Mi cro Rev iew s
<>
January 2004
The
Changeling Plague by Syne Mitchell (Reader's Group
Choice) - Geoffrey Allen is a
millionaire with cystic fibrosis. Allen uses an illegal cure
which will reprogram his DNA and cure him. It seems to succeed. A
viral plague is released. The virus is rewriting the victims
DNA. Allen uses his money and resources to aid Dr. Lilith Watkins
to fight the plaque. Assisting her is a hacker who lost his
sister to previuos plaque. He makes progress on a treatment and
sees potentials in the disease itself. The disease can be used to
enhance the human body. Is this good? The story and
characaters were OK. Everyone has believable motivations.
Not sure on the science biology not being my stiong suit. The
ethical questions are intriguing.
Fantasy
Life by
Kristine Kathryn Rusch - A family have been
protecting the incredible creatures inhabiting Seavy County,
Oregon. The Buckingham woman have been divided by past squabbles.
They have to pull together in order to save themselves, the people of
Seavy and the creatures under their protection. Rusch likes
looking into families. Lack of communication is the root of the
problem with Buckinghams. Once they overcome that problem they can work
effectively to solve the problem in the book. Seavy County has
been a setting in Rusch's other works. Look forward for new
entries.
For
Us, the Living by
Robert A. Heinlein - A Navy
pilot has a car accident and finds himself in the future. He is
guided in this future world by the beautiful dancer Diana. This
is not for a casual reader but the dedicated Heinlein fan. This
novel was written in 1938 and abandoned. It was recently
found. The novel is a series of lectures proposing solutions to
the world's economic and social problems. In this we see many of
the old man's ideas. Many of these ideas would be expanded in
other works. The seeds of the Future History and Starship
Troopers are
here. The lectures particulary the
economic ones can get heavy going. Yet there some interesting
ideas.
Chindi
by Jack McDevitt (Reader's Group Choice) - Captain Priscilla
"Hutch" Hutchins leads a group from the Contact Society to the source
of an unknown alien signal. Following this signal takes the
group to strange locales and dangers. Some of the group will
perish attempting to find answer to source of the signals. A lot
goes on. It is interesting to a variety of type looking for extra
terrestrial life. The end was a little unsatisfying. This
book is in the middle of series and some of the answers will be
resolved in future books. May have to look for them.
Ensign
Flandry by Poul
Anderson - The Merseian Empire has taken
an interest in a local war on the planet Starkad. Earth and
Merseia back sides. Why is Merseia interested in this
world? That is what Ensign Dominic Flandry has to find out.
He may have to against the Earth negotiator Lord Hauksberg to
find out the truth. A lot of action and a big twist at the
end. Even though it was written in the 60s it has aged
well. Need to read more about Flandry.
Charisma
by Steven Barnes
- Alexander Marcus was a very
successful African American business man who died in a plane
crash. Several children in Seattle connected with daycare center
involved in sex abuse scandal are showing great intellgence and
initiative. Someone is trying to kill some of these
children. Reporter Randy Sands, an employee of Marcus
Communications decides to look look into Marcus' past. Sands
finds something disturbing. Can Sands figure it out in time
before more children are killed? Kids are believable. So are the
adults. The book makes an interesting statement about what can
make someone go bad. The only thing that bugs me is at the end
the government decides to hide the information of what happened.
Sands is right the truth will do more damge than good. Still it
is disturbing when the government hiding something from the people for
their own good.
Tru
Calling (TV
Series) - Interesting premise.
This seems promising. The camera loves Eliza Dushku. We may
not have a Faith series but this will do.
