This page is a place for readers of this blog to share their thoughts and comments about works in any medium that relate to the genres of science fiction, fantasy, horror, or Steampunk.
Taking the 50-Word Review Challenge!
The book: Captain Vorpatril's Alliance
The author: Lois McMaster Bujold
The reviewer: Jan Gephardt
Available from: Barnes & Noble Books
I am a total fan of Bujold's "Vorkosigan" books, and of course I've "known" Cousin Ivan for a long time, through the checquered career of his cousin Miles--so I was pre-sold on liking this book. That said, I've been pre-sold on other stories that turned out to be a disappointment.
This one was emphatically NOT a disappointment. It's a lovely blending of rom-com and drama which I think will be especially delicious for long-time fans of the series, but which should stand alone quite well for anyone who is new to this world/universe.
Bujold's old magic came through strongly, pulling us irresistibly from one predicament to the next, and finally allowing Ivan to "shine" in his own right. This is the most reading fun I've had in at least a year.
Readers, Please Comment: Did you enjoy this review? Dislike it? Agree? Disagree? Please share what you think!
More reviews coming soon!
COVER IMAGE: Courtesy of Barnes & Noble.
Taking the 50-Word Review Challenge!
The book: Hounded (Iron Druid Chronicles #1)
The author: Kevin Hearne
The reviewer: Jon Moss
Available from Barnes & Noble Booksellers
3.5 stars
This type of urban fantasy could easily grow on me. Absolutely no zombies and only one token cameo vampire. I didn't mind the pack of werewolves. All the rest of the 'paranormals' hailed from Celtic mythology. Oberon the Irish wolfhound got the best lines, often at the expense of our hero, the Iron Druid. A fun fast read.
Readers, Please Comment: Did you enjoy this review? Dislike it? Agree? Disagree? Please share what you think!
More reviews coming soon!
COVER IMAGE: Courtesy of GoodReads.
Taking the 50-Word Review Challenge!
The short fiction e-pub: The Memory Coder
The author: Jessica Brody
The reviewer: Jon Moss
Available from Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Extremely concise short story. I would guess it's dystopia but not enough world building or back story to confirm that theory. Not convinced of guys obsession with violet eyes or why said behavior would necessitate a complete memory excision. Quick but somewhat disappointing read.
Readers, Please Comment: Did you enjoy this review? Dislike it? Agree? Disagree? Please share what you think!
More reviews coming soon!
COVER IMAGE: Courtesy of Goodreads.
Taking the 50-Word Review Challenge!
The book: A Memory of Light
The authors: Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
The reviewer: Jon Moss
Available from Barnes & Noble Booksellers
4.5 out of 5 stars -
I finished something on the Ides of January that I started nearly two dozen years ago, literally half a lifetime for me, or two turns of the Wheel of Time as respects the Year of the Dragon. I give an unreserved five stars specifically to scenes containing Bela, Tam, Egwene and Lan. And I also adore the relatively recent additions of Androl and Pevara and their unique relationship.
To the question of ‘Was it worth the wait?’ I am still unsure. Despite the bright shining stars mentioned above, much of the final book annoyed me. The questions I wanted answered remain unanswered. The resolutions I hoped for did not occur, save perhaps in some oblique off-hand hinted at way. I should, perchance, take to heart the final words of the author(s) and let go, for ‘… it was not the ending. There are no endings, and never will be endings, to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was an ending.’
Readers, Please Comment: Did you enjoy this review? Dislike it? Agree? Disagree? Please share what you think!
More reviews coming soon!
COVER IMAGE: Courtesy of Jon's Misty Midwest Mossiness blog.
Taking the 50-Word Review Challenge!
The book: Victory of Eagles
Author: Naomi Novik
The reviewer: Jan S. Gephardt
Available from: Barnes & Noble
The page-turning 5th book in the “Temeraire” series, Victory of Eagles deals with love, duty and treason, and features a Napoleonic invasion of England—yet for me it never quite came to full crescendo or totally satisfying finish. The series features an alternate history where the Napoleonic wars are fought—but both sides have dragons. In book 4, Temeraire, the willful Chinese Celestial (dragon) and his captain, Will Laurence, shared a dragon plague’s cure with France; Will is now a convicted traitor, and Temeraire’s exiled to the breeding grounds. Both get temporary release to meet the invasion. Worth reading, but not the series’ strongest book.
