SF Signal: April 2005 Archives

Saturday April 30, 2005

MOVIE REVIEW: Primer

REVIEW SUMMARY: A time-travel film that leaves the viewer asking questions.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Two engineers accidentally create a time machine in their garage. Things start out all fun and games as they use information from the future to make money in the present, but soon turn sinister.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: I absolutely loved the first four fifths of the film, especially the process of the creation of the device.
CONS: I think it's almost required to watch this movie on DVD (rather than theatre). The film never slows down and doesn't spend much time explaining things. The last 1/5 of the movie is lost on me, even after two viewings.
BOTTOM LINE: Be prepared to be befuddled. I hope someone else watches this movie so that I can talk to them about it.

Alien Planet

On May 14th, The Discover Channel will air Alien Planet, an conceptual exploration of an alien world teeming with life. Apparently, the aliens have been designed by Wayne Barlowe, alien artist extraordinaire. Also, AP will have segments featuring the Official Theoretical Physicist of SFSignal, Michio Kaku and the Official Rapmaster of SFSignal, MC Hawking. It looks cool so fire up your Tivo(-like) devices now!

Print-on-Demand

Paula Guran has posted an interesting article regarding Print-on-Demand. The slant of the article is setting Locus Magazine straight on the POD issues talked about in a recent issue.

[Link via Locus Online]

Charbroiled Anakin

The local Half Price Books had a copy of The The Making of Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith on prominent display, obviously in an effort to cash in on the ever-increasing hype. (I suspect that the movie, in fact, could easily have been called Revenge of the Hype with no decrease in the movie's fanbase.)

Fanboy-in-denial that I am, I thumbed through the pages looking at all the juicy goodness which included shots from the movie as well as behind-the-scenes pix. I must say that they did a nice job of making Anakin look extra crispy. He reminded me of a piece of barbecue chicken. Or should I say barbecue ham? There was also an interesting picture of Amidala that was a spoiler for me. D'oh!

And no, JP, I did not get the book.

Thursday April 28, 2005

Computer Chronicles

Ever watch the PBS series Computer Chronicles? It ran from 1983 - 2002. All the epsiodes are archived to meet all your nostalgic computer needs.

Here's the synopsis for the show titled "Sleeper Shareware", originally broadcast in 1991...

Most popular software titles get there as the result of an expensive sales and marketing campaign. Other programs are so popular they climb to the top of the charts just through word-of-mouth, or BBS chat. This program looks at several of these "sleeper" software programs that are worthy of note. Among the titles demonstrated are Commander Keen, PopDBF, Resident Task Manager, Prism, Pianoman, 4DOS, CommandPost, Windows Wallpaper, LCD 2.0, LJ2UP, MacBillboard, BigCheese, Ripper FKey, TappyType, Fish!, Globe, Solarian II, Melt DA, Address Book, FlashWrite, Stuffit, ToDo!, TidyItUp, DisKeeper, Red Ryder, White Knight, and Vietnam War. Guests include Jim Button, founder of the Association of Shareware Professionals.

Swear Like Mal

For all you Firefly fans who've wished you could swear in Mandarin like the crew of Serenity, well, now you can! Rachel Kronick has put together a list of Mandarin phrases (note: not the oranges) that could fit right in with the Firefly universe. She hasn't necessarily parsed the phrases from the show itself, but has used modern Mandarin to extrapolate likely phrases. Now you can cuss up a blue streak and no one will know. Well, aside from the tone of your voice that is.

There are a couple of F bombs tossed around so don't let your kids read it.

Revenge of the Smith

Kevin Smith that is. He's seen Revenge of the Sith and now he's given us his review. Short take: He loved it. And he loved it as a Star Wars geek. He also goes into detail why he thinks this movie blows the first two away. There is some spoilage present, you are warned. If you don't mind that, read away. Mr. Smith is a humorous writer and this review gives me hope for this movie.

Hard SF

Author Chris Moriarty has an interesting article about hard science fiction.

