Birdemic: Shock and Terror Is Really An Inconvenient Cinematic Catastrophe (In A Good Way). When I first heard about Birdemic: Shock and Terror on CBS Sunday Morning a few months ago, I thought it was great: a Vietnamese immigrant utilizes his own money to make a movie. A bad movie. Birdemic: Shock and Terror is so incredibly poorly created, it is awesome! read more
"Trapper" Tom Leturgey has been a fan of Sci-Fi movies since he first saw Godzilla on a Saturday morning matinee in the 1970's. Since then, he has been a sports broadcaster, morning show host, entertainment columnist and news reporter. At... read more
As a DVD watcher, I'm always seeing programs a bit "after the fact." Usually this delay has little to no effect on my watching or expectations, because most of the shows I watch are not watched by every single one of my Facebook friends. True Blood, however, usually garners a random assortment of status commentary the night or morning after a new episode airs. read more
M. Night Shamyalan’s latest outing in the film world abandons his penchant for twist endings and disturbing forays into the paranormal. Instead he tries his hand at a well established franchise with mixed, and mostly bad, results. The Last Airbender follows Aang, a young monk with the ability to control the air, as he avoids the fire nation and learns how to bend or control the other three elements and become the Avatar, the one person capable of reuniting and balancing the worlds. He is accompanied by two villagers of the Water tribe, Katara and Sokka, who discover Aang trapped within ice. read more
07/09/2010 PROFILES: Joss Lynes Article by J. Lynes
Joss Lynes is budding videogame artist in Pittsburgh, PA. He was first introduced to science fiction and fantasy at the age of six through the movies Star Wars and Jurassic Park, and started writing short stories and poetry in his... read more
I'm always excited to get a new Sookie Stackhouse book on audio. In my opinion, there is no better way to experience these books. Johanna Parker is such an engaging audio actress that she brings Sookie and the other characters to life in such an engaging and entertaining way that my own brain simply can't compare when I'm reading print. read more
Perhaps MST3K's most famous feature-length endeavor finds these characters discussing "Manos, The Hands Of Fate" which has been oft rated as "The Worst Movie Of All Time." The horror anti-classic features one of the most colossally stupid and irrelevant plots ever to grace the silver screen. A classic American family of man, wife, daughter and dog encounter a small, remote shack, and its caretaker, a bearded man with deformed knees. Any small bit of logic or sense is quickly jettisoned, leaving the viewer in a mire of confusion and mild disgust. Joel and his robot friends, however, make this a much more entertaining viewing experience, with rapid-fire witticisms, critiques, and obscure to semi-obscure references directed at the cast and crew. read more
06/28/2010 PROFILES: Andrew Warhol Article by Andrew Warhol
Andrew Warhol (no relation to the artist) is a song-and-dance man who lives in Bloomfield. He first wrote stories in elementary school, many of them based on the fantasy PC game series Warcraft. (That's Warcraft I and II, not to be confused with "World of... read more
Since the announcement from Hopkins that she would be writing Tricks I have been extremely excited; the book lived up to all of my excitement. While Identical still remains my favorite, I loved Tricks. Much like Hopkin's other book, Impulse, I feel she has progressed a long way with the multiple points of view poetry novel. Once again, she didn't use much verity of the poetry style (such as making pictures with words), but the use of poetry was very strong and hard to notice. Where as in Impulse, the redundant lack of style was much more noticeable, the storyline and intensity of Tricks makes the reader barely notice. read more
06/22/2010 PROFILES: Mia Kovka Article by Mia Kovka
Mia Kovka is a young writer from Pennsylvania. Writing has been a passion for her since the age of ten, when she would write poetry day and night. Then a teacher convinced her to try her hand at writing short... read more
06/16/2010 REVIEWS: Leverage Article by Violet Kane
While this tv show isn't precisely science fiction or fantasy, it occurred to me while watching the end of Season 2 last night that a major part of the appeal of this show is the action, the adventure and the "magic" of its conceptual underpinnings. read more
Most people will recognize Terry Goodkind from his Sword of Truth novels, which he published from 1994-2007. In 2009 he released his newest novel, The Law of Nines. Despite the fact that this novel contains none of his familiar characters and is not even set in the same world, readers will be able to recognize clear threads running from his previous novels into his newest book. read more
With New Moon, everything wrong with its predecessor appears to be fixed. The director was replaced by Chris Weitz (who also directed The Golden Compass, an imperfect but enjoyable film), and the story was treated with expert precision. Oh, and they got rid of that awful blue tint. read more
I finished Renegade's Magic, the final novel of Hobb's Soldier Son trilogy, and I was truly disappointed... not because the ending was less than satisfactory. Quite the contrary, I was disappointed because I knew it was the last book and I would have no more chance to read about these characters and their adventures read more
The story elements of Avatar are far from original, whether they know it or not borrowing heavily of a wide range of films from Dances With Wolves to Ferngully. The thing that struck me is not only is this a story we’ve seen before, this is a story we’ve seen before from James Cameron, with echoes of Aliens, Titanic, and the Abyss thrown in for good measure. Still, even though I never wondered what would happen next, I found myself wrought with emotion at all the right times, and cheering for the victory of our heroes. read more
In many ways this book is a novelty for people who read Armstrong's series regularly. It stems from a pre-climactic plot point in the previous Otherworld book (which I read after Haunted) in which deceased witch Eve Levine bargains with the fates to gets the main characters of that book returned to life after accidentally falling into a portal to the afterlife in pursuit of the bad guy. Now, Eve owes the fates a favor, and they are calling it in to have her track down a particularly pesky Nix who has escaped from a hell dimension read more
02/19/2010 REVIEWS: inFamous (PS3) Article by Trevor Read
inFamous casts players in the role of protagonist Cole McGrath, a newly-minted superhero (or villain, your choice) who gains awesome electrical powers after unwittingly detonating a pulse bomb that wreaks havoc throughout his home, Empire City. read more
CoverI approached this book with some small amount of trepidation. On the one hand, The Wheel of Time series is nearing its conclusion and this book had the possibility of answering a lot of questions which have been plaguing me and other readers for the past few novels. On the other hand, this is the first book in the series to be written since the death of the original author Robert Jordan. read more
On December 21, 2012, the world as we know it is going to end. Based on the ancient Mayan calendar, this "real world" doomsday prophecy is picking up a lot of exposure lately as the date slowly creeps up on us. The movie 2012 uses this date has an excuse to make the ultimate disaster film. read more
Coming about two years too late to be an absolute knock-off of Zack Snyder's box-office hit "300," but just early enough to capitalize on any renewed interest in mythology-based storytelling (see March's "Clash of the Titans" remake), the Starz network's most ambitious original project to date, "Spartacus: Blood and Sand," looks to fill a void on television. read more
For those who remember (or the generation like me who caught the reruns), the original V was a miniseries in the early 80’s that involved aliens coming to earth making all kinds of promises, but turned out to be attempting a take-over. This turn of events prompted a group of regular folk to band together and rebel against their pseudo alien overlords. read more
I admit that I haven't read a ghost story in a really long time. This really too bad, because a good creepy psychological thriller/ ghost story is worth it's weight in gold. Joe Schreiber's No Doors, No Windows is one of those thrillers. read more
12/08/2009 READ RINSE REPEAT: A good Heist Article by Andrea Johnson
Was at the library the other day, trolling the new releases, and The Art of the Heist leapt off the shelf and into my hands. Its by a dude named Myles Connor, who recently got out of prison. for stealing stuff. like Rembrant paintings.
