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/07b/te300.htm Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT In this new collection of short stories, fifteen of the field's best fantasy authors tackle the subject of fairy tales, retold from the viewpoint of the villain, and aimed at a younger audience. In these stories, they explore things from a new perspective. Are fairy tale antagonists really evil, or just misunderstood? Are they sympathetic, or do they deserve their dire fates? And who really does live happily ever after? http://www.sfsite.com/07b/tr300.htm Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT This collection offers a rather strange and perhaps skewed look at his writing. Covering two years at the beginning of the 70s, when the New Wave was still aiming for relevancy and the "old guard" was trying to find its place in the brave new world created by the New Wave authors, the author found himself writing against his own style. http://www.sfsite.com/07b/fg300.htm Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT An ocean-going reality TV expedition is drawn by an emergency beacon to an extremely remote location in the South Pacific. Henders Island was discovered by the British in the 1700s, while in search of mutineers from the Bounty. What they found led them to believe that Henders was the home of the Devil himself. Due to its position and small size, the island has remained unvisited ever since. http://www.sfsite.com/07b/au300.htm Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT The latest issue of Aurealis is again edited by Stuart Mayne. Patricia O'Neill's science article this time is about diseases, scary new diseases that might seem science-fictional but are only too real, including Ebola, AIDS, and bird flu. O'Neill's angle is informed by SF, giving it a nice perspective. There are also book reviews by Keith Stevenson (SF) and Kate Forsyth (Fantasy). http://www.sfsite.com/07b/el300.htm Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT Elantris was once the city where all men dreamed of living. Full of magic and marvels, its citizens were god-like in their appearance and had superhuman abilities. But now, Elantris is a place for the damned, offering only misery and despair for those unfortunate enough to be locked inside the walled city. For something is terribly wrong with the Dor, a mysterious force that randomly and instantaneously changes individuals from mortals to immortals. http://www.sfsite.com/07b/tv300.htm Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT It was the best of universes, it was the worst of universes. That Dickens-like dichotomy pretty sums up the attitudes of residents of our universe towards the Void, a separate universe with its own physical laws that somehow exists inside our own. For members of the Living Dream religion, the Void is the promised land, a place where they could live exactly as they want to. For others, the Void is a menace, not just because of its existence, but because it is expanding, and devouring our own universe from within. http://www.sfsite.com/07b/ub300.htm Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT What the hell is an actress like Carla Gugino doing in this movie? I can make sense of Gary Oldman's appearance: he probably took his minor role as a favor to director David S. Goyer, just so they could use clips of his performance in the trailers. Smart marketing, that. But Ms. Gugino (Sin City, Watchmen) has a grand total of about three scenes, one line, and less than thirty seconds of screen time. A well-known, well-liked actress so woefully under-used: to whom did she owe a favor? http://www.sfsite.com/07b/ev300.htm Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT Some days, you just can't win. That's the attitude Evangeline Hollis had adopted ever since she was dragged, rather unwillingly, into a complex world full of monsters and violence. How was she to know that an inexplicable episode of indiscretion with a mystery man in a stairwell would brand her with something called the mark of Cain, or that it would transform her into a super-powered demon-hunter? http://www.sfsite.com/books/new300.htm Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT Some of the hottest new books we've seen this month include the latest from Robin Hobb, Harry Turtledove, Mike Carey, Dean Koontz, plus many more recently and soon-to-be available books. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/graphica300.htm Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT Mark was en route to writing another column entirely this mid-month. Originally, he was going to write about the burgeoning field of online comics, and how a lot of successful offline collections of comic strips, in particular, start on the web. This may not be news to some of you, but via his 15 year-old son, he kept discovering new strips, and it seemed to warrant some attention. And then he had not one, but two "madeleine cookie" moments this week, with comics arriving over the transom. The first such moment happened when a copy of the DC Showcase series arrived, in this instance the fourth volume of their Batman compilations. This particular Showcase volume gathers Batman and Detective comics from the summer of 1968 through the fall of 1969. http://www.sfsite.com/07b/rs300.htm Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT What are we teaching our children? Science fiction is increasingly