Films 

Once More Out of the Breach: Gary Westfahl Reviews Pacific Rim: Uprising

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If you are delayed by inclement weather while traveling to see Pacific Rim: Uprising, do not be overly dismayed, because the film might actually be more enjoyable if you walk into the theater an hour after it has started. True, you will struggle to understand some aspects of the plot, but when you are watching enormous, human-controlled robots (jaegers) battling against loathsome reptilian monsters (kaiju) in brilliantly choreographed sequences ...Read More

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Films 

In the Oceans of Madness – Intelligence: A Review of Pacific Rim

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by Gary Westfahl

Perhaps I am suffering from a form of dementia induced by excessive exposure to cinematic explosions and high-tech battles, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching Pacific Rim, despite the very low expectations that I brought to the theatre, and I would heartily recommend Guillermo del Toro’s production to anyone long enamored of science fiction films. This is because, in contrast to most of the noisy blockbusters that

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Books Reviews 

Colleen Mondor Reviews The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl

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The Grimrose Girls, Laura Pohl (Sourcebooks Fire 978-1-7282-2887-7, $10.99, tp, 400pp) November 2021.

Laura Pohl’s The Grimrose Girls is set in an elite, extra gothic-y, boarding school in Switzerland where three classmates are reeling from the recent death of their best friend, Ariane. It is no surprise that Ella, Yuki, and Rory are unsettled by the loss and deeply suspi­cious of the circumstances surrounding Ariane’s drowning. So, following in ...Read More

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Books Reviews 

Jake Casella Brookins Reviews The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

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The Tainted Cup, Robert Jackson Bennett (Del Rey 978-1-9848-2070-9, $28.99, 432pp, hc) Feb­ruary 2023.

Robert Jackson Bennett’s previous fantasy works – The Divine Cities and Founders trilogies – were immensely and somewhat unexpectedly delightful for me. I don’t often seek out fantasy series anymore. So, when I encounter an author who writes the kind of fun, propulsive work that kept my teenage self scouring the shelves for the next ...Read More

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Books Reviews 

Ian Mond Reviews I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane

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I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself, Marisa Crane (Catapult 978-1-64622-129-5, $27.00, 352pp, hc) January 2023.

Recently, author and editor Nick Mamatas nailed the “X meets Y” elevator pitch when he accurately described Titan by Japanese author Mado Nozaki as “The Lifecycle of Software Objects meets Pacific Rim.” But if I were handing out gold medals for the best use of this formulation, it would be to the ...Read More

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Announcements News 

Barlowe Retrospective

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Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra CA is hosting a retrospective exhibition on the work of Wayne Barlowe from November 19 – December 3, 2022.

The show will feature “various reproductions from some of Wayne’s notable book projects and film work” and “a curated selection of original drawings and paintings,” available for purchase. The opening reception will be held November 19. Admission to the reception and the exhibit is free.

A world-renowned ...Read More

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Announcements Awards Milestones News Publishing 

People & Publishing Roundup, September 2022

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MILESTONES

WENDY N. WAGNER is now represented via Lane Heymont of The Tobias Agency.

AWARDS

IDZA LUHUMYO’s “Five Years Next Sunday”(Disruption) won the £10,000 Caine Prize for African Writing, “awarded for a short story via an African writer published in English,”presented July 18, 2022 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

MONICA BYRNE’s The Actu­al Star (Harper Voyager) won the 2022 Manly Wade Wellman Award, ...Read More

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Books Reviews 

Gary K. Wolfe Reviews These Prisoning Hills by Christopher Rowe

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These Prisoning Hills, Christopher Rowe (Tor­dotcom 978-1250804488, $15.99, 144pp, tp) May 2022.

These Prisoning Hills is the latest installment in Christopher Rowe’s striking vision of a phantasma­gorical future Tennessee that we first encountered in ‘‘The Voluntary State’’ and ‘‘The Border State’’, both included in his 2017 collection Telling the Map. While much of the novella resonates with those earlier tales, familiarity with them isn’t necessary, since Rowe provides ...Read More

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Announcements Awards Milestones News Publishing 

People & Publishing Roundup, November 2021

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MILESTONES

Librarian MISHA STONE of the Seattle Public Library won the Librarian of the Year Award from the Greater Seattle Romance Writers Association. Stone is a Clarion West board member.