Readers, Please Comment: Did you enjoy this review? Dislike it? Agree? Disagree? Please share what you think!
More reviews coming soon!
COVER IMAGE: Courtesy of Barnes & Noble.
Taking the 50-Word Review Challenge!
The movie: Robot & Frank
Starring: Frank Langella, Peter Sarsgaard, James Marsden, Liv Tyler, Susan Sarandon
The reviewer: Jon Moss
Available from: Barnes & Noble
The story intrigued me by having an aging jewel thief, suffering from dementia, pass on the tricks of his trade to the domestic robot his son purchased as a home-health aide. High-tech parental neglect? Hard to say, since Frank refused to be shuffled off to the near-future nursing home (called a Brain Center). As expected, Frank also despised the robot foisted upon him by his son, going so far as to pit his daughter, the epitome of the idealist activist, against his son in a human v. robot philosophical battle. Meanwhile, Robot (Frank never deigns to name it) slowly grows on Frank.
You won’t find any evidence of Asimov’s Three Laws in Robot’s programming. His primary directive is to take care of Frank, helping him stay on a regular schedule, eat a healthy diet, get regular exercise and take up a hobby, like gardening, to stimulate his brain and fight off the ravages of the dementia. Frank scoffs at grubbing in the dirt, but eventually shows Robot how to pick a lock, using his old cat burglar lock pick set. Frank even questions Robot about his ethics, showing that Robot can lie and has no qualms about stealing. That was all the excuse Frank needed to plan their first job and return to his favorite past-time.
Readers, Please Comment: Did you enjoy this review? Dislike it? Agree? Disagree? Please share what you think!
More reviews coming soon!
POSTER IMAGE: Courtesy of Wikipedia.
Taking the 50-Word Review Challenge!
The book: The Dog King
The author: John Scalzi
The reviewer: Jon Moss
Available from Barnes & Noble Booksellers
This one is really short, but then so is the 7th episode of The Human Division by John Scalzi:
7th episode of The Human Division delivered the laughs and the goods. Wilson rescues Tuffy, a Lhasa apso, who in turn saves the day and the diplomatic mission in true canine selfless fashion.
Readers, Please Comment: Did you enjoy this review? Dislike it? Agree? Disagree? Please share what you think!
More reviews coming soon!
COVER IMAGE: Courtesy of GoodReads.
Skyfall
Contributed 11/12/2012 by David "Lensman" Sooby
A return to greatness for the James Bond franchise; the best Bond in decades. All those rave reviews of this film you've read (or heard about) are justified. Heresy though it may be, I think Daniel Craig makes a better Bond than even Sean Connery; or at least, closer to how Ian Fleming wrote the character in the books.
The film is billed as "50 years of Bond", and is a fusion of the old and the rebooted new Bond. I hope it's not a spoiler to say the silver Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger makes a reappearance. That one is obvious; I won't spoil your fun in spotting other references to previous Bond films by pointing them out here.
But what we want from a Bond film is beautiful locations and women, high-octane action with world-class stunts, a great megalomaniac villain, and of course, what far too many of them fail to have-- a good story with more than just cardboard characters. This movie fires on all barrels. The story isn't afraid to show us that Bond is human, with human frailties, both emotional and physical. It also gives a major role to Dame Judy Dench as "M". Ian Fleming never brought M out from behind his (not her) desk. Involving M in a field operation has seemed overused or forced in recent films, but here it does not.
In short: If you have ever enjoyed seeing a James Bond film, you definitely should see this one!
Mid-Flinx Review
Contributed 9/13/2012 by David "Lensman" Sooby
Recently read: MID-FLINX by Alan Dean Foster. Not a new book; published
in 1995, and I picked it up at ConQuesT. Another entry in the now-interminable
"Flinx & Pip" series of juvenile SF pot-boiler adventures.
They have pretty much settled into a pattern: Some insane person for no good reason takes a dislike to Flinx and pursues him beyond all reason until something or someone kills him. The plot in this book is especially perfunctory, as Foster obviously wanted to spend most of his page-count telling us over and over that the trees on MidWorld are unbelievably gigantic-- 3000 feet high or so, and that the vegetation is especially dense-- yet somehow never so dense that the human travelers can't find a path; and that somehow enough light filters down thru thousands of vertical feet from the forest canopy too keep green things growing at that level.
