REVIEW SUMMARY: A great book - over before you know it!

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Agent Lila Black is on her first mission for the Otopian NSA. Her mission? To guard and investigate the lead singer of the The No Shows rock band, who happens to be an elf. However, she is far from normal herself, even in a changed world intersecting with elven, faery, and even demon worlds. Her assignment leads to a plot much more involved than she had ever imagined and takes her through her own internal struggle and growth.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: A great blend of science fiction and fantasy! Imaginative characters, while based on previous fantasy archetypes - have their own unique aspects and personalities. Quickly pulls you in, and picks up speed from there.
CONS: The introduction, laying the basis of the book, could have been better.
BOTTOM LINE: Keeping It Real is anything but "keeping it real". It transports the reader to a familiar world with an intriguing fantasy and sci-fi twist.  Some good old fashioned espionage wrapped in futuristic technology and fantasy magic. If you are a fan of sci-fi or fantasy Keeping It Real has something for you!

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Posted by at Saturday March 31, 2007 at 12:09 PM
© 2007 SF Signal

This is both cool and funny...

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday March 31, 2007 at 12:14 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

For those who don't have enough to read, theres the Infinite Story website. This site offers more than the "Choose Your Adventure" type stories: it allows you to add your own branch!

From the site:

This site is an interactive fiction writing engine that allows one to read and write infinite stories. Infinite, or branching stories are stories that have choices for the reader at the end of each chapter or "room." Each choice then takes the reader to a new room and the story continues. If the author of a story chooses, the reader can add on to the end of a story, thereby creating a never-ending adventure!

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday March 31, 2007 at 12:08 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• DataJunkie profiles British post-apocalyptic authors including the master of the "cozy catastrophe", John Wyndham. BONUS: a link to the audio version of Wyndham's book Chocky (The 1960's version and the 1990's version).


• Paul Jessup likes steampunk postcards. So do we.


• Torque Control looks at the Best Novel nominees for the BSFA Awards.


• Real Science: All (known) Bodies in the Solar System Larger than 200 Miles in Diameter. Inexplicably, my ego is nowhere to be found... [via Wouldn't It Be Cool?]


• Coolest Post Title Award goes to Table of Malcontents with their weekly Cthulhu Cthursday posts.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday March 31, 2007 at 12:03 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

This year's inductees into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame have been announced.

The inductees for 2007 are Gene Wolfe, Ridley Scott, Ed Emshwiller, and Gene Roddenberry.

Induction ceremonies will be held on June 16th, 2007, at Seattle's Science Fiction Museum, which will also host the announcement and presentation of this year's Locus Awards.

See also: Previous Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductees.

[via Locus Online]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday March 30, 2007 at 8:36 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Follow the trail for Part 2 and Part 3. There's also a Science Fiction Paperback Covers version, but the soundtrack is much, much more annoying.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday March 30, 2007 at 12:17 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• The Toronto Star talks to artist John Picacio, author of the Hugo-nominated Cover Story. [via SFBC Blog]


• John Scalzi interviews Alma Alexander author of Worldweavers: Gift of the Unmage.


• The Oxford Times interviews Juliet E. McKenna, author of Eastern Tide.


• DataJunkie likes rocket jockeys.


• Tobias Buckell explains why zombies are cool.


• Odyssey SF/F Writing Workshop Podcast: Gardner Dozois on Getting Published, from a 2004 lecture.


• Read why a professional critic can't appreciate science fiction.


• The United States Post Office, instead of directing their efforts to make sure I get my Locus magazine in a timely manner, has decided to issue Star Wars stamps. On the bright side, one fortuitous omission means it's not likely that you'd unexpectedly lick Jar Jar Binks. Still no word on the Asimov stamp...

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday March 30, 2007 at 12:08 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

The blog seems to operating normally again. Mostly (more on that in a minute...)

The problem, in a nutshell, is that I'm a boob. There was a Movable Type configuration problem that was made about a year ago. I used the web hosts IP address to specify paths in the configuration file. Within the last couple of days, the web host changed the IP address of our server, thus requests to the blog's resources were timing out. Many thanks to David P. at Movable Type for figuring this out and also to the kind folks at BlueHost for being tolerating my annoying phone calls. (Thanks Kyle! And also the guy who I just spoke to and whose name I completely forgot.)

However - there's always a "however" - the DNS address change that the web host made takes up to 48 hours to complete. What this means is that for the next day or so (I am told), requests to see individual posts will be slightly delayed in appearing. (Oddly, the SF Signal main page appears as quick as ever.) When the posts do appear, you may comment to your heart's content. Please bear with us as these changes are completed.

We now return to your regularly scheduled postings about Star Wars and supermodels...

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday March 29, 2007 at 7:37 PM
© 2007 SF Signal

The blog has been experiencing some performance issues this week, culminating in a virtual lockout for users that began yesterday. Comments are currently unavailable. Trying to access individual posts is an exercise in patience.

We are working to resolve the problem...

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday March 29, 2007 at 10:42 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

The March-April 2007 issue of Interzone (#209) marks the 25th year of the genre magazine's publication.
Here's what's in the 25th Anniversary Issue:

STORIES:

• "The Whenever at the City's Heart" by Hal Duncan
• "Winter" by Jamie Barras
• "The Good Detective" by M. John Harrison
• "Big Cat" by Gwyneth Jones
• "The Sledge-maker's Daughter" by Alastair Reynolds
• "Tears for Godzilla" by Daniel Kaysen
• "Journey to the Center of the Earth" by Edward Morris

• Ansible Link by David Langford (news and gossip)
• Editorial: 25 years of Interzone
• Reviews of books by Kim Stanley Robinson (plus interview by Rick Kleffel), Ken MacLeod, Naomi Novik, Robert Sawyer, Charlie Huston, Ed Gorman, Charles Stross and many others
• Mangazone: Sarah Ash on Eternal Sabbath and Basilisk
• Nick Lowe's Mutant Popcorn: SF's finest film critic on recent films including The Fountain, Arthur and the Invisibles, Eragon, Zoom, Deja Vu, Night at the Museum, It's a Boy-Girl Thing.
• Blood for Ink: Getting Serious With Hal Duncan (interview by Neil Williamson)
• 25 IZ: David Pringle, Arthur C. Clarke, Greg Agan, Michael Moorcock, Christopher Fowler, Neal Asher, Alastair Reynolds, Chris Beckett on 25 years of Interzone (to be continued, with Bruce Sterling, Sarah Ash, Ellen Datlow, Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter, Ken MacLeod, Peter F. Hamilton, Eric Brown, Dominic Green, James Lovegrove, Mike Ashley and many others, including you?)
• 25 TV: Afterlife creator Stephen Volk's personal top ten TV programs from the last 25 years (to be continued, covering various media)
• Readers' Poll results: the most popular stories and art as voted for by the readers

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday March 29, 2007 at 12:05 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• Locus Online has posted a review from the March 2007 issue off Locus: Russell Letson's review of The Jack Vance Treasury edited by Terry Dowling & Jonathan Strahan.


• Paul Raven explains why bad book reviews can be a good thing.


• Not sure why this is such huge news...but the blogosphere is on fire (undoubtedly magical fire) about the new Harry Potter book cover.


• Oprah's book club pick is the mainstream sf novel The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. [via SFBC Blog]


• James Cameron (Terminator, Avatar) explains how movies will be transformed by motion-tracking and 3D technology.


• Chapter feeds has Chapter 1 of Soarer's Choice by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.


• Helium lists 10 Reasons why comic books are better than films. [via 3AM Magazine]


• Centauri Dreams has news of Gregory Benford's travels, including a trip to see Arthur C. Clarke. [via Fred K.]


• Episode 15 of Adventures in Scifi Publishing has Tad Williams reading from Shadowplay and Paul Levinson talking about science fiction within the world of academia.


• Lois McMaster Bujold's MySpace blog has been added to the list of sf/f authors who blog. [Thanks, Kjartan!]


• Andrew Wheeler explains New Wave sf.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday March 29, 2007 at 12:02 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

[4/2 UPDATE: A correction has Pan's Labyrinth replacing Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest in the DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, LONG FORM category.]
[4/4 UPDATE: Updated with links to some stories posted online.]
[4/5 UPDATE: Updated with more links to online stories.]
[4/10 UPDATE: Updated with link to the audio version of the Gaiman story.]
[4/20 UPDATE: Updated with link to final story, Robert Charles Wilson's "Julian".]
[4/23 UPDATE: Added link to Eifelheim.]

