April 2006
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| Posted by John on Sunday April 30, 2006 - 10:24 PM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2006 SF Signal
I'm finally getting around to reading the April 2006 issue of Locus Magazine. I would've started sooner but...oh, never mind.
In this issue, Harlan Ellison®'s name comes up a few times in two places: his tribute to Octavia E. Butler (never leave off the "E", he warns) and in Gary K. Wolfe's review of The Best of Philip José Farmer, in which he talks about Farmer's "Riders of the Purple Wage" which first appeared in Ellison®'s landmark anthology Dangerous Visions.
Do you know what all of these mentions of Ellison® has in common? They are all followed by the Registered Trademark symbol.
Ellison®, whose defense of his stories' copyrights are legendary, has apparently squeezed his copyrights so tightly that a trademark symbol popped out of his name. More power to him, I say. If Harlan Ellison® wants all instances of Harlan Ellison®'s name to be suffixed with the symbol, then Harlan Ellison® should get exactly what Harlan Ellison® wants. At the very least, it's fun to look at in print. It's like this decade's Prince Rogers Nelson name debacle, only this time its "The Author Formerly Known as Harlan Ellison."
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| Posted by John on Sunday April 30, 2006 - 9:56 PM
| Category: Books
| © 2006 SF Signal
Yet another TOC...
Jonathan Strahan has announced the (mostly complete) table of contents for his upcomingh anthology Best Short Novels: 2006 to be published by the Science Fiction Book Club.
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| Posted by John on Sunday April 30, 2006 - 3:19 PM
| Category: Books
| © 2006 SF Signal
Another TOC...
From Asimov's Forum here is the table of contents for The Year's Best Science Fiction #23 edited by Gardner Dozois.
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| Posted by John on Sunday April 30, 2006 - 3:11 PM
| Category: Books
| © 2006 SF Signal
Editor Jonathan Strahan has posted the udated tables of contents (see the old ones) for the two annual anthologies he formerly published through iBooks, but now (since iBooks went belly-up) will be published through Locus Press.
Some of the stories are available online and there are quite a few Hugo, Nebula and Locus Award nominees in the bunch - all noted below.
SCIENCE FICTION: THE VERY BEST OF 2005
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| Posted by John on Sunday April 30, 2006 - 2:19 PM
| Category: Books
| © 2006 SF Signal
REVIEW SUMMARY: Some well-tread sf tropes packaged into an entertaining story.
MY RATING: 
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Human ex-agent Frank Compton is hired by the mechanical Spiders to locate the threat to the Quadrail train system that allows alien races to quickly travel throughout the galaxy.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: Fun action-adventure; detailed plot; satisfying conclusion.
CONS: Reader kept in the dark too long; some events too coincidental.
BOTTOM LINE: A fun ride.
Humankind is the latest species to be considered part of an interstellar empire when it colonized the planet Yandro. When Frank Compton, an agent of the Western Alliance Intelligence, blows the whistle on some political corruption surrounding Yandro, he is fired. More than a year later, his unique skills and training are eventually wanted by the mechanical race of Spiders, who wish to hire him to find those responsible for an imminent attack on their Quadrail system - the mysterious train system that spans the entire galaxy and connects the multiple alien civilizations of the interstellar empire. This is a surprise to Compton as there are safeguards built into the Quadrail system that prevent any weapons from getting near it. As Compton soon learns, there are multiple factions involved in a conspiracy that will lead to the demise of just about every alien race in the galaxy. And these factions don't seem to want him nosing around.
Night Train to Rigel is a fast-moving action-adventure story starting with its attention-grabbing opening scene. Compton is pulled into some unknown intrigue by a dying stranger with a message from the Spiders. His mission is to find the identity of an upcoming attack that the Spiders see in a vision of the future. Compton is accompanied by a woman named Bayta who can telepathically communicate with the Spiders. Together they ride Quadrail to find the unknown culprits.
