Clearly one of the worst issues so far. Nothing of interest in any of it.
Clarkesworld 47 : Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time – Catherynne M. Valente
Clarkesworld 47 : Messenger – Julia M Sidorova
The Other Side.
2 out of 5
In the beginning was too far from the end.
2.5 out of 5
1 out of 5
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/issue_47
Many writers of note here, but can’t really say the same about the stories. Notes on starting branches of the ‘Science Fictioneers’ club too.
Super Science Stories 2 : Let There Be Light – Robert A. HeinleinSuper Science Stories 2 : Castaway – Donald A. Wollheim Super Science Stories 2 : Juice – L. Sprague de [...]
Continue reading about Super Science Stories 2 – Frederik Pohl
Overall this issue is bad, except for the Coppel story, which I like a lot. 2.69 only. Abernathy next best and then probably the Anderson is a little over the 2.5 mark.
Planet Stories 44 : The Rebel of Valkyr – Alfred Coppel Planet Stories 44 : Death-Wish – Ray Bradbury Planet Stories 44 [...]
Very bad is the word for this at 2.74. You know how some author introductions can be interesting? Well, these are anti-interesting. In fact, tosser would the description for the author of such I believe. It was something less polite I believe when I read this when it came out. [...]
Beneath Ceaseless Skies 24 : Sorrow’s Blade – Rita Oakes Beneath Ceaseless Skies 24 : Father’s Kill – Christopher Green
Bold swording.
2 out of 5
There’s a wolf in there. No bears, though.
3 out of 5
1 out of 5
http://beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/toc.php?s=all
Continue reading about Beneath Ceaseless Skies 24 – Scott H. Andrews
“Black Wolf hung back in the shadows, letting their familiar darkness wrap him in secrecy. It was the place he was most at home. Watching from the shadows ready to strike when the time was right, and that time drew near. He could sense it, muscles beginning to tense in preparation.His eyes moved quickly around [...]
Definitely back to considerably inferior this time.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies 23 : Between Two Treasons – Michael J. DeLucaBeneath Ceaseless Skies 23 : Oil Fire – Kate MacLeod
Fighting centaurs is trickier.
2 out of 5
Spell child stabby.
2 out of 5
1 out of 5
http://beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/toc.php?s=all
Continue reading about Beneath Ceaseless Skies 23 – Scott H. Andrews
Beneath Ceaseless Skies 20 : The Land of Empty Shells – Caroline M. YoachimBeneath Ceaseless Skies 20 : The Bone House – James Lecky
Turtles, all the way down.
3 out of 5
Many Terrible Words.
2 out of 5
1 out of 5
http://beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/toc.php?s=all
Continue reading about Beneath Ceaseless Skies 20 – Scott H. Andrews
Sort of applies to the next issue, too, before getting to Richard Parks – classic examples of tedious no good second world fantasy, wolves, knights, swords, clean, duchesses, making you want you to yell, no, no,no, no more of this insular crudology faux Northern Hemisphere junk.
Seems to have slipped a bit recently. Not sure [...]
Continue reading about Beneath Ceaseless Skies 18 – Scott H. Andrews
“Her footsteps crossed the cracked stone dais, leaving no impression in the fluorescent blue moss that covered the time-weathered stone like a cushion. Long, pale hair fell about her shoulders in a twisted profusion, amethyst glistening from sloe eyes smeared with some dark makeup. The bare flesh that peered from beneath her torn, reflective cuirass [...]
Continue reading about Dire Planet 1 The Stasis Loop – Joel Jenkins
Extremely bad.
A very odd idea. Find stories that had been rejected, or even better, multiply rejected, and publish those.
The editors point out that there is an oversupply of stories. That is certainly true. For any given reader there isn’t remotely an oversupply of brilliant, excellent or even very good stories, though.
Decent, [...]
Continue reading about Thoughtcrime Experiments – Sumana Harihareswara and Leonard Richardson
Less than a 2.5 average for this particular mag, and won’t be any surprise the Bradbury is the best. The Coppel story is like a different writer than the bloke who wrote ‘The Rebel Of Valkyr’ – so perhaps Rebel is just the one out of the box inspiration.
Planet Stories UK 03 : Warrior [...]
Continue reading about Planet Stories UK 03 – Anonymous Anonymous
Nothing of any interest here, beyond the Schmitz, really.
Planet Stories 1951 05 : Captives of the Thieve-Star – James H. Schmitz Planet Stories 1951 05 : Blind Play – Chan Davis Planet Stories 1951 05 : Out of the Dark Nebula – Milton L. Coe Planet Stories 1951 05 : Garrigan’s Bems – Fredric [...]