The final ballot for the Hugo Awards is floating around...

NOVEL

• Eifelheim by Michael F. Flynn [see SF Signal review]
• His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
• Glasshouse by Charles Stross
• Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge [see SF Signal review]
• Blindsight by Peter Watts [see SF Signal review]

• "A Billion Eves" by Robert Reed
• "The Walls of the Universe" by Paul Melko [see SF Signal review]
• "Inclination" by William Shunn [see SF Signal review]
• "Lord Weary's Empire" by Michael Swanwick
• "Julian" by Robert Charles Wilson

• "Yellow Card Man" by Paolo Bacigalupi
• "Dawn, and Sunset, and the Colours of the Earth" by Michael F. Flynn
• "The Djinn's Wife" by Ian McDonald
• "All the Things You Are" by Mike Resnick
• "Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter" by Geoff Ryman

• "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" by Neil Gaiman
• "Kin" by Bruce McAllister
• "Impossible Dreams" by Tim Pratt
• "Eight Episodes" by Robert Reed
• "The House Beyond the Sky" by Benjamin Rosenbaum

• About Writing: Seven Essays, Four Letters, and Five Interviews by Samuel R. Delany
• Heinlein's Children: The Juveniles by Joseph T. Major
• James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice Sheldon by Julie Phillips [see SF Signal review]
• Cover Story: The Art of John Picacio by John Picacio [see SF Signal review]
• Worldcon Guest of Honor Speeches edited by Mike Resnick & Joe Siclari

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday March 28, 2007 at 10:37 PM
© 2007 SF Signal

There are a ton of unread science fiction and fantasy series that I'd love to dive into.

The top of that list is constantly changing based on either recommendations from others, my own reading experiences (usually by the same author) or just stumbling across an unread book (or series) from my own collection.

For example, folks have been recommending George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series for some time. And my recent reading of Kage Baker's Gods and Pawns moved her Company novels at the top of my list. That's not to mention the series that used to be high on the to-read-next list like Banks' Culture novels, Benford's Galactic Center books, Butcher's Dresden Files and Bova's Grand Tour series...and that's just the authors whose names start with "B"!

Sound off! What science fiction and/or fantasy series are you dying to read?

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday March 28, 2007 at 2:21 PM
© 2007 SF Signal

• Irene Gallo at The Art Department previews Stephan Martiniere's cover of Karl Schroeder's third Virga book, Pirate Sun (sequel to Sun of Suns and Queen of Candesce).


• Brass Goggles has a preview trailer for The Golden Compass...


• ...And here's the trailer for 28 Weeks Later.


• Locus Online has interview excerpts with Tim Powers, Ellen Klages, and Toni Weisskopf.


• Madeleine E. Robins has been added to the list of sf/f authors who blog.


• Am I Spock or Not? would be so much cooler if had pictures of NOT Leonard Nimoy and you got to vote on them. [via Cynical-C]


• Check out this PVP T-shirt depicting a spaceship that is a cross between the Enterprise, an X-Wing, the Back to the Future DeLorean, and...Herbie the Love Bug. [via GeekEnd]


• Flickr photo set: Toy Robot heads.


• Charles Stross explains Why the commercial e-book market is broken. [via A.R. Yngve]


• James Patrick Kelly is podcasting his novel Look Into the Sun. Here's Part 7.


• Subterranean Online is serializing "Deadman's Road" by Joe R. Lansdale and "A Season of Broken Dolls" by Caitlin R. Kiernan. They also have "Eating Crow" by Neal Barrett, Jr.


• Spiderman 1 and 2 in 30 seconds, re-enacted by Bunnies. [via Monitor Duty]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday March 28, 2007 at 1:18 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• Listen to the BBC 4 radio drama of The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov (in two parts). [via SFF Audio]


• Fantasy Book Critic interviews Neal Asher, author of Hilldiggers.


• SFF World interviews Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Name of the Wind.


• 9th Wonders interviews Tim Kring, creator of Heroes.


• SCI FI Weekly Editor Scott Edelman mulls the future of publishing and submits a heretofore unrecognized ingredient: nuclear war.


• Wil Wheaton is writing a story for the second volume of Star Trek: The Manga. Not that I troll Wil Wheaton's blog or anything...


• Geoffrey A. Landis, M.M. Buckner and Adam Roberts discuss NASA's plans for a return to the moon in The Future of Manned Spaceflight. [via Lou Anders]


• New/Updated at Gutenberg: The Galaxy Primes by E. E. Smith.


• An unfinished book by J.R.R. Tolkien, started in 1918, has been completed by his son. The Children of Hurin will be in bookstores on April 17.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday March 27, 2007 at 12:10 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

MY RATING:

The Last Continent is the sixth Rincewind novel, and it seems that Pratchett may have been running out of steam. What more, exactly, can you write about a man whose primary ability is in running away and who is very good at not doing magic? Thus it is with The Last Continent, where we really don't get much of anything new, and certainly not about Rincewind. The story is basically about how the Wizards of the Unseen University end up on the Last Continent (aka - XXXX), but 3000 years in the past, and Rincewind's adventures in present day XXXX and how those two settings finally mesh.

Rincewind, as you might expect, spends most of his time running away from everything, especially the supernatural kangaroo, who seems to have something interesting for Rincewind to do. The UU wizards, meanwhile, are trying to figure out how to make it back to Ank-Morpork for lunch, which will occur in a few hours plus three millennia. As such, there is very little interaction between the threads, although there are some inklings that the wizards in the past have caused/are causing problems in the present. I was never really sure, exactly, how this was done, or who was using Rincewind to try and set things right. The climax doesn't really explain much, although there is a lot of rain involved. In fact, the whole never felt like an extended gag about Australia (which XXXX is similar too). Unfortunately, while the individual gags may be humorous, like the Mad Max-ish dwarf, and the goofy place names (Didjabringabeeralong), it really felt like Pratchett was beating a dead wombat, with just more, "Hey! Let's make some more fun of how Australians talk and their strange vocabulary!" It got old quickly and I had to force myself to keep reading at some points.

That's not to say there aren't good things here. There certainly are. The ensuing discussion between the wizards as Ponder Stibbons attempts to explain time travel and paradoxes is quite funny. As is the scene where the god of evolution shows the wizards how evolution works and Stibbons points out how it can be made more efficient. Also, the explanation for how the platypus was created is quite funny, and, as you can guess, involved a committee. Of wizards. Rincewind is still his same old cowardly self, the Luggage gets a little screen time but in a familial way and Death makes a quick appearance and is always good for a laugh. And there are the little funny bits sprinkled throughout, but they don't elevate this book above being an average Pratchett book.

Which is to say, while The Last Continent isn't Pratchett's best by a long shot, it does have its moments, and its certainly better than your run of the mill fantasy with elves story.

(See the entire Pratchett Reading List here.)

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Posted by JP Frantz at Monday March 26, 2007 at 3:07 PM
© 2007 SF Signal

REVIEW SUMMARY: A good book overall, but weak on plot.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Discworld plunges towards an ominous red star and the only thing that can save it are the most powerful magic spells, one of which lives inside the head of the reluctant Wizard Rincewind.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: A quick and funny read.
CONS: Light on plot; seemed to drag on a bit despite the humor.
BOTTOM LINE: A better overall reading experience than The Color of Magic, even if only slightly.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday March 26, 2007 at 12:22 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Matthew Cheney has posted the table of contents for the first edition of the annual anthology Best American Fantasy:

1. "A Hard Truth About Waste Management" by Sumanth Prabhaker
2. "The Stolen Father" by Eric Roe
3. "The Saffron Gatherer" by Elizabeth Hand
4. "The Whipping" by Julia Elliott
5. "A Better Angel" by Chris Adrian
6. "Draco Campestris" by Sarah Monette
7. "Geese" by Daniel Coudriet
8. "The Chinese Boy" by Ann Stapleton
9. "The Flying Woman" by Meghan McCarron
10. "First Kisses from Beyond the Grave" by Nik Houser
11. "Song of the Selkie" by Gina Ochsner
12. "A Troop [sic] of Baboons" by Tyler Smith
13. "Pieces of Scheherazade" by Nicole Kornher-Stace
14. "Origin Story" by Kelly Link
15. "An Experiment in Governance" by E.M. Schorb
16. "The Next Corpse Collector" by Ramola D
17. "The Village of Ardakmoktan" by Nicole Derr
18. "The Man Who Married a Tree" by Tony D'Souza
19. "A Fable with Slips of White Paper Spilling from the Pockets" by Kevin Brockmeier
20. "Pregnant" by Catherine Zeidler
21. "The Warehouse of Saints" by Robin Hemley
22. "The Ledge" by Austin Bunn
23. "Lazy Taekos" by Geoffrey A. Landis
24. "For the Love of Paul Bunyan" by Fritz Swanson
25. "An Accounting" by Brian Evenson
26. "Abraham Lincoln Has Been Shot" by Daniel Alarcón
27. "Bit Forgive" by Maile Chapman
28. "The End Of Narrative (1-29; Or 29-1)" by Peter LaSalle
29. "Kiss" by Melora Wolff

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday March 26, 2007 at 12:15 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• Show your Heroes fanboy mettle: bid on the artwork of character Isaac Menendez (artwork by Tim Sale). [via YesButNoButYes ]


• Lou Anders reviews John Scalzi's The Last Colony.


