A science fiction blog featuring science fiction book reviews and with frequent ramblings on fantasy, computers and the web.
In this episode of the SF Signal Podcast, we talk about: Our favorite books read in 2010.
This is not necessarily books that were published, mind you, but books we consumed in 2010.
Show: Young Justice
Episode Title: “Independence Day part 1 & 2″
Air Date: Friday, November 26th
Network: Cartoon Network
Based on the ‘sidekicks’ of the DC universe (but not on the comic book series by the same name), this two-part pilot for Young Justice centers around Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash breaking free of their larger than life mentors. They investigate a fire at the mysterious Cadmus Labs and find more than they bargained for – including a clone of Superman who calls himself Superboy.
If you thought Young Justice was going to be a clone or retelling of the Teen Titans series of a few years back, I’m here to tell you that it ain’t. This show has a much more serious tone to it – which I liked immediately.
Warning: Spoilers abound…
Show: Chuck
Episode Title: “Chuck versus The Leftovers”
Air Date: Monday, November 29th, 2010
Network: NBC
After saving Chuck from the Belgian in Thailand, it looks like it’s back to normal for Team Bartowski. This week, Black Friday comes to the BuyMore. Chuck and Morgan go to ‘defense training’, better known as ‘strip kick’ (yes – there were poles involved). Ellie and Awesome dig deeper into the laptop her dad left while preparing for a special ‘leftover’ dinner with Chuck and Sarah. Jeff and Lester have a plan to get rich by keeping all the smart phones for themselves and selling them on eBay and Alexi Volkov (Timothy Dalton), wants Chuck dead once and for all.
Warning: Spoilers abound…
Show: Supernatural
Episode Title: Clap your hands if you believe
Air Date: November 20th, 2010
Network: The CW
It’s been an ok season of Supernatural to date. After a year of angels & demons and Armageddon story lines, the brother’s Winchester have returned to hunting (mostly). Sure, Sam’s return from hell had the ticket of body but no soul (his soul is being held hostage by Crowley, a former crossroads demon who now rules over Hell).
But I’ve enjoyed the return to the focus on the brothers this season, and the ‘monster of the week’ formula. I have missed the stories focusing on urban legends and American ghost stories, so it’s been really nice to have a little of that back.
Friday’s show, titled “Clap your hands if you believe,” returns us to some of the humor the show has done so very well in the past.
Warning: Spoilers abound…
Show: Fringe
Episode Title: The Abducted
Air Date: November 18th, 2010
Network: FOX
Month’s ago, Olivia Dunham was trapped in the Walternate universe, replaced by her alternate from Fringe Division who crossed over to our world and began doing bad things. In the ensuing weeks, we’ve seen our Olivia go through hell – she’s had another persons memories and personality stamped on top of her own, she’s been tortured, tested, poked and prodded. Eventually, the personality stamp held and she took her place at Fringe Division as an Agent, working cases with her alternate’s friends and partners.
But then, the old Olivia started breaking through and we would see glimpses, usually in the form of a phantom Peter Bishop that only Olivia could see and hear (shades of Quantum Leap…). Last episode, he told her, emphatically, that it was time to leave, to return home – that they would never let her continue on there.
So, Olivia’s alternative universe adventure is nearing its climax as The Abducted begins. Her memory has very nearly returned in full and she knows she has to get back home. Walternate still believes his imprint of that universe’s Olivia is holding but he’s gotten all he needs from her, the secret to how she can move between universes without it harming her. Now that he has that info, he doesn’t intend to ever let her return home.
Warning: Spoilers abound…
Show: The Big Bang Theory
Episode Title: The Boyfriend Complexity
Air Date: November 18th, 2010
Network: CBS
Penny’s father (Keith Carradine) is in town and to get him off her back about her love life, she tells him that she’s back with the only boyfriend he has ever approved of: Leonard.
Warning: Spoilers abound…
Way back in March 2009, the SciFi Channel announced that it was changing its name to Syfy in an attempt to be ‘less geeky’ (this according to the president of the channel, David Howe) and to open up the channel’s programming to a broader audience.