featured on the curriculum of universities and even schools, but what sort of science fiction? How is the genre being presented? What purpose can it serve in the classroom? This book appears to be an attempt to answer those questions. It is a collection of essays that clearly aspires to be an undergraduate or high school textbook. http://www.sfsite.com/07a/pb299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT Over the past eleven years, K.J. Parker (a pseudonym; the writer's true identity has never been revealed) has built a reputation for her own particular style of genre fantasy: a style characterized by down-to-earth, rather brutal portrayals of warfare and politics; earthily humorous, but with an ultimately serious tone -- a sense that this is the real messy business of how such affairs would be conducted in a pre-industrial world. http://www.sfsite.com/07a/oc299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT Once again, the galaxy is threatened by instability and strife. Once again, the Jedi Order is in the spotlight, and not in a good way. The Jedi are too powerful, too enigmatic, too independent, too likely to go against authority. The distrust is high, especially after the rise and fall of Darth Caedus, formerly Jacen Solo, son of Han Solo and Princess Leia. And when another Jedi, Valin Horn, apparently goes mad and runs amuck, it's all the evidence powerful people need. http://www.sfsite.com/07a/ds299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT The idea of what lies beyond this earthy existence, be it the after-life or a big nothing, has fascinated humanity since before people developed written language. So it comes as no surprise that the subject continues to inspire both those who embrace spirituality, and those who are miners of the imagination. This work comes across as something in-between theosophical speculation and light science fantasy. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/audio299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT Recent audiobook releases received by SF Site include works by Richard Matheson, Robert Heinlein, Margo Lanagan, Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan At times it's more convenient (and enjoyable) to hear the latest in science fiction and fantasy. http://www.sfsite.com/07a/bw299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT This is science fiction only in the sense that it is a work of fiction whose principal characters are scientists. As the work of 2009 Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductee, however, it is inevitably classified in the genre. It tells the story of Sandra Foster, a researcher laboring in the corporate catacombs of a company called HiTek. Her work focuses on fads and their sources, and for her current project she is trying to track down the mysterious catalyst for the 1920s craze for hair-bobbing. http://www.sfsite.com/07a/ww299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT The latest installment of the misadventures of Rachel Morgan kicks off at the beginning of the end -- the end of Kisten's life (or unlife). Kisten's murder at the hands of an unknown assailant has haunted Rachel since she woke up with no knowledge of what happened. Working with a psychiatrist, Rachel begins to put things together but is still hampered by Jenks' "forget" spell. Meanwhile, a close friend is hospitalized after what appears to be a banshee attack. http://www.sfsite.com/07a/cr299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT The story opens with the death of Barry Allen as witnessed by Allen himself. What killed him, we soon learn, is a wall of anti-matter that is slowly making its way across, not only Keystone City, not only the Earth, but the entire multiverse. On world after world, the skies bleed to red. Then the shadows come -- creatures that shift between solid and wrath-like and who seek only destruction. Finally, the anti-matter wall sweeps the planet, destroying everything alive. http://www.sfsite.com/07a/es299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT In 1976, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle released Inferno, a reworking of the epic poem by Dante Alighieri. Now, they have returned to that world and to the hero, Alan Carpenter, teamed with Sylvia Plath, who has been condemned to the wood of the suicides in the middle ring of the seventh circle, to get out of Hell. Hell is going through a shakeup of its own because of Vatican II. The rules have changed. The condemned are all scheduled to be tried anew. http://www.sfsite.com/07a/gm299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT Harry Turtledove explores the circumstances surrounding one of ancient Rome's greatest military disasters, The Battle of the Teutoberg Forest. This is the battle in which the German, Arminius, defeated Augustus Caesar's appointed governor of Germany, Publius Quinctilius Varus, keeping Rome out of Germany. Although well-known for his alternate histories, Turtledove chooses historical fiction as the best format to tell about this history-changing battle. http://www.sfsite.com/07a/da299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT The beginning of a new era continues in part two of the high fantasy saga, The Demon Wars. The demon Dactyl has awakened and has put together an army to destroy the land of Corona. R.A. Salvatore has created a story that runs through seven books and is the basis