(Bruce Pennington’s cover for the 1971 edition)
3/5 (Average)
Fresh off reading Brian Aldiss’ wonderful Non-Stop I eagerly picked up a battered copy of The Dark Light-Years (1964) from a local bookstore. I was sorely disappointed. The Dark Light-Years is disjointed, Continue reading
Here are my favorite films and books I reviewed this year. They are all highly recommended…
Brian Aldiss, Non-stop (variant title, Starship), (1958)
Starship is a top-notch 1950s work: fast, action-packed, thoughtful, Continue reading
4/5 (Good)
Big Planet is populated by Earth’s misfits. The massive landmass and low human population of the planet results in small settlements populated by drastically different cults/beliefs/social structures isolated from each other. Showboat captains ply Continue reading
(Jerome Podwil’s cover for the 1965 edition)
3.25/5 (Above Average)
A few minutes surfing the inter-webs reveals that this 1950s sci-fi work by Poul Anderson arouses some controversy. People looking for Anderson’s pulp-infused sprawling Continue reading
6.75/10 (Average — worth watching for those interested in foreign silent films)
Bed and Sofa (1927) was directed by Abram Room and remains his most well-known film. It tells the story of a ménage à trois (a very daring plot for Soviet cinema in the 1920s) between one woman (Liuda) and two men (Volodia and Kolia). Continue reading
3.75/5 (Good)
Barrington J. Bayley’s Collision Course (Collision with Chronos) (1973) is based on a fascinating hard sci-fi premise, the intersection of two time waves, one from the future heading into the past, and the “present”, heading Continue reading
8/10 (Very Good)
Richard Loncraine’s Richard III is an inventive adaptation of Shakespeare’s famous play by the same name. Instead of a late medieval setting, we’re greeted with an industrial, Continue reading
The French director Georges Méliès (1861-1938) is rightly famous for his innovative use of special effects. He’s credited with inventing time-lapse photography, multiple exposures, stop-trick, and dissolves. I’ve selected two outrageously fun short films of his. He’s most famous for the sci-fi classic Voyage to the Moon, but any cinema lover will enjoy these two pieces of cinematic history.
Le Diable Noir (1905)
3.75/5 (Good)
City of the Chasch is the first book of the Tschai, Planet of Adventure series by the famous and well-esteemed sci-fi/fantasy master Jack Vance. Although the novel ultimately fails to break free from the predictable pattern of the princess, the monster (s), the quest (s), City of the Chasch thrives on Vance’s Continue reading
Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations 