March 2008
REVIEW SUMMARY: An eye candy extravaganza.
MY RATING: 
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A showcase of contemporary sf/fantasy art.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: Every page is stuffed with sense of wonder; a variety of styles to suit any taste; excellent book production.
CONS: Some styles might not appeal to some tastes.
BOTTOM LINE: Highly recommended to anyone who has a love for sf/fantasy art.
I confess. I'm a science fiction and fantasy art junkie. Yes, I have bought books based solely on book cover art. Some book covers stoke my fire as much as the books they illustrate; sometimes more so. Therefore, an art book like Spectrum 14, the 2007 edition of the annual showcase of contemporary sf/fantasy art, is like a drug for someone like me. Every single page is brimming with the fantastic and imaginative by a variety of artists producing work in various sectors: advertising, books, comics, concept art, three-dimensional, editorial, and institutional. Even the previously unpublished works show outstanding talent.
I'm not sure if it was art junkie euphoria or an alignment between the Spectrum judges and my own personal tastes, but there was an incredibly high number of works showcased that simply blew me away. This was somewhat surprising since so many different artistic styles are on display; you'd think that the selection would be hit and miss. Sure, some of the images didn't appeal as much as others - usually the ones that relied on photography - but they were very few and far between.
The work overall offers much in variety of content, style, vision, and choice of palettes. Some of the images tell a story (something I find to be quite an accomplishment with a single panel) while others simply display wondrous scenery in which to wander. Some are grand in scale, others are more personal. Some offer a unique view on some recognizable tropes and characters, other present a brand new vision. What they all have in common is creativity and imagination - the stuff of wonder.
The production value of the book itself is high, with a thick page stock that prevents images on opposite-facing pages from showing through. At the back of the book, there's a handy index of the presented artists. In the front of the book, Arnie Fenner's extensive introduction gives a review of the previous year. Perhaps too much space was spent here on non-art-related items, but it does support the point that current events shape the artists' work. Fenner's passion for the field shines through and offers a glimpse into the inner workings of the art community. (For example, did you know there was elitism in the art world? I didn't. Apparently some people make a class distinction between artists and illustrators. Go figure.) That said, one does not open the cover of such a book looking for commentary so much as eye candy - and this book has it in spades.
Spectrum is a great way to discover new artists and reconnect with familiar ones - or it simply serves as a means to get a quick fix of that sense of wonder that lures fans to genre. I've garnered a whole new respect for the talent that's currently out there. If fantastic art appeals to you in any way, check out some of the artist links in this review and see for yourself.
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| Posted by John on Monday March 31, 2008 - 12:28 AM
| Category: Book Review
| © 2008 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Monday March 31, 2008 - 12:22 AM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2008 SF Signal
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| Posted by JP on Monday March 31, 2008 - 12:16 AM
| Category: Tube Bits
| © 2008 SF Signal
The winners of the Bram Stoker Awards (for superior achievement in horror) have been announced:
[via Locus Online]
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| Posted by John on Monday March 31, 2008 - 12:04 AM
| Category: Awards
| © 2008 SF Signal
| (148 total votes) |
"What about Capt Janeway?" - DavidBe sure to visit our front page and vote in this week's poll about the cancellation of Flash Gordon!
[And the John sez: I'm not a Trek expert, but wasn't she the Captain of the Voyager?]
"Hmmm, that was a tough decision. I voted for Belushi since I feel Star Trek always needed a little more humorWhy not add Kevin Pollack to the list since he does an excellent James Kirk imitation." - Tim
[John sez: Good idea!]
"Hey! What about Decker, Spock, Harriman, Riker, Jellico... (do I know a little too much about Star Trek?). Props to Jellico for being a bad-ass, but there's something appealing about Harriman's "Tuesday"." - Ian Randal Strock
[John sez: OK, you're obviously a Trek expert. I decided to keep it to the mainstays. Besides, everyone knows that Spock's stint as captain was the result of affirmative action pressure...]
"I just know I would get ragged on for suggesting that Jonathan Archer is the best Captain of the Enterprise, but the obvious favorite Jean-Luc Picard was just too cerebral for me. Jean-Luc never made any mistakes, even when he did, while Jonathan Archer seems more real. Besides if he can set of enough things right in time, he can finally make the leap home." - Richard
[John sez: Hiyo!]
