Order [book in series=yearoffirstbook.book# (eg 2014.01), stand-alone or one-author collection=3333.pubyear, multi-author anthology=5555.pubyear, SFM/MM=5000, interview=1111]: 1988

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A Different Flesh: Thoughtful stories about humanity

A Different Flesh by Harry Turtledove A Different Flesh (1988), by Harry Turtledove, is a thoughtful collection of linked stories set in an alternate America which was inhabited by a hairy upright-walking sub-human species (homo erectus) when European settlers arrived. The settlers call them “sims.” The earliest story is set in 1610 and the last […]

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Unicorn Mountain: Moving, heartfelt fiction

Unicorn Mountain by Michael Bishop When I lived in Prague, I couldn’t help but admire the Czechs and their respect for the written word. Riding the subway I saw many people who had taken the time to make a brown paper cover for their literary investment. While reading Michael Bishop’s Unicorn Mountain (1988), I considered doing […]

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Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore

Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986) and Batman: Year One (1988) completely reinvented the caped crusader as a dark and conflicted figure. This time, it was Alan Moore’s turn to reinvent Batman’s greatest rival, that homicidal madman The Joker. Batman: The Killing Joke (1988) tells its […]

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Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels, 1946-1987: Introduces many lesser-known fantasy works

Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels, 1946-1987 by David Pringle Note: You may also be interested in Stuart’s reviews of: Science Fiction: The 101 Best Novels, 1985-2010. Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels, 1949-1984. Following on the success of 1985’s Science Fiction: 100 Best Novels, An English-Language Selection, 1949-1984, it made sense that David Pringle […]

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V for Vendetta by Alan Moore

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore For those who claim that comics lack sufficient depth and complexity, fans generally recommend Alan Moore’s Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell, Frank Miller’s DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and SIN CITY series, and Neil Gaiman’s SANDMAN series. These are considered “gateway” titles likely to convince skeptics that comics (often […]

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Memories of the Space Age: Autopsy of a lost dream

Memories of the Space Age by J.G. Ballard Memories of the Space Age (1988) is a limited edition hardcover published by small press Arkham House, with a gorgeous cover of Max Ernst’s ‘Europe After the Rain’ that captures the hallucinatory, decayed imagery of J.G. Ballard’s collection. It contains eight stories written between 1962 and 1985, […]

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Empire Dreams: An excellent sampler of Ian McDonald’s work

Empire Dreams by Ian McDonald Over the past few months I’ve read seven novels by Ian McDonald and have appreciated his thoughtful and beautifully written stories. I admired all of them, even those that I didn’t particularly like. McDonald’s stories are unique, many have exotic settings you can get immersed in, and most have fascinating […]

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Travels: A journey abroad, within, and on the astral plane

Travels by Michael Crichton When Travels begins, Crichton is a student at Harvard Medical School, sawing into cadavers with his peers. He nearly faints at the sight of blood, but he is a talented and diligent student. Crichton shares the objections and concerns that would ultimately drive him from medicine, a decision perhaps made easier […]

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Islands in the Net: SF political thriller

Islands in the Net by Bruce Sterling Love him or hate him, Bruce Sterling is one of the most intriguing voices in science fiction. A successful writer of fiction and non-fiction, and a speaker of the most unique and presumptuous nature, his words carry regarding the future of technology and society. At base a humanist, […]

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Zodiac: The Eco Thriller: An accomplished blueprint

Zodiac: The Eco Thriller by Neal Stephenson Sangamon Taylor is a professional asshole, he is known as the granola James Bond, and he knows how to use your child’s aquarium to filter PCBs from his body. Zodiac: The Eco Thriller is Neal Stephenson’s second novel as well as a clear blueprint for its successor, the […]

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Schrödinger’s Kitten: Hugo and Nebula winning story

Schrödinger’s Kitten by George Alec Effinger Jehan is a pretty 12-year-old Islamic girl who sees visions of her own possible futures. These visions suggest that she will be raped in an alley, disowned by her fundamentalist Muslim father, and forced to live as a whore until she dies. Or she could kill her potential rapist […]

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The Last of the Winnebagos: Hugo and Nebula Award winning novella

The Last of the Winnebagos by Connie Willis After a virus has killed all of the dogs on Earth, the Humane Society (“The Society”) has been given the power to prosecute and punish anyone who, even accidentally, harms an animal. The government has started putting walls around highways, tracking vehicles with videocameras, and banning recreational […]

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The Paladin: Oriental fantasy

The Paladin by C.J. Cherryh The Paladin is a stand-alone novel set in the China of an alternative world. It’s more of an alternative history than a fantasy — there are no mythical creatures or magic here, although superstitions of both remain. The story falls into two parts. In the first, a stubborn girl seeking […]

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The Good Fairies of New York

The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar Martin Millar’s writing is consistently funny and entertaining. And while The Good Fairies of New York is upbeat and comedic, it also has a layer of tragedy that the author manages to juggle and incorporate seamlessly. The pace is quick and precise so that by the […]

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Through a Brazen Mirror: A bittersweet gem of fantasy

Through a Brazen Mirror by Delia Sherman Through a Brazen Mirror is the sort of book that deserves a wider audience than it’s gotten so far. The author is a lesbian, and the book contains a gay character. Since mainstream publishers are still a little squeamish about such things, this book gets the label “Queer […]

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We have reviewed 8041 fantasy, science fiction, and horror books, audiobooks, magazines, comics, and films.

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