June 2007
Count the number of sci-fi films in this cool countdown video, 100 Movies, 100 Quotes, 100 Numbers.
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| Posted by John on Saturday June 30, 2007 - 1:53 AM
| Category: Movies
| © 2007 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Saturday June 30, 2007 - 1:50 AM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2007 SF Signal
A new batch of additions have been added to the list of sf/f authors who blog (probably due to being mentioned on BoingBoing - thanks, Bonnie and Cory!):
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| Posted by John on Saturday June 30, 2007 - 12:04 AM
| Category: Books
| © 2007 SF Signal
Today, TV Guide decided to update their Top 30 Cult TV Shows list. Last updated in 2004, the list now sports some new, shiny TV shows, like Jericho and LOST. Its an interesting list, both from what shows are on it and what isn't and also from a 'cult' status. Let's see some of the selections:
It's still an interesting list. What do you guys think?
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| Posted by JP on Friday June 29, 2007 - 1:14 PM
| Category: TV
| © 2007 SF Signal
"There's a Starman waiting in the sky. He'd like to come and meet us but he thinks he'd blow our minds." - David Bowie
80 minutes of classic sci-fi B-movie goodness, featuring Starman! I gotta get me one of them wrist watches that's a Geiger Counter, permits space travel, and acts as a universal translator...
Join us now for The Evil Brain From Outer Space!
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| Posted by John on Friday June 29, 2007 - 12:15 AM
| Category: Movies
| © 2007 SF Signal
Onelowerlight, a "thoughtful Mormon blogger", explains why Firefly is not good science fiction. The bottom line: the scientific flaws and the preachiness. Oh, and the sex.
So, in short, the things that (IMO) made Firefly bad sci fi were: too much sex, not balancing sex with other aspects of human relationships, failure to address the classic problems of the genre (such as FTL travel and terraforming), too much preachiness (for gay rights and for a "naturalistic" worldview, ie atheism), and clumsy treatment of the role of religion in human interactions and the big unanswerable questions. There were a lot of other things I didn't like about Firefly in general, but these here were the big things that mad it a poor piece of sci fi.I might also direct your attention to some of the essays in Finding Serenity.
For now: discuss.
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| Posted by John on Thursday June 28, 2007 - 12:57 AM
| Category: Firefly
| © 2007 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Thursday June 28, 2007 - 12:53 AM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2007 SF Signal
E.M. Forster's 1909 story "The Machine Stops" (which I first read in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume 2) is widely regarding as on the classics of sf. An adaptation of the story was shown on UK television in 1966 as part of the sci-fi anthology TV series Out of the Unknown. Here is that episode:
See also: Wikipedia entries on E.M. Forster and "The Machine Stops".[via Drivers and Sundry]
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| Posted by John on Wednesday June 27, 2007 - 12:15 AM
| Category: TV
| © 2007 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Wednesday June 27, 2007 - 12:11 AM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2007 SF Signal
MY RATING: 
(See The Great Pratchett Reading Project page here.)
The adventures of Granny Weatherwax and company continue in Witches Abroad, this time parodying all things fairy tale. It's been a long time since I had read this book, so I didn't remember the story very well at all. After Wyrd Sisters, I was hoping that this book could equal the previous. Unfortunately it doesn't. This is typical of the Witches books that I remember: a bit long, somewhat humorous, and less then endearing main characters.
In Witches Abroad, Magrat becomes a fairy godmother, with an annoying propensity for turning things into pumpkins, and must travel to Genua to do battle with the evil fairy godmother Lilith who is forcing the kingdom's subjects to be actors in fairy tales, all for the sake of a happy ending. Given this setup, Pratchett takes the opportunity to have some fun with fairy tales and ridiculous nature of those stories. The witches get to interact with the tales as they are unfolding and try to break them to prevent the happy ending, which isn't really all that happy for certain people, from happening. And there is some humor here, it's just not enough to carry the book. Aside from the parodies, there is little else that I found amusing or funny, or all that interesting. The vodoo priestess and her zombie friends is somewhat funny and Nanny's ability to make herself understood in the local language by basically yelling mispronounced foreign words and gesticulating wildly at people is funny. But other than that, the book feels long.
Heck, the 'princess' who will be marrying the prince for the happy ending isn't even introduced till late in the book and she gets very little story time. Sure, she isn't really the focus, but it would have been nice to see her earlier and possibly have her used in places as the plot unfolded. And Lilith, the evil godmother, just wasn't all that interesting. Yes she and Granny have a history, which has an inbuilt antagonism and competition between them, but other than that, I found her to be a bit boring. And this book had no laugh out loud moments, as opposed to Wyrd Sisters which had several The humor here is much quieter and the book suffers for it.
Still, a mediocre Pratchett book is still diverting enough to not be terrible. This one just doesn't live up to the previous book, and you should read this one as the events of the last book pick up directly after the end of this book.