of the role-playing game, Demon Wars. Now teamed up with Graphic Audio, these books come to life as an audio adaptation. http://www.sfsite.com/07a/mo299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT Judy never expected to find a yeti in the freezer section of the Food Plus Mart while she was working the night shift, much less a yeti intent on eating all of the ice cream (save the vanilla.) But there it is, so what does she do? She calls Animal Control Services, which, surprisingly enough, actually has a remedy for her infestation issues. Enter Monster, of Monster's Cryptobiological Rescue, a large blue-skinned man with a talent for transmogrifying and containing supernatural pests, and his paper gnome companion Chester. http://www.sfsite.com/07a/cw299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT As the novel opens, the major story-lines left over from A World Too Near are front and center. Titus Quinn still searches for a way to save our universe, the Rose, without destroying the Entire. Meanwhile, his daughter grows in power even as she renounces their relationship, and Helice continues her plan to bring humans to the Entire, no matter the cost to Earth. http://www.sfsite.com/07a/br299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT Largely forgotten today, L.A.G. Strong was one of the most popular and eclectic writers of the mid-twentieth century, author of biographies, detective stores, children books and, last but not least, of supernatural novels and stories. The present volume collects, for the first time, the author's supernatural or "strange" short stories, most of which were probably unknown, thus far, to today's readers. http://www.sfsite.com/07a/ju299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT Rich thought this was one of the better issues. To begin at the end, with the shortest story, Gareth D. Jones offers an enjoyable snippet, a little character sketch, in his Roadbuilder sequence, "Dog's Best Friend." Continuing from the end, James McCormick's "If You Can't Beat Them ..." speculates on an accommodation reached by two crime lords, one of whom has chosen biological enhancement, the other mechanical enhancement, to the point they've reached a stalemate in their rivalry. http://www.sfsite.com/07a/tp299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT I still remember when I was reading Dinner at Deviant's Palace (1984) by Tim Powers for the first time. After some 27 years of reading SF, I thought it would be hard to startle me with ideas and amaze me with plot. Sure, I could become engrossed with a sense of wonder and be charmed by a delightful turn of phrase. But I had read a lot of books and it didn't seem like there could be more. Boy, I was young and stupid. I found a number of treasures and surprises in Dinner at Deviant's Palace and Tim Powers became one of my favourite writers on the spot. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/booknews299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT There's lots of good stuff out for the Summer so here's a round up of Guillermo del Toro's vampires in The Strain; Jonathan L Howard's necromancer Johannes Cabal; and both Mike Carey's dysfunctional Tom Taylor in The Unwritten and news about the ultra-cool Felix Castor. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/graphica299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT Rick Klaw recently attended the Writers League of Texas Agents Conference. Unlike genre conventions, this event focused completely on authors getting agents rather than established writers promoting their wares. Nearly twenty agents presented and offered critiques for the some 600 attendees. As with all these type of functions, the Conference afforded panels with industry experts. For the panel Beyond the Strip: Inside the World of Comics & Graphic Novels, Rick shared his stories from the trenches along with fellow writers Alan J. Porter and Tony Salvaggio. Overseen by crime novelist Kit Frazier, the three of them bantered about the inner workings of comics for a dozen or so graphic novel neophytes. http://www.sfsite.com/books/new299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT It's been a few issues of the SF Site since we listed the new arrivals, so there are quite a few new books this time. Highlights include the latest from Jacqueline Carey, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Catherine Asaro, John Scalzi, Charles de Lint, and many others. http://www.sfsite.com/columns/rick299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT Last month Rick said there was no SF on television this summer. But there is always some, if you look hard enough. He found Doctor Who, Merlin and Primeval, all UK series. Then there is Warehouse 13 plus Virtuality by Ronald D. Moore. He also found out where where each genre series fell in the official rankings of the 2008-2009 network TV season. http://www.sfsite.com/07a/rw299.htm Wed, 1 Jul 2009 11:00:00 GMT The Imperial Merchant Ship Chathrand is an immense six hundred year old vessel that is the last of her kind. Because of his knowledge of certain treacherous waters, a discredited captain has been reinstated to lead a subterfuge in which the ship's sinking will be faked in order to complete a secret mission to uncage an ancient evil to provoke war between the arch-enemy nations of Arqual and the Mzithrin Empire. 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.