February
2004
The
Dingillad Trilogy (Jumping Off the Planet,
Bouncing Off the Moon,
Leaping
to the Stars) by David
Gerrold - Charles "Chigger" Dingillad and his brothers Douglas and
Bobby go with their dad on a Clarke beanstalk to the Moon. The
boys get embroiled in intrigue. Their father acted as a courier
for something extremly valuable to pay for the trip. This leads
to several groups and individuals after them. The eventaually
make it to Moon after the boys divorce their parents. The
eventually find safe harbor on the Moon where the boys are reunited
with their parents and discover what they have been carrying. A
HARLIE unit inside Bobby's robot monkey. They boys eventually
reconcile with their parents and decided to head out to settle
Outbeyond, a distant colony, with the HARLIE unit. The series
currently ends with the family halfway to Outbeyond. Gerrold has
created a great work of juvenille fiction which can be read by
adults. The science is well detailed. Gerrold
explorers classic themes of personal responsibilty. Gerrold
also takes an interesting look in family and personal
relationships. Fortunately there will be more after he finishes
the 5th Chtorr novel.
The Fairly Oddparents (TV Series) -
For kids this is a good and fun way to learn some of lives
lessona. For adults, this should remind one of what they should
have learned as kids.
The
Triplets of Bellville (Theatrical Film) - How can an
animated film which deals with bicycling be bad. It was beautiful
film. Great music. Great art. Great themes. What was
interesting if you think about it is that the film is like Finding
Nemo. A
guardian going to any lengths to help their
child. Sheer determination going up against incredible
odds. It shows the integrity of the Academy that this film got
its nomination.
March 2004
Wonderfalls
(TV Series)
- This is fun. I like Joan
of Arcadia
better since Joan has a choice while Jen does not. The creatures
will drive her mad if she does not follow them. I hear this a
story arc planned. Want to see what they do with it.
More
Than Human by
Theodore Strugeon - We meet a couple of
individuals. Lone is a hermit in the woods. Janie is a
telekinetic. Bonnie and Beanie, twins, can teleport. Gerry
is a telepath. Baby, a defromed child, is a supergenius capable
of building an antigravity drive in the crib. Together they make
a gestalt or group organism. They have to deal with the world and
each other. Thrown into the mix is Hip Barrows an Air Force
officer who has discovered this gestalt. The book explores this
relationship and development of a new ethical and moral sense this new
organism needs. Sturgeon was one of the greats. I reread
alot of this to get the the full impact. You get into these
individuals psyche and see what makes them tick. Sturgeon was the
master of psychological SF.
Jersey
Girl (Thetrical
Movie) - Kevin Smith shows he has
a grasp of the human heart. He explores the nature of fatherhood
and it keeps your eyes on the screen. Best part is the
conversation between Ollie and a celebrity. This is what two
father/men talk about. It seems as real any conversation you
would hear at work or at any gathering place. Smith should
get a nomination for writing on this one.
Eternal
Sunshine of a Spotless Mind (Theatrical Movie)
- A small film with big questions. Is it better to erase a
memory of a bad realtionship or go on with both the bad and the
good? The sequences inside Joel's mind are brilliant.
Everybody in this film are great. In a time when most films show
relationships in a simplistic light, it is good to see one which
shows the complexities in a relationship. Kaufman should also get
some writing nominations.
Brown
Girl
in the Ring by
Nalo Hopkinson (Reader's Group
Choice) - The rich and priviliged have the city of Toronto. Those
who stay behind eek out an existance as best they can. Tony
gets mixed up with a powerful crime lord. He tries to get help
from his ex girlfriend Ti-Jeanne and her grandmother Gros-Jeanne.
Both women are very powerful in magic although Ti-Jeanne has not had
much training. Can Ti-Jeanne learn enough to fight the
forces which closing in on her family? It is always
interesting to see the world through another cultures prespective.
Hopkinson gives us a taste of Carribean-African culture. She
gives the reader a new set of myths and believes. It is an old
fashion good versus evil story. The only downside is
getting through the language Hopkinson gives her characters. Very
good for first novel.
April
2004
Danny
Phantom (TV
Series) - A nice new teen superhero.
Really like Sam as the independent goth girl. My only problem is
why does Butch Hartman has goofy but well meaning parents in his work?
