John Scalzi’s 2005 sci-fi/war novel “Old Man’s War” made news recently when it was optioned by Paramount Studios, with director Wolfgang Petersen (“The Perfect Storm”) attached to direct. While it has shades of Joe Haldeman’s “The Forever War”, Scalzi’s novel is, for the most part, a wholly original work that will both intrigue and entertainment with its fictional, but very well-realized future.
Archive for Sci-Fi Book Reviews
Book Review: Old Man’s War
Book Review: Star Wars — Millennium Falcon 3D Owner’s Guide
Remember how cool it was to be a “Star Wars” fan in the late 90′s, that gloriously heady period between 1997 and 1999? Between the special editions raking in cash hand over fist in theaters and the flood of anticipation over the new film, fans who had over a decade of famine suddenly had more than they ever dreamed of. That all vanished like the morning dew at first light when “Episode 1″ unspooled, and fandom spent the remainder of the summer taking anti-depressant and making frequent calls to the local suicide hot line.
Book Review: All You Need is Kill
In a lot of ways, Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s “All You Need is Kill” reminded me of John Steakley’s “Armor”, one of the very first sci-fi novels I ever picked up (completely on a whim, natch), and ended up enjoying the hell out of. There is a lot of “Armor” in “Kill”, in that both books deal with futuristic warriors in, essentially, personal “mecha” suits (in “Kill” they are called “Jackets”, but they’re essentially the same things), and the enemy is, quite literally, an alien infestation that refuses to yield, negotiate, or indeed, communicate.
A Celebration of Fan Love — Firefly: Still Flying Book Review
I’m a fan of Joss Whedon’s sci-fi space western, “Firefly” and the follow up movie “Serenity,” but I am by no means a “Browncoat.” That is the preferred name for the uber fans of the franchise that, even after cancellation and a movie to tie things up, are still rabid for more.
Emma Bull – War For The Oaks
After delving into Life On The Border and immersing myself in such a wonderful story I began to ponder the Urban Fantasy genre a bit more seriously, after all it has been years since this fantasy niche showed up and now its burning up the readers charts.
Life on the Border – Oak and Ash and a Few Electric Guitars
I’m a fan of revisiting quality books from days gone by. Sometimes I do it just because I loved the story so much that I want to reconnect with the characters again and other times I revisit to see if the story holds up. This week I was reminded of the Borderland Series by Terri Windling, a friend of mine had stumbled upon Life on the Border and wouldn’t stop talking about it. This of course prompted me to go dig it out and read it again.
Beggars in Spain … Permanent Insomnia Anyone ?
So I was going to review another movie this week but a friend of mine suggested doing something new and different, he suggested I try reviewing something that didn’t have pictures. I gave it a momentary thought and said ‘Sure! I don’t need art to be able to read’ so he went into his bathroom and came out with Beggars in Spain. I smiled and said ‘cool’ and he said ‘good luck genius ’. Hey now, I’m no ‘pure read’ slacker! I can read with the best of them- I’ve got the William Gibson library, the Neal Stephenson criticals and ALL the Rudy Rucker’s and I know the answer to Do Androids Dream of Electric sheep? So don’t go taunting me with a Nancy Kress novel. No sir, I will read this book and lay to waste all reviewers that have come before me.
Book Review: Under the Dome by Stephen King
The town of Chester’s Mill, ME is changed forever on October 21st, when an invisible force field materializes to quarantine it from the rest of humanity. Not truly a dome as the title suggests, the mysterious barrier is more like a capsule that fits exactly over the town’s borders.
Your Post Apocalyptic Reading List
There’s nothing tastier for the hardened Sci-Fi lover than a bracing dose of Apocalyptic literature. For me and my inner nerd, these books occupy the dual roles of entertainment and potential skill training. Like nerds everywhere, I am always on the watch for the Not-Known.
A Rainy Saturday Book Review: The Gone Away World By Nick Harkaway
I understand that it might not be raining wherever your iPhone’s GPS thinks you are. That’s ok. It’s rainy here and what better can there be to do than nurse your red-haired wife back from a ghastly, cringing stomach flu whilst firing together a nice positive review on a big release Sci-Fi epic.
The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made (Revised 2008) Book Review
David Hughes is a master at describing the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” that is the Hollywood movie mill. It takes a certain amount of skill to discuss a blockbuster that might have been in a way that leaves you wanting to find a way to buy the rights, get funding and shoot the damned thing yourself. The reality is people with a lot more experience, money and even enthusiasm have tried… and, in some cases, are still trying. Hughes, who also wrote Tales From Development Hell: Movie Making The Hard Way, does a masterful job of getting you right in the middle of all the fuss in his recently updated and re-released book The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made from Titan Books.
