Iain M. Banks : Use of Weapons : Amazing Ending, slow start September 13, 2009
Posted by showmescifi in scifi.Tags: Culture, Iain M. Banks, science fiction, scifi, Use of Weapons, Zakalwe
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This is the second Ian M. Banks Culture novel we’ve read (the first was Consider Phelebas) and no it’s not as good as the first.
That’s not to say this isn’t a good book – but you just need a whole lot more patience.
Use of Weapons is all about a Culture agent known as Zalkawe who is used by the Culture to help influence events. The way the book is written is that there is a long of time jumping back an forth, some of it broken up nicely by different chapter number but not always.
At one point, we actually were ready to give up on this book, since it was so over-written and difficult to follow.
But this book does deliver at the end with a tremendously shocking conclusion that really was a surprise. Though this book was often plodding and dull the surprise ending really does help to make up for the slow start.
If this had been the first Banks book that we had ever read, there is little doubt that it would be our last. But the Culture is a cool idea and Consider Phelbas was such a brilliant novel that we just want to find more of the same.
This book could have been much better if it cut out 100 pages of wasted space and nonsense. It could have been better if the time jumping was more clear.
It is however a very deep and involving character driven story with (like we said) a fantastic ending that is amazing.
Iain M. Banks : Consider Phelbas : Review: AWESOME September 9, 2009
Posted by showmescifi in scifi.Tags: Consider Phelbas, Culture, Horza, Ian M. Banks, science fiction, scifi
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While I read a lot of science fiction, somehow I had never read Iain M. Banks.
I know, I know i’m a frakking nugget.
So over the summer I picked up Banks’ first SciFi novel (and first Culture novel) Consider Phelbas.
What an incredible ride. Sure there is the larger setting space opera stuff that is the Culture – which is cool
But it’s the story itself, Horza the Changer, the minds, the Idirans that plot twists and the incredible scenes that make this book one of my top three all time scifi novels.
The destruction of the Vavatch orbital with the Damage Game – wow. That could’ve been a book on its own.
The final battle in the caves of the dead world was such a page turner that i read for 10 hours straight till the end.
The end, well it seemed sudden and shocking to me in a way. I didn’t want this book to end.
While epilogues and appendices are usually items that are supplementary, in this case they are part of the story and are the true ending.
Yes this was my first Banks novel, my first culture novel, but it won’t be the last.
Star Wars Clone Wars Season 2 starts Friday, Oct. 2 – Return of the Mandalorians September 8, 2009
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Don’t know about you but we miss Clone Wars and can’t wait for season two to start.
We’ll all have to wait until Friday Oct 2nd though.
It looks like this year will mark the return of the Bounty Hunters, and in particular Mandalorian bounty hunters (not just Fett either).
If you’re looking for Star Wars The Clone Wars: The Complete Season One (TV Series)
In the meantime, how about a nice little Season Two trailer to keep you interested?
Defying Gravity – Episode 7 – Fear – FEARFULY BAD, Slow, painful and still no Beta September 8, 2009
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From the ‘wtf is going on files:
We’ve watched 7 episode of Defying Gravity and we still don’t know what’s going on.
The last two episodes (6 & 7) could easily have been merged into one episode, but instead we’ve got this long drawn out piece of crap.
This show started off with a cool premise, and just like Antares itself, this show is going nowhere fast.
How many shows can you have about the same hallucination issue?
Where/what is Beta? We still don’t know and at this point I’m not sure if we care anymore either. At this stage it’s unlikely this show will last until the end of the year before ABC pulls the plug on this disaster.
The Terminators – the worst ‘Terminator’ movie EVER August 14, 2009
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Sure Terminator 3 sucked – and yes Terminator Salvation sucked too – and yeaaah Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles sucked too..
Not of those SUCK arse shows/movies SUCK as bad as The Terminators
This is a straight to DVD release by a bunch of knock-off copyright scam artists –
So no even though you might think that this movie is somehow related to Skynet and John Connor – it’s actually not..though there are some obvious visual and plot resemblances.
SyFy Video – Stargate Universe – Stepping Through the Gate August 13, 2009
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New footage from the first episode of Stargate Universe – AIR – and some thoughts from the cast.
Rly cool stuff – we can hardly wait for this show to be on already!
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V – Returns to TV on Nov 3 with Firefly’s courtesan August 12, 2009
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V is coming to ABC on Nov 3, 2009 and we’re excited as FRAK to see it.
Will this be a re-imagined masterpiece like Battlestar Galactica?
That’s what we all hope for isn’t it?
