Science Fiction

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Book Review: Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan

Everyone has heard of Ia Cocha. The Rogue of the Fringe, The Sovereign of Dead Space, The Blood Wolf of the Skies; Ia goes by many names and is always a thorn in the side of the Olympus Commonwealth. The popular comic books paint Ia as a buff, white man. No one is expecting a scrappy Asian girl. The Uranium War finished a bit over a year ago and Ia has been on the run. Unfortunately, the Commonwealth has finally caught up with her. Captured by General Adams, she is given a heart implant to keep her in line, then taken to Aphelion—the Commonwealth’s premier academy for the Royal Star Force. Ia might have been a thorn in the side of the Commonwealth, but no one can deny she has skills, and General Adams hopes to find a way to make use of them in his favour. Ia knows that’s never going to happen. She bides her time while she waits for her brother to rescue her, attending Aphelion’s classes and gathering as much information on the secret facility as she can.

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Book Review: Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne Valente’s Space Opera combines a love of popular music, Eurovision and a space science fiction sensibility in the grand tradition set by novels like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes were once THE punk band in music. But a death, a breakup, a failed career as a soloist, and Decibel Jones’ post Absolute Zero career is in the toilet. Pity that now that the aliens have arrived, Decibel Jones is the last hope for humanity. The aliens have a test, you see, to determine if a species is worthy of joining the galactic family, or should be blasted into oblivion—whether they can perform decently at the Metagalactic Grand Prix, a song and performance contest that the galactic civilizations put on every year as a way to channel energies that once caused the galaxy to erupt in interstellar war.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show Podcasts

352. Lynne Thomas, Michael Damian Thomas, and Matt Peters — Uncanny Magazine (Year Five)(An Interview)

https://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode352UncannyMagazineYear5WithMichaelLynneAndMatt/Sandf-Episode352-UncannyMagazineYear5WithMichaelLynneAndMatt.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSBelly-dancing wookies, pancakes, and multimedia cooperatives, oh my! The Thomas’ are back on Skiffy and Fanty to share their year five kickstarter with Paul and Trish! They brought with them Matt Peters, who, along with the fabulous Michi Trota, is hoping that you support Uncanny Magazine so that the world can enjoy their new venture, Uncanny TV! These three Uncanny guests share with us all the amazing things that Uncanny is doing now, what they hope to do in year 5, what wrestling has to do with recognizing a great story, and so much more! Plus, they just won a friggin’ Hugo Award (congrats, y’all). For the third time. So you know they’re legit! We hope you enjoy the episode!

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Book Review: A Study in Honor by Claire O’Dell

An Americanized retelling of the classic Sherlock Holmes story, set in a future with advanced tech, disastrous civil war, and a diverse main cast, A Study in Honor creates a unique drama that twists the original overdone story into something new.  With the leading characters transformed by sex and skin color, O’Dell puts a spin on your typical Sherlock and Watson partnership, and pulls you into a world of intrigue.   Dr. Janet Watson is fresh off the front lines of war, with a clumsy mechanical prosthesis that is too big for the delicate surgeon work she does best.  With few prospects, and only one friend in D.C., Watson must make the best of a difficult situation. She gets a job, starts therapy, finds a flat and an accompanying flatmate—Sara Holmes, who is secretive, attractive, and, most of all, maddening.  Just when everything has seemingly settled, one of Watson’s patients dies suddenly, and then her friend, another doctor on the front lines, dies as well. This sends Watson and Holmes on the path of a secret investigation, a military mission gone horribly wrong, and several more mysterious deaths.  But what awaits them on the other end of their investigation could get them both killed if they’re not careful.

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Book Review: Applied Ballardianism: Memoir from a Parallel Universe, by Simon Sellars

“In another life, I might have joined a radical church, a star cult. In this one, I attempted a PhD.” To engage thoughtfully with the work and life of science fiction*-and-literary-and-postmodernist author J.G. Ballard is, perhaps, to risk transforming oneself into a J.G. Ballard protagonist who must struggle through a J.G. Ballard world without the benefit of J.G. Ballard constructing the plot of his or her trajectory. Such is the lesson of Applied Ballardism: Memoir from a Parallel Universe, Simon Sellars’ much-anticipated exploration of how a greatly admired author can colonize a person’s imagination to an extent that borders on the dangerous.

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Short Fiction Review: July 2018 – Dinosaurs!

Rejoice! It is a summer for dinosaurs! In July, Uncanny Magazine published Issue 23, a special shared-universe dinosaur issue! The stories revolve around abandoned islands, portals, dinosaurs, and the mysterious Owen Corporation. Yes, there’s a certain Jurassic Park-like flair to this prompt, and that’s totally fine by me. I especially enjoyed “Red Lizard Brigade” by Sam J. Miller, an enjoyable yet heart-breaking tale of betrayal, loyalty, love, and (of course) dinosaurs. And I’m absolutely enamored with K.M. Szpara’s “You Can Make a Dinosaur, but You Can’t Help Me,” a challenging but rewarding story about family and found family. And if that’s not enough dinosaurs for you, A. Merc Rustad is currently editing an anthology of original flash fiction stories about robot dinosaurs. I’d also be remiss not to mention that the folks behind Uncanny are currently Kickstarting Uncanny Magazine Year Five, so be sure to check that out as well.

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