Magazine Review: Analog Science Fiction & Fact January/February 2024 edited by Trevor Quachri Let’s look at a recent issue of this long-running science fiction (and fact) magazine. The opening editorial by Howard V. Hendrix, “Machines Passing for People Passing for Machines”, which among other things discusses the Turing Test, where a simulated person tries to… Continue reading Magazine Review: Analog Science Fiction & Fact January/February 2024
Tag: architecture
Book Review: Mazes and Labyrinths
Book Review: Mazes and Labyrinths by W.H. Matthews Humans have long been fascinated by structures that pack the maximum amount of path in a small space, and those that create a puzzle to move through to find a center or exit. This 1922 book was the first major work in English to take a thorough… Continue reading Book Review: Mazes and Labyrinths
Book Review: The Pocket Book of Science Fiction
Book Review: The Pocket Book of Science Fiction edited by Donald A. Wollheim In the introduction to this 1943 anthology, Donald A. Wollheim talks about “the theory of outrageous hypotheses” which helps science progress by asking, “this is not true but what if?” These ten stories are most assuredly fictional, but point to places to… Continue reading Book Review: The Pocket Book of Science Fiction
Book Review: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Book Review: The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo The Year of Grace 1482 is going to be the big one for Pierre Gringoire; he just knows it! The poet, philosopher and would-be playwright is debuting his new mystery play for the Cardinal of Bourbon and the Flemish ambassadors on January 6th, the Day… Continue reading Book Review: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Book Review: Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology
Book Review: Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology edited by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer As the subtitle of this volume indicates, it’s a collection of 29 short stories written from a feminist perspective. There are selections from the 1960s through the 2000s–SF, fantasy, horror and a couple of stories that seem to… Continue reading Book Review: Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology
Comic Book Review: Corpse on the Imjin! and Other Stories by Harvey Kurtzman
Comic Book Review: Corpse on the Imjin! and Other Stories by Harvey Kurtzman edited by Gary Groth In later years, Harvey Kurtzman was better known for his humor work, among other things being the first editor of MAD. But while he worked at EC Comics in the early Fifties, Mr. Kurtzman was also known for some… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Corpse on the Imjin! and Other Stories by Harvey Kurtzman
Book Review: The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut’s Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt
Book Review: The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut’s Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt by Kara Cooney Hatshepsut lived about 1500 B.C.E. to circa 1458 B.C.E. The daughter of Thutmose I, she was married to Thutmose II, her half-brother, when he ascended the throne of Egypt. As the God’s Wife of Amen-Re (king of all… Continue reading Book Review: The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut’s Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt
Book Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Mad
Book Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Mad by E. Randall Floyd American history is full of offbeat people, some downright weird. The author was (like many a lad) fascinated by their stories when he was young. Then he got to interview Erich von Daeniken (Chariots of the Gods) and decided to make writing about… Continue reading Book Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Mad
Book Review: Twin Cities Noir: The Expanded Edition
Book Review: Twin Cities Noir: The Expanded Edition edited by Julie Schaper & Steven Horwitz Like the previously reviewed USA Noir, this is a collection of grittier crime stories from Akashic Books with a regional focus. In this case, the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in Minnesota, and the surrounded metro area, plus one up… Continue reading Book Review: Twin Cities Noir: The Expanded Edition