Oh, there are other impossibilites too. Like the description of
the planet being green from pole to pole. Really? The ecosystem is able to keep
sufficiently warm even where the sunlight is at such an oblique angle that it's
very dim? I guess this isn't actually science fiction; it's science fantasy.
MidWorld seems to be more along the line of a magical Gaia than anything
founded on real science.
Speaking as someone who majored in biology in college, I found Foster's earlier MIDWORLD to be extremely annoying. Many things here are simply absurd. The height of trees is limited by the capillary action of water, and our giant redwoods here on Earth, at less than 400 feet, reach a height not far below that theoretical limit. Unless MidWorld has a significantly lower gravity-- which it clearly does not-- or unless the trees have internal pumps-- which don't seem to fit the descriptions given-- then a 3000 foot tree is impossible. Even with internal pumps, the sheer weight of a very thick tree that high should bring it crashing down long before it could grow that tall.
And the biomass Foster describes is impossible, too. There is only X amount of sunlight providing energy for all those living things; if there are many more things, and much larger things, then each is going to receive a smaller fraction of the available energy. Yet the sunlight at the top of the canopy doesn't appear to be significantly brighter than the sunlight Earth receives, so apparently doesn't provide more energy.
And Foster also has carnivorous plants with
tendrils and jaws that reach out and grab prey; carnivorous plants right out of
Flash Gordon-- again, science fantasy and not real SF. In the real world,
plants simply don't have the energy for that sort of movement. (Venus flytraps
spring their trap by slowly building up hydraulic pressure in the leaves, which
is released suddenly when the trap springs shut. That's a sudden movement,
true, but it's in only one pre-set direction. Very different from having vines
reach out and actively grab prey to drag it in.)
Okay, am I being too picky and pedantic here? Maybe. Maybe Foster doesn't intend MidWorld to be "real" SF, or at least not hard-SF. But why would he then drop the planet into his Humanx Commonwealth series, which *does* appear to be hard-SF, or at least reasonably so? (Semi-hard-SF? <VBG>)
But at least I knew going in this time, since the cover blurb made it clear Flinx was visiting MidWorld, that I'd be subjected to this same nonsense. My choice, and I resolved not to take it seriously, in an attempt to enjoy the book despite the absurd background.
Unfortunately, as I said, Foster spends most
of his page count describing the vegetation over and over and over. Not much
room for story, which here is that very spoiled and very rich young man decides
to add Pip to his menagerie, and won't take "No" for an answer. Well,
we know how it's going to turn out, so not much suspense. However, bringing in
the Aann (the lizard-like rivals and enemies of the Humanx Commonwealth) was a
rather strange plot device, which meant the author had to give *them* a motive
for pursuing Flinx, too! Rather strange, especially as the Aann are shortly
thereafter ushered offstage without resolution to their conflict with Flinx.
Setting that conflict up for further books in the series, perhaps?
Aside from the repetitive and ridiculous descriptions of the flora and fauna of MidWorld, what is especially frustrating about this entry in the series is how the author goes out of his way to remind us of the dark hints of Flinx's future destiny, hints given in the first book in this series, THE TAR-AIYM-KRANG, which I would heartily endorse if it weren't for the fact that Foster sets these plot hooks into the story, hooks which seem to point to a specific direction for a sequel... and then he has given us multiple sequels in which he's avoided going in that direction! Why would Foster remind us of these dangling plot threads in MID-FLINX, if he didn't plan to actually move the series in that direction?
I see from the Wikipedia list that, following
MID-FLINX, there are no less than seven more volumes in this series! So
obviously Foster was in no hurry to take the series towards where he keeps
pointing. Why would the author remind us of the unfulfilled promise of the
series? As a ploy to get us to keep buying more and more repetitive
plot-boilers? But the title of the last, FLINX TRANSCENDENT, seems to suggest
that Foster finally gave us the sequel promised in the first book.
Maybe I should just skip ahead to that one.
