colonization

Book Review: Hawksbill Station (variant title: The Anvil of Time), Robert Silverberg (1968)

/ Joachim Boaz / 13 Comments

5/5 (Masterpiece)

Robert Silverberg strikes gold with Hawksbill Station (1968), a dark, restrained, and powerful rumination.  I have found Silverberg’s novels, like those of one of my other sci-fi favorites John Brunner, hit or miss.  The worst of Silverberg’s novels I’ve read, for example The Time Hoppers (1967) and  Master of Life and Death (1957), are cringeworthy.  His best, Downward to the Earth (1970) and The World Inside (1971), rank among my all-time favorites.

Hawksbill Station‘s setting, Earth’s Cambrian era, Continue reading →

SF TV Episode Reviews: Space: 1999, episode 1, ‘Breakaway’ (1975)

/ Joachim Boaz / 13 Comments

Everyone!  I’ve decided to start a new series of posts!  An episode by episode log of my reactions (including, but not limited to rants, ravings, tangential ruminations, mutterings, and indecipherable utterances) to Space: 1999 (1975-1977).  I’ve never seen the show before and don’t have very high expectations.  But with 2001: A Space Odyssey inspired visuals and some 70s flare (see the hilarious costumes of the cast image below), how bad can it be? (haha).  A general naïveté (on my part)  Continue reading →