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| Posted by JP on Tuesday June 26, 2007 - 1:07 PM
| Category: Book Review
| © 2007 SF Signal
This week marks the 25th anniversary of Blade Runner's release in theaters. Although it did not do well in its theater run - it was up against Spielberg blockbuster E.T. - it has since gone on to become one of the most popular sci-fi movies of all time.
There's a 25th Anniversary DVD called Blade Runner: Final Cut being released in September. This is, I think, the 5th DVD version. This Final Cut will also be (re)released in theaters. For now, you can watch the trailer.
Although my own impression of the movie was not great (especially when compared to excellent source novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) others are talking about it, like SlashDot and BrainWagon. Also: Popular Mechanics offers Blade Runner at 25: Why the Sci-Fi F/X Are Still Unsurpassed written by MythBuster Adam Savage.
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| Posted by John on Tuesday June 26, 2007 - 12:15 PM
| Category: Movies
| © 2007 SF Signal
REVIEW SUMMARY: A true page-turner...really!
MY RATING: 
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A modern day, sword wielding warrior named Maya is tasked with protecting a Traveler (who is not aware that he may have the ability to travel to other dimensions of reality) from the nefarious Brethren who use high-tech surveillance methods.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: Engrossing; thought-provoking; well-written; excellent pacing; rich setting.
CONS: Minor characters are given back histories that are probably longer than they needed to be.
BOTTOM LINE: A fast, engrossing read that forces you to consider the societal impact of surveillance technology.
The news is riddled with stories about governments taking away civil liberties in the name of protection. Current surveillance capabilities fuel the paranoia even further. But is it paranoia? The Traveler - the first book of The Fourth Realm trilogy - tells a gripping story against a high-tech, high-surveillance society that may make you think twice.
The setting is present day but Earth has a secret history. Only a select few know the truth: that our world exists in the Forth Realm of existence, once of six realms that constitute the true reality. Travelers are people whose neural energy (and consciousness) leaves its Earthly confines to move to these other dimensions. But there aren't many Travelers left. A malevolent faction calling themselves The Brethren (otherwise known as The Tabula) kill all Travelers because they pose a threat to The Brethren's ultimate goal: total control over society. How do they do this? They do it through with the technology of The Vast Machine, modern tracking tech that disregards our personal privacy under the guise of government protection. The Travelers are not alone in this ancient battle of good and evil. Sword-wielding warriors known as Harlequins are sworn to protect the Travelers. In John Twelve Hawks' book The Traveler, a Harlequin named Maya sets out to protect a pair of potential Travelers - brothers Gabriel and Michael (note the biblical names) - who are not aware of the hand fate has dealt them.
Part thriller and part science fiction, The Traveler is a true page-turner. (I know this is an overused phrase, so when I say it, I mean it.) The smooth, easily-digestible prose and engrossing plot make for quick reading. Scenes where the Travelers cross the four boundaries of the elements were cool because they were mystical without being hokey. Even when minor characters are given back histories that are probably longer than they needed to be (my only gripe), it still added to the richness of the setting.
More importantly, the major characters are interesting and realistic. Maya is a sword-wielding, kick-ass femme fatale. Harlequins are not supposed to show any emotional attachment to anyone, lest they let down their guard, but Maya feels the sting of that loneliness nonetheless. She's tough but human. Although there were some awkward scenes where Maya and Gabriel connected emotionally, they were satisfactorily resolved. We'll see where the sequel takes them. Gabriel and his brother, Michael - for years living "off the Grid" at the direction of their father who knew the Brethren might try to kill them - wind up taking separate paths that could only be described as Good and Evil. Michael's manipulation by The Brethren is a good source of suspense, as are the well-written chase scenes, fight sequences and the splash or three of intrigue and misplaced allegiances. Boone, a heartless cleanup man for The Brethren, is just one of the bad guys that I was actively rooting against.
The realistic means of surveillance that permeate the book are a bit too close for comfort. Through purely technological means, The Brethren are able to do some fairly comprehensive spying. Nobody is safe from their reach unless they take extreme measures to hide from The Vast Machine by staying off the grid. Most people in this Orwellian society choose to ignore the capabilities that have stolen away their personal privacy. This passage nicely sums up the book's fascination with privacy issues.