I’ve talked, several times in fact, about how horribly stupid this whole thing was so I won’t rehash it all here and now. But I would like to talk about how the name change / re-branding hasn’t really helped them.
In the 18th episode of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester asks the SF Signal contributors & irregulars:
Why are your favorite Science Fiction stories so hard to adapt to film and television?
Jeff Patterson, Fred Kiesche, Lisa Paitz Spindler & John Anealio all share their thoughts.
Later, Patrick Hester & John DeNardo sit down to chat with Vonda N. McIntyre about BookViewCafe.com, her long and illustrious career and that time she gave Lt. Sulu a first name.
This topic was born of a twitter conversation between myself & @thenewauthor, Brian Knight. He asked:
He and I had a long talk about this over twitter, and it really got me thinking.
So, with that in mind – I put it to you, the SF Signal readers: Do you read short fiction?
If yes – how and where? By this I mean – do you subscribe to magazines? (Which ones?) Are you buying anthologies? Trolling the web? (What are your favorite sites?)
Do you use an eReader? What kind? What does your short fiction library look like? What do you like about your eReader & what do you wish were different?
Nosy minds want to know…
In the 17th episode of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester asks the SF Signal contributors & irregulars to call in for a Thanksgiving special, asking them:
Q: What are you thankful for this year? What genre fiction (novels, stories, tv shows, movies) came out this year that you’re thankful for?
Jeff Patterson, Fred Kiesche, John Anealio, Andrew Liptak, Derek Johnson, Lisa Paitz Spindler, Larry Ketchersid, John Ottinger, Jessica Strider and Matthew Sanborn Smith all share what they are thankful for this year.
Later, Patrick Hester sits down to chat with Graham Hancock, author of Fingerprints of the Gods, Underworld, Supernatural and the new science fiction novel Entangled.
In the 16th episode of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester is joined by Jeff Patterson, Jay Garmon, Fred Kiesche (who totally phones it in…) & John DeNardo to discuss:
A Holiday Gift Guide for the SciFi Geek/Nerd in your family!
Have a SciFi fan / nerd / geek in the family? Have no idea what to get em this holiday season? Don’t fret – we’re here to help! We’ve assembled the greatest minds SF Signal can put together on a late Wednesday evening to offer up suggestions for the perfect gift to get the SciFi nerd in your life — even if it’s you. From the Life Size Replica of Han Solo frozen in Carbonite to the Michael Moorcock’s Doctor Who novel, we’ve got something for you…
Later, Patrick Hester sits down to chat with Nebula Award winning author Pam Sargent to discuss her career as an author and her novels from Cloned Lives to Farseed to Women of Wonder.
In the 15th episode of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester is joined by Karen Burnham, John DeNardo & John Anealio to discuss:
The 2010 World Fantasy Convention!
The four of us recap our experiences and adventures at the 2010 World Fantasy Convention.
Later, Jeff Patterson, Andrew Liptak & Patrick Hester sit down to chat with Kevin J. Anderson, author of the Terra Incognita books, several volumes set in the Dune universe, the Saga of the Seven Suns & several Star Wars novels, to name just a few of his projects.
In the 14th episode of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester, Jeff Patterson, Karen Burnham, and John DeNardo discuss the fact that…
The Zombie apocalypse is upon us!
From Rigor Amortis to The Living Dead 2 to Zombie Storm Troopers – Zombies are seemingly everywhere these days. What are your favorite Zombie books, movies or comics and why? Are Zombies the new, up and coming undead stars? Who’s dying to see The Walking Dead debut on AMC?
Later, John DeNardo & Jay Garmon sit down to chat with Paul Levinson, PHD, Science Fiction author with titles like The Silk Code, Borrowed Tides, The Consciousness Plague & The Plot to Save Socrates.
In the thirteenth episode of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester is joined by Fred Kiesche, John DeNardo, Lisa Paitz Spindler, Jeff Patterson, Jay Garmon & Matthew Sanborn Smith to discuss:
Q: What are the best genre TV shows on the air right now and why should we be watching them?