• For a mere £130,000, you can have your very own Rocket Belt.


• Robot Guy has The Great Science Fiction Movie Poll (pick up to 25 favorites).


• David Brin offers a sneak peek at his new short novel Sky Horizon


• Pick your interview poison: SCI FI Weekly's interview with author Ray Bradbury or Movies Online's interview with Grace "Boomer" Park ?


• At Strange Horizons, Matthew Cheney gives C.L. Moore due credit.


• Monday YouTube: Behold The Call of Tutu! [via Raincoaster]


• The group author blogs Eat Our Brains, Deep Genre, Talking Squid and The Inferior 4+1 have been added to the list of sf/f authors who blog.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday March 26, 2007 at 12:05 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

"There is something satisfying about holding and smelling and turning a page in a book. Good, bad or ugly I like the feel of them." - Bryan S.

"So this begs a follow up question: How many of those who have read a book on their PC are doing so legally? ;-)" - Trent

"Actual books read on electronic display? None. I do read a lot of online fiction on my home desktop. In fact a greater percentage of my fiction reading in online but they're not books. Mostly what I read is shorter format works, but I can sit in front of a computer for hours and hours reading a good number of stories. I think that ability to find nearly all the Hugo and Nebula award nominees online and read them is great. There's no way I could read them all without the internet." - Kat

"What kind of friggin' poll question is this?" - Rich

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday March 26, 2007 at 12:00 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• CGSociety has announced the winners of a computer graphics contest based on Greg Bear's book Eon. The winning entry makes me want to pull the book down off the shelf. Hmmm...maybe book trailers are a good idea after all.


• Somebody throw John Scalzi a life preserver...he's losing his marbles again.


• Some Jules Verne link love: The illustrators of Jules Verne's Voyages Extraordinaires and Jules Verne autographs. [via Quiddity]


• The Top 10 Science Fiction Musicals


• Joel Shepherd shows off the cover of Killswitch.


• Over at Evil Eyebrow, Bill Rusham's got a fun summer movie project to catch up on all his sci-fi movie viewing.


• Movie Trailer-rama: Spiderman 3 and Stardust (airships!)


• Paul Levinson has posted his essay How Star Trek Liberated Television that was included in Boarding the Enterprise.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday March 25, 2007 at 12:34 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Matthew Cheney has posted the preface to the upcoming Best American Fantasy. Here's a snippet:

The three words in our title do not have stable definitions. Instead of a cause of frustration, this lack of stability can be a source of wonder.

Best. According to whom? Under what criteria? Relative to what?

American. Where? Is it a geography or a mindset? Is it governments or landscapes? Is it a history or a bunch of histories or the eradication of history? Is it by birth or choice? Is it more about and less about or?

Fantasy. Swords and dragons? Dreams and portents? Nonsense? Does fantasy have to include magic, or can it simply hint at strangeness? Is it a genre or a lens? Is it subject or object? Can it live within the structure of a story, or must it emanate from the content? Where does fiction end and fantasy begin?

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday March 24, 2007 at 11:01 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

MSN looks at Sci-Fi From Page to Screen that looks at film adaptations and the respect (or lack thereof) of science fiction.

Choice quotage:

[P.D.] James, an esteemed mystery writer who made her first foray into writing about the future with her novel "The Children of Men," ruffled the feathers of other science-fiction writers by distancing herself from them. "P.D. James won few friends in the [sci-fi] community by whining about how her serious book wasn't science fiction, all the while rewriting an old Brian Aldiss novel, "Greybeard," says British author and film critic Kim Newman.
...
Who's to blame for all this? We'll point the finger at that famous punching bag of fan boys everywhere: George Lucas..."Star Wars" effectively ended all that, substituting space battles, nonstop special effects and simple good-versus-evil archetypes for the more complex shadings and themes that marked science fiction to that point.
...
"The Last Mimzy," meanwhile, is being marketed as a children's film...

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday March 23, 2007 at 2:32 PM
© 2007 SF Signal

Today marks the opening of the new SF movie, The Last Mimzy. Of course, it's a Hollywood-ized version of the classic short story, Mimsy Were The Borogroves, by Henry Knutter, which I found to be a bit creepy and disturbing. Aside from the luke warm reviews, the interesting thing to me is that my 10 year old actually said to me: "II want to see that!" He actually wants to go see something that is honest to goodness SF, for which I am surprised, but also somewhat excited. Finally, something SF that has attracted his attention, aside from Meet The Robinsons (which we'll probably see just for the T-Rex), and its also a film I can actually take he and his brother to since it is rated PG, and a film where kids play a starring role.

Of course, it may suck rocks, but I bet my kids won't care. And if he still likes it, I'll get him to read the short story (looks at John's bookshelf). Here is a nice trailer for you to observe:

Thanks to SciFiChick for the motivation to write this.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Friday March 23, 2007 at 10:37 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Your Friday YouTube...

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday March 23, 2007 at 9:19 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• Here's an interesting book group summary of Cordwainer Smith's short story collection We The Underpeople.


• Actusf interviews Orson Scott Card. [via Locus Online]


• List: SciFi Chick's Favorite SciFi Novels.


• Warp Section has The 80's Post-Apocalyptic Film Fest.


• Rich Horton lists his Virtual Best of the Year: 2006.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday March 23, 2007 at 12:55 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Tobias Buckell (author of Crystal Rain) has called for science fiction writers of all types to get together online in the virtual world of Second Life. He's got others talking about building an artists conclave of sorts. A place where writers could hang out, discuss the craft, and interact with fans. Jason Stoddard (author and creator of Second Life virtual property) has even offered to build authors some slick virtual pad for free.

If you aren't familiar with Second Life, you can be forgiven. It is an online 3D virtual world, where most of the content is created by the users. The stated goal is to create a world that works like the Metaverse described in Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. And so far, they've done a pretty reasonable job. There is a thriving community of folks who create online content that they either sell or give to others. There is an in-game currency (the Linden dollar, named for the company Linden Labs who owns the software) that converts to real world currency.

It would seem only natural for science fiction authors to find a place here. It has potential, but whether or not it will be realized is another matter. It is certainly a non-traditional approach and while it wouldn't appeal to Harlan Ellison, it might attract the next generation of authors.

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Posted by Scott Shaffer at Thursday March 22, 2007 at 9:05 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

It's the return of Meme Therapy! After a four month absence, they finally poke their heads up with the question: Is there one writer or novel in particular that has "cranked" your head open?

Welcome back, guys!

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday March 22, 2007 at 12:19 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• Chapter Feeds has the 1st chapter of Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber.


• The Art Department showcases the artwork of David Grove (including the cover of Gene Wolfe's Pirate Freedom. Arrrr!), who will be inducted into the Illustrators' Hall of Fame.


• Norman Spinrad discusses hard science fiction and accessibility of sf in his reviews of Peter Watts' Blindsight and Mary Rosenblum's Horizons. [via Geekend, who has something worthwhile to say about it.]


• Asimov's, celebrating their 30th anniversary issue, also posts Robert Silverberg's "Reflections" column and a combined editorial, including the first Asimov's editorial ever by Isaac himself.


• FantasyBookspot interviews Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Name of the Wind, the first book of the The Kingkiller Chronicles trilogy.


• Matt Cheney's Mumpsimus is SciFi Weekly's site of the week.


• Cory Doctorow concludes the podcast of Eastern Standard Tribe.