no kidding. read more
A Haunting In Connecticut is about, surprisingly, a haunting… in Connecticut. Unfortunately for us, this movie took its job too literally and forgot that it was supposed to be a scary film… in Connecticut. read more
I finally finished Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, and I'm happy to add it to the “Books I want to read again the moment I finish them” list. For an Eco, it's surprisingly readable, and layered in such a way that readers of any interest level will get a lot out of it. read more
Sandman Slim isn't so much a novel as it is a revenge genre graphic novel with no pictures – plenty of action, violence, some flirtation, and not much else. A bastard child ofThe Crow, Constantine, Spawn and Sin City, it's all the grit and action of a first person shooter adventure video game, with a less intelligent script. read more
It seems like the hot thing to do these days after your series goes off the air is actually to put out a reunion movie before your fanbase forgets you existed. The latest is a look back at Battlestar Galactia, the critically acclaimed SyFy reimagining of the 1980s epic most would rather forget. Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is written by Jane Espenson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and directed by series star Edward James Olmos. read more
Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose is both eminently readable and subtly satirecle, two of my favorite things. Even funnier, I just watched the “Monk” episode of Terry Jones's Medieval Lives, and while watching it I could say “those people are in my book!” it was delicious nerdy fun that even Yomiko Readman would be proud of. read more
The first season of Syfy's most popular series to date, Warehouse 13, ended with, well, a bang. IIt was really more like an earth shattering explosion, and I mean that both in the physical sense because the last episode did end with a bomb going off, and in the metaphorical sense, because it also ended in some unexpected, and heartbreaking betrayal. read more
The premise, if you're unfamiliar with either the original short story or 1984 adaptation starring Linda Hamilton (Terminator), finds a couple on a road trip who, through circumstances beyond their control, wander through the remote Nebraskan town of Gatlin, where the religiously zealot children have purged themselves of adults and started their own society. read more
STAR WARS: The Force Unleashed doesn't mince words: its marquee appeal is right in the title. TFU is a game built around the idea of letting players wield devastating Force powers—an idea that it gets mostly right. The Force mechanic isn't without its hiccups; but luckily, there's more to the game than the title suggests. read more
In Trueblood, The Complete First Season, this HBO original series sets Vampires cohabiting with humans in the small country town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. Vampires come out of the closet thanks to the creation of Tru Blood, a synthetic concoction, which allows Vampires to live without killing humans for sustenance. read more
I was in sixth grade when I picked up my first fantasy novel. It was David Eddings' Pawn of Prophecy and it opened my eyes to the fantasy literature at my fingertips. Since then I have moved on to different books and authors, but I always remembered David Eddings as the author who opened my eyes to the genre. When I heard that he had died recently I resolved to read his final series entitled The Dreamers. I got home with the first book in the series, The Elder Gods, and dove into this whole new world. read more
10/05/2009 REVIEWS: Caprica Article by J. M. Hatala
The series finales of your favorite television programs tend to leave a strange taste in your mouth. That taste is often both an appetite for still more adventures with your favorite clan of characters, plus the ill-inducing sensation that what just transpired wasn't as satisfying as you anticipated. The finale of Ron Moore's re-imagined Battlestar Galactica this spring left neither. Viewers, myself included, seemed for the most part, satisfied. The finale did leave us something—an onslaught of trailers promising more. read more
Pan's Labyrinth is a multi-layered story that is more than the sum of its parts. There are three story threads running through this movie. The first is about Ofelia, a young girl who travels with her very pregnant (and very sick) mother to live with her evil step-father out in the country. After arriving she meets some magical forest creatures who tell her that she is the long lost princess to a magical kingdom... read more
Quicksilver isn't so much a novel as it is a discussion and an observation. If all my history of math (which I hope to re-read this winter) and history of science had a plot line, they would read like Quicksilver. read more
I'm finding in my old age, that fun is a requirement while reading for pleasure. Call me unliterary, call me immature, call me uneducated, just so long as you call me. read more
Going into the recent Terminator film, I wasn't expecting much. The first two Terminator films were James Cameron masterpieces in the sci-fi and action genres, and the 3rd film wasn't bad either. Was Salvation going to going to screw up this franchise or actually be an entertaining addition to the Terminator mythos? Well, in my opinion, Salvation does save itself; it was a pretty damn good flick. read more
08/21/2009 READ RINSE REPEAT: Missing in Action Article by Andrea Johnson
t's been near a month since I posted, and that's just plain sad. what could have caused this you might ask? a mixture of weather that's so beautiful i couldn't bear to sit inside, weather so hot and disgusting my braid couldn't do anything but attempt to stay cool, a growing video game addiction, an overwhelming pile of library books, and a bit of burn out. read more
Although not everything I have to say about this book is positive, Tim Pratt's The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl is a really cute and fun book to read. Brimming with funky, punky, couragous characters, it won't strain your brain, but sometimes that can be a good thing. read more
It was bound to happen eventually. I knew i couldn't live in book bliss forever. I knew one day the other shoe was going to drop.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it's happened. I have discovered the true meaning of the phrase "I got too many books from the library". read more
A heady combination I faced indeed when I borrowed Star Trek: The Next Generation Season Three DVD box set from my friend Dave recently—nostalgia, geeky excitement, even some trepidation. It had only been perhaps a few years since I'd seen a TNG episode, but it had been ages since I'd seen a block of episodes in order, and perhaps there had never been a time when I'd endeavored to watch such a collection with a critical eye to its totality: I think I'd always been too distracted by my yearning, daughterly affection for Captain Picard, my inexpressible (but well-understood by other dorks) joy at knowing a vast quantity of detail about something internally coherent but utterly unimportant, my perhaps too-revealing crush on Lt. Commander Data. read more
What cracked me up was I was reading Wolfe's slow paced Shadow & Claw at the same time that i was reading Joe Haldeman's The Accidental Time Machine, which is nothing but fast paced action. Wow do those two books not go together! Was very jarring to go back and forth! is my own fault, as i tend to be reading more than one fiction book at a time. read more
With a feeling of historical novels and hero quest fantasy, Wolfe is giving the reader a vision of distant future. Urth and her people are dessicated and dim, and the sun is cooling in her last days. Dripping in adventure, sex, sword fights, coming-of-age, and destiny, Shadow & Claw is swimming in religious parable, symbolism, and hero mythology. read more
I must thank Dark Arts Books for recognizing the significance of short stories. From this recognition springs an anthology featuring four authors whose diverse tales allow us to peek into their mould-encrusted minds, sail through their cavernous labyrinths, and drop us back into the safety of our sofa cushions. read more
Stephen King, I've come to realize over the years, is a bit of an acquired taste. Now, this isn't to say that he doesn't deserve his place in the elite of his generation's canon of popular literature, but there are some kinks that may rub readers the wrong way. King has, on occasion, called himself a "hack" and, while he may not be one the world's greatest writers, he is one of its best storytellers which, for my part, goes a hell of a lot farther... read more
Anyone interested in young adult fantasy will recognize the name Tamora Pierce. She is well known for her many series featuring strong willed female characters, wrapped in worlds of magic of all kinds, a world where fantastic creatures often roam. The stories are known for their great story telling, and the imagination and care put into the design of the magics that are used. And Pierce's new series, Beka Cooper, is no exception. With the introduction of this new character in Terrier, it promises to live up to the expectations her other work sets... read more
Is this turning into a summer of re-reads, again? Perhaps. I was in a bit of a book blah, where nothing was keeping my attention. The English Patient? Beautiful, haunting, heart breaking, but too depressing to read when I've been in such a good mood lately. Perdido Street Station? Also beautiful, haunting, and a little heartbreaking, but too drug trippy. Dan Brown's Angels & Demons? Eh, I recently saw the movie so I know what happens at the end. What to read on a hot summer's day? Gaiman? Manga? read more
They say never judge a book by its cover, however in this case judge away! The attractive cover art for Gail Z. Martin’s The Summoner is dark and ominous. It was the final push that sent me into her realm of magic and betrayal... read more
The librarians are probably wondering what happened to me, this weekend i renewed books from one library online, and returned some others after hours at their drop box. I'll have to stop in sometime during the week, just for kicks. Here's what made it from the "out of control to be read pile" to the "finished reading, or am reading right now pile":
Iron Council, by China Mieville
Sackett's Land, by Louis L'Amour
Artificial Light by James Greer
Unintended Consequences of Constitutional Amendments, edited by David E. Kyvig
American Gods, by Neil Gaiman read more
Similar to some of China Mieville's other novels, Iron Council has a bit of a rough start. First we meet Cutter and his crew of rebels who are leaving the metropolis New Crobuzon. The city is embroiled in a war with neighboring Tesh, and there is obviously more going on than the governments of both countries are letting on. Two factions in New Crobuzon work towards their goal: One faction believes in a coup, and then there is Cutter's faction, who believes the Iron Council is their only hope. read more
Shortly after my recent post about how weird I thought Chabon's Gentlemen of the Road, I finished it, and let it percolate through my brain for a few days. It took about a week, but now that i've read the book and thought about it, it's weaknesses have mostly drained away, leaving the wonderful, if bittersweet end. Review to be posted soon.
And maybe I just have a thing for stories about girls who dress up as boys to save the world. Oops, did I just spoil the story for you? read more
I’ve always liked McKillip’s writing style and this book is no exception. It’s lyrical tale about a wizard woman, her adopted son, mythical beasts, and how hard it is to live in the human world... read more
One of Chabon's lesser well known works is a little novel called Gentlemen of the Road. in the afterword written by Chabon, he jokingly says the working title of the book was "Jews with Swords". Jokingly indeed. read more
Welcome to Read Rinse Repeat, a column featuring slightly random snippets, commentaries and reviews of scifi, fantasy, comics, manga, general fiction, the occasional history book, and my fangirlish worship of authors who rock my world, which include Scott Lynch, Hiromu Arakawa, China Mieville, Neil... read more
I have finally and with much trepidation, watched the 2008 version of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Being a fan of the 1951 original, I was not looking forward to the remake. Nonetheless, I watched it. I can whole heartily say that it was not very good. read more
I just finished watching Season 2 of The Tudors, and my only complaint is that it was not as deliciously fabulous as I expected it to be... but what kind of a complaint is that, right? Honestly, it was a bit more engaging and faster paced than Season 1, though not quite the compulsive guilty pleasure I had hoped for... read more
One of my favorite books that I read in the past year was Joe Haldeman's Accidental Time Machine. Your first guess about this book is probably correct—that you'd be in for a time travel tale. Haldeman, however, takes an SF standard that can sometimes amount to a tired old story, and with his wit and story-telling sensibilities, turns it into an engaging read with novelty, humanity and classic science fiction spirit... read more
As book buzz goes, Stephenie Meyer has earned quite a sizable amount. Buzz always catches my attention, at the very least, but Meyer's books to this point have been young adult, which always has an adverse reaction on my desire to read. The Host, however, is her first published foray into adult fiction, so I jumped at the opportunity... read more
01/01/2000 PROFILES: Violet Kane Article by S.K. Slevinski
Violet "Violanthe" Kane is the Webmaster and Founder of ARWZ.com. She first started ARWZ back in 1999 in order to fill the need for a message board community where science fiction and fantasy writers could discuss issues specifically relevant to... read more
As book buzz goes, Stephenie Meyer has earned quite a sizable amount. The Host is her first published foray into adult fiction, so I jumped at the opportunity.