The
Golden Compass by
Philip Pullman - The first of the Dark Materials series. Imagine a
world where one is never alone. Everyone has a daemon by there
side. At childhood they can assume any shape. They lock into a
single animal form when one reaches adulthood. We follow a young
lady named Lyra who grew up in Oxford. Elsewhere children are
getting stolen. Lyra leaves Oxford after her friend Roger gets
taken. She get wrapped with an expedition to find the children
and rescue her benefactor who has been captured. Intricate
plot. Good coming of age story. There are even some real
scary bits for Lyra. Need to get back to the rest of this series
soon.
The
Passion of the Christ (Theatrical Movie) - It is
an
intense film. A bit over the top in some places (the bridge scene
and the raven scene). Still a good film. It is the perfect
Good Friday/Holy Week film.
Hellboy
(Theatrical
Film) - Never read the
book. It is a good story. Easy enough to follow
without knowing the book. There are some nice character moments
when the action slows down. Would not mind seeing more of Hellboy
in the future.
Needle
by Hal Clement -
An alien police officer is in hot
pursuit of a criminal. He calls himself the Hunter.
Arriving on Earth he forms a symbiotic realtionship with a teenage
Pacific islander named Robert Kinnaird. Robert helps Hunter to
find the fugitive he is after. The fugitive has also formed a
symbioyoc relationship with someone on the island. Robert and
Hunter have to figure out who it is before the fugitive can
escape. It is a cop and robbers tale with a twist. As
always with Clement the science is well thought out. It is
interesting to see the realtionship between Hunter and Robert
develop.
Coyote
by Allen Steele
(Reader's Group Choice) - A collection of
stories dealing with a group of humans escaping a facistic United
States. They go to a planet in a distant star system. The
planet is named Coyote. It is a moon orbiting a ringed gas
giant. There the people, in particular the children, must learn
to deal with their enviornment. There are some good parts
such as the Hugo nominated "Stealing Alabama" and "The Days in
Between". The ending makes one think. There is cynisim in
it. Yet the colonists escape the dogmas of the past and embrace a
challenging future.
Seduced
by the Moonlight by
Laurell Hamilton - Merry is in the
thick of fairy intrigue. Someone makes an attempt on her
life. Powers start to manifest themselves. Merry prepares to face
both the Unseelie and Seelie courts. The plot takes awhile to get
moving (the same ith the last Anita Blake). But when things start
to happen it gets fun. Next book should bring us to Seelie
court. I will be there.
Kill
Bill Vol II. (Theatrical Film) - A
satisfying conclusion. Not a simple shoot out or fight sequence
but some really interesting character exploration. I have to
disagree with Bill's take on superheroes. Clark Kent represents
the everyman with the potential to be super and noble. This film
and Jersey
Girl show what
the important things in life are.
13
Going 30 (Theatrical Film) -
Another film discussing what is important about life.
Loyalty. Friendship. Compassion. Family. It was a
film which leaves one with a nice squishy feeling. I hope that
people doing "Thriller" does not become a fad.
Illium
by Dan Simmons (Hugo Nominee)- A historian from the 21st century
is observing the Trojan War. A groups of artifiical life forms
called moravecs from the Jovian moon system go to Mars to investigate
the high rate of quantam activity there. On Earth, there
are approxiamtely 1 million humans who live for 100 years. The
spend there time faxing (aka teleporting) from amusement to
amusement. A group of human decide to find out about the nature
of there world. All of these stories will converge. This
novel is ambitious. It works. All the players whether they
be eloi like humans, Greek, Trojans, gods and machine are
interesting. The only bad thing it is only half a novel.
The next part should be in this year. Will be there too.
May 2004
Singularity Sky by Charles Stross (Hugo Nominee)
- An entity known as Festival gives an isolated backward planet
cell phones to give them their hearts desire. Then they do.
The home planet of this colony sends a fleet to take back. Throw
in an engineer working for a super AI and a very beautiful superspy and
its a great ride. There is action. There is romance.