AWARDS

Composer JOHN WILLIAMS received the Forry Award for life­time achievement in the SF field, presented by The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society at their October 9, 2021 meeting.

URSULA VERNON writing as T. KINGFISHER’s “Metal Like Blood in ...Read More

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Announcements Milestones News Publishing 

People & Publishing Roundup, May 2020

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Milestones

Actor and writer AYDREA WALDEN will be Toastmaster for the 2020 Nebula Awards, to be pre­sented online May 30, 2020.

Brothers and video game devel­opers CHRIS & TIM STAMPER have joined the John Jarrold Literary Agency and will work on multime­dia projects.

ROBERT MARCHBANK is now represented by the John Jarr­old Literary Agency.

ANDY LIVINGSTONE is now represented by the John Jarrold Lit­erary Agency.

Awards

RICHARD POWERS‘s The ...Read More

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Films 

Hail Hydra! Josh Pearce and Arley Sorg Discuss Godzilla: King of the Monsters

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Godzilla: King of the Monsters has a lot of things in it that will please Godzilla fans, and plenty that will piss them off. It is a sequel to 2014’s Godzilla, which was directed by Gareth Edwards, and picks up shortly after that movie’s destruction of San Francisco and Godzilla’s subsequent disappearance. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), who lost his son in the attack, wants Godzilla and all other “Titans” ...Read More

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Films 

The Creature Waltzes Among Us: A Review of The Shape of Water, by Gary Westfahl

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As has happened before, I face the dilemma of reviewing a film that I have been clearly instructed to like, yet did not actually like. But, one might ask, what is there is dislike about The Shape of Water? It is the work of an author-director, Guillermo del Toro, who has repeatedly demonstrated his knowledge of, and fondness for, science fiction films, as well demonstrated by the excellent Pacific ...Read More

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Films 

Our Dinosaurs, Ourselves: A Review of Jurassic World

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by Gary Westfahl

If you are wondering whether or not you should see Jurassic World, here is this reviewer’s advice: either pay the exorbitant price of admission to watch the film in a theatre, or never bother to watch it at all. Viewed on a small screen, the way I watched the other Jurassic Park films, this fourth installment’s shrunken dinosaurs will not be impressive, and the flaws that

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Announcements Awards 

2014 Hugo and Campbell Awards Winners

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Winners for the Hugo Awards and for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer were announced at Loncon 3, the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention, held in London, England, August 17, 2014.

Best Novel (1,595 nominating ballots)

  • Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
  • Warbound, Larry Correia (Baen)
  • Parasite, Mira Grant (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
  • The Wheel of Time (complete series), Robert Jordan &
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Announcements Awards 

The 2014 Scribe Awards Winners

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The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers announced the winners of the 8th Annual Scribe Awards, for the best in tie-in fiction of 2013, at Comic-Con International in San Diego, July 24-27, 2014.

General Novel Original

  • Mr. Monk Helps Himself, Hy Conrad (Penguin)
  • The Executioner: Sleeping Dragons, Michael A. Black (Gold Eagle)
  • Murder She Wrote: Close-Up on Murder, Donald Bain (Penguin)
  • Leverage: The Bestseller Job, Greg
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Awards 

2013 Nebula Awards Winners

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The 2013 Nebula Awards were presented May 17, 2014 in a ceremony at  SFWA’s 49th Annual Nebula Awards Weekend, held in San Jose CA. Samuel R. Delany was honored with the 2013 Damon Knight Grand Master Award for his lifetime contributions and achievements in the field.