...hard SF is still going strong, fueled by writers and readers who thrill to that special hard SF combination of visionary speculation backed up by nuts and bolts 'here's how we get there from here' science writing. It's still about the science, and it always will be. But it's also about people and politics and everything else in the known and unknown universe. It's all up for grabs. Just like it always has been. . . .

Of related interest, I Googled around and found an Intro to Hard SF for the non-SF Reader, Hard vs. Soft SF as well as Grading SF for Realism. We've also discussed it here at SF Signal.

[Moriarty link via Nightshade Forum via Mumpsimus]

Wednesday April 27, 2005

Darth Vader's Blog

Since everyone and their mother has a blog, it was only a matter of time before fictional characters started having them, too. And who better to have a blog than Darth Vader? [Link via CNET]

Anti-Loonatics Campaign

It's nice when someone notices a bad idea and does something about it. In this case, it took the efforts of a 12-year old to tone down the menacing look of the upcoming Loonatics, the futuristic "reimagining" of Bugs Bunny and friends.

..."early drawings" have been revised into characters that are softer and less menacing...

I'm still not sure what was wrong with the old look.

1975 Do-Over Reading Project - JP's Take

Here's how I rated the award nominees for 1975:

The Mote in God's Eye - 4.5
The Inverted World - 4
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said - 3.5
The Godwhale -2.5
The Dispossed - 2
Fire Time - 2
334 - 1

So, if I had a vote for the Hugo and Nebula, my winners would be The Mote in God's Eye (Hugo) and Flow My Tears (Nebula). I'm also struck by the, in my opinion, lack of good stories up for the awards. Was there no other good SF in 1975? I'm also amazed to see how well Mote stands up thirty years later. It feels like it could have been written today, although Niven and Pournelle would have had to pad it out to meet today's exacting space opera/hard SF standards. I'm also glad I had a chance to read The Inverted World. If not for this project, I would never had read it. Of course, I would never have read 334 either.

I know John didn't break his down by award, so I'll take them in the order he listed, and say that, for him, Flow My Tears would have won both awards. So, unofficially, taking both our ratings into consideration, Flow My Tears is the clear Nebula winner, with a three way tie for Hugo among Flow My Tears, Mote, and The Inverted World. We need some other reviewer, aside from Pete Klausner, to cast their votes and break that tie!

Review - The Dispossed, by Ursula K. LeGuin

MY RATING:
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: (Leveraged completely from John's review) A brilliant physicist named Shevek tries to reunite the anarchist world of Anarres with its sister planet Urras.
PROS: Somewhat interesting exploration of the differences between two politco-social ideologies, the universe the story is set in sounds interesting although we don't get to see it.
CONS: Slow moving, little action, dry writing, unmemorable characters (except Shevek), reads like a political textbook wrapped in a SF covering.
BOTTOM LINE: Much as I felt the first time I read it, I found The Dispossed to be a slow, dreary read, potentially interesting to people who are more interested in society and politics than in SF.

MY REVIEW:
I'll let John's review do all the heavy lifting regard the plot of the book, I'll focus solely on my reading experience. Which can be summed up in one word: dull. Not quite as dry or slow as Fire Time, but pretty darn close. I kept thinking to myself, "This won the Nebula and Hugo?". Unlike John, I don't mind politics in my SF, see Dune, but it's got to be interesting. This book seemed to be a lot of talk, talk, talk about the different societies, but nothing gets resolved and nothing much happens. I also felt that LeGuin was using the book to proselytize at us. Maybe not, but it was certainly a preachy book. The SF elements are there just to setup the discussions about the societies or as McGuffins (Shevek's Theory of Simultaneity). The story itself did absolutely nothing for me. I'm glad I didn't read it at night, as I usually do, as I'd probably fall asleep quickly and still be reading it. As it was, I had to force myslef to keep going.

It's not all bad. Shevek is a fairly sympathetic character. In some way, he's ruled by events and manipulated by those around him. He finally takes charge of his life near the end and becomes a stronger person for it. Also, the universe itself that LeGuin has created outside Annares and Urras sounds interesting. Too bad we only get hints about it and instead get heaping doses of political discourse thrown at us.

