A Little Bit Wicked
A “Wicked” Moment No, I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I have tickets. What I did have the privilege to watch was the stage play on the West End. Wicked has...
A Fun SF Thriller
Reviews: Absent Stars by Christopher Charlton and Disavowed by John E. Stith
Happy Thanksgiving
Thankful for life, health, and ponies. Don’t forget when Small Business Saturday shows up that most authors are small businesses! Buy a book. Ideally from...
Lifemate, Warlock, Really?
X-Men 5.1 “The Phalanx Covenant Part 1” I’d forgotten what Phalanx (and Warlock) look like. Let’s not get assimilated here. By the end of part one it’s...
Consent and Reader Buy-In
What’s your least favorite trope?Mine is “All a dream.” (And its variants “All a psychotic delusion,” “All a VR simulation”) When I was eleven years old, a...
I Want a Flying Saucer
Review: Parallax: Origin by Matt Conant and Lauren Cipollo Humanity has spread out to the stars. Finding only empty worlds with no complex life forms, they...
At Philcon
By the time you read this I’ll be at Philcon. A reminder of my schedule: Friday, 6pm - Climate Change Fiction vs Climate Change Reality Saturday, 11am -...
Don't Double Cross Magneto
X-Men 4.18 “Beyond Good And Evil Part 1” Uh oh. Pockylips has his hands on a time machine. And is lending it to Sinister. All kinds of bad things are bound...
Seeking America's Hidden Treasures
I love to travel. I’ve traveled to a number of National Parks, but here’s the thing? Everyone goes to National Parks. People have lists of them. People try...
Weird, Experimental...
Review: Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory by Yaroslav Barsukov Barsukov is an excellent writer, but I didn’t need this book. Why? His award-nominated novella...
I'm Not Here
This post is being queued because I’m attending my aunt’s wedding. In fact, this post will probably go out while we’re partying. Philcon is next week! I will...
An Old School Christmas Special...
X-Men 4.10 “One Man’s Worth” I’m still not a big fan of Great Man Theory…no matter who you apply it to. It’s not as bad in fiction. This episode is better...
Peddling Hope at the End of the World
I’ve had a few things said to me on social media that stick with me. Some of them are particularly entertaining insults. One such is the person who said...
Cute Dragons and...Conquistadors?
Review: Dragon Magic by Charles Townsend Charles Townsend is a stage magician and loves writing books in which stage magicians save the day. Dragon Magic is...
Heading Out Yet Again...
Be as resilient as these trees. I leave for the UK for my aunt’s wedding late on Tuesday. I’ll be back late the following Tuesday…then leave for Philcon on...
Time Travel is Fun
X-Men 3.15 “The Dark Phoenix, Part II: Inner Circle” The Circle Club? I get it, “Hellfire” is a more adult term. Wyngarde thinks he has Phoenix under...
The Center of America...
…a portajohn. It’s election day, and I’m going to try and post this early. I’m the tiniest fish in the pond, but everyone who knows me knows that I eschew...
Ukrainian SF and...Roma Eterna?
Two very different books this week. Don’t forget to vote! Review: The Factory by Ihor Mystak I don’t often review books by deceased authors. I prefer to...
Happy Halloween
A day late, I know. How about “Happy Discount Candy Day?” For once, the supermarket here didn’t actually dumpster all of the candy on November 1, although...
The Phoenix is Here
X-Men 3.3 “The Phoenix Saga Part 1 – Sacrifice” Honestly, there’s a part of me that’s done with the Phoenix Saga, but I’ve never watched this version, so I’m...