Maya wondered if citizens made a deliberate attempt to ignore the intrusion. Most of them truly believed that the cameras protected them from criminals and terrorists. They assumed that they were still anonymous when they walked down the street. Only a few people understood the power of the new facial-scanning programs. The moment your face was photographed by a surveillance camera, it could be transformed into a consistent size, contrast and brightness that could be matched against a driver's license or passport photograph.Scary stuff. As power begets greed, the Brethren are no longer happy with the mere pervasive and invasive surveillance of society. Now they want to control it completely. (Interestingly, the leaders of the Brethren refer to the Fourth Realm as a Panopticon - a structure in which the people inside cannot see the true reality.) To gain control, they need to harness the energy-channeling powers of the Travelers - a slight deviation from their millennia-old charter of wiping them off the face of the Fourth Realm. So they use the Vast Machine to track down Travelers. Of course you'd think with all this technology at their disposal, The Brethren would be able to come up with a variety of disguises instead of their propensity for using the ubiquitous, out-of-place Power Company trucks they use for spying. Even Maxwell Smart wouldn't fall for that one. So it goes.
What The Traveler ultimately does is provide a fast, engrossing read that forces you to consider the societal impact of surveillance technology. The satisfying ending sets the stage for a sequel (The Dark River) that I'm eager to read.
Oh, and I should mention John Twelve Hawks' content-rich website which has lots of places to explore and learn.
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| Posted by John on Tuesday June 26, 2007 - 12:15 AM
| Category: Book Review
| © 2007 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Tuesday June 26, 2007 - 12:05 AM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2007 SF Signal
Not satisfied with the $299 Imperial Star Destroyer or the $299 Death Star II, the folks at Lego have outdone themselves with the upcoming release of a $499 Millennium Falcon. This official product should not be confused with cheap imitations!
Now before you go thinking that nobody would buy this thing, think again. A superfan of Star Wars and Lego knows no limits when it comes to money!
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| Posted by scottsh on Monday June 25, 2007 - 8:25 PM
| Category: Star Wars
| © 2007 SF Signal
Warner Brothers has released a trailer for the new B5 direct to video movie. They have had other videos up covering the production of the movie, but now we have footage from the upcoming film. It is scheduled for release at the end of July and it is looking pretty good.
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| Posted by Tim on Monday June 25, 2007 - 2:38 PM
| Category: TV
| © 2007 SF Signal
There's an interesting (but obviously not unbiased) post from The Guardian Book Blog called The Literary Universe is Bigger in the Blogosphere that discusses online reviewing.
"But why should we believe the blogger?" comes the cry. "Who are they and how are they qualified to tell us what to read?" The answer is: you should believe them and trust them in exactly the same way you would a critic in a newspaper or literary journal. There will be some you admire and some you think are stupid. Some bloggers write well and some badly and so do some literary critics.Amen. (And yes, I am also biased.
)
Also: Does it matter if the reviewer gets free review copies from the publisher? (We do.) Or advertising dollars? This information can surely help you decide whether to trust reviews, but ultimately I think you either trust a reviewer's integrity or you don't.
Do you trust online book reviews?
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| Posted by John on Monday June 25, 2007 - 12:25 AM
| Category: Books
| © 2007 SF Signal
The final day at ApolloCon. Today was a shorter day than day one or day two. I was a bit worn out today, so my participation level wasn't up to previous days. On the bright side, I met up with local author Larry Ketchersid and got to say hi.
My first session was Size Matters! Knowing or Choosing the Correct Length to Tell Your Tale with panelists Katharine Eliska Kimbriel, Alexis Glynn Latner, Julia Mandala, Chris Roberson and Shanna Swendson. Although mostly meant for the writer attendees, I couldn't help but be amazed at all the reasons why books and stories are as long as they are. I used to think it was as simple as a writer getting an idea for a story and telling that story. Nope. There are so many other factors at work: contractual obligations (publishers require a certain length so that the book can be profitable), distribution (shelf-space and packaging), writers eager to talk about the universe they created even though it's not pertinent to the story and - probably the biggest impact of all - economic forces. For example, a writer has a better chance of getting a shorter story in a space-limited anthology than a longer one. Another example: A publisher's offer of a $30,000 advance to write a sequel that the writer would not otherwise write is powerful persuasion. An illuminating session.
Next up was What is this Hollywood Fascination with Philip K. Dick?
Panelists included A.T. Campbell III, David G. Hartwell (one of Dick's editors) and Michael Teegarden. About 80% of the discussion was around Blade Runner, as could be expected. At least one panelist (A.T.) echoed my belief that the movie was sometimes a bit slow, but still liked it way better than I did. Interesting Blade Runner tidbit, offered by David Hartwell: The original script had no dialogue in Roy Batty's death scene. But when filming it, they thought some dialogue was needed, so Rutger Hauer spent 30 minutes in his trailer and wrote Roy Batty's final words. (Go, go, gadget YouTube!)
The final session for me was Putting Science in Science Fiction. The panelists - Paul Abell, John Cramer, Larry Friesen and Alexis Glynn Latner - all agreed on the importance of accurate science. There was also much talk about researching science fiction for articles. Alexis Glynn Latner not only runs her stories by real scientists but, having studied linguistics herself, has even created her own language! Another interesting tidbit: John Cramer, whose writes a bi-monthly science column in Analog called The Alternate View, had the idea to publish an anthology of stories that were based on and inspired by the scientific topics discussed in his articles. David Hartwell "swindled" him by agreeing to do so only if he wrote a novel to go along with it. Cramer wrote Twistor and then Hartwell rejected the anthology. Heh-heh.
