Via the Unofficial Battlestar Galactica Blog comes the very funny condensed version of the Battlestar Galactica Miniseries. Much like the Book A Minute people, Kira at 5 Minute Movies give us their take on the mini-series. Enjoy.

And remember new episodes start July 15th!

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Posted by JP Frantz at Thursday June 30, 2005 at 1:47 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Sling Media is rolling out the SlingBox today, a device that allows you "placeshift" your TV viewing in the same way that Tivo (or any Digial Video Recorder) "timeshifts" it.

The device takes input from a TV source (your cable box, satellite box or DVR) and streams it through your broadband router allowing access via the Internet from any computer that has the SlingBox software (and the appropriate access credentials, I imagine). The setup even allows remote control of your DVR and cable box so it's like you were sitting in front of your TV. You can watch TV or your latest Tivo recording - all while on the road!

Initial reviews are positive. The worst complaints I see are less-than-perfect (though not horrible) video quality. Once nice feature is the single $250 investment - no subscriptions required.

[Thanks Bob and engadget]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday June 30, 2005 at 1:06 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

I'm curious to know what other science fiction (and/or fantasy and/or Horror) websites people visit regularly. (Besides this one, of course! :))

Most of the websites I visit regularly are listed over in our Links section on the main page, but generally they fall into categories, sometimes one site falling in several categories as listed below.

What about you? Are there any worthy websites you like that aren't listed here?

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday June 30, 2005 at 12:36 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

MY RATING:
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: For millenia, the Shaa have ruled the galaxy, forcing all sentient species to adhere to their code of morals and ethics know as The Praxis. Now, the last of the Shaa has died, and the remaining races must forge ahead into the unknown.
PROS: An interesting and unique setting, quick read.
CONS: Flat characters, mildly interesting storyline, the pieces just don't fit together.
BOTTOM LINE: As space operas go, this one is just mediocre.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Wednesday June 29, 2005 at 8:12 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Tor, the world's largest publisher of sf/f, will be cross-marketing one book every month with the SciFi Channel. Each book chosen will receive the "SCI FI Essential stamp of approval" and will be promoted on SCIFI.com. The first 3 books to fall under this promotion are:

JULY: Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow
AUGUST: Lady of Mazes by Karl Schroeder
SEPTEMBER: The Road to Dune by Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday June 29, 2005 at 10:31 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

July is Free eBook Month at eReader.

Everyday in July, we are featuring a different eBook as a completely free download. There is something for everyone from mysteries and thrillers to mind-expanding science fiction, sexy romances, heart-stopping adventures and many more!

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday June 28, 2005 at 12:41 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

As I am preparing to do my workout last night, I am flipping channels on the TV and I see this trailer with Jack Black and a woman who looks remarkably like Fay Wray. I am sitting there thinking this must be Peter Jackson's King Kong trailer. It all looks very exciting and I am now anticipating the release of this film.

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Posted by Tim Zinsky at Tuesday June 28, 2005 at 10:28 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

An audio version of Edgar Rice Burrough's A Princess of Mars is downloadable in three parts (so far) from Voice of America, a U.S. government funded international broadcasting service.

[Link via The Eternal Golden Braid]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday June 28, 2005 at 8:04 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

In a creepy story that presages the eventual collapse of civilization due to the zombie hordes, scientists in the US have created zombie dogs. One wonders whether the dogs usualy behavior of eating out of the cat box has been replaced with a penchant for brains, cat or otherwise....

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Posted by JP Frantz at Monday June 27, 2005 at 8:50 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

MY RATING:
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Two cousins ride the wave of the new comics art form with their creation of The Escapist for Empire Comics. Life happens to them along the way.
PROS: Strong, sympathetic characters and story, humorous and emotional writing, The Escapist should have been made into a comic book hero (see below).
CONS: The story's second half is not as strong as the first and seems to wander to its conclusion.
BOTTOM LINE: A wonderfully engaging story about about life and dreams that uses comics as a springboard for its characters. If you want to venture outside of the SF genre, you could do a lot worse than this story.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Monday June 27, 2005 at 8:32 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that peer-to-peer companies such as Grokster could be held responsible for the copyright piracy on their networks. This is a big win for the record and movie companies. The ruling essentially states that the distributors of a tool that allows copyright infringement may be held liabale for such infringement.

Thoughts anyone?

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday June 27, 2005 at 12:35 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday June 27, 2005 at 12:00 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

I'm catching up on some newsfeed minutia and found some interesting tidbits from around the web:

• There's a new podcast in town called The Signal (Hmmmm... Sounds familiar...) that is devoted to Firefly and the upcoming Serenity movie


• A New York Times piece: The History of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds".


• Some things you may not know about director Tim Burton.


• The Horror Writers Association has picked this year's winners for the The Bram Stoker Award.


• Here's some blog entry ruminating of Science Fiction Fascism.


