|
July
2003 Offworld Report
SFF imprint Earthlight is axed, John Jarrold angrily speaks out
on this, Richard E Grant becomes the new Dr Who, why Clarion matters,
Eric Van Lustbader is interviewed, and a fab review of POD-based SFF
fiction (hint, it's really, really bad).
 All
the choice news, articles and comment that is - somewhat - fit to
print which appeared offworld the 'Nest last month.
PICK OF THE MONTH
My
Week as a PoD Person
Print on Demand, or POD, has been touted as a technology to liberate
SFF authors from the yoke of the publishing house oppressors. But
what kind of quality do you get in POD works of science fiction
and fantasy? This fascinating article trawls various small-press
and self-published works, and finds - largely - a stink-bag of complete
pants … along with a few jewels in the rough.
WEIRD SCIENCE & REAL SCIENCE
Them
Cogs of Precognition
This European Space Agency report looks at the most promising investments
for future technology, based on a studied wish-list borrowed from
diverse arts. Their methodology led to them cobbling together more
than two hundred technical dossiers about what might be 'the next
big thing'
Droids
Don't Bite
Not all droids are Terminator-class menaces to humanity. ArtBots,
a robot talent show, shows children the cuddly side of bots.
Super
Powers To Go
The real science behind fictional super powers such as regeneration,
teleportation and weather control.
Behind
the Pentaquark
A new type of subatomic particle has been discovered with far-reaching
consequences for mankind's understanding of matter-level science.
The
Time Travel Manual
Time Travel in your basement? All you need is an understanding of
theoretical physics, control of the space- time continuum and a
bit of cosmic string.
US
Goes Hypersonic
The United States is planning to build an unmanned hypersonic bomber
capable of striking any target in the world within two hours.
Floating
High on Antigravity
The antigravity devices called lifters have no moving parts, no
fuel and no shortage of hobbyist experimenters - even inside NASA.
Hulk
Think
Wil McCarthy looks up the science behind the Marvel Comics' green
machine in his piece entitled The Mathematics of Hulk.
Nasa
Strato-Plane Bombs Out
The prototype solar plane intended for use as a cheap terrestrial
satellite system is destroyed in an accident in the Pacific.
Snap.
The Alien Solar System Similar to Sol
British scientists find a star with a planet in the same orbit as
Jupiter - and this Jupiter-like planet is the key to allowing ET
life to develop.
Fly
Me to The Stars
Oh dear, will we ever have the power systems necessary to reach
deep space?
INTERVIEWS
Carol
Berg Interviewed
Fantasy author CB chats about her splendid Rai-kirah saga.
Eric
Van Lustbader Interviewed
The fantasy author behind the Pearl Saga, Eric Van Lustbader, is
interviewed.
That
Caulfield Lass
Emma Caulfield, alias Anya in Buffy, puts the fans in a tizzy with
her plans to quit her role as everyone's favourite vengeance demon.
She chats about this and her new movie, Darkness Falls.
A
Devil of a Time
David Boreanaz talks about a new meaner Angel in the Buffy spin-off
TV series.
Jon
Courtenay Grimwood Interviewed
The creative talent behind El Isk talks about SF's Arabesk series
of novels.
The
Great Garland
Alex Garland interviewed - he's the screenwriting brains behind
28 Days Later, don't you know.
Ian
R. Macleod Interviewed
The author of The Great Wheel and The Light Ages comes clean about
his work and life.
Mostow
on Mostow
The director of T3: Rise of the Machines, Jonathan Mostow, chats
about life with Arnie.
Hulking
Large
Somewhat famous Hollywood powerhouse Ang Lee chats about bring the
big green thing to the silver screen.
Chelsea
Quinn Yarbro Has a Quick Bite
The author behind the vampire hero Saint-Germain talks about writing
horror.
GAMES
Used
Droid Going Cheap
Money and artifacts from the Star Wars Galaxies game are turning
up on auction sites for real money barely a month after it opened
its virtual doors.
Beam
Them Out Now
Activision wants to burn its contract to churn out video games based
on Star Trek. The games house claims Viacom has allowed Trek's franchise
to rot, ruining the gaming license's value.
The
Force Isn't With Them
Would-be Jedi knights and Ewoks have been forced to wait to discover
their destiny in the online Star Wars Galaxies game as glitches
strike.
The
Hidden Life of Dungeons and Dragons
A new book presents a behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of
game culture, through the eyes of one of its leading fans no less.
Gamers
Not Nerds - True
According to a survey, most gamers are not nerdy antisocial chaps;
apparently the lovely ladies also like to play games.
Doomed
Raider
The new Lara Croft video game comes in for a lot of stick from fans
and critics.
Women;
The Secret Market
With the gaming audience equally divided between men and women,
why aren't programmers going after the female market?
Magic
Online Bulks Up
The publisher of the world's favorite collectible fantasy card game
creates an online counterpart - including real-world prices for
digital objects - and is greeted by howls of laughter. One year
on, Wizards of the Coast is coining it in grinning all the way to
the bank.
LITERATURE
Reaching
for The Stars
Fantasy is stealing the market from the more traditional science
fiction genre, but it's still a tough solar system out there for
S&S authors.
