Challenges

The 2016 Sci-Fi Experience

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2016scifiexp
(Art by Chris Goff, used with permission.)

“I had the ambition to not only go farther than man had gone before, but to go as far as it was possible to go.”

— Captain Cook

Though the good Captain was unlikely to be contemplating space travel when (if) he said those words, they reverberate in my head to the orchestral notes of the Star Trek opening theme and those famous words, “Space: The final frontier…”

Though few of us have, or ever will, physically leave the confines of our beloved Earth, we have the privilege of being able to sail the heavens upon the words of writers and poets through the simple act of reading. We can visit other galaxies and other times through acting and special effects via big and small screens. We can immerse ourselves in imagined Earth futures or on alien worlds through our consoles and computers with the latest generation of video games. We can lose ourselves to daydreams, drawn into the world of imagination through the digital and traditional tools of artists who create science fictional works of art.

For several years now I have been celebrating the start of a new year by hosting The Sci-Fi Experience. The hope has always been to encourage others to venture into the fiction that I consider my first love: science fiction. As the years have progressed I have added science fiction viewing and gaming to the event and, beginning last year, changed the format to encompass the last month of the year as well as the first month of the new year.

The 2016 Sci-Fi Experience begins December 1st and runs through January 31st, 2016.

Shall we boldly go?

Continue reading The 2016 Sci-Fi Experience →

Film

The Expanse, Pilot Episode

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expansecast

For those of you familiar with the Expanse series by authors Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham (writing under the name James S.A. Corey), the long-awaited television adaptation is about to get underway in earnest on the SyFy Network. To whet the appetites of potential viewers, and to build buzz among those of us who have read at least the first novel, Leviathan Wakes, the initial episode has been released online. You can watch it via Youtube, with the link/video posted below.

My non-spoiler thoughts:

I thought they did a great job staying faithful to open chapters of the novel. I liked the special effects well enough and feel that the set and ship design we’ve seen thus far fit well with my mental images conjured while reading the novel. I’m reserving judgment on the casting choices simply because we don’t really get a great deal of time with the cast in just this one episode. I did picture Holden older, though.

I’ve read other non-spoiler reviews which follow a similar theme in that a person familiar with the book watched it with someone unfamiliar and the person who hadn’t read the book felt it was a bit confusing getting up to speed. I did the same thing, watching it with Mary, and while she certainly sees that to some degree, she wasn’t overly confused.

I don’t have cable/dish, so I’m not sure that I’ll be able to keep up with the show as it airs, but I’m tempted at this point to either subscribe to streaming or to pay for each individual episode if they end up available on Amazon Prime. We’ll see how it goes. Thus far, I’m in.

If you’ve seen the episode, or watch it soon, feel free to engage in a more spoiler-filled discussion in the comments. Please head each of those comments with the SPOILER tag.

Art/Photography, Book Reviews, Comics, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Spectrum 22

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Spectrum22book1

One of my favorite things to do as the year comes to a close is to get together with my friend, Jeff Smith, to pour over the latest volume of Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, page by glorious page. A few weeks ago I came home to find a package at my door, Spectrum 22, the sophomore edition with John Fleskes at the helm. Looking at the gorgeous cover by Bastien Lecouffe Deharme, it was difficult to set it aside and not sneak a peek. Yet I persevered, resisting the book’s siren call, so that we could experience it together today.

It was well worth the wait. I’ve seen improvements in Spectrum each year. John Fleskes put his own personal touches on the book last year, and he improved upon those in his second year, giving fans of fantastic art a book with tremendous variety while remaining consistent in presenting the very best that the world of Fantastic Art has to offer.

If you don’t own a copy, make sure you get this one on your Christmas list.

Continue reading Spectrum 22 →

Book Reviews, Mystery, Science Fiction

Made to Kill ~Adam Christopher

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madetokillcover

In his latest release from Tor Books, author Adam Christopher offers us his answer to the question, “What if Raymond Chandler had written a science fiction novel?”.

The year is 1965, and Raymond Electromatic is the last of the robots, and a unique one at that. Raymond was brought into existence just as the United States Department of Robotic Labor scratched the program amid widespread distrust and dissatisfaction with robotics. The door to Ray’s office advertises: RAYMOND ELECTROMATIC, Licensed Private Detective, but for a long while now he has been in the assassination business, sent on assignment by Ada, the independent supercomputer who makes up the bulk of his office space.

So when an attractive woman walks into his office without an appointment, Raymond assumes she is there to engage him in his former occupation. Though his inclination is to send her on her way, a bag of untraceable gold bars arrests his attention. That attention is piqued when she not only asks him to find a missing man…but also to kill him.

Continue reading Made to Kill ~Adam Christopher →

Home

Hello October

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October-Scholarships-2014
(Image Credit)

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”

― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Hard as it is to believe, October has arrived!

My favorite quarter of the year has begun. I love the this time of year, as the Earth (where I live) slowly drifts off to sleep. We get all those great Autumnal color changes as Winter slowly approaches. We get to celebrate all the fun holidays–Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years–and somewhere in the midst of that I turn another year older.

So I welcome October with a hearty “Hello!”. It should be a fun month. I think I’ll kick it off with a reading of Neil Gaiman’s short story “October in the Chair” tonight. It seems fitting. And the fun will continue with a weekend viewing of the film adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel, The Martian, which took science fiction fans and non-science fiction readers by storm after its release.

My hope is that the month will be filled with some classic scary reading and viewing (time to get out the Vincent Price DVD’s), with pumpkin-flavored and pumpkin-themed eats and drinks, with bonfires and s’mores and with making memories with friends old and new.

What about you? How do you plan to revel in the month of October?

Eclectic Musings of a Renaissance Geek