I'm very familiar with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World, which has been adapted to film and television more than once. One of the most interesting characters in The Lost World is, of course, Professor Challenger, who leads a small expedition to South America in search of living dinosaurs.
What I was unaware of (or had completely forgotten) until I read this review of Science Fiction Classics Vol. 17) was that Doyle had featured Professor Challenger and news reporter Edward Malone in another story called "The Disintegration Machine".
Writer Michael May reveiws the latest in a series of graphic novel style adaptations of classic science fiction stories. The latest issue includes adaptations of works by Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and E.M. Forster to name just a few others besides Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself.
May's review is entertaining and compelling. I remember reading the old Classics Illustrated comics in the 1960s and 1970s and loving them. It's nice to see there is an equivalent series that treats modern science fiction and fantasy with a similar respect that was extended to the ancient stories that ignited children's imaginations when presented correctly.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
Showing posts with label scifi books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scifi books. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
CBC audience picks "Top Ten SF Authors"
It never fails to amaze me how well "old school" science fiction authors do in these surveys, but that does lead me to wonder who votes in the surveys.
CBC Books announced Top 10 Science Fiction Writers (as chosen by you) on October 1 and the top three writers were Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, and Robert Sawyer.
Unlike Herbert and Asimov, Sawyer is still very much among us and writing. Most of the writers in the list are dead. We'll probably see no more books from them, except the occasional posthumous publication of early works (such as Roger Zelazny and J.R.R. Tolkien.
On the one hand, I'm glad to see writers whose works I have enjoyed throughout my life remain popular, but I'm also very conscious of the fact that some generations hang on to habits that are not passed on to others. It would be nice to see one of these "top ten" surveys publish some demographic data.
An author's true impact can only be measured by the number of generations that admire his work. That is why William Shakespeare remains one of the top-selling and among the most admired of all authors in the English language -- there are people who truly appreciate his creativity and writing. His plays go on and on.
Some writers you would probably never read if you were not required to do so in high school and college. I would consider academic critical longevity to be both a sign of success and failure. It marks success because what you wrote rises above so many other potential works that could be used to teach literature. It marks failure if people only remember you because they had to read your books in high school or college.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
CBC Books announced Top 10 Science Fiction Writers (as chosen by you) on October 1 and the top three writers were Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, and Robert Sawyer.
Unlike Herbert and Asimov, Sawyer is still very much among us and writing. Most of the writers in the list are dead. We'll probably see no more books from them, except the occasional posthumous publication of early works (such as Roger Zelazny and J.R.R. Tolkien.
On the one hand, I'm glad to see writers whose works I have enjoyed throughout my life remain popular, but I'm also very conscious of the fact that some generations hang on to habits that are not passed on to others. It would be nice to see one of these "top ten" surveys publish some demographic data.
An author's true impact can only be measured by the number of generations that admire his work. That is why William Shakespeare remains one of the top-selling and among the most admired of all authors in the English language -- there are people who truly appreciate his creativity and writing. His plays go on and on.
Some writers you would probably never read if you were not required to do so in high school and college. I would consider academic critical longevity to be both a sign of success and failure. It marks success because what you wrote rises above so many other potential works that could be used to teach literature. It marks failure if people only remember you because they had to read your books in high school or college.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Borders launches science fiction blog
To help build its competitive position on the Internet, Borders has launched its own blog called Babel Clash (is the name inspired by Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy).
Booksellers are feeling the pinch of the recession, too. I know there are a few books I have put off purchasing even though I'm still employed. My secondary income has fallen off a bit in some areas.
Blogs are the new marketing tool de jeur -- meaning that any retailers who start up blogs in 2009 have been missing the boat for the past several years. Playing catchup at this late stage in the game is not easy.
Unfortunately, the early blog posts don't really impress me. They lack substance. It looks like Borders is trying to cash in on the Twitter phenomenon, but now that they have a real blog they should use it for real blogging. Leave the Tweeting to the Twits on Twitter who have nothing more to say about life in general than "Going to the supermarket for mushrooms".
You'll know that Kim Harrison (Borders' blogger) is doing it right when s/he puts at least five paragraphs into a blog post each day.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
Booksellers are feeling the pinch of the recession, too. I know there are a few books I have put off purchasing even though I'm still employed. My secondary income has fallen off a bit in some areas.
Blogs are the new marketing tool de jeur -- meaning that any retailers who start up blogs in 2009 have been missing the boat for the past several years. Playing catchup at this late stage in the game is not easy.
Unfortunately, the early blog posts don't really impress me. They lack substance. It looks like Borders is trying to cash in on the Twitter phenomenon, but now that they have a real blog they should use it for real blogging. Leave the Tweeting to the Twits on Twitter who have nothing more to say about life in general than "Going to the supermarket for mushrooms".
You'll know that Kim Harrison (Borders' blogger) is doing it right when s/he puts at least five paragraphs into a blog post each day.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Xenite adds new SciFi merchandise section
Thanks to Google discontinuing its AdSense Video Units, we needed to find another source of revenue to help manage our server costs. We've been participating in the Amazon affiliate program for several years but placing individual products across a large site or aggregating product links onto single pages is too time-consuming to be a worthwhile effort.
Amazon has now set up its AStore program that lets you create a dynamic store populated directly from their catalog. We've accordingly set up a Science Fiction & Fantasy Store for Xenite.Org and SF-Fandom visitors.
Although the main page covers all science fiction and fantasy topics for books, games, and movies, there are several dedicated sub-sections. We'll appreciate your helping out by making occasional purchases through the store. The Xenite.Org network is a non-profit/non-commercial fan site network.
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
Amazon has now set up its AStore program that lets you create a dynamic store populated directly from their catalog. We've accordingly set up a Science Fiction & Fantasy Store for Xenite.Org and SF-Fandom visitors.
Although the main page covers all science fiction and fantasy topics for books, games, and movies, there are several dedicated sub-sections. We'll appreciate your helping out by making occasional purchases through the store. The Xenite.Org network is a non-profit/non-commercial fan site network.
- SciFi Store
- Harry Potter Store
- Hobbit Store
- Pulp Science Fiction Store
- Legend of the Seeker Store
- Stargate Store
- Star Trek Store
- Star Wars Store
- Terminator Store
SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.
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