There are deep questions. What happens when an oppressed people
suddenly can get whatever they want? Some very good SF.
Blind
Lake (Hugo Nominee) - Advancements in
technology has made it possible to observe life from a distant star
system. After some reporters come to see the facility
at Blind Lake there is a clamp down. Blind lake and all of
its inhabitants are cut off from the world. Marguerite Hauser
observe the alien while fighting her
ex husband Ray Scutter, now head of Blind Lake after the clamp down,
for custody of her daughter Tessa. What is Tessa connection with
the alien. Why the clamp down? Strong plot which proposes
the need for narrative to understand the nature of anything. The
characters are very complex and realistic.
Van
Helsing (Theatrical
Film) - Had its moments but
the film needed valium. It tried to do something but got caught
up in the effects. Also there is a big logic error which the
writer missed or (more likely) did not care. Focus more on story
rather than having fun with the CGI.
June 2004
Shrek 2
(Theatrical Film) - Great continuation of the story.
Both the old and the new cast were great, especially Puss in
Boots. Fun time had by all.
Galveston
by Sean Stewart (Readers' Group Choice) - The city of
Galveston becomes half magic and half normal. Two people try to
figure out their place in this world. Sloan Gardner is the heir
to control Galveston but can she or should she. Joshua Cane is a
healer to the lower stratas of Galveston yet is not part of that
community. Both of them need to find how they fit in. Sloan
goes to mystical side of Galveston and gets lost in the Mardi Gras
atmosphere. Joshua is blamed for her disappearance
and is exiled but comes back to help after a hurricane.
There is a lot going on. Families trying to hold on to power.
Class struggles. Instead of using the feudal structure,
seen in a lot of fantasies, this one uses the Southern class
structures. Its OK but at the end I wanted a more clear
ending. It did not seem that Sloan or Joshua were comfortable in
their roles.
Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Theatrical Movie)
- The series keeps getting better. The hippogrif sequence
was a bit long. For the most part the plot was well edited.
Wonder how will they trim the next one.
Salem's
Lot (Mini-Series) - Never saw the original or read the
book. It was scary but I wish the effects guys would be reign
in. It seems when vampires die they have to die more
spectacularly the last one. The great thing about Buffy was that
a vampire disposal was quick and consistent. Nice to see King
handled well.
Paladin
of Lost Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold (Hugo Nominee) -
Dowager Royina
Ista goes on piligrimage. Along the way she runs into
trouble. Trouble that only she can solve. The abilities
Ista has been given must used or catastrophe will result. Not my
cup of tea. Not into the medieveal fantasy thing. Still
well structured. Ista is great as the reluctant hero yet does
her duty when the you know what hits the fan.
Mala
2010 (Theatrical Film) - An odd little film. A cat
Mala leaves Earth to find the answers to her life. She lands on
planet Q. The rest of the plot leaves scracthing your head.
Its is well drawn but surreal. Might be better to wait for the DVD with
some explanations.
Farenheit
9/11 (Thetarical Film) - Moore has a point.
He gets it across and I agree with some of it.
Skyfall by Catherine Asaro - Roca
part of the ruling family of the Skolian Empire must get home to
prevent her son from starting a war. While in route she comes to
the planet designated as Skyfall. There she falls in love with a
local lord named Eldrinson. Can she stop the war? Will her
family accept Eldrinson? This takes to an earlier part of the
Skolian saga. Again Asaro combines romance and SF and makes it
work. You want to know what happens next. Always a fun
universe to visit.
July
2004
The Eyre
Affair and Lost in a Good Book by
Jasper Fforde - In alternate universe reading is big, the government
has time travel, and Crimean War is still going on in the 20th
century. This is the world of Thrusday Next a British
literary investigator. In the first book a supervillian has taken
Jane Eyre hostage. A device known as the prose portal makes this
possible. Thursday has to stop this. In the second book
Thursday learns how to get into prose without the portal. While
doing so she has to save her husband whose past has been
erased. This series is fun. It is smart. It is
full of wit. Must read next two books.