• A gallery of science fiction pulp covers painted by British illustrator and comics artist Ron Turner for British pulp magazines in the 1950s. [via BoingBoing]


• More cool sci-fi art at Bldg Blog, where they talk about an upcoming film festival called called Science Fiction and the City.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday March 22, 2007 at 12:18 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

James Keith wrote in with a poll suggestion: What's the most underrated Space Opera novel?
(He actually asked about the last 10 years, but I don't want to be that restrictive...yet. Just in case anyone wants to toss in an Edmond Hamilton novel.)

What a great topic! However, I could use some help in compiling the list of choices...

Sound off!

By way of clarification, I'll point you to my review of The Space Opera Renaissance edited by David G. Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer where I say that the definition of space opera is quite large. Feel free to use your own definition.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday March 21, 2007 at 4:43 PM
© 2007 SF Signal

Boston Legal will seem like a bad Star Trek episode on April 3rd when Denny Crane (William Shatner) must come to terms with a face from the past: a 25-year-old William Shatner!

Through the magic of "television", Boston Legal will use old footage of Shatner's appearance from The Defender TV show and DS9-Tribble him into the episode.

It is not clear which of them will succeed in out-overacting the other.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday March 21, 2007 at 12:15 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• The Borders Media website has a free audio extract from Dan Simmons' latest novel The Terror (Apple Quicktime player required) [via UK SF Book News]


• ChapterFeeds has the 1st chapter of The Forsaken by L.A. Banks


• John Clute reviews Matthew Sharpe's Jamestown.


• Fortean Times profiles Nikola Tesla.


• Litmus interviews Robert White, MD PhD, a neurosurgeon who performed monkey head-swapping and cold storage experiments in the 1970s.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday March 21, 2007 at 12:03 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Andrew Wheeler is the busy Senior Editor of The Science Fiction Book Club. He runs two blogs: the SFBC Blog and his personal bog, The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent. Over the course of seven months (Did we mention he is busy?) SF Signal had the opportunity to talk to Andrew via email about the inner workings of the Science Fiction Book Club, the publishing industry and underrated science fiction.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday March 20, 2007 at 12:28 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Borrowing the "From the Oustide Looking In" title used by David Langford in his Ansible zine, I submit this post from Sam Jordison at the Guardian Book Blog. A few choice quotes:

At the risk of sounding like a nerd, I'm beginning to think science fiction's actually quite good.
...
Science fiction doesn't get a lot of respect - and quite possibly it doesn't deserve it.
...
There's something about science fiction that just doesn't appeal. Even though I've long recognised that I'm a bit of a geek, I just find much of it too nerdy. I have a strong negative reaction to all the warp-speed jargon, the masturbatory fantasies about alien sex queens and the frequent intrusion of half-baked mathematical theories.
...
You see, when it comes to the genre wars, science fiction is at a very curious disadvantage. As soon as someone writes a really good sci-fi book it nearly always seems to get reclassified as something else.
...
Does writing brilliantly preclude Vonnegut et al from the sci-fi genre? Or is it just that there's so much more to their books than spaceships and aliens? Could it be that most sci-fi is just so bad that reasonable people can't stand to tar literary heroes like Angela Carter with its brush? Conversely, have I been unreasonably depriving myself of other great sci-fi works for years? Or is it simply the case that I'm barking up the wrong tree and that my approach to literature would be far healthier if I just ignored such semantics and the labelling policies of high street chains?

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday March 20, 2007 at 12:22 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

The Solaris Books blog, When Gravity Fails, points us to a goldmine of old radio dramas on the web at OTR Network. They offer a bunch of the standard programs you think of when you think of old radio, like Abbot and Costello. (And shame on you if you've never heard "Who's on First?" )

But they have lots of genre titles, too. Check out these beauties...

• Exploring Tomorrow
• Flash Gordon
• Frankenstein
• Hall of Fantasy
• Space Patrol
• Two versions of Tarzan
• Tom Corbet

As Marco notes in the comments, there are a bunch more radio dramas, many of them genre-related, over at Mercury Theatre.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday March 20, 2007 at 12:12 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• UK SF Book News interviews Richard Morgan about his new novel, Black Man.


• SFX interviews Roger Levy.


• Here's a list of The Top 10 sexiest Sci-Fi Movie Actresses.


• Andrew Wheeler isn't happy with the way The New York Times treats science fiction.


• James Patrick Kelly is podcasting his novel Look Into the Sun. Here's Part 6.


• The Fairfax County Public Library podcast interviews John C. Wright. Funny...he doesn't sound like George Kennedy... [via JCW]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday March 20, 2007 at 12:10 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

REVIEW SUMMARY: Another excellent read by Scalzi.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: John Perry and Jane Sagan are assigned to lead a new colony world only to discover they are pawns in a risky game played by the Colonial Union.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Well-written narrative; excellent storytelling; fun characters; gives closure to this superb series.
CONS: Scenes of space colony life not as interesting as the other parts; one minor, but unfortunately obvious, foreshadowing of the ending.
BOTTOM LINE: Except for a few minor glitches, this lives up to the reputation of the previous books.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday March 19, 2007 at 1:14 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Next month will see the release of toys that only an Elder God could love: My Little Cthulhu!

My Little Cthulhu is an 8" vinyl figure and has a suggested retail price of $29.99. There will also be set of six Little Victims & Little Minions^™ that will retail for $14.99.

If anyone was wondering how much to spend on a gift for me, it'd be about forty-five bucks. I'm just sayin'...

[via #Comments blog]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday March 19, 2007 at 12:36 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• Paul Levinson details the evolution of his Phil D'Amato character from "The Chronology Protection Case" novelette (see a trailer for a film based on this story or listen to a podcast of the radio drama version!) through The Pixel Eye.


• New at Gutenberg: Rebel Spurs by Andre Norton.


• The Genre Traveler, a webzine of travel resources for science fiction/fantasy/horror fans, is holding The 1st Annual Genre Traveler Photo Contest.


• Derryl Murphy posts his Locus article about Canadian SF and fantasy: The Stars Shine Bright North of the 49th.


• Here's an alternative version of "Science Fiction Double Feature", the opening song from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, that shows the sci-fi films referenced.


• CNN asks you to pick your favorite futuristic cars.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday March 19, 2007 at 12:06 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

"I adored Tron when I was younger. These days, it looks like a bizarre German expressionist film. But I vote for it anyway, out of respect for twelve-year-old-me." - Pete Tz.

"I obviously chose the Lebowski answer, but if you had "The Fisher King" up there which is defiantly not Sci-Fi, why not "The Big Lebowski"? I submit that The Big Lebowshi had at least the FICTION half of Sci-Fi where The Fisher King just had a crazy Robin Williams. Am I going to have to rough you up?" - Trent

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday March 19, 2007 at 12:00 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Neal Stephenson has a New York Times article, It's All Geek to Me, that talks about geekdom and the film 300:

Lack of critical respect means nothing to sci-fi's creators and fans. They made peace with their own dorkiness long ago. Oh, there was momentary discomfort around the time of William Shatner's 1987 "Saturday Night Live" sketch, in which he exhorted Trekkies to "get a life." But this had been fully resolved by 2000, when sci-fi fans voted to give the Hugo Award for best movie to Galaxy Quest, a film that revolves around making fun of sci-fi fans.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday March 18, 2007 at 9:13 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• There are some newly released character posters out for the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer movie. [via Cinematical]


• Publishers Weekly profiles Night Shade Books. [via Jay Tomio]


• The #Comments blog lists 8 Sci-fi/Fantasy Books you might enjoy.


• The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and AbeBooks.com have teamed up to give a pair of lucky speculative fiction fans the chance to attend the Nebula Awards ceremony and banquet on May 11-12 2007 in New York.


• Shame on us...I think it's been more than 6 minutes since we talked about Star Wars. Here's a Steampunk Death Star.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday March 18, 2007 at 12:02 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Cynical-C points us to a 1959 Mike Wallace interview with Ayn Rand:

Note: There's also a 1980 Phil Donahue interview that starts here, continues with part two, three, four and five. In part 3, at 2:40, Donahue confronts her about atheism.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday March 17, 2007 at 2:22 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• Eos Blog has a sneak peak at The New Space Opera edited by Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan.


• SFX interviews Jeffrey Thomas, author of Deadstock.


• John Scalzi is a Write-In Candidate for SFWA President.


• Humor: Top 10 Bands in the Spaceport Bar.


