SF SiteThe new issue of the SF Site is now online.A Posse of Princesses by Sherwood Smith- March 16, 2008 In a world of relatively peaceful small kingdoms where magic is operated by mages and the usual feudal trappings exist, Lios, Crown Prince of Vesarja, invites the young princesses and princes of the world to a several day coming out party in his parent's castle. Rhis, princess of a small remote mountain kingdom, who has grown up stifled by protocol, is one of those who attends the festivities. When Iardith, a beautiful but vain and self-centered princess is kidnapped, Rhis leads a mounted...http://www.sfsite.com/03b/pp268.htm Babylon 5.1: TV reviews by Rick Norwood- March 16, 2008 Rick offers his thoughts on believing everything he reads such as the start of the next season of Stargate: Atlantis, some of the points made in the book, The World Is Flat, whether climate change is a hoax and did Barak Obama attend a madrasa. He also found time to see to see 10,000 A.D. and to do a DVD review of Slings & Arrows.http://www.sfsite.com/columns/rick268.htm Dust by Elizabeth Bear- March 16, 2008 One of the forms from which science fiction and fantasy emerged was the medieval romance in which a chivalrous, heroic knight, often of super-human ability, abides by strict chivalric codes of conduct while on a quest in which he fights and defeats monsters and giants, thereby winning favour with a lady. There is often an allegorical aspect to the quest and the various opponents overcome, and a sense that the whole enterprise and its outcome are pre-ordained. Now put this description in purely..http://www.sfsite.com/03b/du268.htm The Day Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko- March 1, 2008 Despite being compared by some to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series, the Night Watch Trilogy involves realistic contemporary (post-communism modern, slightly decaying Russian) urban landscapes, strictly adult characters, with adult interests, motivations and issues, organized in highly hierachical multi-member fraternal organisations, battling on many fronts, and trying to intrigue their way to superiority over the other side. In this sense, they are...http://www.sfsite.com/03a/dw267.htm Firefly Rain by Richard Dansky- March 1, 2008 The novel begins normally enough -- Jacob Logan returns to his rural family home after his business collapses. He has been away for years, and lost his country ways; the townspeople, including the old family friend he left in charge of the house, react with hostility to his metropolitan behavior. As Jacob attempts to relax and find himself, he instead finds mysteries -- starting with the discovery that fireflies would literally rather die than come onto his property.http://www.sfsite.com/03a/fr267.htm The Spiderwick Chronicles: a movie review by Rick Norwood- March 1, 2008 The Spiderwick Chronicles is a charming children's movie, which adults can enjoy -- though probably not the same adults who enjoy, say, 30 Days of Night. It is aimed at a younger crowd than The Golden Compass, and requires a certain tolerance for "cute." Still, it is considerably better than the pervious fantasy film aimed at this age group, The Dark is Rising.http://www.sfsite.com/03a/sc267.htm The Lost Fleet: Courageous by Jack Campbell- March 1, 2008 Captain John "Black Jack" Geary is in for the fight of his life. He awoke from a century-long slumber in a survival pod to find himself rescued by a fleet that reveres him for his military record and heroic actions, a fleet that seems to have forgotten everything it once knew about intelligent tactics, smart battle maneuvers, and military strategy. And when the highest-ranking members of the fleet's command structure were killed, he was forced to assume command by virtue of technical seniority.http://www.sfsite.com/03a/lf267.htm Gods of Manhattan by Scott Mebus- March 1, 2008 Gods of Manhattan was not at all what Nathan expected. As a former MTV producer and author of two BlokeLit novels, Nathan was anticipating this author's venture into Harry Potter territory would be loaded with modern cultural references, and techno clever-dickery. Instead, what he found was a quaintly old-fashioned work, brimming with quirky invention and subtle charm.http://www.sfsite.com/03a/gm267.htm New Arrivals: compiled by Neil Walsh- March 1, 2008 It's been a busy month for new books, including the latest from Iain M. Banks, Robin Hobb, Raymond E. Feist, Stephen Baxter, as well as new editions of Greg Egan, Michael Moorcock, Neal Stephenson, Henry Kuttner, Leigh Brackett, and much more.http://www.sfsite.com/books/new267.htm The New Weird edited by Ann & Jeff Vandermeer- March 1, 2008 These days it seems that barely a week goes by without another anthology that has an agenda, that is meant to work as propaganda. We are being assailed with collections that are designed to convince us that something old has been revitalised (the new hard SF, the new space opera) or that something new has been discovered (the slipstream anthology, the interstitial anthology, the post-cyberpunk anthology). If we enjoy good stories in these books, it is secondary to being convinced that this...http://www.sfsite.com/03a/nw267.htm |