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Archive for Sci-Fi & Fantasy Movie and Book Reviews – Page 21

Pastwatch by Orson Scott Card

By June Williams · Comments (0)

Saturday, March 7th, 2009

PASTWATCH:
The Redemption of Christopher Columbus
Author: Orson Scott Card
Publisher: Tor
ISBN-10: 0812508645
ISBN-13: 978-0812508642

As a rule stories that deal with time travel tend to make me uncomfortable and leave me unsatisfied. I should say stories that deal with traveling backward in time as we can not help but move “forward” into the future moment by moment. There are so many disturbing paradoxes and contradictions in the theory of traveling back in time that it makes it difficult for me to suspend my disbelief in order to enjoy them. Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus is an exception to that rule.
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Tags : orson scott card, Pastwatch

Armageddon’s Children by Terry Brooks

By John Winn · Comments (0)

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

Armageddon’s Children
Genesis of Shannara Book 1
Author: Terry Brooks
Publisher: Del Rey
ISBN-10: 034548410X
ISBN-13: 978-0345484109
Rating: 7/10

Fantasy novels come in two types: The generic elves and faerie faire, and the long, ponderous epic. “The Genesis of Shennara” is definitely the latter. It’s not just the intricate storytelling of author Terry Brooks, or the three-dimensional, complex characters. There is a sense of larger themes playing out here. This is a story of three disparate peoples interconnected by their battle against an unspeakable evil. Once again, as in many similar tales the fate of humankind and indeed the universe rests in a handful of men and women. But behind the doomsday scenarios and back stories there is an urgent, familiar tone that gives pause and causes goose bumps to proliferate down the spine.
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Tags : Armageddon's Children, terry brooks

Dead To Me by Anton Strout

By Matthew Walker · Comments (0)

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

Dead To Me
Book One in the Simon Canderous series
Author: Anton Strout
Publisher: Ace
ISBN-10: 0441015786
ISBN-13: 978-0441015788

Simon Canderous is a man whose life has been profoundly affected by his talent - the power of psychometry. With a touch, Simon is plunged into a past in which the person or object was a part. It’s a useful trick, assuming it only happens when you want it to and you can shut if off when you don’t like what you see.
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Tags : anton strout, Dead To Me

Halting State by Charles Stross

By Matthew Walker · Comments (0)

Thursday, February 26th, 2009

Halting State
Author: Charles Stross
Publisher: Ace; Reprint edition (June 24, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0441016073
ISBN-13: 978-0441016075

Halting State falls pretty firmly into the Cyberpunk genre, though the near future depicted there does not have the typical dark and gritty atmosphere, but rather a slick and polished one. A future where Scotland has become the silicone valley of the European Union. Aside from this discrepancy, its pretty standard cyberpunk fare.
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Tags : Charles Stross, halting state, sci-fi book review

Dinosaur Valley Girls by Donald F. Glut

By John Winn · Comments (0)

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

Dinosaur Valley Girls
“Science Fiction B movie Classic becomes C book”
Author: Donald F. Glut
Publisher: Sense of Wonder Press
ISBN-10: 091873665X
ISBN-13: 978-0918736659
Rating: 5/10

Some books are highbrow, others middlebrow, and then there is “Dinosaur Valley Girls”. From the outset the adaptation of Donald Glut’s 90 minute, B-movie Sci-Fi cult classic of the same name is anything but pretentious. In fact, it’s so campy and unpretentious some might call it fatuous. Yet its precise lack of seriousness is what makes the story enjoyable, in the same way that chocolate pudding is enjoyable-tasty, but not to be confused with carrots or broccoli. While it might not meet the rigorous standards of some readers it gets the job done.
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Categories : Reviews: Books, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Movie and Book Reviews

Tags : book review, dinosaur valley girls, horror movies, sci-fi, science fiction

Mathematicians in Love by Rudy Rucker

By John Winn · Comments (0)

Friday, February 13th, 2009

Mathematicians in Love
Author: Rudy Rucker
Publisher: Tor
ISBN-10: 0765320398
ISBN-13: 978-0765320391
Rating: 8/10

We all know romance works in mysterious ways. Some people are attracted to slobs, others neat-freaks. Still others spend entire lifetimes pining for love-outside the bedroom as well as inside. But what would happen if we could deliberately manipulate the fabric of the universe so that our crush or childhood sweetheart fell in love with us? That is the crux of Rudy Rucker’s novel “Mathematicians in Love”, a zany middlebrow rollercoaster that inspires untold amounts of laughter-and serious thought, of course.
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Categories : Reviews: Books, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Movie and Book Reviews

Tags : book reviews, Mathematicians in Love, Rudy Rucker, science fiction

Passage by Connie Willis

By June Williams · Comments (0)

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

Passage
Author: Connie Willis
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN-10: 0553580515
ISBN-13: 978-0553580518

Connie Willis has always been known for her ability to write stories that fly through time as fast and with as much agility as an Area 51 test craft. In Passage Willis uses all of that skill and the art of making you care for characters that is the hallmark of all good fiction. She spends 800 pages flirting with NDE, near death experience, and though at times the reader may be nearly as tired as the medical researcher Joanna Lander the protagonist of this book, it is worth the journey.
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Tags : book review, Connie Willis, Passage, sci-fi

The Apocalypse Reader by John Taylor

By John Winn · Comments (0)

Sunday, February 1st, 2009

The Apocalypse Reader
Author: Various w/ Justin Taylor
Publisher: Thunders Mouth Press
ISBN-10: 1560259590
ISBN-13: 978-1560259596
Rating: 8/10

Judgment Day. The Apocalypse. The End of the World. For as long as there have been human beings roaming the Earth, there have been many names for our planet’s imminent demise, and just as many articles written about it. From the story of Noah and the Ark, to the Call of Cthllulu , writers, playwrights and essayists have been documenting the End as fervently as a cave dwelling mystic on the Isle of Patmos. Fortunately Justin Taylor has gathered some of the more pertinent, interesting, and hypnotic stories into a hard to put down book called “The Apocalypse Reader”, with a star studded lineup of authors to match.
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Categories : Reviews: Books, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Movie and Book Reviews

Tags : Justin Taylor, The Apocalypse Reader