Book Review: Shot in the Face: A Savage Journey to the Heart of Transmetropolitan

Book Review: Shot in the Face: A Savage Journey to the Heart of Transmetropolitan edited by Chad Nevett Disclaimer:  I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of writing this review. Transmetropolitan was a science fiction comic book series co-created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Darick Robertson that ran under the… Continue reading Book Review: Shot in the Face: A Savage Journey to the Heart of Transmetropolitan

Book Review: Time Frames: A Speculative Poetry Anthology

Book Review: Time Frames: A Speculative Poetry Anthology edited by Terry A. Garey Poetry related to the various genres of speculative fiction (SF, fantasy, horror, etc.) is pretty common.  You can see samples by ones or twos in many magazines and spec-fic collections.  But full hardback anthologies of speculative poetry are rare.  So Rune Press… Continue reading Book Review: Time Frames: A Speculative Poetry Anthology

Book Review: Legacy

Book Review: Legacy by J.F Bone Sam Williams used to be a combat medic, until he got a little careless and had half his face radiated off during the Gakan “punitive expedition.”  After a punch-up with a pencil-pusher who got a little personal about Sam’s appearance, the battling medico was invalided out and sent back… Continue reading Book Review: Legacy

Book Review: Hokas Pokas!

Book Review: Hokas Pokas! by Poul Anderson & Gordon R. Dickson The Hoka of the planet Toka are the galaxy’s best live-action roleplayers.  Given a story they find interesting, the teddy-bear-looking aliens will take on the characters as their own personalities.  And they especially love Earth stories.  Thus it is that they have entire subcultures… Continue reading Book Review: Hokas Pokas!

Anime Review: Active Raid

Anime Review: Active Raid The year is 2035 in an alternative history Japan, and the city of Tokyo is rapidly recovering from the Third Quicksand Disaster, which turned much of the metropolitan area into quagmires.  Powered armor units called “Willwear” have helped the reconstruction immensely, and are spreading into other industries, but there are people… Continue reading Anime Review: Active Raid

Book Review: The Marsco Dissident

Book Review: The Marsco Dissident by James A. Zarzana It’s a Marsco world. Much has changed by the last years of the 21st Century.  The rot started to set in with the Abandonment Policy (euphemized as “Divestiture”) where countries with prosperous sections and not-so-prosperous bits split off the not-prosperous sectors as “another country now, not… Continue reading Book Review: The Marsco Dissident

Open Thread: Minicon 51 Report

Open Thread: Minicon 51 Report For those of you new to this blog, Minicon is the Easter weekend science fiction convention put on by MN-StF every year.  I’ve been going to it for somewhere around three decades now, and this year was no exception.  Once again it was at the RadiShTree (Bloomington Doubletree) hotel, and… Continue reading Open Thread: Minicon 51 Report

Book Review: Twin Cities Speculations: An Anthology of Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Book Review: Twin Cities Speculations: An Anthology of Sci-Fi and Fantasy edited by Eric Binfet As I may have mentioned before, I have a soft spot for local writers, of which Minnesota has many.  One Twin Cities writers’ group got together and self-published an anthology, and here we are.  Eight stories of SF and fantasy,… Continue reading Book Review: Twin Cities Speculations: An Anthology of Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Comic Strip Review: The Far Side Gallery 2

Comic Strip Review: The Far Side Gallery 2 by Gary Larson The Far Side was a daily single-panel newspaper comic that ran from 1980 to 1995, although reruns are common in newspapers.  Gary Larson’s offbeat comedy often features science fiction and horror concepts, as well as talking animals and cavemen.  Honestly, it’s hard to describe… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: The Far Side Gallery 2

Magazine Review: The American Scholar Spring 1977

Magazine Review: The American Scholar Spring 1977 Edited by Joseph Epstein The American Scholar is a quarterly production of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, published since 1932.  Its primary focus is non-fiction essays, but it also features poetry, book reviews and since 2006 fiction.  I happened across an old issue, was intrigued by one of… Continue reading Magazine Review: The American Scholar Spring 1977