Star Wars Dark Times : Blue Harvest – Why the delay Dark Horse?? August 12, 2009
Posted by showmescifi in scifi.Tags: blue harvest, comics, Dark Horse, Dark Times, Doug Wheatley, Star Wars
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Dark Horse sure knows how to kill a great comic. Star Wars Dark Times – Blue Harvest first was published in April and there isn’t a second issue until August!!!
I just picked up issue O of Blue Harvest – it just came out – four months after the first issue!!! What the FRAK is the point Dark Horse? Why do you treat your loyal readers with such contempt?
Dark Horse’s moronic publishing schedule aside – Dark Times Blue Harvest is awesome. The art from Doug Wheatley is second to none – the man is the best Star Wars artist working today.
The story – fantastic!! That’s why we want more!! That’s why we want it monthly!!
Superman World Of New Krypton #6 (of 12) August 11, 2009
Posted by showmescifi in scifi.Tags: comics, DC, DC comics, general zod, New Krypton, superman, world of new krypton
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Superman New Krypton is a great series and this issue finally puts Kal-El – commander El in his rightful place.
With Zod shot, Commander-El now runs the military!
But the dude that shot Zod ran to Earth..and so now for the first time in months..Superman is coming back to Action Comics and Superman (finally!).
And he’s putting the suit back on – and not the military guild suit either.
This series has taken a real interesting twist with Zod…after all Zod is supposed to be the bad guy right? But he’s not really the bad guy in this series (at least for the most part).
2009 Hugo Award Winners Announced August 10, 2009
Posted by showmescifi in scifi.Tags: Hugo awards, science fiction, sciencefiction, scifi, WorldCon
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Over the weekend the Hugo Awards were given out at the 2009 Worldcon conference in Montreal.
The Hugo Award was named in honor of Hugo Gernsback, “The Father of Magazine Science Fiction,”. The award is is given annually by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon)
The Hugo Award, first presented in 1953, celebrate the best in the field of science fiction and fantasy. Recipients are chosen by members of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS).
And the winners are:
Best Novel
* The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK)Best Novella
* “The Erdmann Nexus” by Nancy Kress (Asimov’s Oct/Nov 2008)Best Novelette
* “Shoggoths in Bloom” by Elizabeth Bear (Asimov’s Mar 2008)Best Short Story
* “Exhalation” by Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)Best Related Book
*Your Hate Mail Will be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998–2008 by John Scalzi (Subterranean Press)Best Graphic Story
* Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones Written by Kaja & Phil Foglio, art by Phil Foglio, colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
* WALL-E Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter, story; Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, screenplay; Andrew Stanton, director (Pixar/Walt Disney)Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
* Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog Joss Whedon, & Zack Whedon, & Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen , writers; Joss Whedon, director (Mutant Enemy)Best Editor, Short Form
* Ellen DatlowBest Editor, Long Form
* David G. HartwellBest Professional Artist
* Donato GiancolaBest Semiprozine
* Weird Tales edited by Ann VanderMeer & Stephen H. SegalBest Fanzine
* Electric Velocipede edited by John KlimaBest Fan Writer
* Cheryl MorganBest Fan Artist
* Frank WuThe John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
* David Anthony Durham*
Defying Gravity S01E03 Threshold – This show is starting to SUCK August 10, 2009
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The first post-pilot episode (technically episode 3)of Defying Gravity was on Sunday night..and it wasn’t half as good as the pilot.
Instead of telling us who/what Beta is – barely a mention – we get a long drawn out sloooooooooow episode.
Yes the whole bit about libido suppression was interesting – and the halo was an interesting twist –
This show isn’t about action – it’s about human interactions – as we learn to love/like/hate the characters that will be worthwhile – but at this early point – it’s just too early. The show is too slow.
Let’s hope the next episode has more plot development to make us like this show the way we did the pilot.
If you missed the episode – Threshold
Is Rocket Robin Hood headed to the big screen? August 7, 2009
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A lot of buz today on the SciFi scene about a new Science Fiction version of Robin Hood heading for the big screen.
Could it be Rocket Robin Hood?!!!
Rocket Robin Hood is a cult classic late 60′ cartoon – cheesy and campish. But it’s classic and it’s awesome. As a kid, me an my friends would sing the theme song…
“Come gather around me. Space travelers surround me. Hark now to the ballad of Rocket Robin Hood. I may well confound you, astound you, spellbound you, with heroes and villains, the bad and the good. Watch now as our rockets race here from afar. For now, with our Robin, we live on a star. Three. Two. One. Blast off! Band of brothers, marching together. Heads held high in all kinds of weather. With fiery blasts, our roaring rockets rise, beyond the Earth, beyond the skies! At the side of Robin, take your stand, with the gallant leader of our band. Send a joyous shout throughout the land! For Rocket Robin Hood!”