Chuck is like an ultra-modern Get Smart or the Pink
Panther series. Computer tech Chuck Bartowski is forced into the world of
espionage when the nation's secrets are downloaded into his head.
AUGUST
8/1/08 through 8/31/08: ON HIATUS ARWZ Magazine will be on hiatus from publishing during the month of August. However, we are still accepting and very much welcoming submissions of reviews, editorials, articles and interview proposals. And, of course, the forums are still active and open for business!
Readers looking for "A little of everything" will get immense satisfaction out of the variety of stories in Dreamsongs, Volume II. We've got screenplays, Wild Cards, short stories, novellas, a Hugo nominee, a World Fantasy Award winner, werewolves, madmen, freaks of nature, angels, time travelers and aliens. How can you go wrong with that?
My general disinterest in detective stories and crime dramas has kept me away from the Dresden Files novels, written by Jim Butcher, but when the SciFi Channel television series (based on the novels, of course) came out on DVD, I was game to give it a try.
I've been wanting to check out Kelley Armstrong's books for a while now, and so when I found the audiobook of Personal Demon on the shelves of my local library, I jumped at the chance.
Mostly in chronological order, Dreamsongs includes much of his early works through the early 80s, such as "The Hero", which was sent in along with an application for conscientious objection to the conflict in Vietnam, "His Tower of Ashes" written after a bad college break-up, "The Way of the Cross and the Dragon" which was born while teaching at a Catholic School after years of being away from the fold, along with so many more tales from one of the most creative authors writing today.
Mirror Mirror is a retelling of the fairy tale
of Snow White, whichlike other books by author
Gregory Maguiredraws parallels between history and
legend. However, it is not entirely successful in its
endeavors.
Lethem tells a peculiar coming-of-age tell against a hybrid science fiction and frontier background. Though not entirely to my taste, this novel is definitely worth a read.
Gregory contributes another installment to her series of fictionalized tales of the Tudor monarchy. It is yet another opportunity to show off her rare talentsto make a story even more engrossing because the audience knows how it will turn out.
As Reynolds was more widely read, in his time, than Dickens it is surprising to see that Wagner the Werewolf is the only one of his works widely available.
As regular readers may recall from my previous reviews of L'Engle's Time Trilogy, these books were among my childhood favorites. I have found these audio productions to be a great way to revisit them, and the audiobook of Swiftly Tilting Planet is no exception.
In Stardust, a fallen star in human form calls Tristran Thorn "a clodpoll ... and a ninny, a numbskull, a lackwit, and a coxcomb."
However, author Neil Gaiman demonstrates he is none of these with his award-winning fairy tale.
I just sat down and read the last book of the Harry Potter series, and I find I have grown out of Harry Potter. In fact, I probably grew out of him about halfway through the series, but my enjoyment of the characters and my insatiable desire to see what happens in the end of any story kept me going. Ultimately, I was disappointed.
When Brooks' newest prequel series recently showed up on bookshelves, being billed as a great starting place for new readers, I decided to give it a try.
JANUARY
1/1/07 through 1/31/07: ON HIATUS ARWZ Magazine will be on hiatus from publishing during the month of January. However, we are still accepting and very much welcoming submissions of reviews, editorials, articles and interview proposals. And, of course, the forums are still active and open for business!
When this film first came out, I avoided it. Sometimes bad press, etc. can negatively impact an impartial viewing of a movie. For instance, Waterworld and Ishtar aren't great movies, but they are not as bad as the press would make you believe. The problem with these movies is they were expensive to make, but were not good enough to bring in the box office dollars. The same can be said of Congo.
The premise of near future space travel, and the first mission to a planet outside our solar system is a great one. Most of science fiction is based on the premise that the stars truly will be our destiny. The details in getting there are often overlooked: it's far easier to plunk down a story somewhere "in the future" and avoid all the messiness of getting there.
Will the world end in fire? Or in ice? How about a possibly sentient comet that communicates with earthlings before bashing into the planet and tearing it apart? And what does everyone do to pass the time after the world ends?
I am always interested to see how authors of predominantly mainstream fiction handle forays into science fiction. While Atwood has explored the speculative possibilities of the future in previous novels, she did not approach this novel with the acumen to tell a gripping tale.
To begin with the obvious, this is not your parents' Battlestar Galactica. Some names remain the same, as do some of the most basic plot elements, but beyond that, this incarnation borrows from other science fiction and develops its own story and structure.
11/27/07 EDITORIAL: Strike: In the end, fans will follow the writers to the edge of the universe Editorial by Tom McMeekin I don't like the fact that the Hollywood writers' strike will probably shorten this season for most of my favorite shows. And I think the strike is one of the nails in the coffin of network TV as we know it. However, I'm a writer at heart (if not a professional screenwriter, at least, not yet), and I support the writers' decision to walk out.
Flawless computer graphics endow this intensely action packed movie. Long time comic book and cartoon enthusiasts will not be disappointed in this film.
Heinlein's classic, Stranger in a Strange Land, suffers from some things that it cannot help. It will depend upon your own boundaries on whether you can get out of it what is actually there.
I have been re-watching the seasons of Star Trek on DVD, now over fifteen years since the original airing. Upon reaching Season 5, I realized that it contains some of the most memorable episodes in the series.
If you don't know the background, Joss Whedon's marvelous SF series, Firefly generated a small following of fanatic fans, but failed to appeal to a larger audience.
Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. But at what cost? Pandora's Closet includes twenty or so short stories generally involving mythical objects or creatures that take over the lives of ordinary people.
Calling to mind Futurama by way of House of Leaves, Tangerinephant is the ambitious first novel from Kevin Dole 2. In the opening we meet Michael Tangerinephant, whose life has been falling apart due to being abducted by TV-addicted aliens, being the fall-man for a corporate scandal, and being in trouble with his prostitute girlfriend
This is an enjoyable and quick read coming in at a slender 210 pages. The protagonist is one Henghis Hapthorn, a discriminator (read PI/detective) in a futuristic world of space travel and super speed, semi-sentient computer assistants.
I must say that I always look forward to reading Card, knowing that his books will be reliably entertaining. Shadow of the Hegemon is no different in this respect, but I do have one criticism... Why all the children protagonists?
10/16/06 AUTHOR Q&A: Jennifer Fallon Original Session: 9/18/06 to 9/24/06
Author Jennifer Fallon recently visited the ARWZ Community Forums to answer questions from fans and ARWZ readers in an Interactive Q&A.
As Charlaine Harris is one of the major authors in the newly popular genres of urban and romantic fantasy, I knew after seeing her on the bestseller lists that she would be a must-read for any conscientious SFF magazine editor.
The buzz around this series has been so enthusiastic lately that I was anxious to get started on it, and ordered the first two books together. But now that I've read the first one, I'm still debating whether to continue on to the second.
My first experiment in reading romantic fantasy wasn't very successful, but in the interest of fairness I decided to try reading a book by an author who has made her career on writing fantasy-style romances (rather than romance writers who have dabbled in fantasy). Christine Feehan was the natural place to start.
10/2/07 INTERVIEW: Gary Wassner Interview by Violet Kane
With the release of his newest GemQuest novel, Gary Wassner is one book away from the completion of his ground-breaking fantasy series. By combining traditional epic fantasy with an edgy character-driven sensibility, Wassner has captured a dedicated fan base and has proven that talent can shine in the small presses. I wanted to know more about Wassner's background and his creative process.
In 1988, to little fanfare, John Carpenter released They Live, a film that is now a cult classic and that many consider one of Carpenter's finest works.
This novel does what readers expect from any good historicalit transports them to another time and place to challenge the imagination to experience the lives of characters in a distant past.
This is a collection of 116 imagined creatures, just like the title says. Borges has collected them from various mythologies and writers from Ancient times to the beginning of the 20th century. There are fantastical creatures from Kafka, C. S. Lewis and H. G. Wells as well as Pliny, the Eddas and Ovid.
Many authors are increasingly mixing science fiction and fantasy genres in effort to create intriguing worlds more nuanced and complex than either genre offers alone. David Weber, on the other hand, is just trying to write two novels at the same time.
The Hammer and the Cross posits an alternate history in which an army of spiritual Vikings, close followers of the Norse religion of the Way, led by a freed English slave and joined by other English freedmen, carve out a kingdom in opposition to the rest of England and the Catholic Church.