• Several science fiction, fantasy and horror movies have made the AFI's list of Top 100 movie quotes.


• ConnectViaBooks is a free "social networking site that uses books to connect people". You make lists of books that other community members can see and comment upon. And, being an Amazon partner, they also allow you to generate book lists that include the Amazon links. [Link via The Alien Online]


• SF author and blogger John Scalzi is looking for guest bloggers to contribute to his blog, Whatever, in July.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday June 26, 2005 at 9:33 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

The Book Standard article Buying the Cow, Though the Milk Is Free: Why Some Publishers Are Digitizing Themselves talks about digital publishing and its relationship to book sales. Figures are given for the examples they give, including Cory Doctorow's books, Charlie Stross' Accelarando, the Baen free library and O'Reilly computer books.

Interesting to note is that although the free digital download rate is large, it often increases book sales. This seems counter-intuitive to me on one level. Why would people buy a book when they can get it for free? This is the fear of piracy in action. The difference, of course, is that the download is digital and the purchase is for something you can touch. I've often said that I prefer holding a book instead of reading from a screen, I just always thought that others felt differently. (As if I am a truly unique individual instead of a statistical nobody.) Maybe more people prefer hardcopy than I thought.

Charlie's quote from the article says it best.

"Readers like samples, and the ultimate sample is the entire book," says Stross. "People are more likely to download the entire thing, because there's the promise that they can read it all on their computer. However, in practice, most people don't like reading on a screen or a PDA. If they get hooked, they'll continue reading until it hits their personal pain threshold. Then they're highly motivated to seek out the paper edition-in hardcover, if necessary."

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday June 26, 2005 at 8:59 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

REVIEW SUMMARY: An immensely enjoyable read.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: The story of Yakoub, the King of the Gypsy race known as the Rom, chronicles his rise to power (from student to slave to merchant to King) and his quest to return his people to their mother planet, Romany Star.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Exceptional storytelling; strong lead character; lots of wondrous worlds; never boring.
CONS: The Gypsies' ghosting ability, while cool, seemed like a half-explored plot device.
BOTTOM LINE: Robert Silverberg is a master storyteller.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday June 25, 2005 at 1:46 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

BrickJournal is toutted as the magazine for Adult Fans of LEGO. Its sort of like MAKE magazine, but for LEGO fans. The first issue is available for download (PDF). Now we just need to make a LEGO HAL...

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Posted by JP Frantz at Friday June 24, 2005 at 8:33 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Get ready for some cool futurama panoramas. A bunch of panaromas stitched together (I'm assuming) from frames of the show. Cool any way you slice it.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Friday June 24, 2005 at 8:26 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

You think you're the man with your new 8- or 16-megapixel digital camera?

Bah, I say - you got nothin'! These folks have a 4-gigapixel digital camera with 4 billion pixels.

These images are huge - 24GB each as a raw file - but luckily have been rendered down to a little smaller files for ease of use. The site also discusses the issues with getting these massive images printed in a way that maintains the detail. Overall, a great use of technology.

The images are awesome - check them out in the gallery.

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Posted by Scott Shaffer at Friday June 24, 2005 at 11:22 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Here's a 3 minute movie trailer for InfraMan.

"The man beyond bionics, six million light years beyond believability. Is he man or machine? Electronic circuits integrated with living cells in the living body of a man! Powered by nuclear energy! InfraMan! You won't believe your eyes! You won't believe your ears! You won't believe your mind!"

UPDATE: It gets better. Apparently he has Thunderbolt Fists.

[Link via Backwards City]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday June 23, 2005 at 10:32 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

This one should be right up Pete's alley. As it were.

There's a public-access TV show called Fantasy Bedtime Hour (Do I need to say NSFW?) in which two women read and try to understand science fiction and fantasy novels...in bed. The show's tagline: "Two girls in bed, ill-equipped to handle fantasy novel concepts."

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday June 23, 2005 at 9:08 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Windows Game Advisor is a browser plugin from Futuremark that will scan your computer and determine whether you can play a specified game title with your current hardware.

[Via TechBlog]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday June 23, 2005 at 8:57 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Sci-Fi Ranter Girl adds to my "things to check out" list with link to The SciFi Podcast Network. It's a collection of science fiction related podcasts.

I've listened to some podcasts before. And by "listened" I mean "played them in the background while occasionally fast-forwarding because they were too long". JP suggested once that SF Signal should podcast. An intriguing idea, to be sure, but is the world really ready to hear my whiny voice? I imagine there are other challenges as well, like how do we convert Dan's big ASCII head to audio?

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday June 23, 2005 at 8:11 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

With the success of the latest Batman film, Forbes decided to take a look at just how much it would cost to outfit yourself like Batman. The result?

Just a few sheckles over a cool 3 mil. Which makes me wonder. Why the hell doesn't Bill Gates have any of this stuff?! Or does he?

