He, She and It by Marge Piercy
He, She and It by Marge Piercy is my all-time favorite science fiction novel. Though Marge Piercy is not considered a science fiction author, this work is clearly one of science fiction, particularly in the sub-genre of cyberpunk as it was shaped by William Gibson and other writers classified as “cyberpunk.” Piercy, after writing Woman On the Edge of Time, was told that parts of that novel anticipated cyberpunk; when Piercy asked what cyberpunk was,
May 27th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Marge Piercy | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 8 comments |
The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg Volume One: To Be Continued 1953-1958 by Robert Silverberg
Though To Be Continued: 1953-1958 is the first official volume of the definitive collection of Robert Silverberg’s short stories, it should be read after In the Beginning: Tales from the Pulp Era (1955-1959), a collection of short stories that overlaps with To Be Continued only in terms of chronology: There are absolutely no stories duplicated in the two volumes, and in To Be Continued,
May 24th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Robert Silverberg | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Batman/Superman (Vol. 1): Cross World (New 52) by Greg Pak
Greg Pak’s Batman/Superman: Cross World is one of the better books in the DC New 52: This first collection of monthly issues tells the story of a young Batman and Superman meeting an older Batman and Superman from an alternate reality. Best of all for fans of Jack Kirby is that the storyline features Darkseid, the late Kirby’s great villain (who also inspired Jim Starlin’s Thanos, the evil Marvel character who will soon start making appearances in the Marvel films).
May 23rd, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Aquaman (Vol. 4): Death of a King (The New 52) by Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns, perhaps best known for his incredible nine-year run on Green Lantern, has written another winner with Aquaman: Death of a King. The company-wide reboot of all DC titles is known as the New 52, and it’s had a lukewarm reception, to put it mildly. Post-reboot, only a handful of titles have been considered exceptional, including two by Geoff Johns: His start to Aquaman and his conclusion to Green Lantern (which ended in volume three of the Green Lantern New 52 trade collections).
May 22nd, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4 | Geoff Johns | Comics | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
In the Beginning: Tales from the Pulp Era by Robert Silverberg
I’ve been enjoying reading Silverberg’s early story collections lately, and I particularly enjoy that he, like his friend Harlan Ellison in his story collections, includes not only an autobiographical introduction to the book, but also memoir pieces before every story. As a result, his collections become two books in one: part short story collection and part portrait of the artist.To be honest, I think I like both parts equally.
In the Beginning: Tales from the Pulp Era consists of sixteen stories written from 1955 to 1959.
May 19th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4 | Robert Silverberg | Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Green Lantern Vol. 4: Dark Days (The New 52) by Robert Venditti
Venditti has one of the most difficult jobs a writer can get in writing monthly comics: Taking over a title that has just finished a long successful run by another author. Green Lantern was written by Geoff Johns from 2004-2013. And, though I’ve never been a huge Green Lantern fan, I read that series because Johns is a great writer. Because of Johns, I know enough about Green Lantern’s character to be interested in what he’s up to now,
May 16th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 3 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Seraph of the End (Vol 1): Vampire Reign by Takaya Kagami
Seraph of the End is an exciting shonen manga with some creepy post-apocalyptic elements combined with the vampire genre. This is the third vampire book I’ve reviewed in the past few weeks, and I’ve never been drawn to vampire stories to begin with. I do enjoy many vampire stories — from Dracula to a few by Rice, and I love Buffy — but I don’t actively seek them out.
May 16th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 3.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Vampire Knight (Vol. 1) by Matsuri Hino (art and story)
Vampire Knight has a great premise for a manga story that would appeal to most fans of Vampire love stories; however, the writing is clearly aimed at tween and young teenage girls (shojo). The story is in the boarding-school genre, and this particular boarding school runs day and night. The daytime students are your typical students, but the mysterious headmaster has added a night class of beautiful, brilliant students of whom the day students are in awe.
May 7th, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 3 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Understanding Categories of Manga: From Shojo to Gekiga
If you are new to Manga, you might want to know a few key terms used to describe it. These terms are well-known to fans of manga, and as I’ve come to understand the way manga is categorized in Japan, I’ve learned much about the publication side of the business as it shapes what an author is expected to do: If an author writes for a shojo magazine, s/he will have to follow certain expectations that fit that demographic.
May 6th, 2014. Brad Hawley | Comics, Reading Comics | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Night Wanderer by Drew Hayden Taylor (text), Michael Wyatt (illustrations), and Alison Kooistra (adaptation)
This graphic novel The Night Wanderer is an adaptation by Alison Kooistra of Drew Hayden Taylor’s novel The Night Wanderer: A Native Gothic Novel. Since it’s a vampire novel — a genre of which I’ve about had my fill — I almost passed it by. But I was very interested in the Native American angle. I’m glad I picked this up — the book is only using the vampire genre to tell a Native American tale and make us look at an all-too-familiar tale in a new light.
May 2nd, 2014. Brad Hawley´s rating: 3.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
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