Blog Archives
sSUPERVERSIVE: The Dark Brilliance of “A Series of Unfortunate Events”
Tuesday , 27, December 2016 Book Review, Fiction, Superversive 9 CommentsLemony Snicket’s (the pen name of Daniel Handler) “A Series of Unfortunate Events” is making the news again now that a new Netflix series is coming out. After the okay but ultimately disappointing movie adaptation the trailers for the Netflix series look as if they’re really going to get things right, even if Neil Patrick Harris […]
Alternate history is an interesting subgenre of fiction. Is it truly science fiction or is it something else within the garbage can term of “speculative fiction?” “What if?” essays go back more than a century such as “If Napoleon had Won the Battle of Waterloo” by G. M. Trevelyan. Within the science fiction field, […]
Short Reviews – Asteroid of Fear, by Raymond Z. Gallun
Friday , 9, December 2016 Book Review Leave a commentAsteroid of Fear by Raymond Z. Gallun was featured in March 1951 issue of Planet Stories. It can be found here at Archive.org. This issue that started out a bit rocky* finds its footing with Asteroid of Fear. Though the menace is human, the setting and sci-fi elements are anything but mundane. John Endlich and […]
Back in July, I reviewed the military fantasy anthology Shattered Shields. I have mentioned that Elizabeth Moon’s “First Blood” stood out enough that I would search out more. Continuing education in Cleveland, OH in late October meant that I had to stop at Mac’s Back Paperbacks. I picked up a used copy of Elizabeth Moon’s […]
Yes, this volume is every bit as good as the buzz around it suggests. If you’ve been exasperated by the absence in today’s magazines and anthologies of stories of the sort that Lord Dunsany, C. L. Moore, Jack Vance, and Robert E. Howard wrote, then this volume will be a welcome addition to your library. […]
Short Reviews – The Star Saint, by A.E. Van Vogt
Friday , 11, November 2016 Book Review, Uncategorized 2 CommentsThe Star Saint by A.E. Van Vogt appeared in the March 1951 issue of Planet Stories. It can be read here at Archive.org. The Star Saint is the first story I’ve read by A.E. Van Vogt; it’s a deconstruction of the Raygun Romance, and I hated it. A ship full of colonists is on its […]
Short Reviews – Duel on Syrtis, by Poul Anderson
Friday , 4, November 2016 Appendix N, Book Review, Uncategorized Leave a commentDuel on Syrtis by Poul Anderson appeared in the March 1951 issue of Planet Stories. It can be read here at Archive.org. One is a big game hunter who complains about liberals and suffrage, the other is a cute Martian owlbear just trying to make it in the cruel world. Riordan has a spaceship, a […]
SUPERVERSIVE: How Netflix’s “Daredevil” can pull off “Born Again”
Tuesday , 1, November 2016 Book Review, Fiction, Superversive Leave a commentFull disclaimer: I LOVE “Daredevil: Born Again”, by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. Not like. Love. I make a point to pick it up and re-read it a few times a year, and it is one of the very few books I read – and I mean I can count them on one hand – […]
Short Reviews – Black Amazon of Mars, by Leigh Brackett
Friday , 28, October 2016 Appendix N, Book Review 1 CommentBlack Amazon of Mars by Leigh Brackett originally appeared in the March 1951 issue of Planet Stories. It can be read online here at Archive.org. Black Amazon of Mars completes Brackett’s original trilogy of Stark stories. Black Amazon finds Stark on his way to the polar city of Kushat to fulfill the dying wish of […]
Guest Post by Zachary Wood: “The Missionaries” by Owen Stanley
Thursday , 27, October 2016 Book Review 1 CommentWhile the title of may lead you to anticipate a religious story, The Missionaries is anything but. A comedic, fast-paced account of the modern world’s attempts to improve the violent tribal islanders of Elephant island, and all of the bungling drama that occurs as a result shows that interfering indirectly does nothing but harm. The […]
Guest Post by Zachary Wood: “Loki’s Child” by Fenris Wulf
Thursday , 20, October 2016 Book Review Leave a commentPeople are behind pop stars and their latest hits, perfecting their sound with technological wizardry. That’s the premise of Loki’s Child. Sinister yet comical, the book is witty and brazen to the point of bawdy; snark is offered in a touching, flowing dance that reminded me of a slow-motion, slapstick trainwreck captured in all its […]
Short Reviews – Stalemate in Space, by Charles L. Harness
Friday , 14, October 2016 Book Review, Uncategorized Leave a commentStalemate in Space by Charles L. Harness appeared in the Summer 1949 issue of Planet Stories. It can be read here at Archive.org. So far, I’ve read plenty of stories with great dames who are gorgeous, brave, competent and excellent foils for their male counterparts. But Stalemate in Space is the first Raygun Romance I’ve […]