I have read that because of a lot of books this guy put out, bad things happened to the anthology market. If they are as shite as this one, I am not surprised, because if one of these was the first I bought, I wouldn’t likely be coming back.
The introduction sets the tone for [...]
This only comes out at 2.36, even Kuttner is bad. The best here are Brown’s Star Mouse, take two, and Holden’s effort, a character therein who would get along famously with Poul Anderson’s Dominic Flandry.
So, letter column is ok, there’s Ackermann on Mars to maybe scrape it a 1 out of 5, but then [...]
The very first issue of the Planet Stories magazine, and unsurprisingly, it is very bad. The Golden Amazons stories has a couple of moments, and the best space pilot in the Solar System is a woman, even if it does turn out she is a nogoodnik that is happy to encourage torture of Our [...]
http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/toc.php?s=all
Two stories, not good.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies 11 : Silk and Shadow – Tony PiBeneath Ceaseless Skies 11 : Preservation – Jonathan Wood
Mother of taxidermy visit.
3 out of 5
Chain curse choice.
2.5 out of 5
1 out of 5
Continue reading about Beneath Ceaseless Skies 11 – Scott H. Andrews
http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/issue_29
An interesting interview with Jeff VanderMeer, an article about a yankee christian loony book, and a poll.
Fiction, however, very disappointing.
Clarkesworld 29 : The Second Gift Given – Ken ScholesClarkesworld 29 : The Jisei of Mark VIII – Berrien C. Henderson
Getting upright tasty.
2.5 out of 5
Turning off the noise.
2.5 out of 5
1 out of 5
We Are Dead Together – Charles De LintOne gypsy vampire mass barbequeue.
3 out of 5
Continue reading about We Are Dead Together – Charles De Lint
Debatable Space – Philip PalmerThe cover says this writer works in Radio, tv, etc., and boy does it show. This novel is riddled with stuff that could presumably go in scripts, huge bold worlds, and even text-only splash pages that would appear to be completely pointless outside of comics.
Obviously deliberately employed, here, but really [...]
Out Of This World – Murray LeinsterAn related trio of stories about a physics savant and various atomic issues. This one is dated and not worth bothering with at all.
Out of This World : The Gregory Circle – Murray Leinster
Out of This World : The Nameless Something – Murray Leinster
Out of This World : [...]
Men Martians and Machines – Eric Frank RussellThe very bad and cheesy misadventures of a mixed planet crew on various planets.
Men Martians and Machines : Jay Score – Eric Frank Russell
Men Martians and Machines : Mechanistria – Eric Frank Russell
Men Martians and Machines : Symbiotica – Eric Frank Russell
Men Martians and Machines : Mesmerica – [...]
Continue reading about Men Martians and Machines – Eric Frank Russell
Hub 55 – Lee Harris and Alasdair Stuart and Trudi Tophamhttp://www.hub-mag.co.uk/images/hub_55.pdf
Someone get confused between prose and poetry somewhere?
Reviews of Doctor Who, and what would appear to be a crime novel from the bad guy’s point of view.
1 out of 5
Continue reading about Hub 55 – Lee Harris and Alasdair Stuart and Trudi Topham
Hub 54 – Lee Harris and Alasdair Stuart and Trudi Tophamhttp://www.hub-mag.co.uk/images/hub_54.pdf
Ramsey Campbell and dodgy Lucy Liu horror movie reviews.
Hub 54 : Chapiesky – A J Brown
Drowned.
2 out of 5
1 out of 5
Continue reading about Hub 54 – Lee Harris and Alasdair Stuart and Trudi Topham
Ten Years Ago – Max BeerbohmIf an author has written a completely irrelevant note short short piece about what he thought a painting might be AND hidden it behind the painting so no-one can find it, why the hell would you publish something that irrelevant in a Year’s Best Science Fiction? Too much of [...]
Ideomancer 07 01 – Marsha Sisolakhttp://www.ideomancer.com/pdf/Ideomancer-08-03.pdf
Easily the worst issue of this I have seen, I think. By far the best bit is the interview with John Joseph Adams.
Ideomancer 07 01 : Seer of Cities – Nicole Kornher-Stace
Ideomancer 07 01 : Crowntree – LaShawn M. Wanak
Ideomancer 07 01 : Children of Old Earth – L.E. [...]
Hub 40 – Lee Harris and Alasdair Stuart and Trudi TophamQuick, name all the 5 star really short short stories you have read? Right, I thought so. No idea why a new publication with an obviously ordinary level of talent wants to publish an ‘all flash’ issue, except for particularly liking the stuff [...]