"To a point it is like comparing apples and oranges. Different overarching missions and ships call for different skill sets and abilities. Overall, though, there is only one and he drinks Earl Gray, Hot." - General X
[John sez: I hope by "hot" you mean the tea!]
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| Posted by John on Monday March 31, 2008 - 12:00 AM
| Category: Polls
| © 2008 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Sunday March 30, 2008 - 1:15 PM
| Category: Books
| © 2008 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Sunday March 30, 2008 - 1:41 AM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2008 SF Signal
The Film Society of Lincoln Center sent us word that Harlan Ellison will be attending the April 8th 7:00 PM premiere screening of Dreams with Sharp Teeth, the documentary that follows the legendary author's life and career.
From the press release:
Erik Nelson's engaging portrait of Ellison catches the 70-something author in his full cantankerous glory, offering his thoughts and opinions on a dizzying array of subjects. It also shows us the other, lesser known sides of Ellison--from his political activism in the Civil Rights era to altercations with Barbra Streisand and pelvis shattering battles with network executives. Younger writers discuss Ellison's influence on their work, and even actor Robin Williams is on hand to offer his tribute to Ellison. Director Erik Nelson and Harlan Ellison are expected to attend this screening.
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| Posted by John on Saturday March 29, 2008 - 2:00 PM
| Category: Movies
| © 2008 SF Signal
Well over a year ago, the CG Society held a contest asking artists to produce several different type of digital art surrounding Greg Bear's Eon novel. The results were quite impressive.
Now, CG Society is in the midst of a new contest, covering David Brin's Uplift series of books. Artists are asked to 'depict the
relations between humans and aliens'. This is the largest contest to date, with over $100k worth of prizes. If you have any artistic bone in your body, why not give it a shot?
The Uplift series is one of my all time favorite series, and I especially like the cover art for Startide Rising. I think this is one contest to pay attention to, although it's still early. The Uplift books have a lot of very unique aliens, it should be cool to see how they are depicted.
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| Posted by JP on Saturday March 29, 2008 - 6:27 AM
| Category: Web Sites
| © 2008 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Saturday March 29, 2008 - 12:54 AM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2008 SF Signal
Asimov's has posted more of the Hugo-nominated stories that appeared in their magazine:
The list of Free Hugo-Nominated Short Fiction has been updated.
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| Posted by John on Friday March 28, 2008 - 7:09 PM
| Category: Awards, Books
| © 2008 SF Signal
Are you a budding film director but worried about the high cost props and SFX? Never fear! Cardboard is the wonder material you've been looking for! To prove it, check out the two videos below. It's amazing what a little cardboard, stop-action photography and a lot ingenuity will do for you...
First up, Star Wars (Note to Lucas, more cardboard in the prequels = better movies)
And the best video today, Tron. Nice work guys.
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| Posted by JP on Friday March 28, 2008 - 10:44 AM
| Category: Movies
| © 2008 SF Signal
Call me an impulsive, illogical, book-mongering biblioholic consumer - you won't get any arguments from me. I've bought books for completely illogical reasons. Maybe I just liked the cover and thought it would look good on a shelf. Maybe it was the next book in series that I already own but haven't started reading yet. Maybe it was a copy that was in better condition than the one I already own.
Another reason I've bought books is because of buzz. I'm not talking about publisher hype - that's just blatant advertising. No, here I'm talking about lots of positive things emerging from the blogosphere about a particular title. A "Buzz Book".
If several bloggers and reviewers mention a book in a positive light, it sticks with me, hibernating, ready to be instantly recalled while I'm walking down the book aisles.
Here are some Buzz Books I've picked up. What are yours?
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| Posted by John on Friday March 28, 2008 - 12:45 AM
| Category: Books
| © 2008 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Friday March 28, 2008 - 12:15 AM
| Category: TV
| © 2008 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Friday March 28, 2008 - 12:11 AM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2008 SF Signal
Over at Eos Blog, Diana Gill links to two more recently-posted stories that were nominated for the 2008 Hugo Award:
NOTE: Eos also has the Hugo-nominated novel The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon available for online browsing, too!