Overall, my first con was lots of both educational and fun. I got to meet and mingle with like-minded people and learn some stuff about the genre and its history. I would easily recommend ApolloCon for anyone looking the same.
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| Posted by John on Monday June 25, 2007 - 12:16 AM
| Category: Events
| © 2007 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Monday June 25, 2007 - 12:02 AM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2007 SF Signal
| (102 total votes) |
"Oops. I voted 5-10 before I realized it was one point for each occurrence. So, you might want to factor that into the tally. Sorry. Dammit! For a second I thought I wasn't a loser (no offense to the fellow losers in the crowd)." A_ZBe sure to visit our front page and vote in this week's poll about online book reviews!
"I get over 200 points on conventions alone, plus a few costumes, many posters and prints and unopened collectibles." - Jeff Patterson
"Owning a website called scifichick.com probably qualifies for major geek points." - SciFiChick
"I gave myself an extra point for starting an sf-related website, but I'm still only a wannabe. Shouldn't getting an sf tattoo be worth at *least* 2 points? It's way more permanent than the other stuff." - K. Burnham
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| Posted by John on Monday June 25, 2007 - 12:00 AM
| Category: Polls
| © 2007 SF Signal
MY RATING:
Dead Beat is the seventh book in the Harry Dresden series and, in my opinion, it's the best one so far. In this book, Dresden is blackmailed by the vampire queen Mavra into bringing her the necromantic tome The Word Of Kemmler in exchange for not ruing the lives of himself and his friend Murphy. Harry's quest will put him smack dab in the middle of the Red Court/White Council war and in competition with three other factions also looking for the book. What ensues is a fast paced race to discover the book. With zombies. How good is this book? I read it in two days. Two. Days. At 448 pages and given the amount of time I have to actually read, this is a testament to Butcher's easy to read writing style and his ability to weave a rip-roaring, action packed story.
Dead Beat starts with Dresden being confronted my Mavra and forced to search for The Word. His search will lead him into confrontation with three other factions, all necromancers, who also want the book. The book contains knowledge that will allow whoever has it to become as powerful as a god, and to literally bring a necromantic hell to Earth. Harry just needs it to spare Murphy the ruin of her career and life by Mavra. In the previous books, Butcher has tended to write complicated plots, with several different threads that can be a bit confusing to follow easily. And while there are different plots going on here, they are actually quite easy to follow and they tie up extremely nicely with the war between the White Council and the Red Court vampires. This alone is enough to elevate Dead Beat over the other stories.
But Butcher does one even better. Harry is your typical everyman. He's slowly grown in power over the preceeding novels, but he still survives as much by luck and guile as by skill. And, even though he has friends, he typically tries to go it alone and to do what he thinks is right, no matter the cost to him. Here, Dresden is faced with several enemies who are clearly more powerful than himself. After some close scrapes, Dresden realizes he can't do this alone and he enlists the help of his half-brother Thomas and a mortician, Butters. Now we see Harry actually growing as a person. Putting his trust into others, and letting them help him figure out how to solve his problems. It helps that Harry is such a sympathetic character. Now that he is actually able to interact with others in a more normal manner, you can't help but to really root for him, even though you probably were before. Harry's change also portends some interesting things to come in his personal life.
Aside from taking Harry to a new level character-wise, Butcher certainly didn't skimp on the action in Dead Beat. The story moves along at a rapid pace, as Harry grows closer to discovering where the book is and then deciphering what information is in it. Along the way, he gets to meet zombies. Lots and lots of zombies. The necromancers arrayed against all want the book for their own, and they have no compunction against using the undead to help them against Harry. It helps when you have an undead army that you can use to overwhelm your enemies by sheer numbers. As Harry escapes the many attempts on his life, he learns that there may be a connection between the necromancers, The Word Of Kemmler and the Red Court's newest offensive against the White Court. Again, Butcher did a great job tying these threads into each other in a believable way. Some rather important things happen to Harry before the climax, the least of which is that he gets to ride an undead Tyrannosaurus Rex into battle against the necromancers. Yeah, I thought that was extremely cool too. It's even better when you read it. After all is said and done, not only has Harry changed as a person, he has also gained some more magical power and, along with it, much more responsibility in the magical world. This hints at some interesting things to come in future novels and it seems that Butcher has plans for Harry. I really like the way Butcher has been slowly increasing Harry's power over the course of the books. We get to see how a wizard rises through the ranks to become a formidable force for good or ill.
About the only negative thing I can say about Dead Beat is the fact that Harry still tends to escape from almost c