From the imaginative mind of Joss Whedon, creator of TV's Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and Angel, comes the 14 episode sci-fi western Firefly. Leaving the quantum phase mechanics and deflector arrays to the various Star Trek series, Whedon combines his gift for witty dialog with in-depth characters for a series that is both exciting and comical.
From the genres of family saga and biblical epic comes The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. This historical fiction novel tells the stories of the wives of biblical patriarch Jacob, as they experienced life, death and birth.
This book asks questions and gives theories and ideas on so many levels that I don't even know where to start. Like many other modern science fiction authors, Griffith uses her writing to ask hard questions. Questions that authors of 20 or 30 years might not have been able to get away with.
The recent trend toward paranormal romance and romantic fantasy is difficult to ignore, and so despite my misgivings about the romance genre, I decided to pick up a romantic fantasy to see what all the fuss was aboutwhere better to start than with the reigning queen of the romance novel, Nora Roberts?
Interplanetary colonization is not a new theme to SF. It's been resurrected as of late, with Allen Steele's Coyote one of the most prominent titles. Latner makes a similar contribution with her forthcoming novel Hurricane Moon.
There are few authors in the world of horror as "hardcore" as Edward
Lee. Known for his extreme use of bloody violence, perverted sex, and every other manner of obscenity; Lee has developed his own cult-like following of avid readers.
In the third and final installment of her Wolfblade prequel trilogy, Jennifer Fallon delivers on reader expectations by offering a well-plotted conclusion thattrue to formdoesn't neglect character development.
With his latest novel, Majestrum, Matthew Hughes proves that readers can trust him to provide a fantastic blend of magic, technology, humor and mystery, and all in tale that's both warmly traditional and brightly unique.
Imagine hundreds of threads going into a loom. Multiple strand braids are created, separated, rebraided, the web is formed. Colors are blended, fade, and are recreated, exposing a secret pattern, one this loom was not designed to create. From a distance, this is GemQuest.
I always hear good things about Lois McMaster Bujold, but so far I've had only disappointing experiences with her books. The Curse of Chalion was no exception.
In The Boleyn Inheritance Philippa Gregory offers up an independent sequel to her historical novel, The Other Boleyn Girl, giving fans a tale of lesser known historical figures that is just as compulsively readable as her first Boleyn novel.
Children of Chaos is the first book of a duology and establishes well the world and the characters in it. Dodec is a dodecahedral world where the habitable Faces are surrounded by ice and mountains, which makes moving from one Face to another difficult at best.
In this first volume of his Shadow series, Card revisits the Ender's Game storyline and endeavors to recapture the audience of that original novel for which he is best known.
Coming on the heels of McDonald's hit River of Gods, Brasyl is part cyberpunk, part historical narrative, part bladerunner, part parallel universe epic, and part introduction to a culture most Americans know nothing about.
One of my favorite settings for historical fictionbesides medieval Europe, of courseis Ancient Egypt. But I'll be damned if I can find many historicals or fantasies set in that milieu. So I was excited to pick up Warlock, a novel set in Ancient Egypt by a successful and established author of historical fiction.
7/17/07 INTERVIEW: Matthew Stover Interview by Violet Kane
Whenever I pick up a new and promising book, my hope is always that it will be a compulsively readable, can't-put-it-down, stay-up-past-my-bedtime, page-turning experience. The more intellectual side of me hopes that it will also be a book with enthralling characters, which drive the story forward and challenge the reader. The last new author to do it? Matthew Stover.
This short novel originally published in 1912 tells the tale of how Tarzan came to be marooned on the shore of Africa how he was raised among the great apes and of his first experiences of the civilized world. How he then discovers his true heritage as a wealthy English aristocrat but then nobly renounces that heritage to protect the woman he loves.
I'm very particular about reading a series in chronological order, preferably from the point of view of the main character(s). So far, I've read only three series out of order because I didn't get my hands on them in the correct order and I wanted to read them the instant I got them. The Vlad Taltos series is one of those three and I'm delighted to see a new book out.
Pattern Recognition found its way to my reading list as do most books for review on ARWZ. There was a combination of motivating factorsit was written by one of the greats of SFF literature, it was available on audiobook... What I did not expect, however, was to enjoy it as much as I did.
This book may very well be responsible for my love of reading SFF and my desire to write SFF, and so after its recent release on Audio CD, I was anxious to revisit this novel.
This is the first film I've seen to combine the dark, artsy quality I've come to expect in foreign films with the typically American drive for escapism and dazzling special effects.
One of the lost icons of this time in American cinema was William Girdler. In the span of seven short years, he made nine feature films, most of them in horror, before his untimely death at the early age of thirty.
In Cetaganda, Lois McMaster Bujold creates an interplanetary world of court intrigues where empires rise and fall on genetic codes. I just wish she'd picked a different story to accompany it.
The Prestige is an atmospheric novel that evokes an age of Victorian storytellingI just wish that Christopher Priest had used a less Victorian story structure.
Who do those eyes at your window belong to? Is that really just the wind rustling the curtains? Dr. Bob Curran brings us closer to the dark beings that have haunted man for thousands of years. With thorough cultural research, Curran helps us get to know vampires, werewolves, ghouls, and many other monsters.
5/22/06 AUTHOR Q&A: Kate Elliott Original Session: 10/17/06 to 10/23/06
Author Kate Elliott recently visited the ARWZ Community Forums to answer questions from fans and ARWZ readers in an Interactive Q&A.
The first book which John Steinbeck read and fell in love was Sir Thomas Mallory's Le Morte De Arthur. In later life Steinbeck would write to his literary agent that he was convinced that the Arthurian myth contained important universal truths and symbols.
The second in Marek Halter's Canaan Trilogy, which details the fictionalized lives of biblical matriarchs, Zipporah: Wife of Moses lacks much of the appeal of its predecessor.
At first blush, Dream of the Dragon Pool seems a rather simple narrative following the poet Li Bo on his journey into exile after being expelled by the royal court. Stopping at an ancient dream temple, Li falls into a dangerous quest that he must complete, or face the anger of the spirits.
As a fan of films of the fantastic, I recently discovered a welcome alternative to watching yet another tiresome science fiction shoot-'em-up with ray guns. It's the small but decidedly quirky San Francisco Independent Film Festival. Every February, this film festival unapologetically screens fantasy and horror films. At Indie Fest, the originality of vision matters more than the presence of A-list talent or large budgets.
Hidden Empire is the first volume in Kevin J Anderson's Saga of the Seven Suns. In the future, mankind has made it to the stars with the aid of the benevolent aliens of the Idirian Empire who gave man the secret of FTL travel. As mankind has expanded across the galaxy the Idirian Empire, although still powerful, has become stagnant and begun a long gentle decline.
This third novel of the original Ender series exists, along with its predecessor Speaker for the Dead, in the shadow of Orson Scott Card's multi-award-winning science fiction classic Ender's Game. These successor novels deserve more attention.
As a sequel to Butler's Parable of the Sower, this novel recreates all of the best parts of its predecessors. As a stand alone, new readers will find this book absorbing on its own.
Set in a post-apocalyptic world, this novel follows the struggles of a few good men and women to build a better world in a land plagued by lawless men and an ancient evil stirring in the North.
Regular readers of ARWZ will recall that my first foray into Laurell K. Hamilton's world of Anita Blake was not a largely successful one, however, I felt a responsibility to give her a second chance.
It is a classic SF scenarioour hero Robert Neville is the last survivor of a plague that has infected earth's population and turned everyone into blood hungry monsters.
In The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory brings new life into the much retold story of Anne Boleyn's rise and fall in the English court by turning to the infamous queen's sister Mary as storyteller.
This is Robinson's first novel in his Mars series about the colonization and terra-forming of Mars into a new Earth. The novel takes place over the course of about 50 years.
In 1898, H.G. Wells wrote one of his many science fiction classics. This particular story sprang from the scientific observations of the day. The idea that canals existed on Mars became the basis for many Martian stories. Wells's War of the Worlds was one of the first.
Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman's recent collection of short stories, will find a welcoming audience among devoted Gaiman fans. However, if you've never read Gaiman, there are much better places to start.
Paolo Coehlo's The Alchemist comes to audio in an excellent production read by actor Jeremy Irons. The book itself is a charming tale, and while not inappropriately billed as fantasy, it reads much more like a fable or a children's novel.
Politics have always played a central role in the fiction of Orson Scott Card, but in his newest novel, Empire, Card creates a near-future America where the political landscape is a familiar oneat least until the story gets going.
This book is the first of Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori series, and its appeal is clear. Set in feudal Japan and fueled by magic and imagination, this novel fills a gap in the current fantasy field which is still over-populated with medieval European style fantasy. The storyline, however, does not veer far from fantasy tradition.
2/13/07 INTERVIEW: Matthew Hughes Interview by Violet Kane
No writer exemplifies the sort of creativity and range increasingly available in alternative reality genres today better than Matthew Hughes.
Audio productions of Philip K. Dick novels are much too rare, and so this recent treatment of A Scanner Darkly is a most welcome addition to any science fiction audio library.
