5/10 (Average)
Robert Parrish’s Journey to the Far Side of the Sun is a British science fiction film of average quality. The first two thirds are well done before the final act kicks into gear with all its hokeyness and painfully glitzy camera work. The central “idea” is on the surface an intriguing one Continue reading
4/5 (Good)
1966 Nebula Nominated Novel
Jack Vance’s The Blue World is a delightful (straightforward) sci-fi/fantasy adventure story. There’s something truly wonderful about Jack Vance’s world building skills, simplistic yet adept prose, and tightly constructed plots. He’s a top-notch story Continue reading
3.25/5 (Average)
1971 Nebula Nominated Novel
T.J. Bass’ Half Past Human is a flawed yet occasionally intriguing fix-up novel which was nominated for the 1971 Nebula Award. I found that the atrocious prose overshadowed all the work’s positives and made it a chore to read. Bass is a practicing doctor and thus apparently finds it fun to inundate his narrative with medical Continue reading
My old sci-fi book hunting grounds have proved abundant (again) — Half Price Books Austin, Texas….
1. Son of Man, Robert Silverberg (1971)
I’ve been on a Silverberg binge recently. This is not supposed to be one of his best Continue reading
The brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière were two of the earliest and most influential film directors. La Charcuterie Méchanique (1895), considered one of the earliest “sc-fi” films of all time, predicts the mechanical butcher. A rather simple machine “transforms” a pig into Continue reading
5/10 (Bad — but definitely watch if you’re a B-film sci-fi fan)
I think the most important lesson I learned from the hilariously (occasionally) bad 50s sci-fi alien monster caper It! The Terror from Beyond Space is that in future female scientists and doctors still serve coffee and lunch… Continue reading
5/5 (Near Perfect, a Masterpiece)
1972 Hugo Nomination for Best Novel, withdrawn (I suspect because Silverberg had another novel in the running that year, A Time of Changes)
Science fiction from the late 60s and early 70s dealing with overpopulation has always fascinated me Continue reading
2/5 (Bad)
Ok, I admit, I bought this book because of the gorgeous red/helium-breathing alien/humans toting spears cover… Sadly, there’s very little behind the cover besides a standard uninventive pulp-ish romp. Aldiss expends little effort and as result the work lacks an interesting society or an involving plot and all the action takes place in the slip-shop last few pages. Continue reading
8/10 (Very Good)
Atomic Cafe (1982) is a scathing documentary on the atomic age created from archival film from the 40s-early 60s. The scope of the material is extensive: military training films (often the most morbidly hilarious and poorly acted of the bunch), television news, various other government-produced propaganda films Continue reading