• Meet the Author UK has a video of Terry Pratchett talking about Wintersmith.


• Real Science: A giant pool of water ice at Mars' South Pole.


• David Louis Edelman lists 5 Things That Do Happen When You Become a Published Author and 5 Things That Don't Happen When You Become a Published Author.


• Cynical-C offers The Making of the Doctor Who Theme.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday March 17, 2007 at 2:11 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• Table of Malcontents points us to Astounding Science Fiction's Astounding Covers! One of my favorites is the Freas cover used for Frederic Brown's "Martians, Go Home".


• John Scalzi interviews Elizabeth Moon


• Subterranean Press offers "The Surgeon's Tale" by Jeff VanderMeer & Cat Rambo.


• BBT Blog talks about The Shame of Star Wars and how being a fanboy went from cool to nerdy.


• John Joseph Adams profiles Jack McDevitt, author of the Nebula-finalist, Seeker.


• Jason Stoddard has been added to the list of sf/f authors who blog. He also has part 3 of his post series New Marketing 101 for Science Fiction Publications and Writers.


• Jeff VanderMeer talks about incorrect assumptions about niche anthologists.


• To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Interzone, TTA Press is making the noveall "Journey to the Center of the Earth" by Edward Morris available asa free (PDF) download. [via Locus Online]


• Quiz: Which H.P. Lovecraft character are you? [via Raincoaster]


• While you're in a Lovecraft mood, check out SFF Audio's roundup of H.P. Lovecraft MP3s.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday March 16, 2007 at 12:14 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Last weekend we tore out the stairs on our 30+ year-old house (and replaced them with oak. This was my wife's idea. I would have saved the money for something much cooler, like a new high-end video card for my computer, or a few boxes of Confrontation miniatures.)

Among other things, we found some loose change dated from the 60's and a sci-fi action figure. No one at home knew what the figure was, so I thought I'd post a picture of it.

Any guesses?
[See extended entry for photo... ]

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Posted by Kevin at Thursday March 15, 2007 at 11:57 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Locus Online has printed Cory Doctorow's column from the March isssue of Locus magazine. Here's a snippet of the article You Do Like Reading Off a Computer Screen:

Electronic books are a wonderful adjunct to print books. It's great to have a couple hundred novels in your pocket when the plane doesn't take off or the line is too long at the post office. It's cool to be able to search the text of a novel to find a beloved passage. It's excellent to use a novel socially, sending it to your friends, pasting it into your sig file.

But the numbers tell their own story - people who read off of screens all day long buy lots of print books and read them primarily on paper. There are some who prefer an all-electronic existence (I'd like to be able to get rid of the objects after my first reading, but keep the e-books around for reference), but they're in a tiny minority.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday March 15, 2007 at 12:15 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• ChapterFeeds offers the 1st chapter of Fugitives of Chaos by John C. Wright. (See also: SF Signal review.)


• ForeverGeek has a Geek Summer Movie Round-up.


• Collision Detection examines the mathematical proof why Vampires cannot exist.


• The final Harry Potter book will have a record breaking, back breaking first printing of 12 million copies.


• Abigail Nussbaum gives some serious thought to the the character of Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica.


• Fractal Pr0n: Geekend has a gllery of 3D Fractal images. What, am I the only one with a pair of 3D glasses lying around?


• The website for the Canadian sketch comedy show This Hour has 22 Minutes is running a poll in response to Halifax losing the bid for the Commonwealth Games. They are asking which other long dead and now irrelevant empire's games should Halifax consider hosting? George Lucas's Galactic Empire is currently in the lead, beating out the Roman, Ottoman, Byzantine and Aztec empires quite handily. [via Bloginhood]


• Speaking of Stars Wars (and when aren't we?), here's a set of speakers for the Star Wars enthusiast. [via Tim, our resident curmudgeon and self-proclaimed Star Wars enthusiast who will undoubtedly point his wife towards this post.]


• Alan Kistler has part two of his profile of Wonder Woman. Oddly, theres no mention of Wonder Woman's Subaru...


• Henry Jenkins is seeing what happens when we apply genre theory to the challenges of understanding superhero comics.


• Bruce Sterling gives blogs 10 years to live. Bummer...there go my plans to be the #1 blog by the year 2018.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday March 15, 2007 at 12:05 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Clockmaker Apprentice Heathor is visted by the Archangel Gabriel. Hethor is tasked with discovering the Key Perilous and re-winding the Mainspring of the world before it runs down and the Earth stops rotating.

PROS: Wildly inventive, filled with rollicking old-school adventure SF, Hethor is an interesting and sympathetic character.
CONS: Hethor escapes many deadly encounters, secondary characters not fleshed out, high body count and sporadically overly violent.
BOTTOM LINE: Mainspring is a wildly inventive novel infused with old-school adventure SF action. If you're looking for something different that has lots of 'sensawunda', pick up Mainspring.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Wednesday March 14, 2007 at 11:18 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Wednesday YouTube features more hot Kirk/Spock action with the mashup "I Touch Myself".

[via PistolWimp]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday March 14, 2007 at 12:28 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Jeremy Tolbert writes in to tell us about Launch Pad, a free, NASA-funded workshop in Wyoming for established writers that aims to provide a "crash course" in modern astronomy through workshops, guest lectures, and observation through the University of Wyoming's two large telescopes.

This year's guest instructor is Jerry Oltion, amateur astronomer and science fiction author (Abandon In Place, The Getaway Special, Anywhere But Here and Paradise Passed). Other lecturers include University of Wyoming professors Mike Brotherton, PhD (and author of Star Dragon...read it for free!) and Jim Verley.

Interested writers should apply soon...the deadline is May 1st and there are only 12 openings.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday March 14, 2007 at 12:15 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• New/Updated at Gutenberg: Triplanetary by E. E. Smith. [via Boing^2]


• Michael Cassutt looks at the new crop of spring TV pilots. [Looks at JP...]


• Some guy built his own arcade machine (using a MAME Emulator) to look like the TARDIS. [via Neatorama ]


• Nebula-nominee Karina Sumner-Smith has been added to the list of sf/f authors who blog.


• SFFWorld interviews Tad Williams (Shadowplay) and C.S. Friedman (Feast of Souls).


• McSweeney's offers writers Thrilling Chapter Endings to Use in Their Next Novel. "Suddenly, [PROTAGONIST] noticed darting shadows in the corner of the ballroom. Ninjas!" [via Backwards City]


• PistolWimp offer two video goodies today: The Twilight Zone episode "Queen of the Nile" and the very 1st episode of the forgotten Videocraft-Rankin/Bass cartoon Tales of the Wizard of Oz.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday March 14, 2007 at 12:08 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

[Update: added review of final story, "An End to All Things".]

Like last year, I undertook a project to read the short fiction nominees for this year's Nebula Award. Only two of the nominees were not available online this year. One of those (Michael A. Burstein's "Sanctuary") I read in Analog, the other ("An End to All Things" by Karina Sumner-Smith) I couldn't get a copy of, so it was not reviewed. (If I manage to get my hands on a copy, I'll update this post.) [Update: See review below.]

Once more, I thought this was a fun project as it makes me feel like I'm keeping in touch with the best that the current short fiction landscape has to offer. Or is that a fallacy? Although I enjoyed immensely all of the novella nominees, some of the shorter works were considerably less than stellar. In their defense, those tended to be the fantasy stories; my partial indifference towards that genre couldn't bode well for them anyway. Nonetheless, I remained hopeful, expecting - perhaps naively - something special from stories that are nominated for awards.

I'm not sure if it's a trend or just something I notices because, in this age of Internets, looking up the information is so darn easy, but it seems that more and more short fiction that I read draws upon history and mythology to tell their stories. This year's nominees initiated Wikipedia lookups for Helen of Troy, Henry David Thoreau, Narcissus, Walpurgis Night, Erwin Schrödinger and Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. Science fiction is nothing if not cause to brush up on history. Apparently.

In a nutshell, then, here are my impressions of the stories in each category, sorted from most to least enjoyable. My winning picks are the tops ones listed in each category.