Continue reading about Hub 40 – Lee Harris and Alasdair Stuart and Trudi Topham
Hub 29 – Lee Harris and Alasdair Stuart and Trudi Tophamhttp://www.hub-mag.co.uk/images/Hub_29.prc
A short review of a Dalek Empire audio production.
Hub 29 : Nightmare Man – Jeremy C. Shipp
Peanut power.
2 out of 5
1 out of 5
Continue reading about Hub 29 – Lee Harris and Alasdair Stuart and Trudi Topham
Fairytale – Ania WalwiczA run on prince parts.
1 out of 5
Unfinished Story 2 – Larry NivenUnknown why this is here.
1 out of 5
Lone Star Stories 18 – Eric Marinhttp://literary.erictmarin.com/archives/Issue%2018/histories.htm
Two shockers and perhaps the shortest issue of the lot I think, maybe the editor was in a hurry this issue.
Lone Star Stories 18 : Seasonal Work – Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Lone Star Stories 18 : You Do Not Know What Slipstream Is – Lon Prater
Lone Star Stories 18 : [...]
Lone Star Stories 08 – Eric Marinhttp://literary.erictmarin.com/archives/Issue%208/issue_8.htm
A solid 2.50. That isn’t good.
Lone Star Stories 08 : The Heirs of Cenpa – Sandra McDonald
Lone Star Stories 08 : Cicada – M. Thomas
Lone Star Stories 08 : Manuscript Found Written in the Paw Prints of a Stoat – Samantha Henderson
Kid recovery.
2.5 out of 5
Plague bug transform.
2.5 [...]
Ideomancer 04 01 – Marsha Sisolakhttp://www.ideomancer.com/nw/march2005.htm
A 2.30 average = woeful. One bright spot though in an interview with Jack McDevitt. You could scrape it up to 1.25 with that perhaps.
Ideomancer 04 01 : Bright Wings and Wax – Chelsea Polk
Ideomancer 04 01 : Bonefields – Margaret Ronald
Ideomancer 04 01 : Likewise – Daniel [...]
Cemetery Dance 57 – Robert MorrishThere are a few things that could be said about the fiction in this issue. Lame, poor, and complete waste of time are three that come to mind. The story average is a wretched 2.50.
The non-fiction component is far superior, which a huge number of reviews, looks [...]
Hub 19 – Lee Harris and Alasdair Stuarthttp://www.hub-mag.co.uk/backissues.html
A review of the third season of the 4400 and a Richard Laymon novel.
Hub 19 : Ten Thousand Spaceships – Paul E Martens
Hub 18 : The Library – Christopher Brosnahan (reprint)
Elsewhere might be cooler.
2.5 out of 5
Reading ghost.
2 out of 5
Continue reading about Hub 19 – Lee Harris and Alasdair Stuart
Hub 18 – Lee Harris and Alasdair Stuarthttp://www.hub-mag.co.uk/backissues.html
A review of a couple of horror novels, and apparently Edgewise by Graham Masterton is a Wendigo novel, so that sounds cool. Also mentions an internet only SF series with Amanda Tapping in it, that is 2 bucks per 15 minute episode apparently.
Hub 18 : The Library [...]
Continue reading about Hub 18 – Lee Harris and Alasdair Stuart
Debt Of Bones – Terry GoodkindFirst wizard owes readers.
1 out of 5
Hub 09 – Lee Harris and Alasdair Stuarthttp://www.hub-mag.co.uk/backissues.html
Reviews here of Soon I Will Be Invincible, and Helix, by Eric Brown, which is apparently sort of Ringworld-Very-Lite, they say.
Hub 09 : The Boy at the Gate – Barry J House
Dream kid injury.
2 out of 5
1 out of 5
Continue reading about Hub 09 – Lee Harris and Alasdair Stuart
Hub 04 – Lee Harris and Alasdair Stuarthttp://www.hub-mag.co.uk/backissues.html#
A review of podcasting master Scott Sigler’s Earthcore suggests it is a bit in the Resident Evil vein, so probably pretty entertaining – a good review. Also reviews a couple of audio dramas, Batman and Sapphire and Steel among them.
Hub 04 : A Hint of Mystery – [...]
Continue reading about Hub 04 – Lee Harris and Alasdair Stuart
Clarkesworld 13 – Sean Wallace and Nick Mamatashttp://clarkesworldmagazine.com/issue_13
Here we actually get something approaching a magazine as opposed to all the past ‘two stories posted to a website’ style of publication.
There is a column on Hispanic reading and SF from one guy’s point of view, and Jeff Vandermeer interviews Stephanie Swainston, who I was not familiar [...]
Continue reading about Clarkesworld 13 – Sean Wallace and Nick Mamatas
Flav and Nero – Ryk Ekysteenhttp://www.infinitas.com.au/Stories/FlavAndNero.php
Ashy ruin.