If you're a fan of epic fantasy who has been reluctant to make the jump to try historical fiction, you may be worried that you'll get bogged down in a stuffy tale of top hats and petticoats. Never fear with Bernard Cornwell's The Last Kingdom. Fans of epic fantasy will find a story of battles, bloodlines and clan feuds.
I don't often enjoy books that have been written by two authors. I can usually tell where one author stopped and the other began, so it seems choppy to me. But this is a book written by two people who know each other better than most. Yes, I could tell who wrote which parts, and it's funny in a way, but it's still a damn good book, and a damn fun read.
JANUARY
1/30/07 POETRY: The New Evolutionary Wars by Thomas B. White All pedestrians are lizards / disguised in trousers and skirts
My first impression was that Jesse Gordon's newest novel, Stories from the Steel Garden, could be definitively stacked in the social science fiction category, an underused sub-genre, and one from which stems most classic science fiction. But upon completion, I found it, instead, to be part socio-political tract and part Quantum Physics exposition.
With the conceptual vision of science fiction and the imaginative exploration of fantasy, Madeleine L'Engle's classic story of science, friendship and love moves into the future with a worthy audiobook production.
In recent years, Da Vinci Code has become the defining example of "bestsellerism" in contemporary fiction. You know the typepage-turning thrillers with movie adaptation written all over them.
Over a hundred fictional worlds vied for placement on our latest list, the Top 10 Fantasy Worlds, and the victor enjoyed the largest margain of victory yet in our Top 10 projects.
Fans of vampire fiction don't need to read a reviewer's commentary of Anne Rice's landmark novel, however, this book may hold some unforeseen surprises for fans of other alternative reality genres who may be reluctant to make the jump.
If you've been tempted to jump in and ride the fantasy tidal wave summoned by recent blockbuster movies, or if you're looking for an imaginative story to read to your older child, The Wizard of Earthsea is a perfect choice.
This fine novel by the Chilean author Isabel Allende covers the formative years of Diego De La Vega. It tells of his growth from childhood to a young man and how the original masked avenger Zorro came to be.
The magic and wonder continues in Book Two of Wassner's GemQuest series, The Awakening. No need to be nervous about sequels. This isn't so much a sequel as it is a continuation of an epic story of good versus evil, love, loss, triumph, and the cruelest kind of betrayal. This is epic fantasy at its best, and on so many levels.
Re-released today in paperback from Roc, The Last Battle is the third book of Chris Bunch's Dragonmaster trilogy. It is a fast-paced adventure, but otherwise unremarkable.
Scott Brick's voice brings some life to this otherwise concept-heavy classic.
11/21/06 POETRY: A November, Disjointed by David Poore 2006 Poetry Contest Winner A clock without hands keeps time without seconds / Moments crawl by like bubbles in a vat of molasses
On paper, science fiction dystopian film Equilibrium has everything going for ita cast of known and respectable actors, great aesthetics, excellent effects and martial arts choreographybut a profusion of clichs make this film generally predictable and uninspiring.
In September of 2006, the progenitor of the most successful science fiction movie franchises was made available for the first time on video for American audiences.
Being somewhat new to the genre of "epic fantasy," I wasn't sure what to expect with The Twins. I got more than I bargained for in one of hell of a roller coaster, and as there are soon to be four books in the series, it ain't over yet.
This audiobook production of the classic cyber-punk novel is read by the author, William Gibson, providing an added bonus for long-time fans. Audiobook readers new to Neuromancer may or may not find it to their tastes.
Stover's allegiance to character over anything else combines with his skill at penning action and constructing concept to make for one of the most stunning and absorbing fantasies of this decade.
10/24/06 POETRY: Spookhouse by Brian Fanelli Yellow eyes of the bony cat / Peer through the cracked windows.
Part science fiction, part horror, and part social revolutionary tract, Perdido Street Station manages to break free from the stifling shadows of the very genres from which it's been lovingly tendered, to create a new animal of much worth.
While Dragonchaser is by no means an untradtitional fantasy, it is a combination of traditional fantasy and adventure story elements not as often seen in the fantasy genre's mainstream.
10/10/06 AUTHOR Q&A: David Thomas Lord Original Session: 7/25/06 to 8/1/06
Author David Thomas Lord recently visited the ARWZ Community Forums to answer questions from fans and ARWZ readers in an Interactive Q&A.
This audiobook on CD from HarperCollins is a well-done product that should please fans of the classic dystopian novel, and prove accessible to newcomers seeking to explore the roots of science fiction.
The first book of Roger Zelazny's well-loved Amber Chronicles shines when its main character takes center stage. Despite some concept-heavy middle chapters, this novel has much to recommend it.
9/26/06 ARTICLE: Top 10 Science Fiction Films Compiled by ARWZ Editors Voting in our latest Top 10 list of the Best Science Fiction Films was the most contentious yet. Classic and contemporary favorites were in hot pursuit of one another as ARWZ readers and associates voted for their favorite cinematic Science Fiction experiences.
9/21/06 REVIEW: Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card Review by Violet Kane Speaker for the Dead shows the range of Card's talent that was only hinted at in Ender's Game.
9/19/06 REVIEW: Warrior by Jennifer Fallon Review by S.K. Slevinski Fantasy fans should be anxious to see what this author does nextand if they haven't yet read her novels, they should be anxious to catch up on what they've missed.
9/14/06 REVIEW: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch Review by Violet Kane Scott Lynch's much-hailed debut is a welcome addition to the contemporary fantasy scene, a story that is fresh and familiar in the right places.
9/12/06 INTERVIEW: Part II: Kate Elliott Interview by S.K. Slevinski With the upcoming publication of her latest book, Crown of Stars, author Kate Elliott is poised to deliver on the promises of a decade of storytelling.
9/7/06 REVIEW: Dune by Frank Herbert Review by S.K. Slevinski A young man comes out of boyhood to realize that his esoteric education was orchestrated by a powerful cult to prepare him for a singular destiny of incredible power... Wait! This isn't the lastest multi-volume epic of high fantasy. It's Frank Herbert's Dune.
9/5/06 REVIEW: Farscape Season One on DVD Review by Violet Kane In its first season, Farscape manages both to meet fan expectations and fashion its own sensibilities in splendid style.
AUGUST
8/31/06 REVIEW: Sarah by Marek Halter Review by S.K. Slevinski Despite the eventualand perhaps inevitablepredictability of the plotline, this book will be worth a read to many booklovers.
8/29/06 ARTICLE: H. G. Lewis: The Return of the Godfather of Gore Article by Nickolas Cook Herschell Gordon Lewis, known to legions of horror fans as "The Godfather of Gore", is renowned for his outre splatter filmsa gory exploitation cinema that changed the way Americans viewed their violence.
8/24/06 REVIEW: 1984 by George Orwell Review by Violet Kane This audiobook version of 1984 will be a welcome discovery for old fans and curious newcomers.
8/22/06 REVIEW: Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe Review by S.K. Slevinski In the first book of his four part Book of New Sun, Gene Wolfe proves that alternative reality literature is alive, productive and needn't be complicated.
8/17/06 REVIEW: Accelerando by Charles Stross Review by Andrea Johnson I never thought I would say "recently published" and "one of the best science fiction books I've ever read" in the same sentence. Then I found Accelerando.
8/15/06 INTERVIEW: Jennifer Fallon Interview by S.K. Slevinski Australian fantasist Jennifer Fallon proves that adventure stories about kings and warriors, magic and gods, needn't be clich, and that her characters can will the story forward without an evil dark lord in sight!
8/10/06 REVIEW: Dusk by Tim Lebbon Review by Violet Kane This novel promises unique future storytelling in this horror/fantasy hybrid world.
8/3/06 REVIEW: Wolfblade by Jennifer Fallon Review by S.K. Slevinski Released last January in the USafter a 2004 printing in AustraliaWolfblade is the first book in Jennifer Fallon's prequel trilogy to the to the Hythrun Demon Child books. For fans who have read either or both of her previous trilogies, Wolfblade does not disappoint.
8/1/06 COLUMN: Viewing List: Anime Article by Andrea Johnson Never heard of anime? Think it's weird? Fear not, here's a list of "must see" anime movies (and some tv shows) for the curious, along with some favorites for the seasoned fan.
JULY
7/27/06 REVIEW: Bound in Flesh by David Thomas Lord Review by Nickolas Cook Bound in Flesh, the second installment in Lord's epic vampire saga, raises him to the zenith of the modern vampire fiction mountain. Not since Anne Rice's classic Vampire Chronicles have I found myself so immersed in a fictional vampire world.
7/25/06 REVIEW: The Dead Zone Season One on DVD Review by S.K. Slevinski Based upon the Stephen King novel, which was earlier made into a movie of the same name, The Dead Zone is a subtle and fascinating portrait of its main character in this first season.
7/20/06 REVIEW: Black Brillion by Matthew Hughes Review by Violet Kane This novel shows what is new and worthwhile among the current publications in alternative reality genres, and I would recommend it to any reader who appreciates a unique perspective.
