SF SiteThe new issue of the SF Site is now online.New Arrivals compiled by Neil Walsh- June 1, 2008 New books recently arrived in the SF Site office include the latest from Ray Bradbury, John Crowley, Margaret Weis, Jeffrey E. Barlough, limited editions of some classic Tim Powers, an assortment of genre magazines, new and classic titles for younger readers, and much more.http://www.sfsite.com/books/new273.htm The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov- June 1, 2008 Elijah Baley is a regular police detective, content in his work and his life until the day his boss assigns him the most delicate and dangerous case of his career. A Spacer scientist has been murdered by an Earthman, and Baley is responsible for finding the culprit and avoiding increased tension between the City and Spacetown. He has been assigned a partner from Spacetown, R. Daneel Olivaw, a robot designed to exactly mimic human appearance. In Olivaw's case, the appearance he is mimicking is..http://www.sfsite.com/06a/cs273.htm Paper Cities edited by Ekaterina Sedia- June 1, 2008 As pointed out in Jess Nevins' introduction to the volume, urban fantasy -- intended as a type of fiction where cities are the setting and the supporting character of the story -- has a long-established tradition in the literature, can be traced as far back as the Arabian Nights and appears throughout the centuries in Gothic novels, Dickens' London and modern horror and SF fiction.http://www.sfsite.com/06a/pc273.htm Wrath of a Mad God by Raymond E. Feist- June 1, 2008 Instead of Zorro-style swordsmen as central protagonists, the author has reverted to the formula that began his success, and dusted down the magic. The result was a small renaissance, rekindling past glories, alongside the best enemy that the author has created in twenty years. These were the Dasati; a wholly militaristic alien society, where casual cruelty is seen as the social norm, and any weakness as an abhorrence to be swiftly and fatally terminated.http://www.sfsite.com/06a/wr273.htm Babylon 5.1: TV reviews by Rick Norwood- June 1, 2008 Rick speculates on why shows like Smallville and Battlestar Galactica have such low viewership numbers along with which shows returning later this summer. He also gives us a list of SF on TV in June.http://www.sfsite.com/columns/rick273.htm Shadowbridge by Gregory Frost- June 1, 2008 This is something different. It is not quite fantasy and not quite science fiction. Not quite a quest epic and not quite a character study. But it is, for the most part, a good read. There are pleasures to be found in its pages that comprise the story of Leodora, a shadow puppeteer, and Diverus, a god-touched musician, and their performances across the interlinking, innumerous bridge-cities that stretch across the fathomless oceans of Shadowbridge.http://www.sfsite.com/06a/sb273.htm Severian of the Guild by Gene Wolfe- June 1, 2008 The eponymous hero Severian begins this omnibus edition of Book of the New Sun as an apprentice of the obscure Torturer's Guild in the city of Nessus, and he experiences a revelatory event in the necropolis near the Guild's tower which causes him to begin questioning the established dictums of authority -- both those of his guild and those of the society beyond it. As a result, he later transgresses the rules of the Guild by helping a prisoner to commit suicide and is effectively expelled for...http://www.sfsite.com/06a/sg273.htm Nexus Graphica: a column by Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams- June 1, 2008 On May 8, 1940, The Chicago Daily News published Sterling North's influential condemnation of comic books "A National Disgrace (And a challenge to American Parents)." North calls comics "a poisonous mushroom growth," calling upon parents and educators to "break the 'comics' magazines." And those who don't would be "guilty of criminal negligence." He claims that "the antidote to the 'comic' magazine poison can be found in any library or good bookstore." Rick Klaw notes that in 2008 most...http://www.sfsite.com/columns/graphica273.htm Matter by Iain M. Banks- June 1, 2008 At its heart is the story of three siblings, two sons and the daughter of the King of Sarl. Sarl is a low-tech civilization, steam power is just recently being put to use, situated on a Shellworld. The Shellworlds are artificial constructs, planet-sized habitats made up of a series of concentric shells, built long ago by a civilization that has since vanished from the galaxy. They are now inhabited by many different species, low-tech societies like the Sarl are watched over by other species to..http://www.sfsite.com/06a/mt273.htm |