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Posted by JP Frantz at Wednesday June 22, 2005 at 10:33 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Star Wars themed, 256 MB disk keys. Sadly, there is no 'Han frozen in carbonite' model which, I would think, would have been the first one made. On the plus side, you can now say: "Hey baby, wanna see my little R2?".

HT to Gizmodo for the link.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Wednesday June 22, 2005 at 10:21 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Hey look! The Onion A.V. Club has a interview with voice actor Billy West (Futurama, Ren & Stimpy).

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday June 21, 2005 at 1:32 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Time travel, if it were possible, seems to be more like Bill & Ted and less like Marty McFly ... or so it is conjectured...

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Posted by Peter at Tuesday June 21, 2005 at 10:04 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

The privately sponsored Cosmos-1 solar sail is scheduled for liftoff today, courtesy of a boost from a Russian Volna rocket, deployed from a Russian nuclear submarine positioned in the Barents Sea.

Solar sails are cool. And what better excuse to list some solar sails in science fiction!

• [1960] "The Lady Who Sailed The Soul", the earliest use of a solar sail in sf.


• [1962] "Sail 25" (a.k.a. "Gateway to Strangeness") by Jack Vance.


• [1963] "Think Blue, Count Two" by Cordwainer Smith, a sequel to "The Lady Who Sailed The Soul".


• [1963] La planete des singes (Planet of the Apes) by Pierre Boulle, describes a ship that uses basic principles of solar sails.


• [1964] "The Wind from the Sun" (a.k.a. "Sunjammer") by Arthur C. Clarke, a short story (in an anthology of the same name) describing a solar sail craft. Clarke is often credited with the first use of a solar sail in sf.


• [1964] "Sunjammer" by Poul Anderson, a short story that shares tha name of the Clarke story, but was released one month later.


• [1974] The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle depicts an alien spacecraft driven by laser-powered light sails.


• [1981] Windhaven by George R. R. Martin and Lisa Tuttle.


• [1990] Rocheworld (a.k.a. The Flight of the Dragonfly in a 1984 abbreviated version) by Robert L. Forward, a novel about an interstellar mission driven by laser-powered light sails.


• [1995] The Star Trek: DS9 episode "Explorers", as primary propulsion system of the "Bajoran solar-sail vessel".


• [2002] Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, in which Count Dooku has a starsail spacecraft dubbed 'Sunsailor'.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday June 21, 2005 at 8:02 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Dark Horse Comics is publishing a web comic of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. Its an abridged adaptation of the classic story, with a new chapter released every Friday. Chapter 1 is available now.

Among the other interesting items on the site:

• Desktop backgrounds of the artwork.
  
• Links to DH comics that continue the story after the Martians' invasion fails as the British invade the Red Planet.
  
• A link to a musical version of the story.
  

All very cool, and just in time to refamiliarize yourself with the original story before the Spielberg/Cruise duo production arrives in theaters, which I admit, I'm kinda looking forward to seeing.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Monday June 20, 2005 at 10:16 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Thats right ladies and gentlemen. Thanks to this handy webguide you can build your own lightsaber. Got pictures and instructions for a variety of types, and the part lists don't look too expensive. Link courtesy of Hack-A-Day.

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Posted by Tim Zinsky at Monday June 20, 2005 at 4:53 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Cory Doctorow's next book, Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town is now freely available under a Creative Commons license that allows the unlimited, noncommercial redistribution of the text.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday June 20, 2005 at 3:08 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday June 20, 2005 at 12:04 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

On Monday June 19th, USA networks will air the 2005 AFI Life Achievement Award to George Lucas. (Maybe you've heard of him?)

If gushing over the world's most questionably talented director is not your thang, then at least watch it for William Shatner singing a custom-tailored rendition of "My Way". Or, you can just wait until that train wreck hits iFilm.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday June 19, 2005 at 9:50 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

White Wolf and Guardians of Order will be publishing A Game of Thrones role-playing game based on George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series, in stores in the Fall of 2005.

From the press release:

This series gets the high-quality treatment it deserves in two gorgeous editions of the A Game of Thrones RPG: a mammoth 576-page deluxe limited edition in September and a 496-page standard edition in October. Both of these authoritative reference guides and roleplaying games include full-color printing on premium-quality paper, hardcover binding, a poster-sized color pull-out map of the continent of Westeros, and a host of stunning artwork and graphic design by a team of exceptionally talented artists. The standard edition includes full rules for playing A Game of Thrones under the Open Gaming License (using the "d20" game mechanics developed for Dungeons & Dragons).

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday June 19, 2005 at 9:35 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Tom Godwin's short story "The Cold Equations" is arguably one of the most popular pieces of short sf or, at least, one of the most reprinted. If you've read the story and you are interested in a critical discussion of it, head on over to Richard Harter's critical study of it (story spoilers and all).

