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.
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.
I’m at it again over at the Kirkust Reviews Blog, where I name my SF/F picks for May.
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 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!
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.
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…)
This week at the Kirkus Reviews Blog, I look at More Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Kids Should be Reading in School.
This was a list I derived from an informal poll of the Twitterverse and Facebook. I was happy to see that several genre classics were being named. I named several on those on the first list, but had enough notable book titles to write about in this new, second list.
How many of them have you read?
This week at the Kirkus Reviews Blog, I look at Suspension of Disbelief in Science Fiction :
All readers of fiction, whether it be mainstream fiction or genre fiction, go into a story knowing it’s not actually true. They are willing to believe a story’s premise and setting at the outset, before reading the first word. But the initial open-mindedness of a premise is different than the continued belief in that premise. Suspension of disbelief is the act of postponing one’s judgment on the believability of a fictional story. This is important in all fiction, of course, but is even more important in science fiction and fantasy, where the worlds being portrayed can be very different from our own.
Hop on over and check it out.
Of all the works of his career, Isaac Asimov’s Robot stories are perhaps some of his best known works. Spanning short stories, novellas, centuries and even genres, his fiction helped change the perceptions of robots in science fiction.
Go read Isaac Asimov and the 3 Laws of Robotics over on Kirkus Reviews.
This week at the Kirkus Reviews Blog, I had the opportunity to interview Stephen Haffner of Haffner Press
Haffner Press publishes, among other things, definitive collections of speculative fiction classic. As a fan of classic sf, their books are treats to be savored.
Head on over to Kirkus Reviews blog and check out my interview with Stephen Haffner of Haffner Press.
It’s been a while since I last surveyed the Steampunk sub-genre. I wish I had kept more in touch…there have been lots of steampunk releases in the intervening months.
Today at the Kirkus Reviews blog is the conclusion of my revisit to Steampunk: Steampunk Update, Part 3 – Mash-Ups and More.
Check it out!
REVIEW SUMMARY: Vivid, varied, and violent. At once beautiful and terrible to behold.
MY RATING:
BRIEF SYNOPSIS:Â On the planet of Jeroun god exists, and he is far from benevolent. Adrash looks down upon the world, prepared to unleash final annihilation. Men in suits of black and white do battle in his name, some wish to submit to him and others wish to defy him. Vedas, a Blacksuit of the Thirteenth Order embarks on a journey to a great fighting tournament that may well decide the fate of Jeroun.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: Stunning imagery, absorbing setting, diverse cultures, intriguing characters, cool ideas.
CONS: Not enough exploration of some of the settings and ideas. Climax was a little weak.
BOTTOM LINE: Ambitious, impressive, and bold. This is not your run of the mill fantasy.
No Return is an excellent start to the new reading year. This is the sort of novel that stands in the shadow of two super genres, for it is neither science fiction nor fantasy. It is instead a beautiful twining of both. It is epic in the in the more traditional sense of the word, though not a narrative poem. No Return features heroic deeds, strange cultures, dark violence, and consequences. It has the trappings on a new age legend, set on an extraordinary world.
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Another month, another slew of speculative fiction titles vying for your book-buying dollar…
Today at the Kirkus Reviews blog I make an attempt to whittle down your choices by offering My Picks for the Best SF/F for March 2013.
Check it out and be sure to offer up your own picks.
Last week, planet Earth said hello to two separate extraterrestrial objects: an asteroid that was the closest near-miss asteroid fly-by on record, and a meteor that exploded over the Ural Mountains in Russia. Makes you wonder what would happen if an asteroid did impact the Earth, doesn’t it?
Today at the Kirkus Reviews blog I offer a chance to find out: Read All About It: Planetary Destruction by Asteroid, Meteor and Comet.
Check it out!
By
John DeNardo | Wednesday, February 13th, 2013 at 12:00 pm
It’s been a while since I last surveyed the Steampunk sub-genre. I wish I had kept more in touch…there have been lots of steampunk releases in the intervening months.
Today at the Kirkus Reviews blog is the second part of my revisit to Steampunk: Steampunk Update, Part 2 – Old & New Cogs in the Steampunk Machine.
Check it out!
It’s been a while since I last surveyed the Steampunk sub-genre. I wish I had kept more in touch…there have been lots of steampunk releases in the intervening months.
Today at the Kirkus Reviews blog is the first part of my revisit to Steampunk: Steampunk Update, Part 1 – Following Up.
Check it out!
February brings another batch of promising new fiction!
Today at the Kirkus Reviews blog, I name my picks for the best SF/F February has to offer. This time around, instead of providing a flat list, I attempted to group the books into loose categories for readers looking for something particular.
Check it out!
Have you noticed the trend of established authors writing Doctor Who novels? I have, and I wrote about it.
You can find Drawn to the Pages of Doctor Who over on the Kirkus Reviews Blog today.
Or, has it been there for millions of years…?
(See what I did there?)
REVIEW SUMMARY: This book keeps you engaged and interested from page one.
MY RATING: 
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A journalist joins a team of astronauts on an expedition to the farthest point in space humans have ever traveled. The mystery that awaits is more dangerous than trying to reach it alone.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: Fascinating story; empathetic and beautiful struggle of an explorer separated from his family; epic, outer space anomaly leaves the reader burning for more
CONS: The mystery is not completely resolved.
BOTTOM LINE: The Explorer earns a “can’t miss” recommendation for its mind-bending, heart-wrenching, avalanche of a reading experience.
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