7/18/06 FICTION: What Is Is by James R. Manton 2006 Fiction Contest Winner In the long scope of history the way it began for us is the way all half-baked revolutions begin. But, it was a very bad revolution conducted by very bad revolutionaries. The only clue we had in the beginning was that we were firmly on the cutting edge of technology.
7/13/06 REVIEW: The Triangle directed by Craig R. Baxley Review by Lucian Rudder The Triangle is a three part mini-series that was made for the Sci-Fi channel. On the front of the DVD it says: "From the director of 'X-Men' and a producer of 'Independence Day.'" Right away, I was not expecting Shakespeare.
7/12/06 POETRY: Sensing the Night by Bob Nimmo Savouring / the soft pickling of days end, / the heaviness of time descend; / sun sliding seaward, / pallid orb a fickle friend.
7/11/06 REVIEW: "The Attraction" and "The Necromancer" by Douglas Clegg Review by Nickolas Cook The novelette format is a tricky business for writers. Too short, and a reader can feel as if it's rushed and incomplete. Too long, and it becomes perplexing as to why it wasn't written as a novel instead. Clegg, however, handles the format admirably with his newest release from Leisure.
7/6/06 REVIEW: Incubus Dreams by Laurell K. Hamilton Review by S.K. Slevinski As a long-time fan of epic fantasy, I'm not one to be daunted by the length of a novel. And I thought nothing of the length of Incubus Dreams when I first picked it upbut I found this novel utterly exhausting.
7/5/06 POETRY: One Night in Bombay by Jack Cosmos Just another night of wicked fun / On the wrong side of the Moon / On the right night in the mean streets of Bombay
7/4/06 AUTHOR Q&A: John Shors Original Session: 6/6/06 to 6/12/06 Author John Shors recently visited the ARWZ Community Forums to answer questions from fans and ARWZ readers in an Interactive Q&A.
JUNE
6/29/06 REVIEW: American Gods by Neil Gaiman Review by Violet Kane In this novel, Gaiman weaves character, concept, humor and drama into a balanced whole. American Gods is precisely what an alternative reality novel should be.
6/28/06 POETRY: Madness by Jon Ayre For on that journey, madness waits, / To blur the lines of joy and sorrow, / To mark the days beyond tomorrow
6/27/06 REVIEW: The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker Review by S.K. Slevinski It is when I read books like R. Scott Bakker's The Darkness That Comes Before that I realize how rare truly good fantasy is. The opener of Bakker's Prince of Nothing trilogy fits that definition precisely.
6/22/06 REVIEW: Stargate SG-1 Season 1 on DVD Review by Violet Kane The first season of Stargate SG-1 on DVD should be a crowd pleaser for both avid science fiction fans and casual viewers, mixing series-arching stories and episodic plots.
6/21/06 POETRY: Sprite by M. Marinda Slow as the trickles / fast as the streams / the salmon it tickles / gives it its dreams
6/20/06 COLUMN: Reading List: Historical Fantasy Article by S.K. Slevinski Increasingly, fantasy novels have been ignoring wizards, unicorns, elves and fairies in favor of human characters and milieus inspired by real-life historical settings. Magic is put on the back burner while character conflicts and political entanglements drive the story.
6/15/06 REVIEW: The Crystal City by Orson Scott Card Review by Violet Kane Orson Scott Card's newest novel in the Alvin Maker series has everything I look for in a good fantasy story. I am hoping that new writers and currently publishing authors take his example.
6/14/06 POETRY: Late Night Drive by Brian Fanelli Air stinks of gasoline and dust, / as we pull into a driveway, / away from revealing city lights.
6/13/06 REVIEW: Bound in Blood by David Thomas Lord Review by Nickolas Cook With Bound in Blood (the first part of a proposed quintet) author David Thomas Lord shows us the best and worst faces of erotic horror.
6/8/06 REVIEW: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova Review by Saundra Kane I would recommend this book to anyone willing to commit to a long and intriguing tale.
6/6/06 INTERVIEW: John Shors Interview by Violet Kane In his debut novel, Beneath a Marble Sky, John Shors combines poetry, love and history for a tale captivating to alternative reality and mainstream readers alike.
6/1/06 REVIEW: The Myth Hunters by Christopher Golden Review by Little Willow The Myth Hunters is urban fantasy defined: detailed, engrossing, twisting the myths of yesteryear with contemporary characters.
MAY
5/30/06 REVIEW: Event Horizon directed by Paul Anderson Review by Lucian Rudder What is arguably director Paul Anderson's best film, Event Horizon finally gets the Special Edition DVD treatment. It is about time.
5/25/06 REVIEW: The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier Review by S.K. Slevinski Tracy Chevalier shows her strength and skillas more than simply a skilled historical novelist. The Lady and the Unicorn is one of the better novels, of any sort, I've read in the last year.
5/23/06 ARTICLE: Top Ten Characters Compiled by ARWZ Editors Voting in our latest Top 10 list of the Best Characters in alternative reality fiction was any character's game. The votes were split across a wide range of choices, and among multiple characters in favorite books and films. ARWZ readers and associates nominated nearly three hundred of their favorite protagonists, anti-heroes, sidekicks, villains... not to mention those who defy categorization.
5/18/06 REVIEW: Viriconium by M. John Harrison Review by Andrea Johnson Viriconium is like a dream, never the same place twice, always shifting, always changing. The book reads more like a biblical testament, a history of a people, than a typical collection of short stories.
5/16/06 REVIEW: Book & Audiobook: Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman Reviews by R.S. Gibson & Violet Kane With Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman combines the depth of his more serious American Gods with a comedic sensibility reminiscent of his earlier Good Omens. Frothy comedy and silly supernatural slapstick are woven seamlessly around a tale of a dysfunctional magical family.
5/11/06 REVIEW: Labyrinth by Kate Mosse Review by Violet Kane While I am sure this book will find many fans among the "beach read" public this summer, I doubt that readers looking for greater depth will find much to recommend it.
5/9/06 EDITORIAL: Why do we need "alternative reality fiction"? Editorial by S.K. Slevinski After compiling the votes for our list of Top 10 Speculative Fiction Novels, we got quite a few complaints. Many people asked why we needed this umbrella term. As editor for a magazine on these types of allegedly "speculative" fiction, I happen to need one.
5/4/06 REVIEW: Eragon by Christopher Paolini Review by Violet Kane Younger adults or newcomers to fantasy may find novelty in Eragon, but any well-read fantasy readers will find it largely imitative of old standards.
5/2/06 REVIEW: Treason Keep by Jennifer Fallon Review by S.K. Slevinski In her follow-up to Medalon Jennifer Fallon makes good on the promises of her first book while spinning a classic fantasy that new fans will enjoy.
APRIL
4/27/06 REVIEW: Berserk by Tim Lebbon Review by Nickolas Cook Tim Lebbon is building a one-man empire of stylistic horror tales within a genre that needs a shot of pure literary power. He is the needle in the arm of the genre, and Berserk is a heck of an injection.
4/25/06 INTERVIEW: David Thomas Lord Interview by Violet Kane As any good writer knows, inspiration is everywhere. But so is David Thomas Lord. He will be going on tour shortly to promote his second Bound installment, Bound in Flesh, due to be released in August 2006...
4/20/06 REVIEW: Ramses: Son of Light by Christian Jacq Review by S.K. Slevinski In the first novel of this series, Christian Jacq recreates the world of ancient Egypt in intriguing detail, but he doesn't do much for the characters.
4/18/06 REVIEW: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card Review by Violet Kane In his spoken afterword to this new, unabridged audiobook version of Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card names audio the ideal medium for his work. His classic novel certainly comes to dynamic new life in this twentieth anniversary edition.
4/13/06 REVIEW: Uzumaki directed by Higuchinsky Review by Lisa Schussler
This Japanese horror film is based on the manga, of the same name, created by Junji Ito. It's, literally and figuratively, a twisted tale of insanity and death.
4/11/06 AUTHOR Q&A: Christopher Golden Original Session: 3/7/06 to 3/13/06 Author Christopher Golden recently visited the ARWZ Community Forums to answer questions from fans and ARWZ readers in an Interactive Q&A.
4/6/06 REVIEW: Pavane by Keith Roberts Review by S.K. Slevinski In Pavane Keith Roberts tells an ambitious story about an alternate twentieth century, but it ultimately struck me as too ambitious.
4/4/06 REVIEW: The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay Review by Violet Kane In this novel, Kay takes readers into a Viking-like culture of his fant-historical world first created in Lions of Al-Rassan. It is his first foray out of Mediterranean-like cultures since the advent of his fant-historical work.
MARCH
3/30/06 REVIEW: Stage Beauty directed by Richard Eyre Review by S.K. Slevinski This film creates a fascinating world by speculating on eighteenth century English theatre culture, and creates intriguing characters in the processes.
3/28/06 AUTHOR Q&A: Tim Lebbon Original Session: 2/28/06 to 3/6/06 Author Tim Lebbon recently visited the ARWZ Community Forums to answer questions from fans and ARWZ readers in an Interactive Q&A.
3/23/06 REVIEW: Anubis Gates by Tim Powers Review by Violet Kane Tim Powers spins a humorous tale of time travel, sending his charactersand readersthrough the centuries, but the twists and turns often led me to question where I was heading.