COVER IMAGES are courtesy of Barnes & Noble Booksellers. The redwood tree photo is from the Flower Essence Society's "Redwood Profile" page. The photo of the Venus Fly Trap is from the Australian website on Carnivorous Plants' "Venus Fly Traps" page. Many thanks to all three sources!
Redshirts Review
Contributed 6/8/2012 by Jeff Orth
I just finished John Scalzi's Redshirts.
ZOMGWTF
This piece of work totally trashed a childhood icon of mine, Star Trek, much like I was expecting from Dark Shadows and was so disappointed.
It isn't great writing. It isn't literature, but, like any good book or movie, I kept reading thinking, "what will happen next?" and, "He didn't just do that..."
If amusing SF and totally trashing your favorite SF show is on your platter, buy it, read it, send hate mail to Scalzi.
Buy the book from our friends at Barnes & Noble Booksellers. Read more about Scalzi and his books at his Whatever page.
IMAGE CREDIT: The cover image for Redshirts is courtesy of Barnes & Noble.
A Brief Review of John Carter
Contributed 3/11/2012 by David Sooby
Hopefully I'll have time to write an in-depth review of John Carter later, but for now, I'll just say I thoroughly enjoyed this film, give it a "thumbs WAY up" rating, and it's better than I expected it to be--
*much* better!
I wouldn't go so far as to call it a "Great" film. The first three of ERB's Barsoom novels are not Great stories, but these are excellent adaptations, much closer to what Burroughs actually wrote than I expected to see onscreen, and I think about as good a job as anyone could hope for in a film intended for a modern, general audience.
IMAGE CREDIT: This movie still is courtesy of BuzzFocus.
Commentary on the John Carter movie
Contributed 3/12/2012 by Ken Keller:
Science Fiction's oldest series adventure hero John Carter opened (from Disney) last Friday. Through Sunday (it's being reported) the film grossed a very disappointing $30.6 million in the U.S. As of close of business on the 11th, it had earned $70.6 million overseas, making for a total of only $101.2 million (worldwide) for its opening three-day weekend.
Seuss vs. Burroughs: The Dr. Seuss film The Lorax beat John Carter to the #1 box office spot in its *2nd weekend of being open* (ouch!).
Critical reception has been very mixed (No big surprise there--remember how critics trashed Star Wars in 1977?). It also received the Rotten Tomatoes film website aggravate index of only 53% (from more than 1600 responses so far).
It seems very unlikely that JC's sequel screenplay (being written now, John Carter: The Gods of Mars) will ever be finished, let alone green-lit for production.
Maybe Disney can recoup some of their costs by selling off props and costumes through Profiles in History or Christie's.
See John Carter trailers and other videos here.
Buy the book from our friends at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, or look for it at Prospero's Bookstore, and get a KaCSFFS discount when you show your paid-up membership card!
CREDITS: The John Carter movie poster and also the one for The Lorax are courtesy of IMDB.
Taking the 50-Word Review Challenge!
The author: Lois McMaster Bujold
The reviewer: Jan Gephardt
Available from: Barnes & Noble Books
I am a total fan of Bujold's "Vorkosigan" books, and of course I've "known" Cousin Ivan for a long time, through the checquered career of his cousin Miles--so I was pre-sold on liking this book. That said, I've been pre-sold on other stories that turned out to be a disappointment.
This one was emphatically NOT a disappointment. It's a lovely blending of rom-com and drama which I think will be especially delicious for long-time fans of the series, but which should stand alone quite well for anyone who is new to this world/universe.
Bujold's old magic came through strongly, pulling us irresistibly from one predicament to the next, and finally allowing Ivan to "shine" in his own right. This is the most reading fun I've had in at least a year.
Readers, Please Comment: Did you enjoy this review? Dislike it? Agree? Disagree? Please share what you think!
More reviews coming soon!
COVER IMAGE: Courtesy of Barnes & Noble.
Taking the 50-Word Review Challenge!
The author: Kevin Hearne
The reviewer: Jon Moss
Available from Barnes & Noble Booksellers
3.5 stars
This type of urban fantasy could easily grow on me. Absolutely no zombies and only one token cameo vampire. I didn't mind the pack of werewolves. All the rest of the 'paranormals' hailed from Celtic mythology. Oberon the Irish wolfhound got the best lines, often at the expense of our hero, the Iron Druid. A fun fast read.