Not a lot is known by Compton at the start of his mission and, unfortunately, not much is known by the reader either. The story is not so much a Whodunit as it is a Whatsgoingon. Sure, this is fine up to a point; a little mystery is fine. But Compton is presented with more and more questions and conflict before any of the answers start appearing. As a result, the mystery becomes somewhat diluted and loses some of its intrigue. One of the ways the mystery is piled upon Compton is through way-too-coincidental events. Compton runs into old colleagues, old acquaintances, and re-runs into old colleagues again. Even his partner Bayta is something of a mystery; as is the mysterious Modhri coral; as is the motivation of an alien benefactor - you get the idea. While everything is eventually explained, the length and level of darkness held over the reader for the majority of the story saps some of the impact of the otherwise well-planned and wonderfully detailed story.
The book comes with a healthy portion of sense-of-wonder. While the concepts themselves presented in the story are not really groundbreaking, they are certainly used to very good effect. Zahn's aliens are believable and culturally interesting. Sure, hive minds have been done before, but the way they are used here is quite refreshing, in a zombie sort of way. The Quadrail itself, while shrouded in mystery as to its origins (until later scenes, anyway), is amazing in its ambitiousness and scale. The train setting also serves to create a feeling of the old black and white Hollywood movies with chases across rail cars, multiple exotic destinations, and a confined space in which to play out some hand-to-hand combat and intrigue.
That feeling, in fact, is really what keeps you reading. You want to find out what the mystery is all about and if the payoff is worth it. And while the unknown tended to overshadow the known, the book does present an enjoyable story when all is said and done. The very well done, action-packed closing scenes were especially enjoyable. By the end of the book, all plotlines (even the coincidental ones) are very neatly tied up leaving the impression that Night Train to Rigel is a fun ride.
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| Posted by John on Sunday April 30, 2006 - 1:44 PM
| Category: Book Review
| © 2006 SF Signal
MY RATING: 
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: 99% of the Earth's population is wiped out in two weeks thanks to a pandemic plague (origin unknown.) The action centers around a survivor named Ish and his coming to grips with the new world he finds himself in - both the changes in technology and the changes in society.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: Written in 1949, it is the seminal book on post-apocalyptic society, this book has an fantastic sci-fi insight on nearly every page.
CONS: The ending is a bit tedious and some parts are melodramatic.
BOTTOM LINE: If you've never read this book, you'll soon learn where all the other writers of post-apocalyptic fiction got their ideas from. The third person narrative is straight forward and easy to read, and the physical and emotional trials of Ish are presented in a powerful way.
The first two-thirds of the book is mostly a discussion of the more physical (hard sci-fi) elements that go towards explaining what happens to the world - the electricity, the water, the things that man has built as well as the ecology of a world suddenly devoid of man. The last third takes more of a soft-science approach as it explores the new societies which spring up in the 50 years following the disaster.
I enjoyed both parts equally well, although I thought the ending was a bit too introspective. It would be difficult to catalogue every idea presented, but some of the more important are the plagues of ants, cows, rats, and other animals that swarm into tremendous numbers due to the huge amount of food available and then die off when that ready food is destroyed. There is a good discussion on the fate of technology such as the electric plants (which work well in an automated fashion for the most part - until they run out of lubrication), water plants (which again work until natural forces conspire to break pipes), as well as more mundane things like cars. The food supply changes a lot as well - while there is a ready supply of canned goods in supermarkets (for a good while anyway) certain staples that aren't native to the US widely disappear (like wheat and corn.)
The anthropology is extremely well done too. The dispersed societies that grows up around the few survivors is well explored - some that focus on secular humanism, religious cults, and of course xenophobic introspection. Ish takes an African American wife - almost unworthy of mention today, but hugely controversial when released into America of the 1950's. Stewart's characters are easy to identify with and understand despite being a somewhat cold view of man's limitations given the few who seem to be of high intelligence.
Stewart writes a prose that's easy to read and easy to understand. He also includes little italicized sections in the middle of the main story to explain the way the natural forces take back the land now that man is no longer there to keep them at bay. The elimination of all the things man has created is unstoppable - and few of the survivors appear interested in doing so. That alone is a fantastic ideas as well - that presented with the fall of civilization people would adapt and in fact reject any return to that, instead preferring to live as comfortable a life as they could carve out amidst the decaying ruins. On the one hand his message is dark - that given the chance man will revert back to superstitious hunter-gatherers. But on the other the message is bright - that man can and will endure through any and all hardships; that our society today may be grand but ultimately not required for the success of the species.
Ultimately it was the darker part of this which had the biggest impact on me. Given the choice between reading books and learning how to rebuild or retool civilization or playing a game dodging wild bulls, the people of Stewart's world choose the bull. I find that too dark and simple - I'd like to believe that confronted with this situation, most people would work to rebuild, if not totally at least significantly. When the electricity grid fails, nobody makes any attempt to figure out another way to get it back. When the water system fails, again nobody makes a serious attempt to restore it. This in itself is amazing - given the advanced things man can do with electricity, it's hard to imagine giving it up so quickly. Rather than ignore it, I'd like to believe people would rig up water-based generators and make-shift aqueducts.
I believe that if you like fiction of any type, that you should read Earth Abides and that you will enjoy it. This is one of those rare books that transcends the sci-fi genre - it stands as significant work of fiction. I'm surprised that more high school and college programs don't read this book (although it's lack of in-depth symbolism perhaps makes them shy away.) This is an important book - one that shouldn't be missed.
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| Posted by scottsh on Saturday April 29, 2006 - 11:11 AM
| Category: Book Review
| © 2006 SF Signal
From the April 2006 issue of SciFi Magazine:
10 Most Disgusting Movie Moments
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| Posted by John on Saturday April 29, 2006 - 12:52 AM
| Category: Movies
| © 2006 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Friday April 28, 2006 - 10:49 PM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2006 SF Signal
MY RATING: 
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: The generational ship But The Sky, My Lady! The Sky! is on a mission to colonize a new solar system for humanity. Upon arrival, they discover one of the planets is already inhabited by intelligent beings on the cusp of an industrial revolution. This discovery sets into motions various conflicts both between the crew of The Sky and on Ground.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: Interesting far future human society, intriguing alien planet cool ideas surrounding humans and the aliens.
CONS: I just can't get into Macleods writing style, ending seemed to be very rushed. Too much inter colonist politics.
BOTTOM LINE: If you like Ken Macleod's other works, you'll probably like this. Also, a first contact novel that devotes almost equal time to the stories of both sides.
I really wanted to like this book. The back cover makes a strong case for the story, and being short-listed for the Hugo only upped the anticipation. However, like other Macleod books I've read, I found the story just didn't live up to it's billing. Macleod has some very interesting ideas here, and in his other books, I guess I'm just not enamored of how he writes them. But first, a short synopsis.
The colony ship But The Sky, My Lady! The Sky!, is part of a vast human colonization effort, as humanity is expanding into every star system and changing them meet their needs. The general plan is to enter a system, spin off the new generation of colonists, genetically bred to expand into the new system, help the system along and then create a new generational ship, head to a new system and start over. However, when The Sky enters the vicinity of Ground, they discover it's already inhabited. This sets off a inter-generational conflict between the crew, the new generation and older generation of The Sky. On Ground, the discovery of an oddly moving 'comet' inflames the tensions between the two largest nations. From here, the humans primary mode of conflict is political. Should they go ahead and colonize ground, overwhelming the aliens, or take a wait and see approach and negotiate with them? The newer generation, being bred for colonizing, pushes for immediate contact and colonization of the system. On Ground, the aliens struggle between themselves to see who will contact the aliens, or, maybe, come together to present a united front.
As stated before, LtW has a lot of cool ideas in it. The human colonization efforts are akin to a biological Von Neumann probe. Now, I read somewhere that this idea in LtW was based on book, which I used to own, about a green, environmentally friendly method of colonization. (Ed. - I thought it was called The Millennium Project, but that term doesn't get me what I'm looking for.) The human society is definitely a far future, transhuman one, with genetic modifications the rule, virtual reality existing at the same level as true reality, and terraforming is done, not on a planetary scale, but system wide. The aliens also have an interesting pre-industrial age society and we get to see scientists go about their jobs and make big discoveries. Chock full of cool SF ideas.