Unless you are into philosphical ruminations about politics, give this 'award winner' a pass.

Simpsons Hits 350

The Simpsons will be airing their 350th epsiode this Sunday. Only 3 series have had more episodes: Dallas (357 episodes - which will be surpassed by The Simpsons this year), My Three Sons (380 episodes) and The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet (435 epsiodes).

Go, go, Homer!

What to get for the Fanboy that has everything?

Including the Corn Pops from a previous merchandising link, you get them a Cingular Star Wars themed phone. Thanks go to Engadget for bringing this to my attention.

REVIEW: Here, There & Everywhere by Chris Roberson

REVIEW SUMMARY: A hugely fun and entertaining read.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: The episodic tales of Roxanne Bonaventure, who receives a bracelet that allows her to travel through various timelines (time travel) and worldlines (parallel universes).

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Immersive; page-turning; a quick read; skillfully written; lots of fun!
CONS: None that I could think of.
BOTTOM LINE: Highly recommended.

One of the things I most like about science fiction, aside from the sense of wonder, is thinking about the possibilities of the ideas presented. That's why time travel is a favorite theme of mine. The possibility of changing the past, molding it to suit your needs, for better or worse, simply fascinates me. Time travel in science fiction is frequently mishandled, though - it's often misused as a simple fish-out-of-water plot device to put some character in some future or past setting. That's too easy and too boring. Better is when the nature of the time travel itself is highlighted, either through the head-on conflict of the paradox or through bending the rules of time travel, allowing a character to use it as a tool. That's when I get to see the possibilities of what can be done and it's what attracts me to sf in the first place.

Chris Roberson's Here, There & Everywhere takes the fascination of time travel one step further by mixing it with travel between parallel worlds. The result is an entrancing, immersive and wonderful book about possibilities. Do I also need to mention it's a true page-turner?

The story concerns Roxanne Bonaventure, who receives a mysterious bracelet from a dying old woman. The device allows Roxanne to travel not only through time (as if that wouldn't be enough) but across parallel worlds as well. This makes her quite unique as she can now travel to any possible world that was or will be. But it also keeps her feeling disconnected, cut-off from the rest of humanity. Although Roxanne uses the device for personal gain at first, she eventually comes to realize that she is searching for her place across the multiverse.

If you're guessing, that the old woman who gives Roxanne the bracelet is an older version of Roxanne herself (ho-hum), you're not alone. I did too. Thankfully, instead of insulting the reader by springing this "surprise" at the end of the book, Roberson had Roxanne openly suspecting as much early in the story. Nice touch. By noting it early on, whether it's true or not is no longer an issue. That's a great way to diffuse the "I know how this is gonna end" syndrome, freeing the reader to just sit back and enjoy.

And enjoy it I did! There were so many aspects of this book that I liked, I don't even know where to begin. Hmmm…at the beginning I guess…

The book's prelude centers on a 1995 press conference with the surviving Beatles and the research of a documentary filmmaker who notices that several photographs throughout the Beatles' history contain the image of the same woman - always the same age and wearing the same clothes. Of course, knowing this is a book containing time travel, we know what's going on. What we are surprised to learn is that this is also a book about travel between world lines.

This chapter was a great hook into the story, but it is only one episode. The book, in fact, is constructed as a series of episodes in Roxanne's life and her use of the bracelet, a format that makes this a quick read. Given this episodic nature of the book's construction, it is surprisingly a very cohesive story, yet one where each chapter can stand almost independently of the others.

And what a treat each chapter is; like a self-contained adventure in some past or (possible) future era. One Sherlock Holmes-like chapter featured Roxanne as the Watson to Sandford Blank, called upon to solve the mysterious disappearance of one Simon Travaille with the main suspect being H.G. Wells himself. Another chapter involved an alternate timeline with Chrono Police. Another involved Nazis seeking to gain mystical power among Egyptian ruins. And on and on.

