A science fiction blog featuring science fiction book reviews and with frequent ramblings on fantasy, computers and the web.
Here’s a Google Blog Post from Dennis Hwang, the Google Doodler talking a bit about the oodles of google doodles that he doodles. Maybe Pete can send in his doodle.
Filed under: Web Sites
Along the lines of my previous sf humor post comes this (via The Alien Online)…
Hot on the heels of The Soddit, a parody based on The Hobbit, sf author Adam Roberts has released a Matrix parody called The McAtrix (not to be confused with the other Matrix parodies: The Mootrix and The Matrix Derided). It seems, as The Telegraph claims, that the parody is making a comeback. Does anyone remember Bored of the Rings?
Who is Adam Roberts, you say? Well, his debut novel, Salt, was published with a audacious blurb explaining it’s “set on a world as vividly described as Herbert’s Dune”. A bold claim indeed. Roberts’ next novel is another parody: The Sellamillion, based on Tolkien’s The Silmarrilion.
Filed under: Books
SFcrowsnest brings us a preview of the upcoming farscape miniseries from Farscape World.
Filed under: TV
Did you now there are awards for the best children’s or young adult SF? I didn’t either, and they’re called the Golden Duck Awards.
Checking the list of past winners, I see the Star Wars Cross-Sections won an award. This is the second good thing I’ve heard about that book, out of two web pages, so its batting 1.000. Not that I troll Star Wars book sites….
Filed under: Books
Gardner Dozois, George R. R. Martin and Daniel Abraham have collaborated on an original novella being serialized in 3 parts for SCI FICTION. Part I of Shadow Twin is now available. Parts II & III will be available on June 16 & 23. The synopsis of the story goes like this:
An angry, unsuccessful laborer on another planet comes across another alien race hidden within a mountain rich with valuable ore. He wakes up and is forced by the aliens to hunt down another human.
Filed under: Books
We haven’t had a paper model post in a while so I thought I’d post these arcade machine cabinet paper models. Note these aren’t life size, but they are ‘action figure’ size. Plus, they look really neat. Now my kids G.I. Joe figures can take on the Cobra figures in a no holds barred Gauntlet deathmatch!
Update: Spelling kcorrected for the spelling NazisPolice. 
Actions taken: misspelling corrected; misnomer removed! see comments for additional info ;P
Filed under: Games
From Entertainment Weekly (bugmenot has what you need, but damned if I could figure out where to use it – instead, I used my own subscription info to log in – but I’ve included the juicy bits below):
Lucas plans a second ”Clone Wars” cartoon. General Grievous, the villain of the upcoming ”Star Wars: Episode III,” will feature strongly in the five 12-minute episodes.
Filed under: Star Wars
Cory Doctorow has scanned and posted an article in the Ottowa Citizen about his online publishing. What I can’t figure out is why there’s a picture of a young Drew Carey in the article.
Filed under: Books
It’s finally here! The intergalactic communicators jumps off the pages of science fiction and into your waiting “brazos”. Well, OK. Maybe not intergalactic, but apparently this product can translate between English and Spanish…
Filed under: Science and Technology
Florida’s Channel 47 is reporting that Lucas is planning a Star Wars TV series for next year:
The small-screen adaptation will be set after 1983′s Return Of The Jedi and will feature the continuing stories of Jedi Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia.
I’m not sure why I am dubious of this report. Maybe because I can’t see Lucas doing TV? Maybe because other web sites that I don’t troll aren’t reporting the same? Then again, for all I know, maybe the forefront of Star Wars news is in Jacksonville.
Filed under: Star Wars
“Take us to your leader, eh Hoser?”
Space: The Imagination Station, the Canadian version of the SciFi Channel, announced its fall lineup. looks much like the US counterpart, except I noticed a new show called “Shelfspace”, devoted to previewing science books, sci-fi and fantasy novels, and comics. Sounds neat! Even cooler would be if our local SciFi channel added this. Sigh.
Thanks to SFcrowsnest for the link.
Filed under: TV
The 2004 Sturgeon Award finalists, honoring short sf, have been announced. They include:
Filed under: Books
Wizard People, Dear Reader is an interesting attempt at ‘re-envisioning’ Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. It consists of two 60+MB MP3 files that are an alternate soundtrack for the movie. You are supposed to burn each file onto a CD as CD audio, then play your DVD or VHS copy of HPatSS with the audio from the CD instead of the DVD/VHS. Its supposedly fairly amusing, littered with pop-culture riffs, etc. Sort of MST3K-ish, only not outside the story.
An interesting idea anyway. With thanks to The Shifted Librarian for the link.
Filed under: Movies
REVIEW SUMMARY: Fun story for kids and adults; great to read to/with your kids.
MY RATING: 
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: The fearsome Iron Giant becomes a hero when he challenges a huge space monster.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: Fun, fairytale-like feel
CONS: My 5-year old is probably too young to enjoy this, even though she liked the movie.
BOTTOM LINE: A good book for the budding sf fan.
Filed under: Book Review
I was walking past a books shelf in a supermarket this weekend and saw this atrocity. It’s a reissue of Asimov’s I, Robot featuring the movie poster with Will Smith. Now, I know that movie adaptations are different than the originating book (by necessity what with it being a different medium), but Yikes! It still sent shivers up my spine.
ADDENDUM: Check out the Reader’s Guide to I, Robot.
Filed under: Movies
This rant on SF/F Book series got me thinking, which in and of itself is a formidable feat. I have mixed feelings about book series and wanted to hear what others have to say…
Filed under: Books
What does Ballock, Kevin’s Final Fantasy XI alter ego do when he’s not out braining orcs? Why fish, of course. Here he is in Port San d’Oria (10MB download) almost netting the big one.
Ballock is my 9th level Red Mage. We’ll check in with him periodically as he blazes through the world of Vana’diel.
By the way, I use Fraps to capture the video in-game. It also does screenshots and displays frames per second.
Filed under: Games
Ha! And you thought I had lost my mind double posted! No double posting here, this UT is Unreal Tournament 2K4 and there are some seriously cool things going on in the mod community. Let’s take a look, shall we?
Filed under: Games
The Digital Media Collaboratory at the University of Texas is looking for persistent world gamers to participate in a study of online worlds. These include SWG, Second Life and CoH among others.
I’m not exactly sure which College the DMC is a part of, the top-level web site is a division of Rhetoric and Composition, so I’m assuming its under the English department or the Communications department. Isn’t this a great country? You can play games and study those that do, and do this all in pursuit of good grades! Too bad when we went there the internet was usenet only and there were no MMOGs to play. And, of course, no game related courses to take.
I thought about sending in my email for this, but I’m not sure I could convince my wife its a good idea to go to Austin to play a game for a few hours. Maybe a day trip to Austin would work….mmmm, Chuy’s near Zilker Park…..
Filed under: Meta