Meanwhile, blogger Waggish uses "The Cold Equations" to distinguish between two different kinds of sf: "Exemplary" vs. "Exceptional". Exemplary sf follows the normal tropes while exceptional pushes its boundaries outward.

And finally, Matthew Cheney expands a bit more on the idea.

[Links via Mumpsimus]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday June 19, 2005 at 1:52 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

[Free Association Mode: ON]

I'm currently reading Robert Silverberg's Star of Gypsies, a reprint from Pyr, a Prometheus Books imprint led by sf author/editor Lou Anders. The book, like the other Pyr books I've read, features excellent cover art from artist/designer John Picacio. I really like Picacio's style. The home page for Picacio's website features the way-cool artwork he did for Anders' Live Without A Net anthology. BTW, you should check out Lou's blog for insightful articles in the world of science fiction and publishing.

[Free Association Mode: OFF]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday June 18, 2005 at 11:32 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

It's nice to know, in some sad and desperate way, that science fiction fans are at the top of the geek food chain.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday June 17, 2005 at 6:03 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

According to Neal Stephenson, in this New York Times piece. (Free registration required. Or BugMeNot.) An excerpt from Stephenson on Revenge of the Sith:

In sum, very little of the new film makes sense, taken as a freestanding narrative. What's interesting about this is how little it matters. Millions of people are happily spending their money to watch a movie they don't understand. What gives?

Modern English has given us two terms we need to explain this phenomenon: "geeking out" and "vegging out." To geek out on something means to immerse yourself in its details to an extent that is distinctly abnormal - and to have a good time doing it. To veg out, by contrast, means to enter a passive state and allow sounds and images to wash over you without troubling yourself too much about what it all means.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday June 17, 2005 at 5:57 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Over at the Guardian, Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale) talks about the works of george orwell (Animal Farm, 1984).

I read Animal Farm in high school. And by "read" I mean it was forced upon me like so many other reading assignments and, thus, I immediately discounted it. Alas, I was too young and stupid (as oppsoed to now where I'm old and stupid) to realize how good it could be. Also, the political symbolism within it was completely lost on me.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday June 17, 2005 at 5:51 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

The Book Standard has an interesting article on book pirating: Pirating Potter: The Economics of Book Counterfeiting.

The bottome line? It's too costly.

Of course, digital piracy is a different matter...

[Link via Make via Robot Wisdom]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday June 17, 2005 at 5:41 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

This time from WEIRD TALES. Its in French, which is why you may not be able to read all of the pages, but!, the covers are scans of the magazines, and the story listings are in English. Plus it covers the years from 1923-1943. There's a lot of, well, weird covers here.

Enjoy.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Thursday June 16, 2005 at 2:34 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

The NCF Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy offers a hierarchical chart of speculative fiction genres. [Link via A Progressive on the Prairie]

Poking around the site I found some other stuff, including a 1999 article by sf author Sean Stewart (Passion Play, The Night Watch, Galveston) called Three Reasons There Are So Few Children in Science Fiction. Briefly, they center around plotting, pacing and an assumed audience, but still, check out this fine short read.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday June 16, 2005 at 12:07 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Moviefone has the latest trailer to Terry Gilliam's next film, The Brothers Grimm. From watching the trailer, I don't necessarily see the trademark Gilliam look to this film. Of course, being set in medieval times, I may be expecting it to look a certain way. Still, it seems to have quite a bit of humor (and a noteworth lack of Ben Affleck) and it has Monica 'Rawr' Bellucci as the Evil Queen so I may be checking this one out when it debuts on Aug. 26th!

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Posted by JP Frantz at Wednesday June 15, 2005 at 7:16 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

The New York Public Library is going digital.

The New York Public Library announced Monday that it is making 700 books -- from classics to current best sellers -- available to members in digital audio form for downloading onto PCs, CD players and portable listening devices.

"We are delighted to announce the availability of downloadable audio books as part of our circulating collection," said Susan Kent, director and chief executive of the branch libraries. "Library users today are much more technologically sophisticated than ever; our aim is to continue to provide our users with free access to materials in whichever format they prefer."

The service started Monday. Users can listen to digital audio books through a computer, burn them to CDs or transfer them to many portable devices, library officials said.

Digital audio books are available for free to members through the library's Web site. Users can borrow up to 10 digital books at a time, and after 21 days the materials will be automatically checked in and made available to others.

[via The Dragon Page]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday June 15, 2005 at 3:20 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Looks like Batman Begins is receiving favorable reviews. Holy do-over!

For BatFans, Yahoo has 3 trailers, 12 clips and 6 behind-the-scenes featurettes.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday June 15, 2005 at 2:36 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

From Gizmodo, we find a link to a Squirrel Flask. Thats right, its a dead squirrel converted to a decanter for beverages. And people say that innovation is dying - I fully embrace this move and plan to build me a Skunk Lotion Container to go with my Muskrat toothpaste dispenser.

