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: Out of the Dead City

Book Review: Out of the Dead City by Samuel R. Delany (originally published as “Captives of the Flame”) It has been about five hundred years since the Great Fire wiped out the old civilizations.  On the island of Toron, however, enough humans and records survived to begin again.  A settlement became a village became a… Continue reading Book Review: Out of the Dead City

Magazine Review: Science Fantasy #4 Spring 1971

Magazine Review: Science Fantasy #4 Spring 1971 edited by Sol Cohen Science Fantasy was a short-lived (this is the final issue) reprint magazine from Ziff-Davis Publishing, which should not be confused with the long-running British magazine of the same title.  The stories in this issue come from the late 1940s/early 1950s, and reader tastes had changed… Continue reading Magazine Review: Science Fantasy #4 Spring 1971

Book Review: A Far Sunset

Book Review: A Far Sunset by Edmund Cooper Paul Marlowe is apparently the last survivor of the Gloria Mundi, a starship commissioned by the United States of Europe to explore the Altair star system. The fifth planet of Altair turned out to be inhabitable and inhabited by humanoid aliens, but the crew of the Gloria Mundi… Continue reading Book Review: A Far Sunset

Book Review: The Martian Chronicles

Book Review: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury Once, Mars was a place of mystery.  Humans looked at it from the blue Earth with feeble telescopes, and imagined what life, if any, might inhabit that red dot in the sky.  Were there canals filled with water?  Bloodsucking tripod operators?  Beings that had never fallen from grace… Continue reading Book Review: The Martian Chronicles

Comic Book Review: Essential Captain Marvel Vol. 2

Comic Book Review: Essential Captain Marvel Vol. 2 by various creators. Back in 1967, Marvel Comics became aware that the name “Captain Marvel” for a superhero had fallen out of trademark status.  It was too good a name for Marvel to pass up, so Stan Lee quickly came up with a character to appear in Marvel… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Essential Captain Marvel Vol. 2

Book Review: Nexus

Book Review: Nexus by Ramez Naam In the not so distant future, technologies for human alteration and augmentation have advanced rapidly, so that many people are considered “transhuman” and there are a few that are possibly “post-human.”  One of the new developments is Nexus, a “nanodrug” that allows humans to communicate mind-to-mind to some degree.… Continue reading Book Review: Nexus

Book Review: Once Upon a Star: The Adventures of Manning Draco Volume 1

Book Review: Once Upon a Star: The Adventures of Manning Draco Volume 1 by Kendell Foster Crossen In the 35th Century, many things have changed.  Terrans have gone to the stars and discovered the many alien races living out there, fighting with some, cooperating with others.  Right now, the Milky Way Galaxy is at peace.… Continue reading Book Review: Once Upon a Star: The Adventures of Manning Draco Volume 1

Magazine Review: Gamma 3

Magazine Review: Gamma 3 edited by Charles E. Fritch Gamma was a short-lived science fiction magazine (five issues in 1963-64), known for high-quality cover art and snagging stories from authors connected with the film industry.  (Indeed, I picked up this issue because of the sweet Morris Scott Dollens art.)  It was digest-sized and relatively thin.  … Continue reading Magazine Review: Gamma 3

Book Review: Infinity Five

Book Review: Infinity Five edited by Robert Hoskins This is the fifth and last (so far as I know) of the Infinity series of science fiction anthologies from Lancer Books.  As mentioned in my review of Infinity Two, they’re heavy on the New Wave style of story, free to have sex scenes and rough language (but not yet… Continue reading Book Review: Infinity Five