Review: Unidentified Funny Objects 7
There is a lot of fun to be had in reading Unidentified Funny Objects from UFO Publishing, the seventh collection of humorous genre fiction edited by Alex Shvartsman.
Thoughts on Star Trek: Discovery
Did you think that Star Trek: Discovery was irredeemable? After episode nine, do you still think that?
REVIEW: The Naked World by Eli K. P. William
Middle books of a trilogy are the ugly step-child of literature. Everybody loves the first book in a trilogy: the characters are shiny and new and the world is a playground in which to explore. The final book in a trilogy is almost as well loved: we learn the ultimate fate of the characters whose […]
And Thanks for All the Fish
So, the thing you have to understand about me is that I love words. Like most writers, I love working with words on my own creations. (Most, not all: the history of literature is strewn with people who hated working with words. I often wonder why they didn’t become plumbers or accountants, but, if you […]
Cosplay at the 2017 Toronto Fan Expo
When I started going to science fiction conventions a few years ago, one of the things that struck me was the wonder of cosplay. Partially, I was awed by the fact that anybody could create a fictional world that engaged the imagination of other people so much that they would want to dress up as […]
Note to Seth
A first impression of Seth Macfarlane’s new series The Orville.
BOOK REVIEW: Science Fiction for the Throne: One Sitting Reads, edited by Tom Easton and Judith K. Dial
Science Fiction for the Throne: One Sitting Reads, edited by Tom Easton and Judith K. Dial, is a fun, entertaining book to read in small doses. It also reveals some of the limitations of short short fiction.
REVIEW: Cash Crash Jubilee by Eli K. P. William
Eli K. P. William’s Cash Crash Jubilee is a fun, smart read, a great way to start a trilogy of novels.
Review of Drew Hayden Taylor’s Take Us to Your Chief
In the short story collection Take Us to Your Chief, Canadian author Drew Hayden Taylor proves that Native science fiction can be both entertaining and serious about Native history and life.
REVIEW: Finders Keepers by Russ Colchamiro
Finders Keepers is a frustrating mix of sophisticated writing and juvenile humour.
Wicked Wonders Wicked Wonderful
In the battle between literary fiction and genre fiction, Ellen Klages belongs to both sides, as her engaging collection of short stories Wicked Wonders demonstrates.
Class Act?
Class, the third spin-off of the newly constituted Doctor Who, has not been getting much love; Ira Nayman argues that it should.
REVIEW: James Morrow’s The Asylum of Dr. Caligari
Dr. Caligari – he of cabinet fame – has a plan to profit from World War I in James Morrow’s new novel.
REVIEW: Ghost in the Shell (2017)
The 2017 version of Ghost in the Shell is unlikely to satisfy fans of the original, but it is not without its points of interest.
REVIEW: Little Dystopias by Kyle Aisteach
If you enjoy basic meat and potatoes science fiction, you’ll enjoy Kyle Aisteach’s Little Dystopias.
REVIEW: Suzanne Church’s short story collection Elements
Suzanne Church’s Elements is a collection of short stories that show’s off the versatility of its author.
REVIEW: Skelos: The Journal of Weird Fiction and Dark Fantasy
The first issue of Skelos is sure to please (if that’s the right word) fans of dark fantasy.
BOOK REVIEW: The Annihilation Score
The great thing about writing a series of novels is that, if your original idea is flexible enough, you can throw just about anything you want into them. Charles Stross exemplifies this by throwing superheroes into his Laundry series book The Annihilation Score.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Luke Cage: Same Studio, Different Universe
It’s hard to believe that Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Luke Cage were produced by the same company. A close comparison shows that the two series couldn’t be more different.
Cosplay at Toronto Fan Expo
Ira Nayman makes the argument that cosplayers should be accepted as fans as much as anybody else…but, really, it’s just an excuse to share photos of cosplayers he took at the 2016 Toronto Fan Expo. Shh…
Adventures in Treklandia
You don’t have to be a fanatic Star Trek follower to become a Klingon…
Not the Times Table You Learned In Grade School…
N. J. Rayner’s The Time Table is a frustrating reading experience, with some excellent bits and others…not so much.
Literary Fiction Isn’t Always That Great, Either, You Know
Ira Nayman makes a startling admission: he often prefers literary fiction to genre fiction. Oh, no! That does not, however, make him blind to the limitations of literary fiction, as his review of A Free Man indicates.
Spec Fic Publishing: Pitfalls and Opportunities
What is a new author supposed to do when so many established authors are being abandoned by their publishers?
Dragons and Dragons and…More Dragons, Oh, My!
Dragoncharm doesn’t quite work as an epic fantasy novel, but, as reviewer Ira Nayman suggests, it can be enjoyed if read with a different genre in mind.
Woman Can’t Be Comedians? Funny You Should Say That…
With no concern for his safety, Ira Nayman wades into the controversy over whether women can be funny, exploring possible reasons for why men are so resistant to the idea.
Do Not Barco Engage Yet, Mister Sulu!
One screen good, three screens better? Not, as Ira Nayman found, in the case of a screening of Star trek: Beyond in Barco Escape.
TAFF Winner Profile: Anna Raftery
Anna Raftery, this year’s winner of the Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund (TAFF) competition, tells Ira Nayman a little bit about herself while in Toronto.
FREE BOOK GIVEAWAY! or Just a Humour Writer in a Science Fiction World
I told my psychiatrist everyone hates humorous SF. He said I was being ridiculous; everyone hasn’t read humorous SF…
Review: Making the Rounds, by Allan Weiss
Weiss takes on the Kabbala.