3/21/06 REVIEW: Love Bites by James Newman and Donn Gash. Artwork by Alex McVey Review by Nickolas Cook Love Bites was released as a signed and numbered (250) limited edition chapbook from Nocturne Press. The story is short and to the point. The cover art, as is usual with the talented Alex McVey, is some great looking black and white work.
3/16/06 REVIEW: Medalon by Jennifer Fallon Review by S.K. Slevinski Fallon's Hythrun Chronicles gets off to a great start with Medalon. In many ways it is a classic fantasy, with centuries old sorcerers, newly awakened powers and a cast of quirky gods.
3/14/06 POETRY: The Waltz by David Poore Ever pounding, pounding, pounding / With the notes ever resounding / Flying faster, faster, faster / All inviting a disaster
3/9/06 REVIEW: Momento Mori by Angeline Hawkes-Craig Review by Lisa Schussler Angeline Hawkes-Craig's tales are littered with all manner of haunting images: crumbling castles, lovers returning from the dead, disease, violence.
3/7/06 REVIEW: Wildwood Road by Christopher Golden Review by Violet Kane Christopher Golden brings intrigue to old-fashioned horror by complementing the unknown with the eerily familiar.
3/1/06 REVIEW: Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler Review by Violet Kane This book is not particularly science fictionor any other genrebut rather a stunning example of true alternative reality literature.
FEBRUARY
2/28/06 INTERVIEW: Tim Lebbon & Christopher Golden Reprint Authors Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon met up recently and, over a few beers, chatted about their new novels out now from Bantam Spectra.
2/23/06 REVIEW: Changing Planes by Ursula K. LeGuin Review by S.K. Slevinski This collection is a subtle genre cross-over in which LeGuin creates and explores a series of alternative reality cultures, infusing them with the weight of social and political commentary readers expect of good science fiction, as well as an emphasis on cultural world-building one typically seeks through fantasy.
2/21/06 REVIEW: Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey Review by Violet Kane Anne McCaffrey's world of Pern comes to life in this fan favorite, but apart from the conceptunique at its inception in alternative reality fictionI found Dragonflight largely unremarkable.
2/16/06 REVIEW: The Hawk Eternal by David Gemmell Review by S.K. Slevinski The Hawk Eternal is a smart heroic fantasy that spices up its "battles and swords" action with the chaos of time travel and manipulation. I kept hoping to see his characters move beyond the standard, but I did not ultimately get the dimension I was looking for.
2/14/06 POETRY: The Clockwork Heart by Murray Graham Poor mechanical thing, no guilt I assign, / The blame to be had is entirely mine
2/9/06 REVIEW: Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay Review by Violet Kane While not my favorite of Guy Gavriel Kay's work, Song for Arbonne is still heads above the average fantasy novel.
2/7/06 REVIEW: Fantastic Worlds edited by Eric S. Rabkin Review by S.K. Slevinski The works anthologized in this volume represent a collection of stories from classic authors, diverse mythologies and more modern writers.
2/2/06 REVIEW: Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin Review by Violet Kane This book both fulfills expectations as one of the best reads in modern fantasy, and it promises juicy conflict and intrigue to come. While Martin fans may be frustrated by the absence of some characters, they will not be disappointed.
JANUARY
1/31/06 FICTION: 'Round About Midnight by Nickolas Cook Only one man could draw them together after the years had gotten in the way; after wives, kids and grandkids; too many days of quiet living. There wasn't but one man who could get Benny to come all the way across town, a man he loved and hated...
1/26/06 REVIEW: Blade of Tyshalle by Matthew Stover Review by Violet Kane Matthew Stover pens a multilayered tale of friendship and ugliness, hope and devolution. It is an intriguing intersection of alternative reality genres and themes.
1/24/06 REVIEW: Nocturnes by John Connolly Review by Lisa Schussler This collection of supernatural stories is a superb addition to the library of any horror fan. The stories within feature demons, lost children, heartbroken lovers, and monsters from the depths of the earth and the soul.
1/19/06 REVIEW: The Gilded Chain by David Duncan Review by Violet Kane Fantasy fans looking for a satisfying read, but not a multi-book epic commitment, will be pleased with this novel.
1/17/06 INTERVIEW: Part I: Kate Elliott Interview by S.K. Slevinski With the upcoming publication of her latest book, Crown of Stars, author Kate Elliott is poised to deliver on the promises of a decade of storytelling.
1/12/06 REVIEW: Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner Review by S.K. Slevinski Swordspoint is a fantasy about adult characters, an inexplicable rarity among fantasy novels. Fans on the lookout for subtle, character-based fantasy will be thrilled to have found this book.
1/10/06 REVIEW: Eye of the Labyrinth by Jennifer Fallon Review by Violet Kane No writer, that I have yet read, is doing as much to bolster the best trends in mainstream fantasy as Jennifer Fallon.
1/3/06 ARTICLE: Top Ten Speculative Fiction Novels of All Time Compiled by ARWZ Editors In our first Top Ten List Project undertaken since the founding of ARWZ Magazine, the results were unprecendented. ARWZ readers and associates nominated nearly two hundred of their favorite novels and trilogies.
DECEMBER
12/29/05 REVIEW: Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin Review by Violet Kane This sequel actually tops both of its predecessors. At a point where more epic fantasy series have crested the hill and have begun their descent, Martin wows audiences with a book beyond reader imaginations.
12/27/05 REVIEW: Corpse Bride directed by Tim Burton Review by Lisa Schussler Tim Burton has created yet another surreal world and populated it with his bizarrely loveable characters.
12/22/05 REVIEW: King Kong directed by Peter Jackson Review by Violet Kane This film is so diverse in its imagery and emotion, that I hardly believed I was watching the same film by the end of it. The mood and characters evolve in ways that transport the audience both visually and emotionally to the Empire State climax.
12/20/05 POETRY: Incantations by Stormm Calling that, which cannot be grasped, / As though we have only but to ask
12/15/05 REVIEW: Rusalka by C.J. Cherryh Review by S.K. Slevinski Cherryh's Rusalka is an engaging historical fantasy. Her research into Russian folk belief is accurate and richly woven into this tale.
12/13/05 REVIEW: Small Gods by Terry Pratchett Review by Violet Kane If you're looking for a breather after dire-fate sweeping epics, or if you're tired of fantasy that takes itself too seriously, Pratchett will be a welcome addition to your reading list.
12/8/05 ARTICLE: The Lineage of Convention in the Modern Fantasy Genre Article by S.K. Slevinski The very nature of "genre" implies that conventions will be used. The modern genre of fantasy is no exception. Tolkien hand-picked conventions from an existing body of world literature to use in his books. The ones he picked survived into the genre of fantasy we see today.
12/6/05 REVIEW: Lion of Senet by Jennifer Fallon Review by Violet Kane This book is a welcome addition to the modern fantasy scene. It picks up on many of the best trends in the current fantasy scene, and leaves out many of its worst.
12/1/05 REVIEW: Jaran by Kate Elliott Review by S.K. Slevinski With the opening book of her Jaran series, Kate Elliott shows her well-developed storytelling sensibilities in both science fiction and fantasy.
NOVEMBER
11/29/05 REVIEW: Mimus by Lilli Thal Review by Lisa Schussler If you're looking for a great medieval story that keeps you turning pages with lots of action, likeable characters, and a few laughs, Mimus is one to go for.
11/24/05 EDITORIAL: Can Fantasy Fiction be Adult Fiction? Editorial by Violet Kane I understand that the world needs its Harry Potters. But does this mean that fantasy must be relegated to readers in their formative years? That there is something inherently immature in fantasy fiction? That those of us who still read it are lagging behind? We haven't grown up in our reading tastes?
11/22/05 REVIEW: Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett Review by S.K. Slevinski The author masterfully weaves the lives of the characters at fictional Kingsbridge into the tides of history. He paints in exquisite detail the hardships and joys of the unforgiving medieval landscape. This is a novel about war, revenge, catastrophe and love.
11/17/05 REVIEW: Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger Review by Saundra Kane Anxiety and emotion send the hero of this book, Henry DeTamble, "time traveling"not into a new culture or past history, but the history of his own life.
11/15/05 REVIEW: Sarantine Mosaic by Guy Gavriel Kay Review by Violet Kane These two books are only the latest example of Kays unique and stunning skills as a storyteller. The Sarantine Mosaic is a wonderfully engaging duology and I cannot recommend it more highly.
11/10/05 POETRY: Hoping This Makes You Uncomfortable by David Poore Thinking outside the outside / When you're already outside the box / When there is no outside or box
11/8/05 REVIEW: Time's Arrow by Martin Amis Review by S.K. Slevinski Martin Amis tells the story of a seemingly ordinary man having common experiences, leading a seemingly ordinary life. But this is no ordinary biographic. The main character in Amis's novel lives life in reverse, from death to birth.
11/3/05 REVIEW: Byzantium by Stephen Lawhead Review by Violet Kane This book is a well-researched tour of Eastern Medieval Europe, and for that I would have to recommend it to fantasy readers looking for a change of venue from the typical Anglicized fantasy world. However, the book is not without its troubles.