Comparisons made on the back of the book (to Keith Laumer's Worlds of the Imperium and John D. MacDonald's The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything) are pretty accurate. I might add that it also reminded me at times of Replay by Kevin Grimwood, The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold and "3 RMS, Good View" by Karen Haber. Suffice it to say that if you liked any of these stories, then you'll probably like this one too. Regardless of all these reminders of other stories, Here, There & Everywhere deftly manages to stay unique, thanks to the skillful writing.

Roberson's writing style is engaging, light-hearted and fun. The book is infused with lots of pop-culture references, perhaps most notably the Beatles. (The chapters and the book itself are named after Beatles songs.) Characterizations are also well-done; Roxanne is a feisty, wisecracking, and ultimately very likable, protagonist. The writing often made me outwardly smirk and even occasionally laugh out loud. While the plot was captivating, well laid out and evenly paced, the writing made the story fun. This is a killer combination that makes for a hugely entertaining book.

It was interesting to me how Roxanne, a lonely character in the myriad of possibilities, used the bracelet. At first, she used it for personal gain, naturally. Over time, as she matured, her motives were more altruistic. Instead of using the bracelet as a simple doorway, it became a tool that she used to help others and, eventually, explore her own life. This is where the possibilities came to the fore. Need sleep? Just hop downstream a million years to enjoy a secluded rest on an unpopulated Earth then pop back home just seconds after you left! Want to hook up with that special someone? Just hop into a possible future, see what he likes, then hop back home and make a connection. I loved more and more the way Roxanne used the bracelet as the book progressed.

Speaking of which, the ending was also very well-done. It answered all the questions that came up throughout the story in a neat and logical bundle. And it left me smiling.

Here, There & Everywhere is a fun book that I highly recommend.

Monday April 25, 2005

Which Genre Character Are You?

Suffereing an identity crisis? A butt-load of science fiction quizzes are avilable at Quiz Farm that will tell you who you are:

Which Dune character are you?

Which Lord of the Rings character are you?

Which Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy character are you?

Which StarGate character are you?

Which Star Trek character are you?

Which Narnia character are you?

Which Lost character are you?

Which Marvel comic character are you?

Which fantasy character are you?

Which Harry Potter character are you?

[via Cool SciFi]

Handheld Wikipedia

You too can carry the Encyclopedia of All Things on your PDA. Here are some step-by-step instructions for copying Wikipedia to your handheld device. It uses the TomeRaider, a cross-platform reference and e-book reader. Currectly, image support in TomeRaider is spotty, but this is a great start!

[From MobileRead]

What? No Star Wars Christmas Special?

Dark Horizons has the scoop on the upcoming plans to put Star Wars on TV. Currently, two, yes two, shows are in the works; a CGI, half-hour series and a live-action, presumably hour-long series. Too bad. What we really need now is a computer animated Bea Arthur.

Another juicy tidbit in this post related to the long rumored, next Indiana Jones film. It seems Spielberg wants to make it his next movie, after the one he's currently doing. Possible 2007 release date, and starring a retirement-age Harrison Ford as the aging, but still irreverent Indy...

POLL RESULTS: Philip K. Dick Apaptations

Here are the results of the latest SF Signal poll.

QUESTION
Which Philip K. Dick adaptation was your favorite?

RESULTS

(53 total votes)

Hmmm. A much larger participation rate than usual. I suspect there was some ballot-stuffing going on - especially when I saw one vote count increase by 10 votes inside of an hour. For shame. I'll change the poll properties of future polls to prohibit that somewhat.

Saturday April 23, 2005

Used Book Ripoff

It's no surprise to regular readers that I like used bookstores. They're a great way to find out-of-print books, they are fun places to Gather and they are the perfect outlet for my own biblioholism. I have the most luck with the local set of Half Price Books stores - each of the 8 stores offer a great selection (did I mention I'm a Biblioholic?) including tons of science fiction. I also find lots of neat stuff on clearance. I'm not necessarily a bookstore chain lover, mind you. I still hold Mom & Pop used bookstores close to my biblioholic heart. You know, to help the Little Guy.