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Posted by Tim Zinsky at Wednesday June 15, 2005 at 9:52 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Thanks to an overlooked Shat sighting at the Shat-loving SciFiDaily, we bring you William Shatner's version of the movie Seven, a parody done for the MTV movie awards a while back.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday June 15, 2005 at 7:47 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

SF Author Philip K. Dick's name continues to make appearances in new and exciting ways.

PKD-Android is a project devoted to creating an android of the author. They're coming along quite nicely and they are also blogging their progress. [Via Posthuman Blues]

Something else that came to my attention: An essay called "How To Build A Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later" PKD did for his 1978 collection I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon. [Link via Big Dumb Object]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday June 13, 2005 at 2:35 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Need help understanding a piece of classic literature? Surely you've heard of Cliffs Notes. There's also another line of learning books called SparkNotes published by Barnes & Noble.

What I found interesting is that both of their websites offer free and complete content online for many titles like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time and Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land

SparkNotes even offers notes on movies like Spirited Away, The Lord of the Rings, A Clockwork Orange and, perhaps needed most of all, The Matrix Trilogy.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday June 13, 2005 at 12:52 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

If you've been hanging around JP, John, or I in the last couple of weeks you've heard one or all of us lament the lack of access to TV shows on demand on the web. Why aren't all of ABC, NBC, CBS, or Fox's* shows available for on demand viewing on the web? I know I'd certainly watch - complete with commercials - if I got to see episodes of shows I've missed.

Well, it turns out Google might be coming to the rescue of the various Hollywood groups that can't seem to figure out technology. Google has a beta version of its video search feature up, and while it doesn't include the actual videos yet, it looks like they are going to (see the question about playing the videos.) From the About page, you can see some details about where they would like to take the service.

It is pretty raw right now, but it definately has promise.

* I think we all know why the WBs shows aren't available :).

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Posted by Scott Shaffer at Monday June 13, 2005 at 10:42 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday June 13, 2005 at 12:07 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Via Cynical C: It's Yoda origami! [PDF link]

In 59 not-so-easy steps. Good luck.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday June 12, 2005 at 11:39 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

REVIEW SUMMARY: Entertaining and thought-provoking literature.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A techno-biologically indentured slave falls for a lowly replica of a human.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Interesting relationship between Hariba and Akhmim; interesting culture; engrossing plot.
CONS: Too much time spent on secondary characters.
BOTTOM LINE: A satisfying and thought-provoking story about people and relationships.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday June 12, 2005 at 12:05 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Today, the big SFS was contacted by Justin James, producer for the independant SF film smartparts the movie. I'll let Justin tell you about it.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Saturday June 11, 2005 at 9:03 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Q: What's better than a Zombie eBook?
A: A free Zombie eBook.

Q: What's better than a free Zombie book?
A: Two free Zombie books.

Download David Moody's Autumn in a variety of formats. It follows the tried-and-true formula of infection, escape, seek shelter formula.

Or try David Wellington's Monster Island posted in blog format. It's set in Manhattan one month after New York has been overrun by zombies.

[A bloody pair of brain-eating thank-yous to PDA Fiction and Teleread for the links]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday June 11, 2005 at 1:53 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

An article from Kansas.com details the efforts of James Gunn, author and director of the University of Kansas' Center for the Study of Science Fiction, to reviatalize sf.

Some excerpts from the article:

"Science fiction is the literature of change. Occasionally it's predictive, but that's not its purpose."

Gunn's center plans this year to team up with science fiction organizations across the country to begin coordinating their efforts and harness literary fans' energy to elevate interest in the genre.

In particular, Gunn wants to get science fiction in the classroom. He said other than a scattered number of books on suggested reading lists, schools don't take advantage of science fiction's ability to help students with critical thinking and to explore difficult concepts.

"I think science fiction offers a great opportunity... to get them thinking about issues, concepts, ideas, possibilities, in a way that enhances their understanding of the world we live in."

This is a noble effort worth supporting.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday June 11, 2005 at 1:40 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Have I gotten your attention? Psych!