Spider-Man
2 (Theatrical
Film) - The best
comic movie ever. Sam Riami and his screenwriters, which include
Pultizer winner and fan Michael Chabon, capture the character
perfectly. They recreate the famous "Spider-Man No More"
storyline. I like the added dimension they gave to Doctor
Octtaviaus aka Doctor Octupus. Good execution of the action
sequences. Great set up for the third installment.
The
4400 (TV Limited Series) - Interesting. Got some
of the best talent from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
It seems to be going somewhere. Lets hope it will not be
anticlimactic like Taken.
The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass by
Philip Pullman - Lyra journeys
between worlds including ours. She meets a boy named Will from
our world. Together they try to unravel the mystery of Dark
Matter or Dust as Lyra's people call it. Along the way Will
finds a knife that can through anything including portals to other
worlds. The also find a scientist who also searches for answers
to the Dust and unknowingly will tempt Lyra. Everyone is after
Will and Lyra. Both do some growing up in these books. Harsh
decesions have to made in the end. Engrossing. Pullman is
more scary than Rowling. Only problem I wish he could have been
more clear about the fate of two of his characters.
The Grid (TV Limited Series) - Very
Clancyesque. Engaging. Like Clancy, the writers of want to
give everyone some depth. It does make want to figure out the
resoultion.
Foyle's War (TV Series) Interesting place to
set a police series, in the south cost of England during the height of
World War II. Foyle and his team will do their duty no matter
what obstacles come befiore them. I missed the first set hope
they rerun it.
Justice
League Unlimited (TV Series) - A great new chapter to TV
DC Universe. It will be great to seemany of the popular second
and third string DC characters.
August
2004
The Village (Theatrical Film) - I
understand why people may not like this film. The speaking voices
of the elders get annoying. I like it since one must examine the
motives of the elders. The twists are questionable but I like the
idea of showing less is more. There were some really scary
momenets in this film. I will be there for the next Shyamalan
film.
Iron
Sunrise by
Charles Stross - A sequel to Singularity
Sky The planet
of Moscow is destroyed under suspicious
circumstances. The planet New Dresden is suspected of destroying the
planet. All is not ehat it seems. Muscovite survivor
Wednesday is being chased by someone for something she saw. She
is being helped by a voice in her head. Rachel, super agent from
Earth, is sent to sort out the mess. There are twists
galore. Stross adds more details. Space opera at its best.
A real a blast. There seems more to come.
Camouflage
by Joe Haldeman - Two aliens who have shape shifting abailties land on
earth millions of year ago. Both become humnas in the 30s and
learn the aspects of humanity. One becomes benevolent and the
other malevolent. They avoid each other for until the mid 21st
century an artifact in Samoa is found. Both feel drawn to
it. It is interesting to seeing humanity from alien eyes.
It is interesting to see how they are formed by what they see. AS
always great plot and character.
Land of the Lost(1st season) (DVD)- Finally! It is great to see
one of the best SF series back. A lot of good extras
involving the writers of the show. A good history of the show are
included in the extras.
Summertime
by Michael Chabon (Readers's Group Choice)- Ethan Feld is recruited as
a catcher for baseball
team. A team that has to save all of creation from the
Coyote. Ethan has to rescue his father at the same time. He
is helped by Jennifer T. and Thor. They meet and play with
sasquatches, giants, rats and other fantastic creature. Its an
American fantasy centered around the national passtime. It
works.
September
2004
Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong - Paige
Winterborne, a witch , has to take care of Savannah Levine.
Savannah is a a thirteen year old orphan witch whose powers are
beginning to manifest. Certain parties would like to take
Savannah and use her power to advance their own ends. Paige faces
threats from from without and within. Her own coven is not
supporting her. Savannah's supposed biological father is
demanding custody and he is being helped by witch who killed Savannah's
mother. Paige's only hope is a lawyer named Lucas Cortez.