Gemstar
Bins its eBook
Gemstar eBook - alias ex-Nuvomedia - has sadly stopped making all
of its eBook reading devices and halted eBook novel sales after
racking up even more losses.
A
Life in SF Reading
Revisiting one of science fiction's more neglected heroes.
Booker
Winner Disses Potter
Booker winner AS Byatt claims Harry Potter is written for people
whose imaginations are "confined to soaps, reality TV and gossip".
Potter-Mania
Sweeps World
The waiting is finally finished for the thousands of fans who lined
up all over the world to snap up the fifth and latest book in J.K.
Rowling's Harry Potter series.
Pakistan
Pirates Hit Harry Potter
Pirated versions of the latest Harry Potter book appear on sale
in Pakistan - outselling JK Rowling's official version.
NEWS
The
Extermination of Earthlight
Simon & Schuster shockingly axes their fantasy and science fiction
imprint Earthlight.
John
Jarrold on Earthlight Elimination
The ex-head and founder of Earthlight sends an angry and righteous
rocket towards the corporate assassins of Earthlight.
Grant
takes on DR Who role
The ninth incarnation of DR Who is to be played by the ever-disheveled
British actor Richard E Grant, according to the BBC.
Museum
Reveal Rings Secrets
Lord of The Rings fans get to explore the sorcery behind the movies
SFX at a London museum.
Why
Clarion Matters
Many angry messages have been sent to Michigan State University
to support restoring funding to the Clarion Writer's Workshop. But
the MSU administration stays silent.
Harry
Potter Home for Sale
Harry Potter fans will have to save if they want to buy the latest
piece of Potter memorabilia.
Harry's
The Man
Hollywood honors legendary SFX artist Ray Harryhausen.
Science
Fiction's Biggest Fan Passes Away
Jason, who recently died at age 86, was ten years old when Edgar
Rice Burroughs' Mastermind of Mars, printed in the Amazing Stories
Annual of 1927, caught his imagination.
TRAILER TRASH
Freddy
vs Jason
League
of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Terminator
3
The
Hulk
Elf
28
Days Later
Sinbad
- Legend Of The Seven Seas
Tombraider:
The Cradle of Life
The
Punisher
CONS
The
12th Annual Anime Expo
Japanese animation used to be big in the USA. But where does it
go next?
COMICS
Coloring
In Comics
WASP super-heroes still rule the gene, but characters of other colors
– and not just goblin green - are now pulling on their underwear
outside their clothes.
Marvel
Make Money
The Hulk becomes the latest Marvel Comics character to hit the big
screen, following in the lucrative of footsteps of Spider-Man, X-Men
and Daredevil.
Diana
Becomes Super Hero
Diana, Princess of Wales is to be reincarnated as a mutant cartoon
hero in a title from Marvel Comics.
The
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Reviews of The Absolute Edition of TLEG By Alan Moore and Kevin
O'Neill, as well as Top 10: Book Two.
Lalumière
On Ellis
Among others, Lalumière reviews graphic novels by Ellis,
Robertson, Milligan and Ewins.
AWARDS
Sturgeon
2003
This year's Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award finalists are released.
Locus
Awards '03
The latest Locus Awards - given to winners in Locus Magazine's annual
poll - get trotted out at Westercon in SeaTac, Washington.
MOVIES AND MEDIA
The
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
TLEG assembles a splendid team of heroes to battle a plan for world
domination, and then, just when it seems about to become a real
corker of an adventure movie, plunges into incomprehensible action
and idiotic dialogue.
Tron
Gets An Upgrade
Twenty years of SFX innovation after Tron was first released, fans
of the SF cult movie will soon be back in the film's futuristic
bike race - this time on a computer screen.
Flawed
Pirates Still Swashbuckling Fun
Johnny Depp stars in Pirates of the Caribbean, a film based on a
ride of the same name at a Disneyland theme park.
The
Cyborg Who ... Governed Me?
In what may be the oddest political campaign kick-off in history,
Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as a pensionable robot in Terminator
3.
SF
Tales – Game Stylee
Three-dimensional games are usually associated with Quake, but the
underlying technology lends itself to telling tales too - and a
new genre of animated movies, called machinima, has grown up to
exploit it.
Westfahl
on Terminator
Gary Westfahl looks at Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Metal
Guru
The New Yorker also looks at Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
Terminator
3 - Space Opera?
In the dawning days of science fiction, there was a chasm between
the concept-oriented authors and those who churned out space opera.
The
Terminator at 55
The machines-crushes-humanity franchise sadly starts to show its
age.
Looking
Back in Anger
Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later comes under the microscope.
Tarantino
Movie Sliced and Diced
Quentin Tarantino's new fantasy martial arts movie Kill Bill is
to be divided into two films. The movie, with Uma Thurman as a kick-ass
female assassin, is being released as two separate 90-minute movies
after the first take came in at over three hours.
Hulk
Breaks Blockbuster Mould
Why old Ang Lee's Hulk is nothing like other super hero movies such
as Spider-Man, Batman or Daredevil.
Sinbad
Hears Linux's Siren
Animators worrying about how to create SFX for Sinbad: Legend of
the Seven Seas got a surprise hand from Linux. The new DreamWorks
movie is the first created entirely using the open-source operating
system.
 What
do you think of POD SF? Post Here.
|