11/1/05 REVIEW: Medieval Romances in translation Review by S.K. Slevinski This anthology is an excellent source book for modern fans of fantasy, who are interested to discover fantastical entertainments from an earlier era, to glimpse back into the historical roots of their favorite genre.
OCTOBER
10/27/05 EDITORIAL: What happened to The Matrix? Editorial by Will Turner The Matrix proved that a film could have both brains and brawn, a nutritious subtext combined with visual confectionary. So where did it all go wrong? How did such a fine work of balance lead to the lop-sided mess that followed? And more pertinently, what could have been done differently to salvage the soul of the first film?
10/25/05 REVIEW: Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay Review by Violet Kane Who can quibble with the genius of Kay? His characters are, no surprise, exquisite. His story is beautifully drawn with both heart and despair.
10/20/05 REVIEW: The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick Review by S.K. Slevinski In this novel, Philip K. Dick speculates: "what if" the Allies had lost World War II. An alliance of the Nazis and the Japanese now oversee government in what was the United States. The world of his characters is strangely familiar and normal, but for the jarring oddities of historical happenstance.
10/18/05 REVIEW: Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind Review by Violet Kane If you're looking for a page-turning, big magic fantasy, then Terry Goodkind's debut novel is right up your alley. Wizard's First Rule follows the story of an unassuming woodsman who finds the forces of good and evil thrust upon him.
10/13/05 EDITORIAL: What's so bad about e-books? Editorial by S.K. Slevinski Doesn't the human soul connect with the passion of a story so much more when curled up on the couch, book in hand, in front of the fire, on a chilly winter's eve? As it turns out, laptops and PDAs never object to a roaring hearth. Nor do they cease to function on a chilly winter's eve.
10/11/05 REVIEW: Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin Review by Violet Kane Martin proves that he is a modern master. Speculative fiction readers of all types will enjoy this series, and fantasy fans especially will delight in the novelty and fast-pace. The only readers who might not enjoy it are the faint of heart.
10/6/05 REVIEW: Deception Point by Dan Brown Review by Saundra Kane Was there ever life outside our planet? Dan Brown delivers another page turner, using a plausible premise of NASA finding proof that at one time life existed in outer space.
10/4/05 REVIEW: Ghostwritten by David Mitchell Review by S.K. Slevinski Ghostwritten taps into the themes and sensibilities that drive the cravings of speculative fiction readers. The great strength of this book is the vivid exploration of characters and cultures, the subtle and peculiar details that connect their lives.
9/27/05 EDITORIAL: Best of Times, Worst of Times Editorial by Will Turner Do the critics appreciate this year's speculative fiction films? Not a bit! They complainrather predictablythat Hollywood has run out of ideas and so many films this year were either sequels or remakes.
9/22/05 REVIEW: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin Review by S.K. Slevinski Old-fashioned utopian speculation mixes with solid prose and allegorical culture clash to create a classic of speculative literature.
9/20/05 REVIEW: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke Review by Saundra Kane This novel is the perfect book for long winter nights. It is a fantasy book that leaves you thinking: Did this really happen?
9/15/05 POETRY: The Temporary Mountain By Will Turner It was a pudding of mud / "No poetry here!"
9/13/05 REVIEW: Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey Review by Violet Kane Carey creates a world where Classical and Renaissance sensibilities mix, where orders of courtesans and warriors exist instead of monastic orders, where beauty is holy and where political treachery runs rampant.
9/8/05 REVIEW: Beowulf in prose translation Review by S.K. Slevinski Fans of old fashioned heroic fantasy in the vein of Tolkien will delight in this trip back into folkloric source material.
9/5/05 REVIEW: Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay Review by Violet Kane Lions combines the essence of traditional fantasy with a fresh cultural spin.
9/2/05 ARTICLE: Top Ten Fantasy Authors Publishing Today Reprint
To celebrate the advent of ARWZ Literary Zine, we have decided to reprint this list for new readers to appreciate (or argue with). Here you will find our list of the Top Ten Fantasy Authors Publishing Today, originally compiled in April 2001.
9/1/05 REVIEW: Book to Movie: Timeline by Michael Crichton Review by Eugene Neil
Fans of Michael Critchton should rest assured that the movie version has far less possibility of becoming a timeless science fiction classic than the literary work.
AUGUST
8/30/05 REVIEW: King's Dragon by Kate Elliott Review by S.K. Slevinski
Kate Elliott opens her Crown of Stars series with a richly developed fantasy world that will both satisfy and tantalize readers.
8/29/05 FROM THE EDITOR: Welcome to ARWZ Literary Zine Editorial by Violet Kane
ARWZ Literary Zine seeks to elevate ARWZ voices to a platform where they will have a greater say in the direction of speculative fiction.
8/26/05 REVIEW: Xena: Warrior Princess on DVD Review by Violet Kane
Fans of the Xena: Warrior Princess television show should expect the same quality from the DVD box sets as they do from the show itself: Generally good, with shining highlights, but far from perfect.
8/25/05 ARTICLE: Top Ten Speculative Fiction Authors of All Time Reprint
As many long time members will recall, back in 2001, ARWZ membership undertook the ambitious project of collectively compiling Top Ten lists of our favorite authors in speculative fiction.
8/22/05 REVIEW: Buffy the Vampire Slayer on DVD Review by Violet Kane
Buffy may be the only television series I would recommend buying, even if you've never seen it before. Since watching the DVDs, they have become the standard against which I measure all TV on DVD box sets.
8/22/05 REVIEW: Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin Review by Violet Kane
For those who have grown weary of multi-epic fantasy, George R.R. Martin has rescued the 800 page saga from its maligned status among fantasy connoisseurs! I do not exaggerate when I describe Game of Thrones as a modern classic.
The Alternative Reality Web Zine is an online literary magazine specializing in alternative reality fiction, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, historical and cross-genres. It was founded in association with ARWZ.com and the Alternative Reality Writers' Zone. This magazine seeks to highlight alternative reality fiction in all its genres and cross genres by featuring discussion and original writing of both established authors and upcoming writers. This magazine also strives to host thoughtful discussion of alternative reality literature in all its forms.
Call for Submissions!
We are currently seeking writers interested in contributing informational writing (articles, interviews, nonfiction essays), and opinion pieces (editorials, reviews). Please see our submission guidelines and how to pages for more information on what we're looking for in each of these types of submission. New content is published on a rolling basis.
Author: Violanthe
Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 12:55 pm
Look at the following cover. Imagine that you have only the cover and the information it provides (including images, title and author name) to decide whether to buy this (or any) book.
Would you buy this book having looked... read more
Author: SKS
Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 3:09 pm
Do you prefer stories that take place... in a city? In a rural area? On a beach? In a small town? In a foreign country? etc. etc? read more
Author: Violanthe
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 4:01 pm
Look at the following cover. Imagine that you have only the cover and the information it provides (including images, title and author name) to decide whether to buy this (or any) book.
Would you buy this book having looked... read more
Author: Violanthe
Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 4:20 pm
How much is too much for a book or DVD? How much will you pay for your favorite author or show? read more
Author: Violanthe
Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 4:17 pm
Look at the following cover. Imagine that you have only the cover and the information it provides (including images, title and author name) to decide whether to buy this (or any) book.
Would you buy this book having looked... read more
Author: Violanthe
Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 4:23 pm
Look at the following cover. Imagine that you have only the cover and the information it provides (including images, title and author name) to decide whether to buy this (or any) book.
Would you buy this book having looked... read more
Author: Violanthe
Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 3:29 pm
Have you read or watched anything lately that just didn't sit well with you? Something that bothered you or kept you thinking? read more
Author: Violanthe
Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 3:26 pm
Look at the following cover. Imagine that you have only the cover and the information it provides (including images, title and author name) to decide whether to buy this (or any) book.
Would you buy this book having looked... read more
Author: Violanthe
Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 12:59 pm
What book covers stick out in your mind? Do you have a favorite book from the past whose cover you found particularly striking? Do you remember first seeing the cover of a now-favorite book as you first glimpsed it in the... read more
Author: Violanthe
Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 12:57 pm
Look at the following cover. Imagine that you have only the cover and the information it provides (including images, title and author name) to decide whether to buy this (or any) book.
Would you buy this book having looked... read more
Author: Violanthe
Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 12:55 pm
Well, of course we are all bound to read more of authors who speak our own languages. It's harder to come across others who write in different languages simply because the middle man of translator is necessary. A book has to... read more
Author: Violanthe
Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 12:48 pm
I don't know if they're rare, because I see them a lot, especially in fantasy, but maybe done well they are rare. I don't know that first person is that common either, but rather third person limited. I've gotten some flak... read more
Author: Violanthe
Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 1:02 pm
Look at the following cover. Imagine that you have only the cover and the information it provides (including images, title and author name) to decide whether to buy this (or any) book.
Would you buy this book having looked... read more
Alternative Reality Web Zine: ISSN# 1559-3037
All materials on these pages (including fiction, poetry, essays, articles, interviews and opinion pieces) are copyrighted to the original authors and may not be reproduced without permission.