Unfortunately for me, the story and writing just didn't live up to the hype. One of the main areas of conflict amongst the humans was in the political arena. I'm not usually put off with that, but in this case, it just wasn't that interesting. Although, the main genesis of the conflict is a blog-like site on the colonists network called Learning The World, written by one of the teenage colonists. The politics here were just too convoluted to be interesting. Until overt action was needed, then the human story became more appealing. On Ground, the aliens are struggling with the notion that they aren't alone and the visitors are much more advanced. The two main powers both enter projects to try and contact the humans and be on the winning side of any contact. There was some political maneuvering here too, but it took a back seat to how the events were affecting the main characters, who are both scientists. In fact, I found the alien's story to be more exciting than the human one. Which is too bad, since Macleod makes an effort to show that the humans are not trying to be imperialistic and do try to lessen any impact on the aliens. Even so, the human story fell flat. I guess most of the blame for this can be placed on the writing style, which I would consider technically competent, but lacking in depth or sparkle. It felt flat as well. Macleod, to me, just doesn't have the same wit and verve in his writing as, say, his Scottish counterpart Iain Banks does. Personal opinion here. The last annoying part for me was the ending. Macleod spends the better part of 400 pages setting up the conflicts then, time jump, wrap up. It felt like Macleod decided he needed to end it in a hurry, much like a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode would be wrapped up in the last 5 minutes. Disconcerting, and the payoff didn't meet my expectations.
So, all in all, a decent book, but not great. I know a lot of people like Macleod, which is probably why it made the short list for the Hugo.
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| Posted by JP on Friday April 28, 2006 - 10:40 AM
| Category: Book Review
| © 2006 SF Signal
MY RATING
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Commander Wilson Cole, decorated hero of the Republic (not that one either), is transfered to the Teddy Roosevelt out on the fringes of the galaxy. He finds the war is out in that section and he continues to do what he believes is right. Unfortunately, that belief ultimately leads to mutiny.
MY REVIEW
PROS: The characters are personable and the action is well paced.
CONS: The events leading into this book are absent and some sort of summary would have been nice. I also felt that the story was a tad cliche.
BOTTOM LINE: A fun and quick read that starts off the Starship series of novels.
Commander Cole is that one hero we all have seen in some movie or book. Basically, he is smarter than his command structure (who just don't get it), and he is willing to do whatever it takes to win the war. While the story was engaging, the concept has been done before. I think the differentiation here is that Cole has interactions with the rest of the crew that are believable and well written. The action sequences have a great pace and do not detract from the underlying story. Beyond the statements about seeing aspects of this story before, the lack of details leading up to the start of this book was a bit confusing. A prologue would have been a nice touch considering how much effort is put at the end of the book to discuss the ship and the Birthright universe.
Mr. Resnick has crafted an extensive universe and has several novels that take place there. This is the first Birthright novel I have read and while I was able to gain some insight into the universe, the setting was not that important for this story. The Birthright Universe has an extensive timeline (which is mapped out at the end of this novel), and I am very much interested in learning more now. I first decided to read this book after seeing Scott's review, and I am glad I did.
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| Posted by Tim on Friday April 28, 2006 - 12:03 AM
| Category: Book Review
| © 2006 SF Signal
A couple of Sci Fi Channel bits for you today.
First up, Sci Fi will be launching Pulse, their broadband-centered site for SF content. It looks like they will be taking the stuff they have done with BG, and expanding it in a big way. Every show on SciFi will have broadband content available, they will have an online film festival called Exposure, pilots for possible shows will be online (cool), and users will be able to submit their own videos, sort of a YouTube for SF. All this sounds cool. Let's hope they keep the science fiction part of their name in mind as they move forward.
Second, VXFWorld has a list of upcoming SciFi Channel shows,movies and mini-series. In the series, SNAP and PERSONS UNKNOWN sound intriguing. SNAP definately sounds interesting, if done right. I can't believe they're doing a CHARIOT OF THE GODS mini-series. Please. And the UNKNOWN SCIENCE SKETCH COMEDY show sounds interesting too. All the other stuff is typical big media crap, with focus on the supernatural and 'reality' shows. Still, they at least have a couple of SF themed shows. SciFi may have more definate recordings on my DVR in the future.