Unfortunately Cortez is rebel son of a powerful sorcerer Cabal and thus
cannot have Paige's trust. Can they work things out before
Savannah's future is determined by others. Pretty good for a
middle of the series. Enough explaination to understand the
universe. A lot like Laurell K. Hamilton. The magical world
is underground. Good plot and characters. Might be worth a
second look.
Cyborg
by Martin Caidin - The novel which isnpired The Six
Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman. The
pilot followed the book most of the time. In the book Austin's
could see with the bionic eye. It was a great spy camera. It was
a pretty cool Cold War romp. Easy to see why it was bought by by
Hollyweird.
Doctor
Who: Pyramds of Mars (DVD) - Its about
time. Highlights include a documentray examining the
Hinchcliff/Holmes era and a documentary on the show itself. The
humorous film on Sutekh's post Doctor Who career is also
fun. Watch the hand in episode 4.
Sky
Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Theatrical Movie) -
All right it is not perfect. Story is bit thin. There
is a sincere attempt to develop the characters. Like the bits
where they are bickering at real critical moments. Its a visual
feast. Cool thinking of all the references in the film.
Like to see more from this director. This film deserves an A for
effort and B for execution.
The
Batman (TV Series)-Its good but I keep comapring it to
the Dini/Timm version. The older version is still fresh
(particulary since that Batman is still on Justice League).
The stories are good. Everybody sounds right. Keep watching.
Nine Layers of Sky by Liz Williams - Ilya
Muromyets is an immortal Russian hero who has lived for 800
years. Elena Irinovna is a scientist who worked on the Russian
space program. Now Elena must clean buildings to support her
family. Elena finds a strange metal artifact from a dying
man. Ilya on a bender is asked by mysterious stranger to recover
this object. Ilya saves Elena from being attacked by rusalka (A
Russian water spirit). Ilya convinces her to hand over the
tool. Unfortunately the men they were going to give it to are
killed. Elena and Ilya are on the run. The object is portal
to a parallel world. A world were things turned out better.
Still there dangers from this world and the new one. Can Elena
and Ilya figure out what to do before it is too late. Cool all
the stuff about Russian history and culture. Williams describes
the bleak world of post Communist Russia. Elena and Ilya are
classic Russian characters trying to make the best of seemingly
hopeless situation.
October
2004
The Best of Cordwainer Smith/The
Instumentality of Mankind by Cordwainer Smith - Simply
breathtaking. One of the greats in the field whose life was
tragically cut short. Smith constructing gripping future of
believeable war machines, cats who protect mankind, a family who
saves and later smothers humanity. not easy to summarize.
Find the books. NESFA Press reprinted a collection a few years back.
The
Scary Godmother (TV Special)- This was sweet. A
little gem from artist Jill Thompson, who gave me my favorite look for
Delirium of the Endless. Hope they adapt the next book of the
series,
The
World Inside by Robert Silverberg
- In the future large buildings called ubermons house
humanity. An ubermon can hold 800,000 people. Cities have
disappeared. Humanity has gone vertical. This has allowed
world population to 80 billion. The unbermons have
everything man can want. They are completely self
suffcient. The novel explores the entire ubermon society.
There are no limits on reproductions. Traditional sexual mores
have been replaced. It is interesting world.
Silverberg gives us a complete world. A masterpiece form
the New Wave.
Veronica
Mars (TV Series)- Intriguing. A Nancy Drew for the
20th
century. It may be over the top at times. I mean do
teenagers now really act like this? Even in California?
Still I am there to find out what is really going on in Neptune.
The
Grudge (Theatrical Movie) - Nice to see a non gory
horror film. There are some really creepy moments. Sarah
Michelle Gellar really shines. Love that they kept setting in
Japan.