Red Nova has a scholarly article titled Redefining Women's Power Through Feminist Science Fiction. Here's the intro:

For one of my graduate seminars a few years ago, I presented a paper on images of women's non-violent power in feminist science fiction. This presentation originally included examples of violent characters but, after being inundated with post 9-11 media images that unquestioningly glorified violence and reinforced a "might makes right" ideology, I felt I had to focus my energies on non- violent examples. It was very disheartening when, after I presented in my class, my classmates kept suggesting that I talk about Buffy, Xena, and Storm from X-Men. When I reminded my classmates that my focus was specifically on women's non-violent power they responded with "well, Storm doesn't use a gun." Apparently, Storm using lightning to "splat" someone isn't considered violent so long as she's not holding a howitzer. This got me thinking about how we define violence, and also how we define power; if every suggested example of a powerful female character in mainstream entertainment media is a violent woman, then there must be some connection to how society views violence as power.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday June 10, 2005 at 10:29 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A synopsis is difficult to do as Deadhouse Gates has several different threads running through. The genesis of the events, however, is a rebellion in the land of the Seven Cities against the ruling Malazan Empire.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Vivid descriptions, lots of action, terrific world building, interesting characters and complex story lines.
CONS: Complexity, lots of new words and tons of characters and place names slow down the reading process.
BOTTOM LINE: Another excellent entry in Erikson's Malazan series.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Thursday June 09, 2005 at 8:36 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Just something that TV executives may want to note: Firefly is currently Amazon's #3 top selling Sci Fi DVD. Maybe a resurrection is in order? If you can do it for Family Guy, you can do it for Firefly!

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday June 09, 2005 at 3:30 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

MY RATING:
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: In a near future Japan, a specialized team of cyborgs and hackers are used to help solve crimes that the regular police force can't.
PROS: A strong ensemble police drama, interesting stories, strong characters.
CONS: Occasional use of 'technobabble'.
BOTTOM LINE: Definately a top 10 Anime show, most likely top 5. Anyone who wants to discover anime won't go wrong with this series. Fans of the orginal Ghost in the Shell movies won't be disappointed either.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Thursday June 09, 2005 at 12:18 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

The Guardian has an extract from a new book released recently, HP Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life. Actually, it's an English translation of a French essay by "controversially antiliberal French novelist", Michel Houellebecq.

Some interesting blurbs (or, if you prefer, extracts of the extract):

"I am so beastly tired of mankind and the world that nothing can interest me unless it contains a couple of murders on each page or deals with the horrors unnameable and unaccountable that leer down from the external universes." [Lovecraft quote]

Those who love life do not read. Nor do they go to the movies, actually. No matter what might be said, access to the artistic universe is more or less entirely the preserve of those who are a little fed up with the world.

To create a great popular myth is to create a ritual that the reader awaits impatiently and to which he can return with mounting pleasure, seduced each time by a different repetition of terms, ever so imperceptibly altered to allow him to reach a new depth of experience.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday June 09, 2005 at 12:16 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Charles Stross' Accelerando website, devoted to his book that strings together 9 stories featuring the Macx family, is now open. The free eBook download will be available soon.

One thing I noticed on the site that cheered me up was this bit after the Harriet Klausner review blurb:

(I'd take this review with a pinch of salt. Harriet means well, but her output of 3-5 reviews per day should speak for itself. I include it here in the interests of completeness.)

Heh. But three to five a day? More like 30-50. Don't get me started.

[From Charlie Stross' Diary]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday June 09, 2005 at 11:24 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

An interesting piece is this CBC article on Canadian sf writers Robert Charles Wilson, Robert J. Sawyer and Karl Schroeder. It talks about how these writers have tried to bridge the gap between classic science fiction and cyberpunk.

[Link via LocusMag]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday June 09, 2005 at 8:54 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Not that I'm tooting our own horn (toot-toot!), but this month the July 2005 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine hits the newsstands. (You remember what those are, right? Those are the rows upon rows of actual magazines and newspapers. No, not the porn mags...you're looking too high. Right there between PC Magazine and Modern Quilting. There you go!)

This is the issue that has James Patrick Kelly's On The Net column where he lists the nominees for a hypothetical set of Digital Hugo Awards. You will note with great glee that SF Signal has been "nominated" for the Best Blog.

Our competition includes Boing Boing, The Mumpsimus, Futurismic and Charlie's Diary. These are all fine blogs, to be sure. In fact, in the spirit of Boing Boing's "information is free" mantra, we've swiped links from just about all of them.

Now if I had to compare these blogs objectively (and I don't), I could easily say that SF Signal is the prettiest blog out of all of them. And, after all, couldn't science fiction use a little bit of pretty? If literature were rock n' roll, science fiction would be Iggy Pop or Tom Petty while SF Signal brings a little bit of Natalie "NSFW" Imbruglia to the party.

I'm just sayin'.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday June 07, 2005 at 2:57 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

MY RATING:
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Outstanding new platformer from Tim Schafer (designer of Grim Fandago and the Monkey Island series of games) that takes you into the minds of some very disturbed people. Literally. You play a boy, Raz, who has to travel into the minds of various characters to help them out so that they, in turn, will help Raz in the real world foil a devilishly evil plot to conquer the world.
PROS: Most unique game in years - even more amazing in that its a platformer (i.e. you jump from platform to platform.) Great graphics, hilarious dialog throughout, and very innovative gameplay.
CONS: Save system limiting, some standard platformer problems such as having to continuously repeat a level if you fall off at the very end.
BOTTOM LINE: An amazing game that really shouldn't be missed. This isn't normally my style of game at all, yet the hilarious story (a hallmark of Tim's games) and very innovative gameplay make it very much worth your time. It took me 14 hours to finish the game and I very much wished for more. It is important to note that despite the friendly looking characters and gameworld, this game is NOT for young children.