NOVELLAS
"Sanctuary" by Michael A. Burstein (Read a preview)
"Burn" by James Patrick Kelly
"The Walls of the Universe" by Paul Melko
"Inclination" by William Shunn

NOVELETTES
"Two Hearts" by Peter S. Beagle
"Little Faces" by Vonda McIntyre
"The Language of Moths" by Chris Barzak
"Journey into the Kingdom" by M. Rickert
"Walpurgis Afternoon" by Delia Sherman

SHORT STORIES
"Henry James, This One's For You" by Jack McDevitt
"An End to All Things" by Karina Sumner-Smith
"The Woman in Schrödinger's Wave Equations" by Eugene Mirabelli
"Helen Remembers the Stork Club" by Esther M. Friesner
"Echo" by Elizabeth Hand
"Pip and the Fairies" by Theodora Goss.

Reviewlettes of the stories follow....

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday March 13, 2007 at 12:22 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• John Scalzi has posted the first chapter of his book The Android's Dream online. You know...the chapter... [see SF Signal review] [via Big Dumb Object]


• The list of Top 10 put-downable books includes Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling. [via Big Blog of Cheese]


• SF Author Smackdown! Justin has created an sf writer daily bracket. And so has Fantasy Book Spot! But wait! There's more!


• SCI FI Wire profiles John Birmingham, author of Final Impact.


• Sci-Fi Foddder summarizes the difference between Hugo and Nebula Awards.


• Comic Book Resources interviews Richard K. Morgan, author of Woken Furies), mostly about his comics-writing work. [via SFBC Blog]


• The March 2007 issue of The Internet Review of Science Fiction is out.


• For your visual enjoyment: Zoom Quilt II!


• SFF World's Andrew Smith details how to write a derivative fantasy novel. [via SFBC Blog]


• Cinematical is reporting another DVD release of Serenity with a bunch of shiny extras.


• James Patrick Kelly is podcasting his novel Look Into the Sun. Here's Part 5.


• Mindhacks offers a critical view of transhumanism


• New/Updated on Gutenberg: The Colors of Space by Marion Zimmer Bradley.


• Howard Waldrop & Lawrence Person review 300.


• Check out the cool artwork of Daniel Conway. (Cookies required, but worth it)


• The A to Z Guide to Political Interference in Science.


• Centauri Dreams weighs in on the lifespan of science fiction magazines.


• How science fiction influences the imaginations of technologists: "Fans decry any emphasis on their favored genre's predictive power (science fiction, they say, is really about the present day); but nonetheless, the accurate predictions of many science fiction writers are justly famous."


• Free fiction from MIT Technology Review: "Osama Phone Home" by David Marusek.


• Memoirs of a Skepchick asks: Where are the women in SFBC's list of Most Significant SF/F Books? [via uDreamOfJanie]


• Everything I need to know I learned from Cthulhu! [via Raincoaster]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday March 13, 2007 at 12:06 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Ben Bova's latest article for the Bonita News is titled: The "Marching Morons" show prescience of science fiction. A snippet:

There are tons of science fiction stories that show myriads of possible futures. Some of those futures have come into being. Kornbluth's "The Marching Morons" is one of them. If more people had read that story half a century ago, perhaps we might have avoided some of the pitfalls that have led us to a moron-rich world today.

And therein lies the rub. Despite its power to illuminate the possibilities of tomorrow, science fiction is not read by most people. Perhaps it's that word "science" that frightens them off: they think the stories are too difficult for them to understand. They're not.

Perhaps the problem lies with the visual entertainment media: movies and TV. Let's face it, most of Hollywood's "sci-fi" has its origins in comic strips, not actual published science fiction. Many people don't realize that the "sci-fi flicks" on both big and small screens are a far cry from the intellectual and emotional depth of real science fiction.

But I suspect that a major part of the problem is that most people don't want to think hard about where we are and where we're heading...

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday March 12, 2007 at 12:16 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

There have been a couple of updates in the past few weeks:

1. Our search box now uses Google Blog Search. The reason is that a$$-clown spammers were doing many searches to get themselves noticed in our activity log. This slowed down our performance. Using Google fixes that. But blog posts take a while to appear in Google - days or weeks, if at all - so we now use Google Blog Search. New posts appear in search results soon after their posting.
2. The home page loads more quickly. Some slow JavaScript code was inadvertently placed in the wrong place in the home page template, so it was executing up to 15 times every time the page loaded. You might have noticed that the right-side widgets took a long time to appear. That is now fixed.
3. In addition to the Frappr map link, the Map widget has been updated with the Map Loco map. (Although I'm still toying with the idea of using ClustrMaps.)
4. The News Feeds widget has been streamlined to take up less space.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday March 12, 2007 at 12:08 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

"What... no Matt Damon 'Southie' Star Trek Joke? No Gary Sinise 'Lt. Dan' joke? In the immortal words of Tuck and Roll from 'A Bugs life' "You fired! No, you fired. NO! YOU FIRED!" - Trent

"On the one hand, yay, it's a new Star Trek movie. That makes me happy. On the other hand, I remember how "Young Indiana Jones Adventures," went. Do I need a Star Trek equivalent?" - Pete

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday March 12, 2007 at 12:00 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Issue #925 of Entertainment Weekly offers some brief reviews of fantasy books. Here's a snippet...

The Alchemist's Apprentice by Dave Duncan
For Fans of: Italy's Renaissance.
Lowdown: The occult is a grace note in this cynical whodunit, juicy with periodic detail.
Grade: B+

Keeping It Real Justina Robson
For Fans of: Tolkien, had he gone electric, dropped acid, and discovered tantric sex.
Lowdown: A Teeming fantasy that sometimes stalls in come-together preachiness and turgid mysticism.
Grade: B-

The Serpent and the Rose by Kathleen Bryan
For Fans of: Elizabeth Haydon, Terry Goodkind.
Lowdown: Well-thought-through magic, convincing medieval details, and likable characters make for a pleasant adventure.
Grade: B

Elsewhere in the issue is an article and review (rating: B) on Frank Miller's 300 and a piece on Malcolm McDowell's role as Mr. Linderman in Heroes.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday March 11, 2007 at 12:22 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• Geekend has the secret history of Star Trek's theme music.


• Here's an article on the B5: Lost Tales production.


• Beam Me Up podcasts Mike Resnick's short story "Old McDonald Had a Farm".


• Andrew Wheeler has some thoughts on Dave Itzkoff's SETI article.


• Adam Roberts on Jameson's Archaeologies of the Future. [via VCTB]


• Finally revealed! The difference between the Hugo and the Nebula.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday March 11, 2007 at 12:12 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

[Waves Hand] This is Not The Junk Mail You are Looking for...

The United States Post Office (the people who cannot seem to be able to deliver my Locus magazine without reading it first -- but don't get me started...) is celebrating the 30th anniversary of Star Wars by dressing up some mailboxes around the country to look like R2D2.

Is there nothing beyond George Lucas' reach? What's next? The Jar-Jar fire hydrant?

[via MonkeyFilter]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday March 10, 2007 at 12:05 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Carl Huber is performing a social experiment that might appeal to science fiction fans.

He's printing up a bunch of stickers that say "Now with Soylent Green!" and he's putting them on stuff -- like food in grocery stores. Of course, there is a full-disclosure footnote included that lets people know that "Soylent Green is made of people."

He invites others to do the same and send him the corresponding photos.

[Disclaimer: SF Signal neither endorses nor condones the consumption of people.]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday March 09, 2007 at 12:16 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• ManyBooks.net lists free post-1950 science fiction classics featuring works by Edmond Hamilton, H. Beam Piper, Murray Leinster, John W. Campbell, Jr., Andre Norton, Donald A. Wollheim, Alan Nourse, George Oliver Smith, Philip José Farmer, E.E. "Doc" Smith, Victor Appleton, Marion Zimmer Bradley, James H. Schmitz, Daniel Keys Moran, Robert Sheckley and more. There are more recent authors, too, like James Patrick Kelly, Tobias Buckell, Charles Stross, Cory Doctorow and Peter Watts.


• According to The Guardian Book Blog, publishers' concentration on big-name authors impoverishes more modest sellers - and leaves readers worse off, too.


• Geekend has video of a real-world functional battlemech.


• Escape Pod #96 podcasts Kevin J. Anderson's "Job Qualifications".


• Tobias Buckell posts his interview with Joel Shepherd, author of Crossover, from last year.


• Here's why sf author Chris Roberson doesn't watch Heroes. Lou Anders, on the other hand, loves Heroes and it has opened his eyes to the death of episodic television.


• Here's a flash-based game with Tron Light Cycles.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday March 09, 2007 at 12:06 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• John Scalzi interviews Jon Armstrong, author of Grey.


• Chapter Feeds has chapter 1 of The Sky People by S.M. Stirling. [See also: SF Signal review]


• William Shunn has been added to the list of sf/f authors who blog.