Readers, Please Comment: Did you enjoy this review? Dislike it? Agree? Disagree? Please share what you think!
More reviews coming soon!
COVER IMAGE: Courtesy of GoodReads.
Taking the 50-Word Review Challenge!
The author: Jessica Brody
The reviewer: Jon Moss
Available from Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Extremely concise short story. I would guess it's dystopia but not enough world building or back story to confirm that theory. Not convinced of guys obsession with violet eyes or why said behavior would necessitate a complete memory excision. Quick but somewhat disappointing read.
Readers, Please Comment: Did you enjoy this review? Dislike it? Agree? Disagree? Please share what you think!
More reviews coming soon!
COVER IMAGE: Courtesy of Goodreads.
Taking the 50-Word Review Challenge!
The authors: Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
The reviewer: Jon Moss
Available from Barnes & Noble Booksellers
4.5 out of 5 stars -
I finished something on the Ides of January that I started nearly two dozen years ago, literally half a lifetime for me, or two turns of the Wheel of Time as respects the Year of the Dragon. I give an unreserved five stars specifically to scenes containing Bela, Tam, Egwene and Lan. And I also adore the relatively recent additions of Androl and Pevara and their unique relationship.
To the question of ‘Was it worth the wait?’ I am still unsure. Despite the bright shining stars mentioned above, much of the final book annoyed me. The questions I wanted answered remain unanswered. The resolutions I hoped for did not occur, save perhaps in some oblique off-hand hinted at way. I should, perchance, take to heart the final words of the author(s) and let go, for ‘… it was not the ending. There are no endings, and never will be endings, to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was an ending.’
Readers, Please Comment: Did you enjoy this review? Dislike it? Agree? Disagree? Please share what you think!
More reviews coming soon!
COVER IMAGE: Courtesy of Jon's Misty Midwest Mossiness blog.
Taking the 50-Word Review Challenge!
Author: Naomi Novik
The reviewer: Jan S. Gephardt
Available from: Barnes & Noble
The page-turning 5th book in the “Temeraire” series, Victory of Eagles deals with love, duty and treason, and features a Napoleonic invasion of England—yet for me it never quite came to full crescendo or totally satisfying finish. The series features an alternate history where the Napoleonic wars are fought—but both sides have dragons. In book 4, Temeraire, the willful Chinese Celestial (dragon) and his captain, Will Laurence, shared a dragon plague’s cure with France; Will is now a convicted traitor, and Temeraire’s exiled to the breeding grounds. Both get temporary release to meet the invasion. Worth reading, but not the series’ strongest book.
Readers, Please Comment: Did you enjoy this review? Dislike it? Agree? Disagree? Please share what you think!
More reviews coming soon!
COVER IMAGE: Courtesy of Barnes & Noble.
Taking the 50-Word Review Challenge!
Starring: Frank Langella, Peter Sarsgaard, James Marsden, Liv Tyler, Susan Sarandon
The reviewer: Jon Moss
Available from: Barnes & Noble
The story intrigued me by having an aging jewel thief, suffering from dementia, pass on the tricks of his trade to the domestic robot his son purchased as a home-health aide. High-tech parental neglect? Hard to say, since Frank refused to be shuffled off to the near-future nursing home (called a Brain Center). As expected, Frank also despised the robot foisted upon him by his son, going so far as to pit his daughter, the epitome of the idealist activist, against his son in a human v. robot philosophical battle. Meanwhile, Robot (Frank never deigns to name it) slowly grows on Frank.
You won’t find any evidence of Asimov’s Three Laws in Robot’s programming. His primary directive is to take care of Frank, helping him stay on a regular schedule, eat a healthy diet, get regular exercise and take up a hobby, like gardening, to stimulate his brain and fight off the ravages of the dementia. Frank scoffs at grubbing in the dirt, but eventually shows Robot how to pick a lock, using his old cat burglar lock pick set. Frank even questions Robot about his ethics, showing that Robot can lie and has no qualms about stealing. That was all the excuse Frank needed to plan their first job and return to his favorite past-time.
Readers, Please Comment: Did you enjoy this review? Dislike it? Agree? Disagree? Please share what you think!
More reviews coming soon!
POSTER IMAGE: Courtesy of Wikipedia.
