Reactor reviews Suzan Palumbo’s newest, a space-opera retelling of The County of Monte Cristo. Sign me up.
And enjoy their review of an upcoming Netflix “Sci-fi movie with jokes,” It’s What’s Inside.
In honor of the anniversary of Star Trek: The Original Show (in Canada, where it aired first) Chris Barkley shares his 15 favorite episodes. How do they match up with yours?
Next year’s WorldCon, in Seattle, Washington, USA, will feature a film festival. Thanks to File 770 for this item.
September 11th, 2024. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | 4 comments |
Fledgling (2019), the second book in Molly Harper‘s SORCERY AND SOCIETY series, picks up where Changeling left off, following Sarah Smith (posing as Cassandra Reed) as she endeavors to learn magic and navigate elite society at Miss Castwell’s Institute for the Magical Instruction of Young Ladies while keeping her identify as a former housemaid secret. If you haven’t read Changeling yet, you’ll want to do that first.
Sarah is feeling more comfortable with her magical abilities and her social situation.
September 10th, 2024. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Molly Harper | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
I really wish I hadn’t seen all the hype around Katherine Rundell’s Impossible Creatures — the Waterstones Prize, the comparisons to C.S. Lewis, Philip Pullman, Rowling, and Tolkien, the sales numbers off the charts. That way I could have come to the book clean of expectations, even though I (as one should) took all such comparisons with heaping bucketfuls of salt, if not entire mines’ worth. Unfortunately, I did see all those comparisons, and so despite all that salt, I couldn’t help but be disappointed by what in the end turned out to be a perfectly serviceable MG fantasy,
September 9th, 2024. Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Katherine Rundell | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
In this column, I feature comic book reviews written by my students at Oxford College of Emory University. Oxford College is a small liberal arts school just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. I challenge students to read and interpret comics because I believe sequential art and visual literacy are essential parts of education at any level (see my Manifesto!). I post the best of my students’ reviews in this column. Today, I am proud to present a review by Stephanie Kola-Ogunbule.
Stephanie Kola-Ogunbule is a first-year student at Oxford College and is considering majoring in Business Analytics or International Business Her home is Atlanta,
September 7th, 2024. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Glorious Pool by Thorne Smith
In Ron Howard’s 1985 film Cocoon, a group of seniors becomes rejuvenated as a result of taking a dip in a swimming pool whose waters had been infused with “life force” by some extraterrestrial visitors. But as it turns out, this was not the first time that some aged adults had discovered a Fountain of Youth of sorts in such a place. Thus, over half a century earlier, we find a similar setup – although with a completely different explanation – in Thorne Smith’s remarkably madcap fantasy The Glorious Pool.
September 6th, 2024. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 3.5 | Thorne Smith | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
It’s the first Thursday of the month. Time to report!
What’s the best book you read in August 2024 and why did you love it?
It doesn’t have to be a newly published book, or even SFF, or even fiction. We just want to share some great reading material.
Feel free to post a full review of the book here, or a link to the review on your blog, or just write a few sentences about why you thought it was awesome.
And don’t forget that we always have plenty more reading recommendations on our 5-Star SFF page.
September 5th, 2024. FanLit | Giveaway! | 9 comments |
File 770 shares the latest AI kerfuffle, as NaNoWriMo’s steering organization made an unpopular statement about use of AI in its Annual November write-a-thon. Their awkwardly worded statement implies seems to imply that disabled people couldn’t complete a book without AI help. You can imagine how well this went over. It’s Item 1.
SFWA had a series of resignations and vacancies that came to a head last month. Jason Sanford covered it here on his Patreon. File 770 provides some updates. It looks like the organization is fundamentally sound and taking the right steps to correct the problems.
September 4th, 2024. Marion Deeds | World Wide Wednesday | no comments |
Darkwater Hall by Catherine Fisher
I must have read this book for the first time over twenty years ago, and though I had forgotten the title, author and much of the story, a few little details stuck with me: the evocative atmosphere it conjured, the central premise that concerned a young girl striking a deal with the devil, and something about a stairwell that ran up and down time.
Then, one day while perusing the library catalogue in search of another book entirely, the cover art for Darkwater Hall (2011) stirred something in my memory.
September 3rd, 2024. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4.5 | Catherine Fisher | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
It's hardly a private conversation, Becky. You're welcome to add your 2 cents anytime!
If the state of the arts puzzles you, and you wonder why so many novels are "retellings" and formulaic rework,…
I picked my copy up last week and I can't wait to finish my current book and get started! I…
Gentlemen, I concur! (Forgive me for jumping into your convo)
The cover is amazing. I love how the graphic novel (and the review!) hewed close to the theme of "good…