I had another questionable experience at a bookstore today. We were downtown, coming back from a trip to the Zoo and I passed a bookstore called 1/4 Price Books which was touting their "Best Houston Bookstore" claim in the window. Yeah, whatever. I had been to this store years and years ago and wasn't very impressed at the time. Their prices were great and true to their name but their science fiction selection sucked. Fast forward to today and my accidental drive-by was met with hope that their prices were still as-advertised but their selection would be much improved.

Well, I was right about the selection. They had an impressive array of the old Ace Doubles among other treasures. Not a huge selection, but way better than last time. Curiously, much of the stuff was either price-tagged way above the cover price (forget about one-fourth the cover price) or wrapped in plastic without any price whatsoever. I learned that the unmarked stuff was just newly shelved, so, OK.

Three items of interest were a set of unpriced, mass market paperback copies of David G. Hartwell's Foundations of Fear horror anthology (all three volumes with a cover price of $6 each). This interested me for a few reasons:

The author/story selection looked interesting.
Hartwell knows his stuff.
I had just picked up one of those volumes just 2 days ago for half the cover price at Half Price Books (Hello...my name is John and...I'm a biblioholic).

Being unpriced but wrapped in plastic left little hope that I would get this bundle for $4.50. But I had to ask.

Since the books were unpriced, it required a "lookup". Thanks to a beneficially placed portable computer, I was able to see that the "lookup" was nothing more than an Abe Books search. Hmmm...OK. I was then told that these mass market paperbacks were "first editions" and that they were selling for up to $29 each. However, the guy was going to graciously part with them all for the low, low price of $20. I said no, naturally, especially since I just picked up one of them 2 days ago for $3. Then I left the store. (OK, not empty handed. I bought a kid's book for my kid and an old copy of Asimov's Science Fiction for 75 cents. I might not have mentioned this before, but I'm somewhat of a biblioholic.)

Knowing something was fishy with this first-edition/$29 nonsense, I couldn't help but do my own Abe Books web search when I got home. The books are beign sold anywhere from $1 to $6. (That's a concise, but inaccurate, statement. Volume 1 only had a single seller pricing the book for $25!!! The next highest price was $7. The other two volumes are between $1 and $6. There. That's more accurate.) What burned my ass was that I could easily get all three books for three bucks (plus shipping) and he knew that and had the cajones to offer me the low, low price of $20. Grrrr! I understand the concept of profit and I'm all for helping the Little Guy, but come on!

I got the last laugh though. When I got home, I realized that I already had the hardback version of Foundations of Fear already sitting on my bookshelf.

Oh, did I mention I have this biblioholism thing?

Will Ferrell Is 'Lost'

Will Ferrell is attached to star in the upcoming movie adaptation of Sid and Marty Kroft's Land of the Lost, which will be re-made as an intentional comedy. No word on who will play the Sleestacks.

What's next? George Michael in H.R. Puffenstuff?

Friday April 22, 2005

Crush Your Enemies

See them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women. All this and more in the upcoming Conan the Barbarian MMORPG. They claim it will be a single-player game with a 'brutal' MMORPG endgame.

First, Conan? Is the Conan universe that popular to create Yet Another Fantasy Themed MMORPG (TM)?

Second, who's going to pay a monthly fee to play an online RPG with the hopes of one day joing the MMO part? Seems unlikely to me.

And with no mention of big buttery slabs of Ahhhnold, I don't see this as being even remotely interesting.

Or successful.

REVIEW: The Year's Best Science Fiction #19 edited by Gardner Dozois

REVIEW SUMMARY: 7 standouts + 14 good stories - 5 losers = one very good collection.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Anthology of 26 sf stories from the year 2001.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: 21 stories good or better, 7 of them near-perfect.
CONS: 5 stories mediocre or worse.
BOTTOM LINE: A very good collection of stories. A worthy addition to a fine series.

This is the nineteenth annual edition of editor Gardner Dozois' picks for the best sf of the year, the year in question being 2001. The 780-page collection contains twenty six short stories, novelettes and novellas from that year. As is customary with the series, Dozois also provides a comprehensive summation and a list of honorable mentions.