Taking the 50-Word Review Challenge!
The author: John Scalzi
The reviewer: Jon Moss
Available from Barnes & Noble Booksellers
This one is really short, but then so is the 7th episode of The Human Division by John Scalzi:
7th episode of The Human Division delivered the laughs and the goods. Wilson rescues Tuffy, a Lhasa apso, who in turn saves the day and the diplomatic mission in true canine selfless fashion.
Readers, Please Comment: Did you enjoy this review? Dislike it? Agree? Disagree? Please share what you think!
More reviews coming soon!
COVER IMAGE: Courtesy of GoodReads.
Taking the 50-Word Review Challenge!
The book: Transformation
The author: Carol Berg
The reviewer: Jon Moss
Available from Barnes & Noble Booksellers
I gave it five stars at GoodReads, where it was the February selection for the Fantasy Book Club:
An absolute five star masterpiece. I read the first half in one sitting and would have finished the second half sooner had work and sleep not gotten in the way. Looking forward to reading the other two books later this year.
Readers, Please Comment: Did you enjoy this review? Dislike it? Agree? Disagree? Please share what you think!
More reviews coming soon!
COVER IMAGE: Courtesy of GoodReads.
The book: Transformation
The author: Carol Berg
The reviewer: Jon Moss
Available from Barnes & Noble Booksellers
I gave it five stars at GoodReads, where it was the February selection for the Fantasy Book Club:
An absolute five star masterpiece. I read the first half in one sitting and would have finished the second half sooner had work and sleep not gotten in the way. Looking forward to reading the other two books later this year.
Readers, Please Comment: Did you enjoy this review? Dislike it? Agree? Disagree? Please share what you think!
More reviews coming soon!
COVER IMAGE: Courtesy of GoodReads.
Contributed 11/12/2012 by David "Lensman" Sooby
A return to greatness for the James Bond franchise; the best Bond in decades. All those rave reviews of this film you've read (or heard about) are justified. Heresy though it may be, I think Daniel Craig makes a better Bond than even Sean Connery; or at least, closer to how Ian Fleming wrote the character in the books.
The film is billed as "50 years of Bond", and is a fusion of the old and the rebooted new Bond. I hope it's not a spoiler to say the silver Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger makes a reappearance. That one is obvious; I won't spoil your fun in spotting other references to previous Bond films by pointing them out here.
In short: If you have ever enjoyed seeing a James Bond film, you definitely should see this one!
PHOTOS: The Skyfall poster is courtesy of Live Science (you may also enjoy their article, "The Five Reasons we still Love James Bond"); the photo of the Aston Martin DB5 is from Wikipedia.
Mid-Flinx Review
Contributed 9/13/2012 by David "Lensman" Sooby
They have pretty much settled into a pattern: Some insane person for no good reason takes a dislike to Flinx and pursues him beyond all reason until something or someone kills him. The plot in this book is especially perfunctory, as Foster obviously wanted to spend most of his page-count telling us over and over that the trees on MidWorld are unbelievably gigantic-- 3000 feet high or so, and that the vegetation is especially dense-- yet somehow never so dense that the human travelers can't find a path; and that somehow enough light filters down thru thousands of vertical feet from the forest canopy too keep green things growing at that level.
Speaking as someone who majored in biology in college, I found Foster's earlier MIDWORLD to be extremely annoying. Many things here are simply absurd. The height of trees is limited by the capillary action of water, and our giant redwoods here on Earth, at less than 400 feet, reach a height not far below that theoretical limit. Unless MidWorld has a significantly lower gravity-- which it clearly does not-- or unless the trees have internal pumps-- which don't seem to fit the descriptions given-- then a 3000 foot tree is impossible. Even with internal pumps, the sheer weight of a very thick tree that high should bring it crashing down long before it could grow that tall.
And the biomass Foster describes is impossible, too. There is only X amount of sunlight providing energy for all those living things; if there are many more things, and much larger things, then each is going to receive a smaller fraction of the available energy. Yet the sunlight at the top of the canopy doesn't appear to be significantly brighter than the sunlight Earth receives, so apparently doesn't provide more energy.