The list of Free Hugo-Nominated Short Fiction has been updated.
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| Posted by John on Thursday March 27, 2008 - 2:10 PM
| Category: Awards, Books
| © 2008 SF Signal
REVIEW SUMMARY: Comic book fiction mixed with some realistic personalities creates a fun read for superhero fans.
MY RATING: 
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Corefire is missing and Doctor Impossible has escaped again. Was he responsible for Corefire's disappearance? Well, the New Champions are on the case.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: Interesting narrative style; Fantastic characters.
CONS: Some of the transitions into and out of the flashbacks are a little abrupt; Some characters could use a bit more development.
BOTTOM LINE: A great book with some minor flaws that gives yet another view on superheros.
Before I get into the review of the contents of the book, I have to talk about the cover and jacket for this book. The hardcover edition of the book has a dust jacket that is shown in the image at the top of the review. The front shows a helmet being held by two gloved hands, and the rear of the jacket shows gloves being pulled on by blue hands. This is pretty much stating this is a book about costumed meta-humans. Under the dust jacket, one normally expects a rather plain cover, but that is not the case for this book. Its a full color image showing a set of costumes in a stack. It really is a nice touch and makes it pretty clear what you are reading for all to see. All the images of the hardcover can be found over at Amazon.
With that out of the way, I can move on to the actual contents of the book which is probably why folks are reading these things. The book is really told from two main perspectives. One is the perspective of Doctor Impossible, and he is a major super villain. The other is from the viewpoint of Fatale, and she is a cyborg who has been recruited by the Champions during the current crisis (Corefire being missing). I am not going to spend a lot of time on the plot since there are a few twists that should be experienced. The book is broken down into the three main parts with the story switching every chapter for a change of viewpoint. I really enjoyed this aspect of the storytelling and it was accented by a specific font or image at the beginning of the chapter to help reinforce the change of perspective. The Doctor Impossible sections have a number of flashbacks to flesh out the characters in the book. These are a great tool, but might be slightly over used and the transitions back are not always that smooth. There were a couple times I felt that they returned rather abruptly.
Mr. Grossman does understand what makes comic book heroes work and he does a fine job of weaving these characters together. I really felt that his Doctor Impossible was a fantastic villain who I found myself liking more than the heroes in the story, and it is the characters that really work in this book. They each feel distinct and at one point you start to realize that most superhero stories don't have to deal with things like retirement or the loss of one's powers. I do wish he gave a little more attention to some of the minor characters, but that is a minor nitpick. It might also be something that is rectified in a future book.
In the end, I felt the book was a fun read. It is not making political commentary or a social statement, but instead tells a story about meta humans. It does a great job with the main characters and presents one of my new favorite villains. Furthermore, I now have new names for my villains in the the next superhero game - oh yes, look out for Count Smackula This book is something that can be read by non-superhero fans and fans of those types of stories are well served by the story.
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| Posted by Tim on Thursday March 27, 2008 - 1:22 AM
| Category: Book Review
| © 2008 SF Signal
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| Posted by JP on Thursday March 27, 2008 - 1:11 AM
| Category: Tube Bits
| © 2008 SF Signal
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| Posted by John on Thursday March 27, 2008 - 1:01 AM
| Category: Tidbits
| © 2008 SF Signal
This week's question was suggested by Lou Anders, who not only received extra Mind Meld credit redeemable at imaginary nerd shops everywhere, but who also must serve penance by answering his own question:
In 1984 I wrote a very controversial novel titled The Branch, in which God and the true Jewish Messiah (not Jesus) were the two villains of the piece. The poor producer/director who optioned and made it got excommunicated from his church and thrown out of his country (Andorra)...and yet if you do not accept the existence of God and the truth of the Old Testament, there's no story. So was it irreligious, or was it simply Politically Incorrect religion?
I am an atheist, yet I have given God speaking parts in four or five humorous stories, and have treated religion with respect in literally dozens of stories and novels. On the other hand, I know many devout Christian and Jewish science fiction writers whose religious beliefs are deeply personal, and who choose not to share them fictionally with their audience. Are they irreligious because they do not evangelize in print?
You can't just a book by its cover...and you can't necessarily judge an author's (or a field's) religious beliefs by that book's contents.