Donate to Strange Horizons – Support Science Fiction! August 6, 2009
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We’re fans of Strange Horizons here at ShowMeSciFi.com – it has had consistently good science fiction content – and it’s free!
But Strange Horizons needs our help – they’re doing some fund raising now to help keep the site and its online science fiction publications going.
Our little experiment has been more successful than we could ever have expected. We’ve published exciting new material every week since September 2000, and the material in our archives includes fiction from popular authors such as Jo Walton, Elizabeth Bear, Tim Pratt, Sandra McDonald, Jay Lake, and John Scalzi. Stories and poems from Strange Horizons have been reprinted in major anthologies and been shortlisted for major awards, but even after all of that success, we haven’t lost our focus on encouraging new authors. This year alone, we’ve published half a dozen stories from authors who had submitted to us for the first time!
As successful as we’ve been, we still need your help to keep our magazine going. Strange Horizons relies on donations from readers in order to stay in business. We’re trying to raise $7000 in the month of August, and we’re hoping that you, Dear Reader, will help us reach that goal.
You can donate by clicking HERE (redirect to Strange Horizons donate page)
Where SciFi Writers Write – yeaah they’re a bit cluttered. But Piers Anthony isn’t too bad August 5, 2009
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Awesome site called WhereIWrite.org has an amazing collection of pictures of the ‘offices’ of some famous (living) scifi authors.
Here’s one of my fav authors – Piers Anthony – and his office is one of the most orderly in the whole set.
Syfy Video – Stargate Universe – Stepping Through the Gate August 3, 2009
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Defying Gravity – who is Beta? August 3, 2009
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We’re going to make an early prediction – Defying Gravity- the new ABC sciFi show is going to make it.
The pilot episode(s) were exceptionally well written with awesome pacing and the right mix of flashbacks, forward movement and plot conspiracies.
The biggest mystery now is – who or what is Beta? and where is Antares actually going? It isn’t just on its way to Venus now is it?
Clearly Beta is some kind of sentient alien presence and it’s got some kind of payload on Antares itself (in pod 54). What that payload is – we don’t know, but I suspect it’s something that is so dangerous that it’s unlikely that the crew of Antares will ever make it back to earth.
If you missed the episode on Sunday night – Amazon has got both parts of the pilot avail online now (for Free!). Pilot – Part 2
Chad Vader Season 2 Episode 6 – Chad gets LIbby July 24, 2009
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Finally! another Chad Vader Season 2 episode.
This one isn’t terribly funny but it’s still good fun and is clearly the setup for Chad’s removal from Empire Markets
Stargate Universe Comic-Con trailer – Stargate turns into Star Trek Voyager July 24, 2009
Posted by showmescifi in scifi.Tags: Sci Fi, science fiction, scifi, sgu, stargate, stargate universe, SyFy
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A new trailer for Stargate Universe is now out ..this one showing us the basics of the story that we haven’t seen before.
The Earthers are on Icarus base – sounds like a beta site idea – and they fall under attack – jump through an open gate and end up on an ancient ship 7 billion light years from Earth.
Sound like they ended up in the Delta Quadrant..
anyways a cool trailer to watch and we can hardly wait until the series is finally on – WE NEED OUR STARGATE FIX!!
TR2N Tron Legacy Trailer is now avail! Same as TR2N just clearer July 24, 2009
Posted by showmescifi in scifi.Tags: Jeff Bridges, Kevin Flynn, science fiction, scifi, TR2N, Tron, Tron Legacy
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Remember that grainy footage we had when TR2N has its first trailer?
Disney is now out with a nice clean version for Tron Legacy – mostly the same, just clearer – still SWEEEET to watch.
TR2N becomes Tron Legacy. WTF? TR2N was cool! July 23, 2009
Posted by showmescifi in scifi.Tags: Kevin Flynn, science fiction, scifi, TR2N, Tron, Tron Legacy
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Yeaah we’re pumped for Tron 2..we sure have waited long enough.
Last year they were going to call it TR2N which was one of the coolest names for a flick ever.
Now the Mickey Mousketeers and Disney have butchered that and are now calling the moving Tron Legacy.
Isn’t that a little lame?
Early footage looks awesome though – as soon as we can find a public link to post we will!
Principal photography apparently has already wrapped up and we shouldn’t expect to the movie until 2011.
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