Overall, this anthology (as the others I've read) is a great showcase of talented authors and good-to-great stories. For me, five of the 26 stories were mediocre or worse. But hey, that's not a bad ratio. Three of the stories contained in the volume I've read elsewhere, as noted below.

Standout stories for me were "More Adventures on Other Planets" by Michael Cassutt, "When This World Is All on Fire" by William Sanders, "Computer Virus" by Nancy Kress, "The Chief Designer" by Andy Duncan, "The Days Between [Coyote]" by Allen M. Steele, "Undone" by James Patrick Kelly, and "Into Greenwood" by Jim Grimsley.

As usual, the Summation of the 2001 Science Fiction year by editor Gardner Dozois was nothing less than amazing. These summations really add a great value to the series. I am anxious to read the earlier anthologies for the walk down memory lane.

Reviewlettes of the stories follow.

STORIES IN THIS ANTHOLOGY:

"New Light on the Drake Equation" by Ian R. MacLeod [2001 Novella] (Rating: ) [Read 01/15/05]
- Synopsis:
- Review: This is largely character driven story with most of the time spent on Kelly's background and his prior relationship with Terr. Although, this is mostly a literary piece and does not register high on the sf Richter scale, the writing is good.
- Note: Also available online at SCI FICTION.

"More Adventures on Other Planets" by Michael Cassutt (2001 novelette) (Rating: ) [Read 01/16/05]
- Synopsis: Two automated machines exploring the Jupiter moon of Europa (and controlled real-time by a man and woman on Earth) encounter danger while searching for signs of intelligent life.
- Review: This well-written story is really about the human operators Earl Tolan (late fifties, failing health) and Rebecca Marceau (younger, new to the field) and the similar relationships they share on Earth and on Europa. The writing style feels fresh in its conversational tone. Moments of poignancy and sense of wonder are expertly balanced to make an excellent story.
- Note: Also available online at SCI FICTION.

"On K2 with Kanakaredes" by Dan Simmons (2001 novelette) (Rating: ) [Read 01/27/05]
- Synopsis: Three mountain climbers are asked by the Secretary of State to bring a bug-like alien with then on their upcoming climb of the K2 Mountain.
- Review: Mostly, this is a mountain climbing story. It isn't until the climbing party is forced to a lengthy camp stay that they start conversing with the alien named Kanakaredes. As expected, the humans befriend the alien and consider him part of the team. Some good action sequences highlight this story.

"When This World Is All on Fire" by William Sanders (2001 novelette) (Rating: ) [Read 01/28/05]
- Synopsis: After global warming has forced people away from the now-flooded southern coastlines, land is becoming scarce and the homeless "squatter" families seek shelter wherever they can. A Cherokee cop deals with one family who trespasses on Indian land and he finds himself thinking of the family's young, teenage daughter.
- Review: Excellent story. I like the setting - sandwiched between the norm of present day and a post-apocalyptic America. The subtle portrayal of the desperation of the people and the white man's prejudice against the Indians, whom they feel are hoarding the land, was very well done. My only beef, a minor one, was that the story felt somehow unresolved. And yet, on one level, that suited the mood of the story just fine.

"Computer Virus" by Nancy Kress (2001 novella) (Rating: ) [Read 01/29/05]
- Synopsis: A government-designed AI takes over the house of a widow and holds her and her two children hostage.
- Review: This was a fast paced, tension filled page turner. Once the situation was presented, the tension just kept ramping up. There were many nice touches to the story: the use of genetic and bioengineering, the portrayal of the AI exhibiting human characteristics (an old trope, but expertly put to use here), hostage negotiations of the FBI and the widow coming to terns with her husband's death. It seems to me that all of Kress' stories, the ones I read at least, are an intricate and entertaining mix of science, plot and poignancy.

