn to make something more of himself. As a member of New York's Department of Extraordinary Affairs, Other Division, he works to keep the Weird Stuff in the city from getting out of control. http://www.sfsite.com/nh281.htm Wed, 1 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT However much the writing of The Lost Children of the Namuh may have been cathartic for the author, the result just isn't very good, a hodge-podge of cliches "as old as the hills" and inconsistencies even some of the intended elementary school readers won't miss. Georges managed to read the first 100-odd pages before beginning to skip forward to shorten the ordeal. http://www.sfsite.com/rssfeeds01.htm Sat, 1 Jan 2005 11:00:00 GMT After constructing our first RSS feed, it soon became apparent that the size of files could grow quickly. We decided to separate them into smaller ones, breaking them up by month. On this page you will find RSS feed files for all of our content beginning with January 2005.