brainstorms

Saturday March 25, 2006

hugos

hugo nominees have been announced. i am rooting for accelerando in the best novel category, and inside job (willis) for the best novella category.

in the best related book category, westfahl's sf quotations is a lot of fun, but perhaps kate wilhelm's storyteller ultimately delivers more. in any case, i would like to see gary k. wolfe win with his soundings. i have been reading his thoughtful locus reviews for years; it has enlightened my SF reading more than westfahl and wilhelm together possibly could.

for best dramatic form, i would love to see serenity win, but it is up against the blockbusters nursed by powerful imaginations...

Wednesday February 22, 2006

vinge: rainbows end review

found an early review of vinge's rainbows end.

Rainbows End is a feverishly entertaining next-gen tech thriller, centered on a protagonist who undergoes a character arc that, while it may follow a fairly conventional "redemption" blueprint, brings genuine warmth and heart to a future setting in which both are in short supply.

Thursday February 16, 2006

jim baen's universe [magazine]

jim baen's universe is a new online magazine of science fiction that i will likely subscribe to. premier issue coming up in june. six issues [$30] a year as ebooks, with each one available in a variety of formats with no copy protection.

already signed up: christopher anvil, catherine asaro, john barnes, elizabeth bear, gregory benford, david brin, julie czerneda, cory doctorow, david drake, eric flint, alan dean foster, dave freer, esther friesner, brian herbert and kevin anderson, joe r. lansdale, barry malzberg, louise marley, l. e. modesitt, jr., garth nix, mike resnick, john ringo, kristine smith, wen spencer, charlie stross, s. andrew swann, jo walton, david weber, k.d. wentworth, gene wolfe and sarah zettel...

phew!

Wednesday January 18, 2006

battlestar galactica review

nancy franklin [the new yorker] has a good review of battlestar galactica.

Some fans, for example, were bothered by the fact that this version does not pick up where the last one left off; it starts all over from the beginning. And a couple of very important characters who were men in the first series are now women. But what interests people who normally don’t care about science fiction is how timely and resonant the show is, bringing into play religion and religious fanaticism, global politics, terrorism, and questions about what it means to be human.

Sunday November 27, 2005

greg benford's new site

gregory benford is one of my all-time favorite hard-sf authors. i am very happy to see that he finally has an official web site. there is also a separate site for benford and rose essays and articles. [all available from amazon shorts.]

[alas no news about the next novel in the galactic center series. i read in the ocean of night in 1978 or 79. last book, sailing bright eternity came out in 1995.]

Saturday October 08, 2005

as serenity approaches...

so, there are already a number of great[*] reviews of the new joss whedon attraction, serenity. for example, this very incisive one by gary westfahl [i agree with most of his observations], or this /.ed one by orson scott card, where he pays a special compliment:

This is the kind of movie that I have always intended Ender's Game to be (though the plots are not at all similar).

And this is as good a movie as I always hoped Ender's Game would be.

sure, we can argue about the success and value of ender's game, but i think his compliment is well deserved. i have never watched firefly [evidently my loss] so i could say without much bias: i think this is one very good sf movie. highly recommended.

[subject line is also the title of marcus roberts's wonderful 1992 album. its introduction applies well to joss whedon, with appropriate substitutions: what becomes obvious by the time our ears have traveled the long and varied journey of as serenity approaches is the increased precision of a talent refining itself for the purpose of complete freedom of expression.]

[* and some not so great. jack garner finds it "nonsensical" with "less-than-stellar special effects, average-to-poor performances and silly dialogue."]