The SF Site: The Best in Science Fiction and Fantasy

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Since July 1997, SF Site has posted a new issue twice per month. Regrettably, and until furthernotice, the posting of regular twice-monthly issues will be suspended, although we will continueto post reviews, columns and interviews from time to time.Over the past few years, revenues from advertising have dropped off, while at the same time postalcosts have risen significantly. As a result, our cash reserves were depleted until expensesbegan to come out of pocket.Unfortunately, we are now at a point where we cannot afford to continue this. Nevertheless,we will maintain the web site and the server, and we will continue to post material as it comesour way -- just not as twice-monthly issues, as we have done in the past. In Memoriam: 2015 a memorial by Steven H Silver Science fiction fans have always had a respect and understanding for the history of the genre. Unfortunately, science fiction has achieved such an age that each year sees our ranks diminished. Deaths in 2015 included Alice K. Turner, Leonard Nimoy, Tanith Lee, Jon Arfstrom, George Clayton Johnson, Suzette Haden Elgin, Sir Terry Pratchett, Christopher Lee and Peter Dickinson. The Blood Red City by Justin Richards reviewed by Nathan Brazil This is the second novel in the author's Never War sequence, and as might be expected, picks up almost where the first book ended. Ambitiously, the action aliens and Nazis sprawl across the USA, Germany, the Greek island of Crete, occupied France, Stalin's Russia, and good old Blighty. Once again it's a hell-for-leather scramble between those loyal to the Third Reich or the Allies, with the alien Vril following their own agenda and playing both sides against the middle. By Force of Arms by William C. Dietz reviewed by Sandra Scholes In the latest volume in the Legion of the Damned series, Booly comes back from the brink of what could have been disgrace as a hero to his men who risked their lives for freedom. Now Naa Commandos are set to protect him, yet assassins come to try and take over their encampment. The author fleshes out the characters and their lives, their doubts, loves and hopes. Booly's rescue mission to get back Maylo gives us an idea of what kind of man he is, and what others think about him. The Dark Arts of Blood by Freda Warrington reviewed by Sandra Scholes This story is separated into two parts with several smaller chapters that create an epic feel about it. These vampires seem more sophisticated than, say, the ones from a Stephen King novel. Their settings are bourgeois in their development and the characters never lose their edge. While the previous three novels have set the scene and developed the characters, this, the latest in the series, has a twist in the tale of which Sandra is very fond ever since reading Roald Dahl's deliciously disturbing stories. Of Bone and Thunder by Chris Evans reviewed by Sandra Scholes Every day the men of Red Shield have to face the Collective as they need to keep the Kingdom enemy free in Luitox. Here while they play the waiting game for their enemy to approach, we hear the war from several viewpoints during the story and many of the accounts aren't what the Kingdom's rulers might expect. The men are tired, hurt, stressed-out and at times bored out of their brains, and who can blame them? Their enemy is sneaky, dangerous and worthy of being feared as they never show themselves if they can help it, and they aren't the sort of enemy who fights en masse. The Oversight by Charlie Fletcher reviewed by Nathan Brazil This is the tale the last Hand; five people with supra-natural abilities, keeping the Law and Lore in an alternate Dickensian London. The Oversight was established to police and maintain the borders between the world of men and the darkly magical Sluagh. For many years an uneasy balance was achieved, mostly by mutual adherence to the rules that govern what is permitted from both sides. Then came the Disaster. A Conversation With Rick Riordan An interview with Steven H Silver On merging Greek and Egyptian mythology: " It wasn't too difficult [to merge Greek and Egyptian mythology] because historically the Greeks and the Egyptians were merging their mythologies for centuries, that's the Ptolomaic dynasty, that's what it was all about. So that really was my stepping point: Ptolomy and when the Greeks took over Egypt, how they, in fact, tried to merge the mythologies, so that was kind of my stepping off point." Galaxy's Edge #9 reviewed by Sandra Scholes The magazine is now considered an official SFWA-approved market and selling paper subscriptions. Mike Resnick always has his own topics he can discuss in his "The Editor's Word" slot and this time around it's about science fiction fandom, claiming his own fandom as 'oldphart' who has collected all the information needed to pass onto the next generation of fans so they have a clearer idea of the fandom. Andromeda's War by William C. Dietz reviewed by Sandra Scholes Andromeda might have had chance to get over what had happened to her family over a year ago, but she missed her chance to kill the cruel and evil ruler, Ophelia. And now that her uncle has been killed in a government raid on Earth, she realises she is the only surviving heir and, as such, is the only one who can kill the empress and overthrow all the damage she has done. Six-Guns Straight From Hell 2 by David B. Riley reviewed by Sandra Scholes The days of straightforward Western stories have evolved from the Louis L'Amour's of yesterday to be considered Western horror, strange Western and even crossover stories, but one thing we can be sure of, they are well written. Edited, yet again by David B. Riley, this second offering takes the Western story to a whole new level with a haunted house, ghost hunter, vampires and gunfights -- every western story needs gunfights. Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions for a Better Future edited by Ed Finn and Kathryn Cramer reviewed by Dave Truesdale We see that the bright flame for forward-thinking, optimistic projects geared to providing a better future for mankind in the mid-term forseeable future -- though perhaps dimmed, if current genre trends are any reliable metric -- has not died, but has been faithfully preserved and given new life by current spokesman Neal Stephenson. Indeed, it is Stephenson who is largely, if not solely, responsible for Project Hieroglyph, from which this original anthology of 17 stories (two reprints) is the result. Asbury Park by Rob Scott reviewed by Katherine Petersen This sequel to 15 Miles, takes a good thing and makes it better. A mixture of horror, fantasy and thriller, it proves that the total is usually better than the sum of its parts. After working a double murder in a remote Virginian farmhouse, Sailor Doyle was called a hero and lauded for his bravery. So when he goes to a beach house on the New Jersey shore where he grew up to recuperate from his leg and shoulder injuries and try to repair his broken marriage, he wants to keep a low profile. Andromeda's Choice by William C. Dietz reviewed by Sandra Scholes The second in the series, Andromeda McKee (Cat Carletto) has been given the Imperial Order of Merit, and as such she has to come back to Earth if she wants the award. As the story from Andromeda's Fall has already been a very strong one about her life so far and all the crises and horrors in it, this novel builds upon the character development we originally saw. While the first novel had her caught unawares with the death of her family, this novel finds her at her most mature ready to fight for what she believes in, despite all the odds being stacked against her. Resistance by Samit Basu reviewed by Sandra Scholes How can you not like a novel that stars out with a monster in Tokyo that rightfully Godzilla should sort out? Here passengers of a flight from London to Delhi have developed super powers, and eleven years after, the world is awash with them. What it would be like if we had developed any ability we wanted and had the choice to use it for good or evil? But what if you had that choice, used it and others paid the ultimate price for the good guys and bad guys with super powers? Ghosts of Manhattan by George Mann reviewed by Sandra Scholes What if history as we know it had been different? In 1926 New York City, it's the time of the roaring twenties where coal run cars and zeppelins and biplanes watch over the citizens of the city. America is at war with the British Empire, yet in Manhattan the police are faced with a mafia so strong they can't hope to win against them. Only one man, a lone vigilante can try to break their morale and he is called the Ghost. Sherlock Holmes: The Spirit Box by George Mann reviewed by Sandra Scholes Holmes is bored. A knock at the door brings him out of his troubles when a young man delivers a message from Mycroft Holmes about three deaths he believes are inexplicably linked. The deaths are of Captain John Cummins, a British Army officer who urged surrender before tossing himself into a tiger enclosure at London Zoo, a suffragette, Mary Temple, who threw herself under an Underground train and MP Herbert Grange who worked at the War Office and once gave a pro-German speech before hurling himself into the Thames. The Paradox by Charlie Fletcher reviewed by Nathan Brazil The Paradox is a direct continuation of the story begun in The Oversight. It's always a difficult balancing act, out on the high wire between the beginning of a tale and its end, but in this respect the author is a man without fear. Principally because what was set up in book one achieved a combination of momentum and magnitude bursting with possibilities. What gives this sequence its edge is a one-two punch that blends concept and characterisation within a wholly convincing world. A place that might be, in some half-familiar elsewhere. Weirder Shadows Over Innsmouth edited by Stephen Jones reviewed by Sandra Scholes Shadows Over Innsmouth was a well-received anthology of works by popular modern horror authors who write their own tales based around H.P. Lovecraft's world of strange creatures who serve Cthulhu. The first anthology was so popular it spawned another, Weird Shadows Over Innsmouth and this third one has some of the most inspired writers of today; Kim Newman, Brian Lumley, Reggie Oliver, Ramsay Campbell, Michael Marshall Smith and Angela Slatter. Harrison Squared by Daryl Gregory reviewed by Sandra Scholes Harrison is a teenage boy with a fear of the ocean since he was a young boy after a sailing accident marked the loss of his beloved father. He is classed as a "sensitive" who can feel the pull of the spiritual world. He and his mother go to a place that might sound familiar to most Lovercraft fans, Dunnsmouth (Innsmouth) the sort of town where the people who live there are the sort you don't want to mess with, or integrate with as they aren't exactly normal. Dave Vs. the Monsters: Emergence by John Birmingham reviewed by Sandra Scholes In the same vein as comedy horror movie Shaun of the Dead, the book tells of an oil rig that drills far too deep and unearths a volatile mix of monsters who want to ravage the human world. For a while, a barrier has been held between this world and theirs most of the time, but not anymore. Our hero is Dave Hooper whose life is anything but great. He has an evil ex-wife and other worries that keep him on the bottle, so little does he know that he, the heavy drinking, hard partying guy with an extra bad hangover from hell, is the only human who can save mankind from this new threat. The Alienated Critic a column by D. Douglas Fratz D. Douglas Fratz has some thoughts on several recent Gene Wolfe books (a singular treasure for science fiction and fantasy) and he continues his reviews of books on the creation of superhero comics looking at some of the Stan Lee non-fiction titles. Like many others, he has some commentary on the latest Hugo Award Nominations released earielr in 2015. By Blood Alone by William C. Dietz reviewed by Sandra Scholes As Captain Pardo is facing a court martial, he has only one chance to come through without embarrassment; Colonel Bill Booly. The problem is that his commanding officer, General Loy is adamant he change his testimony. Loy wants Bill to let him off even though he deserves to be punished, feeling that if he is sent down, then it would affect the whole legion. Bill knows there is some corruption going on up the ranks and wants nothing to do with it, but not changing his testimony could provide him with wider reaching implications. Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch reviewed by Nathan Brazil In the fifth novel featuring Peter Grant who, for the uninitiated, is a trainee wizard, and police constable in a special unit consisting of two full time staff, we find him out of London this time around. Seconded to help with an investigation into the mysterious, and possibly magical disappearance of two young girls, Grant tests his magical and mundane skills in the countryside. All the action takes place in and around a rural village policed by the West Mercia force, and containing the usual suspects. Nothing to see here, move along. Lowball: Wild Cards #22 edited by George R.R. Martin and Melinda Snodgrass reviewed by Nathan Brazil Wild Cards, for those coming to this series via the editor's more celebrated works, is the longest running shared world superhero series, in book form. It has its own counterfactual history, some gritty and great characters, and decades of stories written in a mosaic form. This approach has allowed many talented writers to mingle their literary blood since the mid-80s. Over the years there have been changes of publisher, but the song remained the same. Until more recent times. Galaxy's Edge #10 reviewed by Sandra Scholes So far the issues up to this one have had some major talent within the pages, this time around sci-fi great Larry Niven author of Red Tide with Brad R. Torgerson and Matthew J.Harrington has his Draco Tavern story, Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint, Tobias S.Buckell and Robert J. Sawyer all have their part to play in entertaining readers with their tales, but one special feature and an interview with world-famous Hugo award winner and Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin. Invisible Children's Book Instruction Manual by Nicholas Alan Tillemans reviewed by Sandra Scholes The author has spent a lot of time honing his horror talent with his collections of short stories, now he has given readers a chance to see what he can do other than his brand of hard-core horror. For those who have liked and enjoyed it, it's fine, but for those who wanted to see a different side to the family man, he has provided it in a concise and fun way that puts the fun into fantasy. An English Ghost Story by Kim Newman reviewed by Sandra Scholes Steven and Kirsty Naremore go house hunting in the hopes of getting away from their troubles and start anew with their son and daughter, Tim and Jordan. The home they first viewed was a run-down overgrown place they considered a 'long shot.' It is the one place they might never think of buying as it would take a lot of renovation. Jordan doesn't like it or the site it is on, comparing it to being: "like an extermination camp for cows." Legion of the Damned by William C. Dietz reviewed by Sandra Scholes In the future criminals and the terminally ill all have two choices, be executed or join up for the Legion of the Damned. These fighters are cyborgs soldiers and humans who have had their bodies changed, and their minds put into huge war machines that will fight off the enemy. This is the first in the series that mixes military science fiction and adventure. It is this series which, incidentally, started the Andromeda prequel series of novels. A Conversation With Jim Burns An interview with Sandra Scholes On the covers for A Song of Ice and Fire: "I did create all four of the covers for the very first editions of the series A Song of Ice and Fire of which A Game of Thrones is Volume 1. This was in the U.K. in the late 90s. They were heavily worked pieces with lots of bonkers detail and real wood veneers. I almost had a nervous breakdown over those! I didn't work directly with George on these. Although I did know him slightly." The Art of Jim Burns: Hyperluminal by Jim Burns reviewed by Sandra Scholes Science fiction and fantasy artist, Jim Burns has won three Hugo awards, being the only non-American artist to have ever won it as well as winning more British Science Fiction Awards than any other artist. He has become a national treasure with his lifelike depictions of aliens and other far off worlds. Since he was a child, Burns had a deep interest in the fantastic. Being a pilot in the RAF might have meant he had to abandon his art from an early time, but he wanted his hobby to be his career too much and, after a few years of getting noticed, it did. Afterparty by Daryl Gregory reviewed by Sandra Scholes Take a pill. Get a god. If only it was as easy as it sounds. Lyda Rose, one of four neuroscientists has helped create Numinous, a brand new drug designed to treat schizophrenia. With a couple of quotes from T.H. Huxley and the Bible, the idea of the story is realised -- can one take a pill and get a god? Or does the user instead get a second voice inside their heads that seems, to the individual, to be telling them to do things that might be out of character. When a girl who is part of a new church is taken into a detention cell after being arrested, she despairs without the drug and kills herself. Fear City by F. Paul Wilson reviewed by Dave Truesdale The author takes us back to the eleven days prior to the first World Trade Center bombing in February of 1993 and reveals how Jack's sometimes nefarious and questionable friends inadvertently draw him into a harrowing and deadly adventure as the authorities, a "black ops" character, and Jack must thwart the real life terrorists (and the shadowy, well-connected uber-group of terrorist planners known as the Septimus Order who manipulate the actual terrorists for their own ends).

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