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: communication
Comic Book Review: Long Distance
Comic Book Review: Long Distance by Thomas F. Zahler Commercial artist Carter Blue and rocket scientist Lee Smith meet in a New York airport when he’s knocked over by an unruly child. She sees his sketches, they both make geeky references, the two start talking, and a spark is lit. This could be love. Just… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Long Distance
Manga Review: Kimi ni Todoke Vol. 2
Manga Review: Kimi ni Todoke Vol. 2 by Karuho Shiina Sawako Kuronuma is a victim of pop culture. With her pale skin, long straight black hair in a particular style, and an inability to put on a fake smile (it just looks creepy), Sawako bears a passing resemblance to Sadako, the scary ghost girl from… Continue reading Manga Review: Kimi ni Todoke Vol. 2
Book Review: The Pocket Companion
Book Review: The Pocket Companion edited by Philip Van Doren Stern This 1942 paperback anthology was designed for people who wanted a lot of reading in a pocket-sized book, so has a novel, short stories, articles, poetry and trivia. The closest thing to a theme is the connection between the British and Americans, now allies… Continue reading Book Review: The Pocket Companion
Book Review: The Fall of the Towers
Book Review: The Fall of the Towers by Samuel R. Delany Five hundred years after the old civilizations perished in the Great Fire, the Toromon Empire occupies all the known livable space on Earth. But they are hemmed in by deadly radioactive belts and there’s nowhere for it to grow. And yet–and yet, the… Continue reading Book Review: The Fall of the Towers
Book Review: The Hugo Winners Volume 5 1980-1982
Book Review: The Hugo Winners Volume 5 1980-1982 edited by Isaac Asimov The Hugo Awards are given out every year by the membership of the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon.) This series of books from 1986 collected the winners in the three short fiction categories: Novella (17,500-40,000 words), Novelette (7,500-17,500 words) and Short Story (less… Continue reading Book Review: The Hugo Winners Volume 5 1980-1982
Book Review: The Year’s Greatest Science-Fiction and Fantasy Second Annual Volume
Book Review: The Year’s Greatest Science-Fiction and Fantasy Second Annual Volume edited by Judith Merril This 1957 volume contains speculative fiction stories from magazines published in roughly the previous year, hand-picked by the editor to represent the best the field had to offer at the time. (I’ve previously reviewed the fifth annual, which switched the… Continue reading Book Review: The Year’s Greatest Science-Fiction and Fantasy Second Annual Volume
Book Review: Pitch Perfect
Book Review: Pitch Perfect: How to Say It Right the First Time, Every Time by Bill McGowan and Alisa Bowman Disclaimer: I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. My copy was an uncorrected proof, and there will be changes in the final product. Mr. McGowan begins… Continue reading Book Review: Pitch Perfect