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| Posted by JP on Thursday April 27, 2006 - 3:36 PM
| Category: Web Sites
| © 2006 SF Signal
PKD seems to still be a hot commodity amongst the Hollywood types. Not only is A Scanner Darkly being released soon, now word is that Nic Cage will be starring in the movie Next, based on PKD's story, The Golden Man. Its being touted as a Science Fiction Action Thriller. As if Hollywood produces any other kind of SF movie. But I digress. I've never read the story, but the synopsis sounds kind off Dead Zone-ish. Anyone here read it? Should Hollywood move on to other SF authors?
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| Posted by JP on Thursday April 27, 2006 - 11:26 AM
| Category: Movies
| © 2006 SF Signal
An fun article at Burlington Free Press talks about books that have inspired heavy metal music. Headbangers, it seems, make ardent readers. Many of them base their music on the works of classic authors.
But which genre writers are most often echoed in the strains of heavy metal?
H.P. Lovecraft, for one, whose writings have inspired songs by Metallica and Dead Meadow. Led Zeppelin and Rush have songs based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Iron Maiden even does a take on Frank Herbert's Dune.
I googled that last one and found this bit of interesting trivia on wikipedia:
Also on the Piece of Mind album, renowned author Frank Herbert came into conflict with the band when they wanted to record a song named after the book Dune. Not only did Herbert refuse to allow the song to be called "Dune", he also refused to allow a spoken quotation from the book to appear as the track's intro. Bass player Steve Harris's polite request was met with a stern reply from the agent: "No. Because Frank Herbert doesn't like rock bands, particularly heavy rock bands, and especially rock bands like Iron Maiden". This statement was backed up with a legal threat, and eventually the song was renamed "To Tame A Land" and released in 1983.
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| Posted by John on Thursday April 27, 2006 - 11:05 AM
| Category: Music
| © 2006 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Thursday April 27, 2006 - 10:18 AM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2006 SF Signal
[Updated with newly-available SciFi Channel link.]
The SCiFi Channel has announced a new prequel series to Battlestar Galactica. The prequel, called Caprica, is set 50 years before the events leading up to BG. From Zap2It:
"Caprica" will be set more than 50 years prior to the events of "Battlestar Galactica" and focus on the lives of two families -- the Adamas (ancestors of future Galactica commander William) and the Graystones. Humankind's Twelve Colonies are at peace and on the verge of a technological breakthrough: the first Cylon.[Hat-tip to "remote reporter" Joshua Corning who brought this to our attention in another post]As "Battlestar Galactica" is about a lot more than space battles, "Caprica" will be as much family drama as sci-fi tale. Remi Aubuchon ("The Lyon's Den," "24") is writing the pilot script; "Galactica" veterans Ronald D. Moore and David Eick will executive produce it.
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| Posted by John on Wednesday April 26, 2006 - 11:39 PM
| Category: TV
| © 2006 SF Signal
MY RATING: 
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Superman, Martian Manhunter and the intergalactic bounty hunter (all last sons of their respective races) all come together when confronted by an extremely power AI bent on domination of the universe.
MY REVIEW
PROS: Its a DC Universe book. Very good job on the characters, and smooth action.
CONS: There is violence and sexual innuendo, but mild language which had me confused about who this book is geared for. The ending seemed a bit abrupt and almost too easily resolved.
BOTTOM LINE: A solid book with some really good science fiction that could have expanded on the ending and either change some of the language or remove some of the innuendo.
This story was not what I expected when I read the jacket cover and that is a good thing. The setting for the book is not Earth, but planets in deep space. This does make sense considering that the main characters are Superman, J'onn J'onnzz and Lobo who are all from other worlds. They share another common factor in that they are the last surviving members of their races. The book does spend some time describing how these men became the last sons, but this book is more about Lobo.
Lobo is really the star of this book and that's not much of a surprise really as Alan Grant been involved in the creation of this character. He is sort of that anti-hero that people find themselves drawn to. He is rude and crude. He has a shoot first and shoot later attitude that is some what endearing, but Mr. Grant builds this character that is not quite good (but honorable) and has rated R actions and then gives him PG language. That was a sticking point for me in that the book is not something I would let my son read since it does cross the line that the Justice League cartoon does not.