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Posted by Scott Shaffer at Tuesday June 07, 2005 at 11:14 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

MY RATING:
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: You are a young orphan martial artist pushed out of your comfortable school by the enemies of your master. Embarking on a quest to rescue him and purge the empire of evil, you learn the secret of your destiny and that all is not as it appears. This action-adventure RPG from Bioware is an XBOX-only title.
PROS: Very strong story, enjoyable gameplay, interesting RPG elements to character growth, interesting unique world with believable characters, strong voice-acting, best graphics on an XBOX game that I've seen.
CONS: Bioware formula noticeable, XBOX-only, combat combo system that seems irrelevant, not as deep as previous Bioware RPGs
BOTTOM LINE: This is a relatively simple RPG that should be more accessible to gamers who found Knights of the Old Republic a bit complicated. You still get a great story with a lot of strong characters and very interesting dialog. This game took me 15 hours to complete. I enjoyed it and was glad I spent the time playing it. It wasn't as strong as other titles (nor as long as Baldur's Gate II) but still better than most games which are released, especially for the XBOX.

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Posted by Scott Shaffer at Tuesday June 07, 2005 at 9:54 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

MY RATING:
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Two men, one a scientist, the other a workaholic executive, find their lives intersecting in an unusual way around the God Particle.
PROS: Clear writing style, old school SF length, intelligent and interesting discussion of physics and philosophy.
CONS: Paper thin characters, abrupt ending.
BOTTOM LINE: If you are interested in the philosophical ramifications of today's understanding of physics, wrapped in a mystery/adventure story, this is for you.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Monday June 06, 2005 at 8:45 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

SF reviewer/columnist (and Mumpsimus blogger) Matthew Cheney has a (hopefully) humorous article at Strange Horizons called "Make It New!" In it he discusses the propensity of the science fiction literati to bestow label upon label indicating some new literary movement and, in the absence of any clear movement to occur so far this year, proposes some good candidates.

Cheney also has an afterword on his blog.

[Link via LocusMag]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday June 06, 2005 at 11:04 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

The UK's Times Online has an article on Charles Stross called "The Geek Taking Over the Galaxy" (Cookies required. Don't get me started.) Stross also has a scan of the article showing him with his cat.

Some quotes:

“Science fiction is the mirror image of the historical. It allows us to show people in circumstances we haven’t experienced, in events that have not yet happened, might not happen or in their more fantastical form may well happen.

“What interests me is the idea that human beings are behaviourally plastic. This all means you can engineer the human condition, and that’s before you start to imagine the post-human.”

“My job is to entertain people,” explains Stross. “If I don’t entertain people they’re not going to read it. I am competing in an economy of information with the movies, the internet and the new Dr Who series, so I have to keep people amused.”

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday June 06, 2005 at 1:00 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

Attendants of a recent Book Expo are wondering about book buying habits. They cite an "accelerated society" as the cause for a decrease in the number of lingering in-store book browsers. More and more people nowadays just want to get in, get the book and leave, it says.

Personally, I love book browsing. Remember? I'm a Gatherer, not a Hunter. But I can certainly understand the Hunter who knows what he wants and doesn't want to dawdle. The article estimated that 195,000 books came out last year alone! Wow! I've got a lot of catching up to do on my browsing.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday June 06, 2005 at 12:41 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

REVIEW SUMMARY: A creepy combination of horror and sf.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: George Kramer examines the strange occurrences in a small, western desert town.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Interesting mix of horror and science fiction.
CONS: A little slow to start.
BOTTOM LINE: A very good, one-sitting read for fans of both science fiction and horror.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday June 06, 2005 at 12:25 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday June 06, 2005 at 12:00 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

A sci-fi fan in China has had plastic surgery to give himself ears like Star Trek's Mr Spock. No, really.

In a related story, a California resident is having his acting skills surgically removed to be more like Jonathan Frakes. Also, a man in New Jersey is shaving his head to look more like Jean Luc Picard.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday June 05, 2005 at 7:03 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

REVIEW SUMMARY: Thought-provoking science fiction.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A near-future murder mystery in which "The Twinmaker" uses matter transporter technology to make copies of people so he can kill them.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Thought-provoking ideas; cool technology; fast-paced second half.
CONS: Some slow parts in the beginning.
BOTTOM LINE: A first-rate sf murder mystery that's sure to get you thinking about the implications of technology.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday June 05, 2005 at 12:32 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Ever wanted to add Star Wars to your life, such that it was always there, never far from mind? If so, then maybe making a TIE Fighter-based computer + desk is for you. Like this guy.