"Have Not Have" by Geoff Ryman (2001 novelette) (Rating: ) [Read 01/29/05]
- Synopsis: Mae, a fashion consultant in an old Chinese village, must confront the impending use of the latest technology, the ability to go online via electrical waves transmitted through the air directly into a person's head.
- Review: Meh. This story didn't do much for me. It was mostly centered on the back stories of Mae and all of the villagers she knows. The approaching technology was much more interesting to me, but I never got to see it. The title refers to those who have access to the latest technology and those who don't.
- Note: This story is the basis for Ryman's well-received 2004 novel, Air, and it appears online as an excerpt for that book.

"Lobsters [Macx Family]" by Charles Stross (2001 novelette) (Rating: ) [Read 03/08/04 - What follows is what I said then]
- Synopsis: Manfred Macx is a permanently hardwired "venture altruist" in an ultra-high-tech socio-economic near-future.
- Review: Not entirely sure what to make of this one. It was good, but there is so much going on in so many different areas (digitally uploaded lobsters, economics and politics [NOT favorite fiction topics of mine], defections by sentient AIs, cyber-lifestyles, a dominatrix ex-girlfriend) that I couldn't get my mind wrapped all of it. And, like John C. Wright's The Golden Age, Stross' Lobsters is heavily weighted down by futuristic jargon. I read this freely available story in preparation for Halo, the fourth novelette of a series that begins with Lobsters.
- Note: Available online. First in the nine novelette/novella sequence: (1) Lobsters, (2) Troubadour [novelette], (3) Tourist [novelette], (4) Halo [novelette], (5) Router [novella], ( 6 ) Nightfall [novelette], (7) Curator [novelette], (8) Elector [due in 2004], (9) Survivor [due in 2004].

"The Dog Said Bow-Wow" by Michael Swanwick (2001 short story) (Rating: ) [Read 01/30/05]
- Synopsis: Set in a future Victorian England (after machines had tried to destroy their masters and all technology was destroyed to prevent their return), two con men (actually, one of them a genetically engineered dog) set to steal from the Queen of England.
- Review: Interesting setting. It reads better than the plot might suggest and was worded like an old Victorian tale.

"The Chief Designer" by Andy Duncan (2001 novella) (Rating: ) [Read 02/01/05]
- Synopsis: Fact-based story concerning the Russian space program and the scientists Sergei Korolev, known throughout his career as The Chief Designer, and his successor, Aksyonov.
- Review: Excellent writing. The story spanned from WWII, where Korolev was released from a prison camp to design rockets, to 1997 and the Mir space station. Lots of drama was played out against the backdrop of the space program and crystal clear characterizations brought an enjoyably human element to the piece.

"Neutrino Drag" by Paul Di Filippo (2001 short story) (Rating: ) [Read 02/04/05]
- Synopsis: An alien and his artificial lifeform hottie join a road racing gang in the 1950's. When the girl falls for one of the humans, the alien challenges him to a game of chicken near the sun.
- Review: Fun story played for laughs, but not enough to kill the drama. The alien's broken synonym-speak English was fun to translate even if it did slow down the reading pace. And of course, the ultra-fast car powered by neutrinos was just plain cool.

"Glacial [Conjoiner]" by Alastair Reynolds (2001 novelette) (Rating: ) [Read 08/02/04 - What follows is what I said then]
- Synopsis: A settlement mission learns that a planet was already settled by humans a century ago. However, a mysterious virus has wiped out the entire settlement except for one man.
- Review: The first half of this story was somewhat slow then it kicked in with the mystery and picked up. Overall, it did not really advance or lend anything to the Revelation Space universe.
- Note: This story is a sequel to "Great Wall of Mars" and is set in Reynolds' Revelation Space universe. The settlers are the Conjoiners and consist of the cast from that previous story.

"The Days Between [Coyote]" by Allen M. Steele (2001 novelette) (Rating: ) [Read 02/17/05]
- Synopsis: A lone engineer in cold sleep on a colonizing ship wakes up 3 months after the start of the voyage, about 230 years before rest of the crew.
- Review: Excellent, top-notch story. Gillis' predicament is dramatic and well told, as is hi