Caprica, Stargate: Universe, Fringe, Clone Wars…what we’re watching and why should you should be watching them too.
Later, Patrick Hester , JP Frantz, John Anealio & John DeNardo sit down to chat with Joseph Mallozzi, Executive Producer of Stargate: Universe.
Plenty of people have picked up on the fact that, when it comes to Science Fiction, I am more into the movies, television shows, comic books and video games than the books that (may have) inspired them. This isn’t for lack of trying.
I freely admit that I am primarily a Fantasy guy when it comes to books. My instinct is to grab the Jordan or Martin books, maybe a little Kate Elliot or J.V. Jones, too. I like the hero’s journey, the adventure – sometimes I can get lost in the science of science fiction, if that makes sense. It’s like a math test. I hate math and I hate tests.
Having said that, I am not comfortable being a one trick pony. I want to broaden my horizons, branch out into other things. To that end, I’ve recently picked up tomes by John Scalzi, Kevin J. Anderson, Elizabeth Moon, Mike Resnick & Michael Moorcock, to name a few.
But, everyone knows that the best way to get into a new author or book is by word of mouth, right? Recommendations from folks you know. So here’s your chance to convert me.
Tell me what your favorite science fiction novel is and give me ONE good reason why I should read it.
Too hard? Think of it like Twitter – keep it short, sweet and succinct. You don’t have to keep it under 140 characters but you do have to sum it up in such a way that it compels me to go shell out the $5-$25 for the book.
Ready… Set…Go!
Well. News from the BBC is that the limit of 12 regenerations for the Doctor is being retconned. For those not in the know, ‘retcon’ is a term used when previously established facts of a story are changed, usually to fix conflicts that arise over time.
DC Comics has probably one of the most famous instances of a retcon called ‘Crisis on Infinitive Earths’. In that example, they had multiple versions of the same characters, Golden Age, Silver Age, complete reboots. Some characters had multiple back stories, some no longer fit, some were based on other characters that they purchased and changed – it was becoming a very confused mess, so they decided to shred it all and create a new continuity for their universe.
But let’s talk about the Doctor…
In the twelfth episode of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester is joined by Fred Kiesche, John DeNardo, Larry Ketchersid, John Anealio, Jeff Patterson & Jay Garmon to discuss genre series:
Q: At what point does a genre series go on so long that they really wear out their welcome? How much is too much? How little is to little? Is there just no pleasing the fans? What series do you ant to see be over already and what series would you like to see expanded?
On Thursday, October 21st, we’ll be sitting down to chat with Nebula Award Nominated author Kevin J. Anderson. Kevin has written books in the Star Wars, Dune & X-Files universes as well as creating original novels and stories set in his own worlds: specifically his Saga of the Seven Suns, Gamearth, and Terra Incognita series.
Here’s your chance to be a part of the podcast – ask Kevin a question of your own!
There’s three ways you can do this:
Be a part of the podcast! Ask Kevin J. Anderson a question!
In the eleventh episode of the SF Signal Podcast, Patrick Hester is joined by Fred Kiesche, John DeNardo & Karen Burnham to discuss:
SF Books (and Authors) That (Who) Will Stand The Test of Time
Did you ever read an old science fiction book that felt dated? Maybe the predictions were way off base, or maybe or they were a reflection of the times in which they were written. Yet some books are considered timeless classics, which makes one wonder which of today’s books will fall into that category.
Q: Which science fiction book first published within in the last 10 years will be considered a classic?
As we discuss this topic, we expand upon it, taking a look at what characteristics define a ‘classic’ and which authors, independent of any single book, will become ‘timeless’ in their own right.
On Thursday, October 14th, we’ll be sitting down to record a chat with David J. Williams, author of the Autumn Rain Trilogy (The Mirrored Heavens, The Burning Skies & The Machinery of Light).
If you would like to ask him a question, now’s your chance. Use our voicemail line at 720-277-9082 to ask your question and we’ll use as many as we can when we sit down with David.