ExtremeTEch.com's mod contest winner.

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Posted by Scott Shaffer at Sunday June 05, 2005 at 1:49 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

More bad news for the movie studios - there's a new way to share movies in (Tinsel) town. RatDVD is software that rips a DVD including bonus features and tracks. The article says it's new, but Google turns up 11,000 hits making me think it's been around for some time. Anyone using this?

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday June 04, 2005 at 10:32 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

The 2005 ApolloCon, run by the Houston Science Fiction Association, is scheduled for June 24-26. Guest of Honor is Hugo an Nebula Award winning author Robert J. Sawyer. Activities include panels and lectures on literary, media, art, and science topics, guest author readings, gaming (including live-action role playing, and a Star Trek Tri-D Chess Tournament) and filk music.

Although I've always wondered what they were like, I've never been the convention type. Even with this one so close to home, I just don't see myself going. However if Kevin registered a game session, I might give it a second thought...

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday June 04, 2005 at 8:18 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Ever wanted to check out this thing called Anime but were afraid to? Does NetFlix not have the title you are interested in? Well, say goodbye to your anime troubles forever, there's a new DVD rental company on the block, called RentAnime. Basically, its a NetFlix clone, only specializing in anime titles. They claim to have every anime title available in the US. Pricing is similar to NetFlix (if a bit more) and they have a free trial offer which I will be availing myself of to check them out.

If you're interested in some good SF anime, check out: Cowboy Bebop, Planetes, Last Exile, Scrapped Princess and Castle in the Sky. There is, of course, more, but that should get you started.

A long queue with no waiting to Hacking Netflix for the link.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Friday June 03, 2005 at 9:20 AM
© 2005 SF Signal

What do you get when you cross the Flintsones with Star Trek? You get Stone Trek! It's a running series of flash animations that puts Fred Flintstone in the captain's chair of a spaceship made from wood and stone. One of the running bits is tally of redshirt deaths. Cool.

[via Slice of Sci-Fi]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday June 02, 2005 at 9:19 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Wait a minute...wrong sf show.

Behold the Star Wars Wiki, a "Star Wars database that anyone can edit".

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday June 02, 2005 at 3:25 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

A study shows that most online shoppers are unaware of the fact that retailers charge different prices for different people, a practice whose PC term is "price customization".

I realized this several years ago in a similar event as posted in the CNN story:

Amazon.com outraged some customers in September 2000 after one buyer deleted the electronic tags on his computer that identified him as a regular customer and noticed the price of a DVD changed from $26.24 to $22.74. The company said it was the result of a random price test and offered to refund buyers who paid the higher prices.

To edumacate yourself, read Seventeen Facts American Shoppers Need to Know - But Don't (PDF file).

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday June 01, 2005 at 11:00 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Paper Starships is a web site dedicated to just that, printable, foldable paper models of starships. They have B5, ST and SW models, as well as some other ones. Very cool.

Excuse me while I go work on my Death Star on the half shell.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Wednesday June 01, 2005 at 10:33 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

A trio of science fiction chronologies for ya':

1. A brief sf chronology courtesy of ThinkQuest.
2. Here's one from the the Ultimate SF Guide.


3. And another from SciFi Guide.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday June 01, 2005 at 10:26 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

WorldChanging posted a thoughtful examination today called The Value of Dystopian Science Fiction.

Science Fiction is in large part a reaction to our fear of the world we live in now, and it always has been. From the very first science fiction novels, most have been dystopic, showing how humanity struggles to not be crushed or washed away by the technological life.

But the most comprehensive site on dystopia has gotta be Exploring Dytsopia. I'd tell you more about it, but looking at the site depressed me too much. Stupid dystopias.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday June 01, 2005 at 10:17 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

Erstwhile SFSignal reader, Doug, sent in this link to a bunch of Easter Eggs buried in Ep. III. Some interesting, some kinda lame (just like Ep. III!). Enjoy!

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Posted by JP Frantz at Wednesday June 01, 2005 at 5:01 PM
© 2005 SF Signal

The TCM Channel is running the feature Future Shock! in June, which focuses on Cold-War science fiction. Movies to be shown are:

• 2001: Space Odyssey


• Close Encounters of the Third Kind


• Earth vs. the Flying Saucers


• Forbidden Planet


• From the Earth to the Moon


• Invasion of the Body Snatchers


• It Came From Outer Space


• Logan's Run


• Mars Attacks!


• No Blade of Grass


• Soylent Green


• The Blob


• The Invisible Boy


• The Thing From Another World


• The Wild, Wild Planet


• Watch the Skies


• Village of the Damned

And don't forget, for a comprehensive listing of TV science fiction movies, visit ClassicSciFi.

[Link via Bella Online via (before you chide) a sf newsfeed.]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday June 01, 2005 at 12:30 PM
© 2005 SF Signal