Sunday SciFi: Classic Star Wars Poster
Ah yes, the original 1977 Star Wars, not episode IV, not “A New Hope”, just a low budget SciFi film with a bunch of relatively unknown actors as stars and a director who’s last movie was about hot rods in the early sixties. The version where Han shot first because he was a rogue, a smuggler, one who operated outside the law.
Star Wars was a B movie, complete with the Wilhelm scream, and we loved it.
Monday Book Pick: The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril
The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril by Paul Malmont
The book is crack for pulp fans. Really, I’m not kidding. The heroes include Lester and Norma Dent, Walter Gibson, L. Ron Hubbard, Robert Heinlein and a merchant ship working cowboy who goes by “Lew” (Louis L’Amour I’m betting, perhaps Malmont couldn’t get his estate to release the use of his name). Additional appearances by H.P. Lovecraft and E.E. “Doc” Smith. It’s pulp writing, done by someone who loves pulp and wrote a big, wet, sloppy kiss to pulp.
Sunday SciFi: Castle/Firefly Crossover
Yup, that is Molly Quinn, who plays Alexis Castle, dressed up as Mal Reynolds, Nathan Fillion’s character on Firefly.
Sunday SciFi: Star Trek Weapons
Filed under: Photography, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Sunday SciFi
Yes, I own both of those. No problem with Geek Cred here.
This is the same image I have loaded on flicker, just punched it up a bit.
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NPR’s top picks for SciFi and Elf Porn
NPR has distilled the input they got for people’s top picks for SciFi & Fantasy down to 100 selections, and are asking people to pick their top ten. There is some utter dreck in the list, along with some of the true classics in the field.
Go vote, but if your choices don’t include Heinlein, Pournelle, Niven, or Farmer, just hang your head in shame.
Sunday SciFi: The Middleman
I’ve only caught a few episodes so far from this one season wonder, but so far I really like The Middleman and his Sidekick Wendy Watson. It’s delightfully low budget, in an old school Doctor Who way, funny, a tribute to the pulp era, and the cast is clearly having fun.
The Middleman himself is a clean cut, all American, milk drinking former Special Forces veteran with authority issues and what appears to be a id case with Doctor Who’s psychic paper in it. Hmmmm….a Doctor Who/Middleman crossover. I’m sure there is some fan fic out there that covers it.
It’s good low budget fun entertainment. It’s got robots, gadgets, blasters, intelligent apes, the supernatural and a spunky sidekick that steals the show.
It didn’t run in a drive-in, so I don’t know what Joe-Bob Briggs would say, but my advice is to check it out.
Monday Book Pick: Phoenix Rising
Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris
The first in a new Steampunk action/adventure/romance series. Not a bad first outing for the writing team of Ballantine and Morris. Good solid formula adventure, the kind Lester Dent made a very nice living writing during the Golden Age of Pulp. That is a favorable comparison by the way. This novel, which takes place in the 1890’s, complete with airships, Analytic Engines, steam powered bar bots serving beer and a mystery filled “Ministry” protecting the British Empire. This series follows two agents of that Ministry, a studious “Archivist” aptly named “Books” and the uber-field agent, Ms. “Braun”, who wears a bullet proof corset (Ministry issue of course), is a crack shot with her two customer revolvers and has a fondness for explosives.
Stop groaning! The plot flows well and has enough twists and fight scenes to keep you engaged. In all a good, fun read. I’ll be looking forward to the next installment in this Steampunk series.
Sunday SciFi: NPR’s looking for the Top Five SciFi books
OK, not really, since they are lumping fantasy in as well. So you have crap written by George R.R. Martin listed along really good SciFi. Ya, I am biased here. I am much more of a SciFi fan than a fantasy one, and perhaps GRRM may be able to be write decent Elf porn or whatever passes for mainstream fantasy these days, but his attempts at SciFi that I have read have been utter drek.
You can enter your top five books or series under comments for this NPR story on their quest for summer reading. Fair warning, you have to register to post.
The five I entered were:
- Space Viking – H. Beam Piper
- The Probability Broach – L. Neil Smith
- The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress – Robert A. Heinlein
- To Your Scattered Bodies Go – Philip Jose Farmer
- The Mote in God’s Eye – Dr. Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven
This list could change on any given day by one or two entries.
Monday Book Pick: The Hot Gate
The third in his latest series, which is “old school SciFi Space Opera”. Ya, we got your epic space battle right here, and in case you forgot no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. They have their own battle plans, that is why they are called the enemy. Sometimes you don’t win, but not losing can still carry the day. A damn fine read. May Mr. Ringo continue providing his ‘reader crack’ a pace that destroys laptops but pays for many new ones.