A science fiction blog featuring science fiction book reviews and with frequent ramblings on fantasy, computers and the web.
In my latest article at the Kirkus Reviews Blog, I ask: What Scares You About Science Fiction?
I also throw down a challenge to people unfamiliar with science fiction as well as existing sf readers (that’s you).
Over on the Kirkus Reviews Blog today, I take a look at an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s At The Mountains of Madness.
From the article:
Published by Sterling, this volume adapts Lovecraft’s At The Mountains of Madness in a classic style reminiscent of Hergé’s Tintin. In the story, Professor Dyer leads an expedition to Antarctica in September of 1930. With a biologist, engineer, physicist and meteorologist, and a geologist on board, their mission is to take core soil and rock samples from areas of unexplored Antarctica, run tests, and report their findings back home. By November, they enter McMurdo Sound, and the adventure begins.
Click over and check out the rest of the review.
Did you ever notice that some novels are extensions of (or based off of) shorter works of fiction? This week at the Kirkust Reviews Blog, I take at look at that very thing. I used this as an opportunity to interview Ted Kosmatka, Catherine Lundoff, Will McInrosh, Linda Nagata and Robert J. Sawyer — all of whom have novels that began life as short fiction.
See some of the challenges they faced over at the Kirkus Reviews Blog in When Short Fiction Grows Into a Novel.
One of the interesting things that I came across recently was the story of the Futurians at the 1st WorldCon in 1939. The Futurians were a legendary group of fans – quite a few notable authors came out of their ranks over the years, and it looked like an interesting story, one that was far more complicated than I thought.
Go read about it at the Kirkus Reviews blog: The Futurians and the 1939 World Science Fiction Convention.
Recently, I looked at books whose film adaptations will be in theaters by year’s end. But we all know that the road from book to screen is a long one that has more pitfalls than bridges. This week at the Kirkus Reviews Blog, I take a look at some of the science fiction and fantasy books that have been optioned and might (hopefully) see the light of day as a film or television series.
Check out More SF/F Books to Read Before You See Them on the Screen.
Arc manor has posted the May 2013 issues launch of Galaxy’s Edge Magazine, the online/downloadable magazine edited by Mike Resnick. Here’s the table of contents for the new issue:
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Today on the Kirkus blog, I take a look at The Lovecraft Anthology, Volume 1.
From the post:
You can’t be a speculative fiction fan without coming into contact with something inspired by Lovecraft. From the Dungeon Dimensions of Pratchett’s Discworld series, to Ridley Scott’s Aliens, to Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, pop culture is full of nods to Lovecraft’s Old Ones, so it doesn’t surprise me at all that someone would choose to mine this material to build a comic series/anthology. Published by Self Made Hero, The Lovecraft Anthology certainly struck a chord with me.
Click on over to check out the rest of the post.
The May 2013 issue of Clarkesworld is now posted:
FICTION
NONFICTION
PODCAST
COVER ART
Nightmare Magazine sent along the table of contents for their new issue:
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Lightspeed Magazine sent along the table of contents for their new issue:
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Daily Science Fiction has announced its May 2013 line-up of free stories. All stories will appear on the web one week after their email publication.
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One of the things that I’ve found distinctly interesting about the Golden Age of SF is how the authors shape the field that they’re in, but also how much one can extrapolate a larger picture out of an author’s life. An excellent example of this is Judith Merril, through whom one can find an excellent viewpoint of the shifts in publishing, as well as a number of similarly-high-profiled authors writing at the same time.
Go read The Connections of Judith Merril over on the Kirkus Reviews Blog.
It’s no secret that science fiction has its share of fun with literature’s most beloved consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes. What I didn’t know was that there were way more crossovers that I would have thought.
At the Kirkus Reviews blog today, I continue my look at Speculative Fiction’s Love Affair with Sherlock Holmes (Part 2).
Check it out!
It’s no secret that science fiction has its share of fun with literature’s most beloved consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes. What I didn’t know was that there were way more crossovers that I would have thought.
At the Kirkus Reviews blog today, I start looking at Speculative Fiction’s Love Affair with Sherlock Holmes.
Check it out!
REVIEW SUMMARY: The April issue of Lightspeed features two new and two reprint stories in both the science fiction and fantasy categories, including a new release from self-publishing sensation Hugh Howey, as well as feature interviews with authors Jane Yolen and Brandon Sanderson.
MY RATING: 
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Alien invasion and visitation, past and future examination of the disparity between the haves and have-nots, the importance of relationships and the efforts humans go to in order to heal the past and much more is revealed in the eight short stories included in the latest issue of Lightspeed.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: Interesting ideas well-realized; contemporary stories that fuel nostalgia; a few likeable characters that the reader will root for; stories inspired by real places/events lend strength to the telling.
CONS: One story is longer and more descriptive than it needs to be to accomplish the same ends; fantasy offerings are weaker as a whole compared to the science fiction selections.
BOTTOM LINE: The April issue of Lightspeed is a good jumping on issue for those who have not given the magazine a try as it has a wide variety of stories balanced between new, upcoming authors and well-established storytellers. The science fiction stories are particularly enjoyable in this issue and it was particularly interesting to see a new story by Hugh Howey that is not set in the Wool universe.
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I came across an interesting tidbit a while ago, while reading something about Robert Heinlein: he served as a researcher during World War II, alongside fellow SF authors Isaac Asimov and L. Sprague de Camp. At the NAES, they all worked on various experimental projects, working in the high-tech, cutting edge of R&D that’s so often portrayed in the genre at the time. It’s a neat story, one that tells quite a bit about each of the authors.
Read all about it over on Kirkus Reviews: Asimov, de Camp and Heinlein at the Naval Air Experimental Station.
I must admit a fondness for comparing film adaptations to thir original source material. Perhaps that’s why I’m at the Kirkus Reviews Blog today, where I recommend that the unitiated Read These Science Fiction & Horror Books Now to Prepare For Their Upcoming Film Adaptations.
Over on the Kirkus Reviews Blog today, I have a new post up on Boom Studio’s Higher Earth, written by Sam Humphries.
From the post:
Heidi lives on a trash planet. Bright circles in the sky open up and dump trash everywhere. People fight over the scraps dumped on them. Heidi lives alone and fights hard to keep what little she has. Rex is a soldier. He travels from Earth to Earth. Is he running from something or to it? When he finds Heidi, everything changes for them both. Rex convinces Hedi she needs to come with him, and drags her first to a Sunshine Earth full of refugees, then to an Earth that never had an extinction level event and is full of dinosaurs. Everywhere they go, they are pursued and attacked by the agents of Higher Earth. When Rex is badly wounded, Heidi learns the truth about who she is, why she was living on that trash planet, and has to make a choice to either trust Rex and embrace her destiny, or run for her life. Forever.
Click over to the Kirkus Reviews Blog to read the rest of the review.
This week at the Kirkus Reviews Blog, I look at Highlights & Top Picks from April Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books.
Go forth, adventurous readers! (Or go fourth…see what I care…)
