Blog Archives
sShort Reviews – That Mess Last Year, by John D. MacDonald and Galactic Heritage, by Frank Belknap Long
Friday , 10, March 2017 Book Review 12 CommentsThat Mess Last Year, by John D. MacDonald and Galactic Heritage, by Frank Belknap Long appeared in the October 1948 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find complete scans of this issue. If I do, though, or if someone else posts them, I’ll update with links. I’ve said for a while […]
Indie New Releases – January 2017
Thursday , 9, March 2017 Appendix N, Book Review, Fiction 3 CommentsWhile an invading empire shells planets into volcanic glass all around him, a cloned space captain must decide whether he will take on the memories of a fallen war hero – and his military command. In Britain’s third space war, the Royal Navy must strike deep into the territory of the alien Foxes to bring […]
THROWBACK SF THURSDAY: Martians Abroad by Carrie Vaughn
Thursday , 2, March 2017 Book Review 12 CommentsTwo weeks ago I reviewed Have Space Suit—Will Travel, my first Heinlein juvenile. I bought, picked it, and read it a bit ago. The review wound up being very well timed. A YA book imitating the Heinlein juveniles was released on January 17—Martians Abroad by Carrie Vaughn. I read a longish blog post a couple […]
SUPERVERSIVE Review: “Stardust”, by Neil Gaiman
Tuesday , 28, February 2017 Book Review, Superversive 29 CommentsNeil Gaiman is a guy who I’ve noticed gets a lot of flak around these parts. It is true he has SJW tendencies, but then, most authors do. And he IS immensely popular. Mostly – and I am going by anecdote here – it seems that people believe that he (along with Ursula Le Guin) […]
In the wake of the Death Star’s destruction in 1977, a renewed hunger for space opera swept across not just the United States, but the entire world. In Japan, this demand was met by such classics as Mobile Suit Gundam and Super Dimension Fortress Macross, as well as a slew of imitators. But the crown […]
Book Review and Interview with the Author (First in a series of book and film reviews, focusing on lesser-known works.) Too many fantasy writers fall into two categories: imitative of Tolkien, or consciously reacting against Tolkien. But once in a great while, a writer strikes out into uncharted territory. THE SEVEN CITADELS is a four-book […]
THROWBACK SF THURSDAY: Have Space Suit—Will Travel by Robert Heinlein
Thursday , 16, February 2017 Book Review 4 CommentsI don’t read a whole lot of YA fiction these days (or ever, really). Even less middle school fiction. And I suppose Have Space Suit—Will Travel, like The Hobbit, would be marketed as middle school fiction were it to be released today. There isn’t a love story, and a book simply must have a love […]
I have mentioned before that the small press is where the action is with sword and sorcery fiction. Case in point, Swords of Steel. The back cover says “Not For Wimps!” Swords of Steel came out in February 2015. I had heard about the anthology before it came out. Editor/Publisher Dave Ritzlin had an […]
Short Reviews – Death by a Dusty Blade by Frank Johnson
Friday , 10, February 2017 Book Review 2 CommentsDeath by a Dusty Blade by Frank Johnson appeared in the June 1943 issue of G-Men Detective. With Death by a Dusty Blade, I’ll be wrapping up on the June 1943 issue of G-Men Detective. Not counting the Beware! feature, Death by a Dusty Blade was the shortest piece in this issue of G-Men Detective, […]
Short Review – You Can’t Plant Murder, by Donald Bayne Hobart + Beware! and The Black Chamber
Friday , 3, February 2017 Book Review Leave a commentYou Can’t Plant Murder by Donald Bayne Hobart appeared in the June 1943 issue of G-Men Detective. Beware! is an unattributed wartime warning. M. K. Dirigo’s The Black Chamber was a regularly appearing feature of G-Men Detective. You Can’t Plant Murder was very short and simple, so I thought I’d squeeze in a couple other […]
THROWBACK SF THURSDAY: The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
Thursday , 2, February 2017 Book Review 7 CommentsTension, apprehension, and dissension have begun . . . Alfred Bester may have had a touch of psionic ability himself. The Demolished Man reads like equal parts hardboiled noir and cyberpunk. It’s tense and taut throughout, if it never quite matches its own ambitions. But unlike many writers who set their sights high, Bester never […]
WRIGHT ON: Lost Works – The Real Buck Rogers II
Tuesday , 31, January 2017 Before the Big Three, Book Review 3 CommentsWRIGHT ON: Lost Works The Real Buck Rogers II Let us visit the lost and neglected works of the golden age of science fiction pulps or the silver age of pre-Tolkien fantasy, and see the futures as once they were. AIRLORDS OF THE HAN. by Philip Francis Nowlan is the second half of the seminal Buck […]