Novel

  • Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
  • We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler (Marian Wood)
  • The Ocean
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Films 

Dinosaur Train Wreck: A Review of Godzilla

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by Gary Westfahl

So, if you’re longing for the experience of watching an enormous dinosaur trample his way through a contemporary city this weekend, access your Netflix account, or find one of the few remaining DVD rental stores, and check out a Godzilla movie. Any Godzilla movie. The original 1954 film is, of course, a must-see, preferably the version without Raymond Burr (though his edited-in performance has its moments); films

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Awards 

2014 Hugo and Campbell Awards Finalists

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Nominees for the Hugo Awards and for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer have been announced by LonCon 3, the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention, to be held in London, England, August 14- 18, 2014.

Best Novel (1,595 nominating ballots)

  • Warbound, Larry Correia (Baen)
  • Parasite, Mira Grant (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
  • The Wheel of Time (complete series), Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson (Tor)
  • Ancillary Justice
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Awards 

2014 Scribe Award Nominees

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The International Association of Media Tie-in Writers announced the nominees for the 2014 Scribe Awards, honoring excellence in licensed tie-in writing:

General Novel Original

  • The Executioner: Sleeping Dragons, Michael A. Black (Gold Eagle)
  • Murder She Wrote: Close-Up on Murder, Donald Bain (Penguin)
  • Leverage: The Bestseller Job, Greg Cox (Berkley)
  • Leverage: The Zoo Job, Keith R. A. DeCandido (Berkley)
  • Mr. Monk Helps Himself, Hy Conrad (Penguin)
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Awards 

2013 Nebula Awards Nominees Announced

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The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America has announced the nominees for the 2013 Nebula Awards (presented 2014), the nominees for the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation, and the nominees for the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Novel

  • We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler (Marian Wood)
  • The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil Gaiman (Morrow;
...Read More Read more
Films 

“It’s Time to Go Home”: A Review of Gravity

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by Gary Westfahl

Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity is not only an excellent movie that people should see, but also an excellent movie that people need to see, to learn about what they have mostly been missing in the last half century of films about space travel – namely, the actual experience of living in space. True, there have been other “spacesuit films” that I have examined at length, but it is

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Bestsellers New Titles & Bestsellers 

Weekly Bestsellers, 12 August

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Ilona Andrews’ Magic Rises (Ace), sixth book in her Kate Daniels series, debuts at #1 on the New York Times mass market paperback list.

 

Title Debut / #wks on any list NYT 08.18 WP 07.28 LAT 08.11 USAT 08.04 PW 08.12 Amz (08.12) UK: Amz UK (08.12) Canada: Amz.ca (08.12) Items on list -x- number of lists surveyed 30×4 10×2 15×2 150 15×3 100 100 100 Hardcovers Atkinson, Life ...Read More Read more
Films 

Heaven Off Earth: A Review of Elysium

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by Gary Westfahl
Anyone reviewing Elysium must begin, I suppose, by addressing the controversy du jour surrounding its release, namely, the extent to which the film is a disguised portrayal of contemporary America and its political issues. Certainly, despite their protestations, such suspicions of a covert agenda cannot be surprising to writer-director Neil Blomkamp and his cast; after all, when you describe the agency protecting the space station of the
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Bestsellers New Titles & Bestsellers 

Weekly Bestsellers, 5 August

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Lauren Beukes’ The Shining Girls (Mulholland) rank #13 this week on the Los Angeles Times list — its first appearance on any of these lists.

 

Title Debut / #wks on any list NYT 08.11 WP 07.28 LAT 08.04 USAT 07.28 PW 08.05 Amz (08.05) UK: Amz UK (08.05) Canada: Amz.ca (08.05) Items on list -x- number of lists surveyed 30×4 10×2 15×2 150 15×3 100 100 100 Hardcovers Aaronovitch, ...Read More Read more
Reviews Short Fiction 

Lois Tilton reviews Short Fiction, mid-December

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Getting into the new year’s first issues of F&SF and Subterranean. Also some of the December ezines and the fall issue of On Spec.

 

Publications Reviewed
  • F&SF, Jan/Feb 2013
  • Subterranean, Winter 2013
  • Eclipse Online, December 2012
  • Lightspeed, December 2012
  • Nightmare Magazine, December 2012
  • Strange Horizons, December 2012
  • On Spec, Fall 2012

 

F&SF, Jan/Feb 2013

A middling-good issue with some good stories.

