Genre Fiction

Blog Posts

Partial Book Review: Dangerous Games edited by Jonathan Oliver

/

(This is a partial review, as I did not read the entire anthology for Reasons*.) Dangerous Games, edited by Jonathan Oliver, is a 2014 horror and dark fantasy anthology whose stories are united by gaming. The games featured are pretty diverse; I initially thought (for some weird reason) it’d be all western gambling, which I find pretty boring, but not so much. There are games from all over the world, as well as several stories revolving around RPG’s (of course, silly me). I found three stories conceptually very interesting. “The Yellow Door” by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia is a Lovecraftian story. While it ended a little abruptly, it does what only great horror writers can do in rendering the completely innocuous — things you cannot fathom being creepy — frightening. In this case, it’s the generic westernized Chinese restaurant — and component parts thereof. This I found more interesting than the Cthulhian element, not being a Lovecraft person. Though I must say, shoggoth soup. Ahem.

Blog Posts

My Superpower: Nicholas Kaufmann (Die and Stay Dead)

/

My Superpower is a regular guest column on the Skiffy and Fanty blog where authors and creators tell us about one weird skill, neat trick, highly specialized cybernetic upgrade, or other superpower they have, and how it helped (or hindered!) their creative process as they built their project. Today we welcome Nicholas Kaufmann to talk about how the power of patience relates to Die and Stay Dead. It’s hard for me to pinpoint exactly which of my innate mutant abilities is my true superpower. Is it my unerring talent for arriving on the subway platform at the exact moment the train I need is pulling away? Is it my almost creepy aptitude in recalling all manner of trivia related to Doctor Who, the classic series? (Go on, ask me who knit the Fourth Doctor’s scarf, or why the Fifth Doctor keeps a stalk of celery on his lapel, or how Davros lost his only remaining functioning hand. I dare you. How many hours do you have?) Or perhaps my superpower is actually a curse in the form of a last name that is almost constantly misspelled, sometimes even in print by professional publications.

Blog Posts

Video Game Review: Civilization: Beyond Earth (2014)

/

At the end of all of the Civilization games, one of the classic winning endings is not to conquer the rest of the world or overawe the other civilizations with alliances and treaties; rather, it is to build a ship and send it to the stars. What would happen when that ship reaches its destination?  In the Mid 1990’s, Sid Meier, creator of the Civilization franchise, explored that in Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri, a turn-based strategy game with a transhumanist narrative, contacting and, in one of the win conditions, joining with Planet. It is probably the biggest budget videogame to ever explore transhumanism and science fiction, and one of the few to meld an external narrative into a strategy game. Now, Civilization: Beyond Earth treads into those waters again. Created by Firaxis, Beyond Earth takes the chassis of the Civilization V engine, with its one-unit-per-hex design, and transplants it onto an alien planet.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

248. Ernest Saves Christmas (1988) — A Holiday Special Torture Cinema “Adventure”

/

http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode248TortureCinemaMeetsErnestSavesChristmas/SandF%20–%20Episode%20248%20–%20Torture%20Cinema%20Meets%20Ernest%20Saves%20Christmas.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSBad driving, failed children’s television, and Varney, oh my!  Shaun, Julia, Mike, Rachael, Paul, and David join forces for this very special holiday edition of Torture Cinema, featuring the listener-selected flick, Ernest Saves Christmas (1988).  We watched it so you don’t have to suffer through it for Christmas (because you were totally going to do that, right?).  What more could you ask for? We hope you enjoy the episode, and have a great holiday, whatever you may celebrate! Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 24 — Download (MP3) Show Notes: Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)(IMDB) Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

247. On the Blogs — Bloggers Discuss Their Roles at LonCon3 w/ Foz Meadows, Patricia Ash, Liz de Jager, Shaun Duke, and Erin Underwood

/

http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode247OnTheBlogsBloggersDiscussTheirRolesAtLonCon3/SandF%20–%20Episode%20247%20–%20On%20the%20Blogs%20–%20Bloggers%20Discuss%20Their%20Roles%20at%20LonCon3.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSBooks, blogs, and weird emails, oh my! This recording from LonCon3 features Foz Meadows, Patricia Ash, Liz de Jager, Shaun Duke, and Erin Underwood talking about book blogs, YA, book promotion, and much more.  Though the panel was originally meant to focus entirely on YA book blogging, we took things in a more general direction. Here’s the panel description: Bloggers have become an integral part of YA book promotion. How do authors find these bloggers? Why should readers trust their opinions? What are the best book blogs out there right now and what makes them so useful? We hope you enjoy the episode! Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 247 — Download (MP3) Show Notes:. The Panelists: Foz Meadows Foz’ Twitter Erin Underwood Erin’s Twitter Liz de Jager Liz’s Twitter Patricia Ash Patricia’s Twitter Shaun Duke Shaun’s Twitter Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

246. Canadian SF at LonCon3 — #WorldSFTour

/

http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode246CanadianSFAtLonCon3/SandF%20–%20Episode%20246%20–%20Canadian%20SF%20at%20LonCon3.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSSpace hockey, Martian curling, and Quebec, oh my!  Recorded at LonCon3 / Worldcon, this panel on Canadian SF features the voices of Eric Choi, Kate Heartfield, Ira Nayman, Hayden Trenholm, Caitlin Sweet, and Marjolaine Lafreniere.  They tackle Canadian publishing, the history of Canadian SF, thematic differences, and more. We hope you enjoy the episode! Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 246 — Download (MP3) Show Notes:

Scroll to Top