New Sunrise Express and Equinox at Hilltop by Christopher A. Zackey
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
Saying that Christopher A. Zackey's fictional writing has the whimsey of a L. Frank Baum, uses language in a manner
akin to Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine, and carries, like the Narnia books, a subtext of a mythology
which originates in Roman Catholicism, but incorporates numerous other philosophical elements doesn't entirely
circumscribe why his work is original, appealing and even laugh-out-loud entertaining.
The Skyslanders by Christopher A. Zackey
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
While the back cover of this book claims the work's affinity to J.R.R. Tolkien, Lewis Carroll and L. Frank Baum, it is to the
latter, and specifically his 1912 Sky Island, that this modern fairy tale is very obviously linked. In
addition to the similarities in title and character name, the author has produced an excellent recreation of Baum's whimsical atmosphere.
The Flaxen Femme Fatale by John Zakour
reviewed by Michael M Jones
No one has managed to kill Zachary Nixon Johnson, the last freelance P.I. on Earth yet. That's the good news.
Thebad news is that it's still early.
That's about how you can sum up any day for our hero. And when a mysterious woman appears in his dreams and
asks him politely not to try and find her, he's surprised... but only a little. And when the military
summons him to try and find their missing secret weapon, an impossibly-dangerous psychic named Natasha,
who just happens to look like his earlier visitor, Zach has no choice but to take the case.
The Blue-Haired Bombshell by John Zakour
reviewed by Michael M Jones
Zachary Nixon Johnson, the last freelance PI on Earth in the late 21st Century, is having a typical Tuesday. You know, attacked by
killer plants, nearly killed by traffic while rescuing a heiress's dog, stalked by an ad agency, menaced by genetically-engineered
ogres... the usual. And then things get weird. And dangerous.
The Doomsday Brunette by John Zakour and Lawrence Ganem
reviewed by Michael M Jones
Zachary Nixon Johnson, the last freelance private investigator on Earth, is called upon to unravel yet another bizarre
case. This time, he and his AI partner are summoned to the estate of Ona Thompson,
one of the world's four most perfect woman, in order to investigate the murder of her sister, Foraa. It seems that the Thompson Quads,
four genetically-enhanced clones, have finally had the falling out people have been predicting for years.
The Doomsday Brunette by John Zakour and Lawrence Ganem
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
Zach and his mind-linked AI, Harv, are caught up in a high profile case with complications that multiply as fast as the number of
suspects. Who else would Ona Thompson, of the infamous Thompson Quads, call when one of her sisters drops dead during a dinner
party at her hyperbole of a mansion? After all, she is the richest woman in the world, so hiring the top -- okay, only -- PI
seems the logical reaction. Unfortunately for Zach and Harv, that is probably the last logical thing about this murder mystery.
The Plutonium Blonde by John Zakour and Lawrence Ganem
reviewed by Lisa DuMond
There must be a million stories in the 21st century, but they're really all the same: sad sack gets dame,
loses dame, gets mixed up with a dame that's nothing but trouble, then gets in dutch with that dame's
android double. I know; you've heard it until you can't stands no more. Well, you're going to listen
again, because this story different. Really, it is. Just gimme a minute to explain.
WE by Yevgeny Zamyatin
reviewed by Colin Cooke
In the early 20s, the author foresaw some of the excesses the Russian Revolution was heading
toward, and he explored them in a brilliant satire that has become a classic in the genre of Utopian
literature. This precursor to (and influence on) both
1984 and Brave New World is a must for anyone who enjoys facing the complex questions of human
society in a thoroughly enjoyable and readable story.
Macrolife by George Zebrowski
reviewed by David Hebblethwaite
Living on planets is a precarious business. You never know when some quirk of geology or a stray rock falling from the sky will put paid
to your species; not forgetting evolutionary pressures pushing you who-knows-where, and sundry other ravages. So it's pretty much inevitable
that a civilization wishing to survive in the long term must become space-faring. But what then?
Swift Thoughts by George Zebrowski
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
Get your thinking caps on. This collection is full of science fiction stories that will
leave you questioning both yourself and the world around you. And since this is SF, it will leave you wondering just
what it is that the future holds for us. There is also fun to be had.
Nebula Awards 3 edited by Roger Zelazny
reviewed by Peter D. Tillman
This anthology collects some of the best short fiction ever done. In it are
"Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes" by Harlan Ellison, Samuel R. Delany's "Aye, and Gomorrah...",
"Gonna Roll the Bones" by Fritz Leiber, Michael Moorcock's "Behold the Man" and
Anne McCaffery's "Weyr Seach."
Manna From Heaven by Roger Zelazny
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
Roger Zelazny has always been admired and praised by other writers for his way with words. The near poetic prose of
stories like "A Rose for Ecclesiastes" and "24 Views of Mount Fuji, by Hokusai", and the unique mix of mythology,
religion, and technology in novels like Lord of Light were often imitated but seldom matched. And in his most popular
works, the long-running Amber series, he found mass popularity to match his stylistic talent
and ambition.