• Cynical-C points us to a lightsaber umbrella, something to use on a rainy day (in spaaaace!) when you get tired of sitting in front of the TV using your Star Trek phaser universal remote control.


• The End of Science Fiction: When Technological Extrapolation Hits A Wall Across the Future: "As our everyday lives become increasingly science fictional...what are the dangers we face? Beyond technological apathy, James John Bell...arguing along the lines of award-winning SF author Vernor Vinge, posits a "singularity" of apocalyptic proportions."


• Swarthmore College's paper, The Phoenix, talks with Connie Willis about her upcoming novel, All-Clear.


• Velcro City Tourist Boards explains why science fiction magazines don't have to die.


• Christopher Barzak gets introspective with his Nebula Award-nominated story in an essay titled The Language of "The Language of Moths".


• SCI FI Wire profiles Justine Larbalestier, author of Andre Norton Award finalist Magic or Madness.


• On March Monday 12th,as part of the Austin, TX SXSW Interactive festival, Scholtz Garten will host Futures of the Past: A Steampunk Adventure. [via Make]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday March 08, 2007 at 12:29 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

If Greedo shot first, why is Han on trial, hmmmm? Find out in this longish Google video that really puts Lucas in the hot seat...

[via Neatorama]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday March 07, 2007 at 12:11 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• The links to Justina Robson's blog and RSS feed have been updated on the list of sf/f authors who blog.


• Jeremiah Tolbert on The Appeal of Science Fiction: "The appeal of science fiction is lost on those who are not convinced that they have a future."


• BSG creator Ron Moore has been named as the Nebula Awards toastmaster.


• Samuel Delany interviews Joanna Russ. [via Matt Cheney]


• French webzine Acusf interviews Robert Charles Wilson. [via Locus Online]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Wednesday March 07, 2007 at 12:11 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Big frakkin' spoilers ahoy. Proceed no further unless you've seen the latest BSG episode, or you don't mind be spoiled. You have been warned.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Tuesday March 06, 2007 at 5:09 PM
© 2007 SF Signal

SCIFI.COM has released a Battlestar Galactica Videomaker Toolkit which allows fans to make their own films.

The toolkit gives fans everything they need to create their own four-minute Galactica movies. It provides more than 30 visual effects and 20 audio effects, as well as cuts from the show's soundtrack. Fans can post their completed videos on SCIFI.COM to share with other fans. Two videos have been posted on the site as examples.

Battlestar Galactica executive producer David Eick will select his favorite video, and it will be broadcast in its entirety on SCI FI Channel during an episode of Battlestar Galactica.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday March 06, 2007 at 1:09 PM
© 2007 SF Signal

REVIEW SUMMARY: A refreshing blend of science fiction, horror, mystery and action.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Shapeshifting private detective Jeremy Stake is hired to find the rare, bioengineered doll of his rich client's daughter in the dark, gritty setting of Punktown, a futuristic metropolis of alien creatures, mutants and inter-dimensional travel.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Imaginative setting that you'll want more of; consistent and enjoyable pacing; awesome second half; successful juggling of multiple story lines.
CONS: Some plot turns were predictable.
BOTTOM LINE: Come for the plot, stay for the setting.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday March 06, 2007 at 12:50 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• Free audiobook download: Star Wars: Legacy of the Force #1: Betrayal by Aaron Allston. [via John Joseph Adams]


• Free Fiction: "The Machine Stops" by E.M. Forster.


• SCI FI Weekly interviews Kim Stanley Robinson, who speaks out about global warming at UCSD Guardian.


• Heavy reading from 1995: Aliens, Technology and Freedom: SF Consumption and SocioEthical Attitudes


• The world's smallest book.


• James Patrick Kelly podcasts part four of his novel Look Into the Sun.


• Paolo Bacigalupi is looking for a few goos book recommendations.


• New York Times questions the politics of the film 300. [via Phantom Reflections]


• Cool Steampunk poster: Our First Travels. [via Paul Jessup]


• Ender Wiggen heads to the comics with Gold Bug.


• Mmmm......Chocolate Dalek Cake. [via Neatorama]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Tuesday March 06, 2007 at 12:13 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• Neatorama points us to a leather Cthulhu Doll.


• Bat Segundo Show #98 features Charlie Huston, author of Already Dead and No Dominion.


• Fantasy & Sci-Fi Lovin' Blog looks up to female action heroes like Wonder Woman, Trinity from The Matrix, Wilma Deering from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Xena and more.


• Agony Column interviews China Miéville.


• Pat's Fantasy Hotlist interviews C. S. Friedman.


• New/Updated at Gutenberg: Space Viking by H. Beam Piper.


• Here's an in-depth look at modelling time travel in fiction.


• Waiting for Speedway Fowler lists 100 Best (and worst) SF TV shows


• Monday YouTube: Speed-Painting Lost's John Locke.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday March 05, 2007 at 12:12 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

"I don't think you can go wrong with Queen Amidala. I mean, Natalie Portman's hot, no matter which way you slice it. George Lucas got that right. Once we all grew out of our collective crushes on Leia, along came Amidala, to make us feel creepy and guilty and in love." - Pete

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Posted by John DeNardo at Monday March 05, 2007 at 12:00 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Jeff VanderMeer has posted a list of 25 fantasy stories that were good enough to consider for his upcoming anthology Best American Fantasy, but could not be included for various reasons:

1. "Stab" by Chris Adrian
2. "Dominion" by Calvin Baker
3. "The Creation of Birds" by Christopher Barzak
4. "Inheritance" by Jedediah Berry
5. "The Duel" by Tobias Buckell
6. "The Life of Captain Gareth Caernarvon" by Brendan Connell
7. "The Paper Life They Lead" by Patrick Crerand
8. "The Alternative History Club" by Murray Farish
9. "Night Whiskey" by Jeffrey Ford
10. "thirteen o'clock" by David Gerrold
11. "Lucky Chow Fun" by Lauren Goff
12. "Letters from Budapest" by Theodora Goss
13. "Galileo" by John Haskell
14. "The Marquise de Wonka" by Shelley Jackson
15. "Irregular Verbs" by Matthew Johnson
16. "The Mysterious Intensity of the Heart" by Jeff P. Jones
17. "Bainbridge" by Caitlin R. Kiernan
18. "A Secret Lexicon for the Not-Beautiful" by Beth Adele Long
19. "A Change in Fashion" by Steven Millhauser
20. "Robert Kennedy Remembered by Jean Baudrillard" by Gary Percesepe
21. "The Man with the Scale in His Head" by Eman Quotah
22. "Magnificent Pigs" by Cat Rambo
23. "Swimming" by Veronica Schanoes
24. "Mountain Man" by Heather Shaw
25. "Snow Blind" by Bridget Bentz Sizer

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday March 04, 2007 at 12:20 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• New/Updated at Gutenberg: The Cosmic Computer and "A Slave is a Slave" by H. Beam Piper.


• Author Sean Williams (The Resurrected Man, The Crooked Letter, The Blood Debt) is working on the novelization of the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game.


• Bruce Sterling writes about The New Eco-Capitalism for The Washington Post.


• SFBC Blog is tracking a discussion about the unhappiness with the Nebula process.


• Wolfe Linkage, Part #1: Neil Gaiman's 2002 essay How To Read Gene Wolfe is up on the Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine website. [via Bibliophile Bullpen]


• Wolfe Linkage, Part #2: The StarShipSofa podcast #31 covers Gene Wolfe.


• Wolfe Linkage, Part #3: The Shattered Drum talks about The Sacramental Theology of Gene Wolfe.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Sunday March 04, 2007 at 12:10 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• SFRevu interviews Adam Roberts, author of Gradisil.


• SCI FI Wire profiles Wil McCarthy, author of the Nebula-nominated To Crush the Moon.


• Saturday YouTube: Usually you don't see that kind of behavior in a major Elder God...An episode of the The Real Ghostbusters cartoon goes Cthulhu, with an episode called "The Collect call of Cathulhu". [via Table of Malcontents]


• Now posted: Ansible 236, for March 2007.


• Stainless Steel Droppings profiles Raymond Swanland's work.


• Club Jade points us to Star Wars Deathmatches!


• The Future and You podcasts John Barnes, Kim Stanley Robinson, Elizabeth Bear, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., others. [via Locus Online]


• Humor: The Top 10 Sentences From Third-Rate SF Stories.