Incubus
Dreams by Laurell K. Hamilton - Anita Blake is trying to
deal with new powers and abilities. At the same time she has to
stop a serial killer targeting strippers. These powers can create
some unusal situations. Anita also tries to heal some
strained friendships. Dealing with the ardeur creates for some
ver interesting situations. I wish the arduer could be sorted out
so we can focus on the crime related plot. Still I really like
Anita. A good person trying to make best decesions under
incredibly stressful situations. Some decesions work out other do
not. Just like life.
November
2004
Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart by Jane Linskold (Reader's Group
Choice) - Firekeeper must recover stolen magic artifact. If
there secrets are discovered by the wrong people it could disrupt the
peace fo the whole region. With her close human friends and
her pack brother Blind Seer they go into the heart of enemy territory
to find the items. It s a fun book. There is a lot of
medieval type intrigue. There is plenty of action.
Still the fun part is seeing the world tthrough Firekeeper's eyes.
Although she is more used to the world of man, she is still has
characteristics of a wolf. A great new heroine for the 21st
century.
The
Incredibles (Theatrical Film) - Pixar does it
again. Part classic Marvel comics, part 60s James Bond and
whole lot of fun. The music for this just so sweet. Top it
all there is message. The feature with the sheep was great.
Both feature and short should take away the Oscar.
Some of Your Blood by Theodore Sturgeon -
In the late 50s/early 60s a soldier strikes a superior officer for
reading his mail. Army psychologist Philip Outerbridge is
assigned the case. He request the man called George Smith to
write his autbiography. What follows a series of
letters from Outerbridge to his superior officer.
Outerbridge tries to find what is wrong with Smith. The
result is materful short novel in psychological science fiction.
Sturgeon shows that SF is not just the domain of space
travel. Sturgeon shows there no limits.
December
2004
Mitch Albom's The Five People You
Meet in Heaven (T.V. Movie) - Moving. An
interesting take on the afterlife. Voight is great as
Eddie. the character is guy is who did his best under the trying
circumstances. Easy to see how this became a bestseller.
Legend of Earthsea (TV Mini Series) - At first
glance you think its OK fantasy. Unfortunately it claims to be
based on a series by Ursula K. LeGuin. Ms. LeGuin has gone
on the record saying how this adaptation is a botched job. I just
do not get it. They spend a ton of cash to get the rights to
something and then they ignore the source material. Hopefully
future SciFi Channel endeavors, which include Ringworld, will
be handled better.
Lemony
Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Theatrical
Film) - Unlike the previous entry this is more closer to the original
work. Order events may have been changed but the essence of books
were kept. The look of the film is great. Future
Victorian. I like the message to keep going despite what live
throws at you. The kids face their problems and overcome
them. Hope to see more. Got to check out the books.
Dream State by Diane Roberts - The
history of the state of Florida as told by some whose family lived
it. Ms. Roberts family has lived in Florida for eight
generations. The book looks at all the aspects that are
Florida. The roots of the goofiness go back a long way. Its
an interesting story. It shines a light to the highs and lows in
not just the state's history but the country's.
Return of the Black Widowers by Isaac Asimov - The last
collection. It has the uncollected stories. It also has an
original story from Charles Ardai. It also has great intro by
Harlan Ellison. Ardai's story uses a character based on
Harlan. As always it fun.
The Disappeared by Kristine
Kathryn Rusch - In the future to keep peace with aliens we must obey
their laws even when the meet out harsh punishment for minor
offenses. To help people who have gotten trouble with aliens, for
a price one can disappear. Miles Flint, a detective for the
police on the Moon, has two cases to deal with. A spaceship
is found with all hands murdered. At the same time a group of
aliens have been detained for kidnapping children. The aliens
claim the children belong to criminals and by law they have the right
to take them. Flint has to sort the mess out. He questions
the system he has to support. Rusch sets up a universe where a
solution to keep the peace can cause a lot of problems. There are
no easy solutions. There is more to come in this series.
Bares watching.
Back
to Main