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The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
reviewed by Steve Lazarowitz
Corwin, unaware of his heritage, wakes up on the shadow Earth, completely unable to remember anything, except
that he'd been in a horrible car accident that wasn't an accident at all. Worse yet, someone was keeping him
sedated and incommunicado for motives that weren't likely pure. Though handicapped by amnesia, Corwin
finds himself in a game where he doesn't know the stakes, but he knows they're
high enough to kill for.
This Immortal by Roger Zelazny
reviewed by Rich Horton
This is a good read, with plenty of Zelaznyesque brio. It won a Hugo in a
tie with Frank Herbert's Dune. The story concerns Conrad Nomikos,
still living on Earth centuries after a nuclear war and after the bulk of
the population has gone to the stars to work for the advanced, civilized
Vegans. In the past, he'd been involved in the "Returnist" movement, urging
people to return to Earth, and resisting the Vegans' moves to buy up the
best Earth real estate.
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
reviewed by Rich Horton
On a colony planet, men have established a society based on technological means of imitating the Hindu religion.
It is possible to reincarnate the "mind" or "soul" to a new body, even an
animal. But some of the earliest colonists have additional powers, which give them the status
of gods. And a faction among them is using that means in political ways: punishing
their enemies with reincarnation as animals, or with the "true death."
Lord Demon by Roger Zelazny and Jane Lindskold
reviewed by Robert Francis
Kai Wren not only catches time, but also large chunks of
real estate, mythological creatures, and retired sages and scholars in his bottles. Well,
"catches" is not quite appropriate -- Kai Wren is an artisan who crafts magical bottles,
which contain designer worlds.
Donnerjack by Roger Zelazny and Jane Lindskold
reviewed by Neil Walsh
Neil takes a
look at one of the two novels Zelazny was working on at the time of his
death a few years ago. It is a return to the themes and ideals of some of
Zelazny's greatest works, such as Lord of Light and Creatures of
Light and Darkness.
Star Trek Deep Space Nine Technical Manual by Herman Zimmerman, Rick Sternbach, Doug Drexler
reviewed by Greg L. Johnson
This books offers the same kind of enjoyment as reading the appendices after finishing the
Lord of the Rings. It's not necessary to read the minutia,
but there is a certain fascination in discovering the details of a well-imagined world.
Lord of Lies by David Zindell
reviewed by Adam Volk
This sequel to The Lightstone continues with Val struggling to
unlock the secrets of the Lightstone only to discover that its full power can only be released by the Maitreya, an enlightened
figure long foretold in legend. Who or what the Maitreya may be however, remains a mystery and Val and his companions set out
once more, this time to discover the identity of the strange prophet.
Escher's Loops by Zoran Živković
reviewed by Kit O'Connell
Escher's Loops is divided into three chapters of increasing size, each labeled a loop. Each loop is a
series of interlocking narratives, in which something bizarre and inexplicable happens to the narrator -- in
the first loop, we follow strange memories held by distracted people, beginning and ending with a surgeon who
halts suddenly on the way into the operating room.
Hidden Camera by Zoran Živković
reviewed by Georges T. Dodds
It's the story of an undertaker who comes home to find a mysterious envelope stuck in his apartment
door, drawing him into a sequence of increasingly bizarre adventures, which he believes for some time to be a The
Truman Show-Candid Camera-like reality show. There's a death-life thing going on, a critique of modern
mediatized society, and plenty of paranoia to boot.
The Fourth Circle by Zoran Zivkovic
reviewed by William Thompson
Imagine, if you will, finding yourself standing alone upon a horizon-less plain, devoid of all features except the level, dust-laid
ground and the night sky overhead, swept with stars constant in their brilliance. Though the constellations appear entirely wrong
to you, and the land lifeless and lacking in atmosphere, you are not disturbed by this or the pervading, preternatural silence: you
are here because of The Circle, before which all else seems inconsequent. When you first arrived, two suns had hung low in the
distance, just as you know a third will eventually rise behind you.
Seven Touches of Music by Zoran Zivkovic
reviewed by William Thompson
This is collection of tales that, upon their surface,
bear no immediately obvious relationship, outside the shared element of music.
Though each of the 7 short stories found here could be read singly, they are narratively and thematically woven
together in a way that binds them inextricably, though with a subtlety that might be easily overlooked by the
casual reader. And once again the author has shown his control and mastery over his spare prose, a style
entirely appropriate to the quietude of his subject and themes, where silence is as much an element as melody,
and the characters live lives more removed than present.
Time Gifts by Zoran Zivkovic
reviewed by William Thompson
This collection of 4 short stories, which together form a larger whole, at surface seem deceptively simple and
direct. All tell the story of apparently different people in different circumstances -- an astronomer, a
paleolinguist, a watchmaker and an artist -- separated temporally and by profession who are granted gifts of time
by a mysterious stranger: opportunities to see into the future, verify beliefs lost in the far past, alter a
tragedy or measure the span of their own mortality. And all are enacted within a setting and interaction that
would have delighted Rod Serling.
How to Live on Mars by Robert Zurbin
reviewed by David Maddox
Could we live on other planets? Is it possible? Human ingenuity has always thrived to grow and expand our
boundaries. But which worlds could support us? And how? All this and more is answered in this remarkable well
explained guidebook that gives you the do's and don'ts of living on Mars.
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