• Andrew Wheeler asks: Why is the SF short story so gloomy lately?


• Visions of Paradise talks about the many different flavors of science fiction.

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Posted by John DeNardo at Saturday March 03, 2007 at 12:06 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Here are The Top 10 SF Signal Posts for February 2007:

1. 1967 Wonder Woman TV Pilot
2. Of Princesses and Polls
3. George Lucas Hates The Empire Strikes Back
4. BSG Backlash?
5. Harry Potter And The Hype Machine
6. Twenty Years Ago the Classics Were Different
7. LEGO Millenium Falcon - Better Than The Real Thing?
8. SF Tidbits for 2/1/07
9. REVIEW: Gods and Pawns by Kage Baker
10. Cordwainer Smith's Dedication for Space Lords

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday March 02, 2007 at 12:25 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• From Table of Malcontents: Steampunk Meets Star Wars.


• 10 Zen Monkeys interviews Rudy Rucker.


• SFRevu interviews editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden. [via PNH]


• Locus Online lists the contents of the March issue of Locus magazine.


• Laura Resnick has a 5 part article on book covers. [via Tobias Buckell]


• Free audio fiction: "The Dweller in High Places" by Susanna Clark. [via SFBC Blog]


• Darker Matter launches with fiction by David D. Levine, Bud Sparhawk, Edward M. Lerner and others. [via Locus Online]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Friday March 02, 2007 at 12:12 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: The continuing adventures of Rincewind, this time in China! Err, the Counterweight Continent.

PROS: The usual Pratchett wit, wordplay and funny characters.
CONS: A bit slow in the middle.
BOTTOM LINE: A worthy entry in the Rincewind series. Anyone who likes Rincewind should read this one.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Thursday March 01, 2007 at 4:09 PM
© 2007 SF Signal

The topic rolled into the science fiction and conflicts that would cross world boundaries. At this point, you are most likely thinking that this could be a deep thought provoking discussion regarding some of the great races and powers that have been discussed within the confines of a great number of books, movies and some television shows. You would also be wrong since the conflict in question was: Ewoks versus the Borg. That's right those plucky little furballs that we all love to hate against the assimilation machine known as the Borg. So, the question is now out there - Ewoks versus the Borg, who would win?

Mike (who now receives my Star Wars Fanboy crown) speculated that Ewoks would win only if Chewbacca was involved since he was responsible for turning the battle for the rebels in Return of the Jedi, but who is to say. Personally, I felt that the whole situation would have been resolved by simply deforesting the planet and then burning it down. That's how you handle problems of this nature.

And to further complicate matters, what if we throw the Sleestack from Land of the Lost into the mix and make it a Battle Royale for the next possible Undead Time Travelling Entity. So I leave it you, our gentle readers, who would win this battle.

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Posted by Tim Zinsky at Thursday March 01, 2007 at 2:21 PM
© 2007 SF Signal

SF Site has posted the Reader Choice list of best sf/f books of 2006:

1. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
2. The Thousandfold Thought: The Prince of Nothing, Book 3 by Scott Bakker
3. Temeraire / His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
4. Blindsight by Peter Watts [see SF Signal review]
5. The Bonehunters by Steven Erikson
6. Fragile Things Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
7. Glasshouse by Charles Stross
8. Forest Mage: The Soldier Son, Book 2 by Robin Hobb
9. Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge [see SF Signal review]
10. The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi [see SF Signal review]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday March 01, 2007 at 12:59 PM
© 2007 SF Signal

It's been a few months since my post 5 (Spoilery) Things About Heroes That Annoy the Begeezus Out Of Me. I'm still watching Heroes, but I have a weird love/hate thing with it that demands to be looked into. I am currently at the "liking it a lot" part of an up-and-down mood swing that began at episode #1. The "Company Man" episode aired this week and we got to see a lot of the background of Horn-Rimmed Glasses guy (H.R.G.), Claire's father. I like the way the show is progressing (mostly) and it doesn't seem to be standing too still (usually) even though I disagree with the general consensus that creator Tim Kring - unlike the Cylons in BSG - "has a plan".

Here are my thoughts on the characters and story lines:

SPOILER WARNING!!!

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday March 01, 2007 at 1:21 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

REVIEW SUMMARY: This anthology makes a good argument for why you should be reading short fiction.

MY RATING:
[Note: When rating an anthology, I usually weight the stories according to length: novellas count twice as much as novelettes, which count twice as much as short stories. Since I did not know for sure the lengths of the stories in this anthology, I weighted each one equally.]

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: 16 original stories of science fiction.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: 4 standout stories; variety of styles and sub-genres.
CONS: 2 weaker stories.
BOTTOM LINE: More good stories than bad; worth the read if only to sample the variety sf has to offer.

The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction is the first book to be published by the Solaris imprint and aims to serve as their manifesto: to publish "outstanding science fiction and fantasy, whatever the form." Like a large majority of anthologies, your story mileage may vary, but overall, they are off to a really good start.

The book's brief introduction talks about science fiction's short form and it is clear that editor George Mann values the "sparkling gems" the format produces. He succinctly cites what's so exciting about the short form: the "single conceit", neatly packaged for the bite-size consumption, long enough to explore that single idea (though some stories here could have used an extra page or two to provide better closure) and sometimes the launch pad for linked or longer stories. Short fiction delivers sense of wonder in its purest form.

Perhaps more important to regular short fiction readers is the publication of a promising new anthology that doesn't add to the already-crowded "Best of..." or themed anthology set, but instead offers a various sampling of what the science fiction genre can accomplish. There are indeed many "gems" here. Standout stories included "C-Rock City" by Jay Lake & Greg van Eekhout, "The Bowdler Strain" by James Lovegrove, "Last Contact" by Stephen Baxter and "Third Person" by Tony Ballantyne.

Reviewlettes of the stories follow....

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday March 01, 2007 at 12:28 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

Dear Hugo Voter,

We know it's late and the deadline is a scant two days away, but there has recently been a groundswell to nominate SF Signal for a Hugo Award in the Best Fanzine category. (OK, so maybe it was more of mole hill than a groundswell. And by "mole hill", we mean two or three people, some of whom might be related to us.) As you may imagine, we are ecstatic. In case you can't imagine it, picture a bunch of middle-aged geeks running around in small circles doing something that resembles a chicken dance if that chicken were spastic and a danger to anyone nearby. It's not pretty.

But why, you may be asking yourself, do we deserve such an honor? Well, we could bore you with long, detailed research reports that would most likely put you to sleep like they did us. But instead - and keeping in line with the short-attention-span culture of The Age of The Internets - we present...a list!

7 REASONS TO NOMINATE SF SIGNAL FOR THE BEST FANZINE HUGO

1. James Patrick Kelly says we should be.
2. John C. Wright thinks we're the Matterhorn of Fame. (We concur.)
3. We serve as a catalyst for Klausner-bashing.
4. Three words: Forklift safety video!
5. One of us has a brother who lives in Tokyo and could actually accept the award and, more importantly, stuff the ballot box.
6. We started the Undead Time Travelling entity revolution, where "entity" includes Nazis and Green Bay Packers.
7. Our high level of dedication sits somewhere between "Han Shot First" and "Someone set us up the bomb".

We're just sayin',
The SF Signal Team

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday March 01, 2007 at 12:24 AM
© 2007 SF Signal

• John Scalzi interviews Hal Duncan, author of Vellum and Ink.


• The Science Fiction Book Club blog has snippets of authors talking about their books: Guy Gavriel Kay on Ysabel, P.C. Hodgell on To Ride a Rathorn, Kim Harrison on For a Few Demons More, Elizabeth Moon on Command Decision


• New/Updated on Gutenberg: The Black Star Passes by John Wood Campbell.


• Irene Gallo has the skinny on the Spectrum Award winners.


• Monstropeia! A wiki devoted to monsters in myth, magic and legend.


• The NYT profiles author podcasters.


• At Spectrum, Engineers cite infuencing science fiction books.


• Sega announced a video game based on The Golden Compass, the upcoming film based on the first of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.


• Thursday YouTube: No Blasters offers a mashup of Heroes and The Office.


• Locus Magazine's Graham Sleight looks at the works of Philip K. Dick.


• Eerie and scary: a collection of the video advertising used in the movie Children of Men. [via Fimoculous]

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Posted by John DeNardo at Thursday March 01, 2007 at 12:09 AM
© 2007 SF Signal