Okay, am I being too picky and pedantic here? Maybe. Maybe Foster doesn't intend MidWorld to be "real" SF, or at least not hard-SF. But why would he then drop the planet into his Humanx Commonwealth series, which *does* appear to be hard-SF, or at least reasonably so? (Semi-hard-SF? <VBG>)
But at least I knew going in this time, since the cover blurb made it clear Flinx was visiting MidWorld, that I'd be subjected to this same nonsense. My choice, and I resolved not to take it seriously, in an attempt to enjoy the book despite the absurd background.
Aside from the repetitive and ridiculous descriptions of the flora and fauna of MidWorld, what is especially frustrating about this entry in the series is how the author goes out of his way to remind us of the dark hints of Flinx's future destiny, hints given in the first book in this series, THE TAR-AIYM-KRANG, which I would heartily endorse if it weren't for the fact that Foster sets these plot hooks into the story, hooks which seem to point to a specific direction for a sequel... and then he has given us multiple sequels in which he's avoided going in that direction! Why would Foster remind us of these dangling plot threads in MID-FLINX, if he didn't plan to actually move the series in that direction?
Maybe I should just skip ahead to that one.
COVER IMAGES are courtesy of Barnes & Noble Booksellers. The redwood tree photo is from the Flower Essence Society's "Redwood Profile" page. The photo of the Venus Fly Trap is from the Australian website on Carnivorous Plants' "Venus Fly Traps" page. Many thanks to all three sources!
Redshirts Review
Contributed 6/8/2012 by Jeff Orth
 |
| "Buy it, read it, send hate mail," from Jeff Orth. |
ZOMGWTF
This piece of work totally trashed a childhood icon of mine, Star Trek, much like I was expecting from Dark Shadows and was so disappointed.
It isn't great writing. It isn't literature, but, like any good book or movie, I kept reading thinking, "what will happen next?" and, "He didn't just do that..."
If amusing SF and totally trashing your favorite SF show is on your platter, buy it, read it, send hate mail to Scalzi.
Buy the book from our friends at Barnes & Noble Booksellers. Read more about Scalzi and his books at his Whatever page.
IMAGE CREDIT: The cover image for Redshirts is courtesy of Barnes & Noble.
A Brief Review of John Carter
 |
| "Thumbs WAY up!" from David Sooby |
Hopefully I'll have time to write an in-depth review of John Carter later, but for now, I'll just say I thoroughly enjoyed this film, give it a "thumbs WAY up" rating, and it's better than I expected it to be--
*much* better!
I wouldn't go so far as to call it a "Great" film. The first three of ERB's Barsoom novels are not Great stories, but these are excellent adaptations, much closer to what Burroughs actually wrote than I expected to see onscreen, and I think about as good a job as anyone could hope for in a film intended for a modern, general audience.
IMAGE CREDIT: This movie still is courtesy of BuzzFocus.
Commentary on the John Carter movie
 |
| A costly mistake for Disney? |
Science Fiction's oldest series adventure hero John Carter opened (from Disney) last Friday. Through Sunday (it's being reported) the film grossed a very disappointing $30.6 million in the U.S. As of close of business on the 11th, it had earned $70.6 million overseas, making for a total of only $101.2 million (worldwide) for its opening three-day weekend.
The film cost more than $350,000,000 to make and market worldwide;
tracking projections for its box office success are being reported as
"negative." To be considered profitable and to launch a new film
franchise, it's being reported that it would have to make $600,000,000
(*choke*).
 |
| Seuss trounced Burroughs at the box office |
Seuss vs. Burroughs: The Dr. Seuss film The Lorax beat John Carter to the #1 box office spot in its *2nd weekend of being open* (ouch!).
Critical reception has been very mixed (No big surprise there--remember how critics trashed Star Wars in 1977?). It also received the Rotten Tomatoes film website aggravate index of only 53% (from more than 1600 responses so far).
It seems very unlikely that JC's sequel screenplay (being written now, John Carter: The Gods of Mars) will ever be finished, let alone green-lit for production.
Maybe Disney can recoup some of their costs by selling off props and costumes through Profiles in History or Christie's.
See John Carter trailers and other videos here.
Buy the book from our friends at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, or look for it at Prospero's Bookstore, and get a KaCSFFS discount when you show your paid-up membership card!
CREDITS: The John Carter movie poster and also the one for The Lorax are courtesy of IMDB.
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