The book does pace very well, and Mr. Grant does a fine job with the action scenes. His characters are well written, and I really think that comes from his time working on comic books. What I believe to be the main arc of the story gets resolved pretty quickly considering how much time was spent building up to the conflict. The last portion of the book is really done as an epilog to tie off the loose threads. Overall, the book is good, but not great. I enjoyed reading it, but had to knock it down for the ending and the points about Lobo's language.
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| Posted by Tim on Wednesday April 26, 2006 - 11:38 PM
| Category: Book Review
| © 2006 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Wednesday April 26, 2006 - 12:42 PM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2006 SF Signal
MeetTheAuthor allows you to see and hear your favorite authors in short clips where they discuss one of their titles.
The science fiction selection is a bit sparse at the moment, offering up two authors in nine clips dated between April and December of 2005. Brian Aldiss is seen in six clips (where he discusses Greybeard, Non-Stop, Super-state, The Helliconia Trilogy, Trillion Year Spree and "Supertoys Last All Summer Long") while Neil Gaiman is seen in three clips (discussing Mirrormask, Neverwhere and Smoke and Mirrors).
The 65 clips of Children's authors includes Terry Pratchett (discussing A Hat Full of Sky and The Wee Free Men), Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl, Artemis Fowl:The Arctic Incident) and Diana Wynne Jones (The Merlin Conspiracy).
[via Forbidden Planet]
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| Posted by John on Wednesday April 26, 2006 - 11:27 AM
| Category: Web Sites
| © 2006 SF Signal
The April 28/May 5 issue of Entertainment Weekly offers some brief reviews of fantasy books. Here's a snippet.
In the Eye of Heaven by David Keck
Lowdown: Though breaking no new ground, Keck creates fantastical drama from solid formula.
Grade: B-
Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik
Lowdown: The second book in Novik's trilogy is less revelatory but still beats with meticulously crafted wonder.
Grade: B+
The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue
Lowdown: An ingenious, spirited allegory for adolescent angst, aging, the purpose of art, etc., that digs deep.
Grade: A
Proven Guilty: A Novel of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Lowdown: A fast and furious adventure, with winking nods to Bugs Bunny and john Carpenter.
Grade: B+
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| Posted by John on Wednesday April 26, 2006 - 12:03 AM
| Category: Books
| © 2006 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Tuesday April 25, 2006 - 9:50 PM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2006 SF Signal
In answer to Jeff VanderMeer's Essential Fantasy Reading List (for Writers), SFBC editor Andrew Wheeler has posted his Essential Fantasy List for Readers.
He outlines some rules for the list, too: books 10 years or older, one book per writer, etc.
Wheeler's list is more mainstream, I think. Which is to say, I've heard more from his list than VanderMeer's. Which is say further, I own but haven't read more books from the Wheeler list than the VanderMeer list.
Note to self: Post less, read more! 
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| Posted by John on Tuesday April 25, 2006 - 9:41 PM
| Category: Books
| © 2006 SF Signal
Locus Online has tallied the votes and posted the nominees for the 2006 Locus Awards. Winners will be announced June 17th 2006 at the Locus Awards Science Fiction Weekend.
A sample of the nominees is shown below with links to free online reads (when available; more sure to follow) and any SF Signal reviews. Be sure to check out the full list of nominees or check out past winners.
BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
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| Posted by John on Tuesday April 25, 2006 - 12:01 AM
| Category: Awards
| © 2006 SF Signal
Well the Frappr spammers are at it again. Apparently, a new avenue of spam opened up when Frappr came onto the scene. Now spammers are leaving drive-by spam on Frappr maps. Clicking their map entry tries to post some data somewhere. Also, the "new member" entry on the forum is scanned by search engine bots to increase their search scores for the particular brand of drug/smut/insurance/site they are selling.
Your feedback to SF Signal is valuable to us because it let's us know when we are doing things right. Our Frappr map is one form of that feedback and just as important. Therefore, SF Signal's Frappr Map now has member moderation enabled. All new members who sign up will need to be approved before being accepted. This keeps out those darn spammers and sends them back to the sinister and unholy depths from which they emerged.
So, take a moment to fight the forces of evil and sign our Frappr map today! (I'm not sure, but it may be deductible on your tax return. Check with your financial advisor.)