“Watching the Cow” by Alex Irvine

The

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Commentary Cory Doctorow Features 

Cory Doctorow: No Endorsement

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My 2009 novel Makers concerned itself, partly, with the upheaval that might attend cheap, ubiquitous 3D ‘‘printing.’’ I put ‘‘printing’’ in scare quotes because calling a device that produces arbitrary, articulated three dimensional objects (including functional, assembled multipart mechanisms and solid-state devices) on demand a ‘‘printer’’ is like calling a car a ‘‘horseless carriage’’ or Skype an ‘‘Internet telephone.’’

One aspect I didn’t delve into with much depth is the ...Read More

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cover of jumpnauts by jingfang
Books Reviews 

Niall Harrison Reviews Jumpnauts by Hao Jingfang

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Jumpnauts, Hao Jingfang (trans. Ken Liu) (Saga 978-1-53442-211-7, 368pp, $18.99). March 2024.

Deep in the bowels of Hao Jingfang’s Jumpnauts, an alien guide reveals to the human protagonists that what defines civilisational progression, from their elevated perspective, is ‘‘the capacity for information exchange.’’ The development of writing, which allows information to be transmit­ted widely in space and time, was the necessary precondition to reach the ‘‘zeroth rank’’ of ...Read More

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Books Reviews 

Paul Di Filippo Reviews A View from the Stars by Cixin Liu

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A View from the Stars, Cixin Liu (Tor 978-1250292117, hardcover, 224pp, $27.99) April 2024

Most authors segregate their fiction from their non-fiction, compiling the two classes of work into separate collections. I always recall one exception I read as a teen, a minor Frederik Pohl volume titled Digits & Dastards, which featured two essays along with the stories. And I suppose that Harlan Ellison’s inclusion of long anecdotal ...Read More

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Books Reviews 

Colleen Mondor Reviews The Fair Folk by Su Bristow and The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert

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The Fair Folk, Su Bristow (Europa Editions 979-8-889-66012-5, $18.00, tpb, 464pp) January 2024.

In her gorgeous new historical fantasy, The Fair Folk, author Su Bristow crafts the story of a particularly complex interaction between mortals and faeries. Opening in 1959, the novel follows the shifting relationship between then-eight-year-old Felicity and Elfrida, the apparent queen of a long-established fairy group ensconced in the woods near her home. At first, the ...Read More

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Announcements Awards Milestones News Publishing 

People & Publishing Roundup, April 2024

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AWARDS

F.J. BERGMANN has been named Grand Master by the Sci­ence Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association. The award is given to “an individual living at the time of selection whose body of work reflects the highest artistic goals of the SFPA, who has been actively publishing within the target genres of Science Fiction and Fantasy for a period of no fewer than 20 years, and whose poetry has been noted ...Read More

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Books Reviews 

Colleen Mondor Reviews Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind by Molly McGhee and Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

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Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind, Molly Mc­Ghee (Astra House 978-1662602115, $24.95, hc, 304pp) October 2023.

On the fourth page of Molly McGhee’s debut novel, the titular character Jonathan Abernathy is described as a young man drowning in financial debts. They primarily include ‘‘(1) a series of unpaid credit cards inherited after the death of his parents’’ and ‘‘(2) the legal culminations of the decisions he made as a 17-year-old ...Read More

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Books Reviews 

Colleen Mondor Reviews Midnight at the Houdini by Delilah S. Dawson and The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley by Sean Lusk

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Midnight at the Houdini, Delilah S. Dawson (Delacorte 978-0593486795, $18.99, hc, 357pp) September 2023. Cover by Aurelie Maron.

Initially, Delilah S. Dawson’s Midnight at the Houdini is all about 16-year-old Anna Alonso’s very stressed-out day. Her beloved older sister is getting married, and because no one else in her family seems to worry about details to the degree that Anna does, she has organized the whole thing. While checking ...Read More

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