1 out of 5
Everything Is Broken Up and Dances – Clare O’Brienhttp://www.specusphere.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=31
Pointless pursuit.
1 out of 5
Continue reading about Everything Is Broken Up and Dances – Clare O’Brien
Cyber Age Adventures – Frank FradellaBad.
That would about sum this off. The majority of the writing in this book is not competent, let alone publishable. That is even publishable in a game supplement sort of sense. The names of the guilty are not on each story, but I suspect one of the [...]
Continue reading about Cyber Age Adventures – Frank Fradella
Crucible – Frank FradellaSuper powered conflict here between opponents.
There are three editors/authors listed on this book. If they are taking it in turns to write stories here it wouldn’t surprise me. However, it looks like only one of them can write at all, so far, if that is the case.
Seeing it doesn’t list [...]
Rollerball – William HarrisonApart from the excellent titular story, the rest of this just is not any good. Not even the intro where he whines about falling standards, and even dislikes pinball, of all things. A man who doesn’t like pinball perhaps has a fair chance of being really, really dull. This [...]
A Thousand Faces 1 – Frank ByrnsThe website for this looks nice, and is easy to read, so they have the basics right. Unfortunately the fiction is below par (a 2.2 average), and the non-fiction part isn’t too interesting either.
Can’t recommend this unless they improve later on, except perhaps the editor’s story ‘Somebody’s Baby’. [...]
The Deep – Peter BenchleyMore boring than Jaws, the novel.
I suppose it was no surprise that something similar to the big bad fish book, or at least that looked similar on the cover would be given a shot, given the success of the other time. However, this one is worse, and definitely not [...]
For the Witch of the Mists – David C. Smith and Richard L. TierneyThis is rubbish. Very disappointing after the entertaining Red Sonja series. This starts off ok, after a wizard makes a sacrifice and tells Bran what he needs to do it descends through ordinary to atrocious.
Bran is captured by a Roman [...]
Continue reading about For the Witch of the Mists – David C. Smith and Richard L. Tierney
Playing Easy to Get – Sherrilyn KenyonWell, this is pretty much porn, and not very good at that. The almost complete absence of plot, etc. The Warlord story has valkyries who are supposed to kill vampires, etc.
So, the first thing the captured valkyrie does for him is a striptease. All parties are [...]
Continue reading about Playing Easy to Get – Sherrilyn Kenyon
Witherwing – David JarretVery, very bad. To start with, the main character could be straight outta Jokertown. Not that the sorcerous cursed to have a wing thing couldn’t be interesting, with the advantages of moving around and not dying when falling from great heights.
However, the characters here are so wooden they’d keep two [...]
Rogan – Paul JamesThis is bad. The beginning is an initiation ceremony for an elite, with implications of psionic ability. The planet is called Regulo – so they are the Regulators.
It seems the society is somewhere between Apokolips and the Amtrak Wars. They incinerate one of the 10 chosen graduates at random [...]
Dark Prince – Christine FeehanThis book is terrible. For the first quarter, absolutely nothing happens except the head top Carpathian vampire guy sets his sights on a woman and finally shags her. That is it, for that much.
Boring as hell. Completely overwritten, turgid and melodramatic, and a complete and utter waste of [...]
Zeaton – Philip RainfordThis sf novel is very bad. The editing is also horrible. Although now, a few years later, I have seen major publisher editing reach this level of crapness, so maybe they were just ahead of the curve.
1 out of 5
Slayer – Karen KoehlerDownload Slayer
Interesting enough concept. The writing was just B-A-D. The writing was very poor, the concept will be interesting enough to died in the wool vampire fanatics, with conflict between various vampire groups, and who is allowed to kill who. Complete with long coats and pretty males, and all [...]
Friday – Robert A. HeinleinThis book is bad in just so many ways. By far the worst thing he ever came up with. Just horrible. ‘What if I had a super girl android servant I could send on missions, and she loved sex whenever and however, and I could get lots of [...]
Coming of the King – Nikolai TolstoyBoring and pretentious, except perhaps for the King’s farters. I forced
myself to finish this, because of the Arthurian theme. These days I
probably would not bother. It sat in my bag for months and months as I
could only bear to read a little bit at a time. This was one [...]
Smith of Wooton Major – J. R. R. TolkienBoring, but I had a look due to you know who’s name. That John Ronald Reuel Tolkien guy really sucked me in as a kid, as he did many others. It was also a lot of what was available, or what the various relatives had [...]
Continue reading about Smith of Wooton Major – J. R. R. Tolkien
Farmer Giles of Ham – J. R. R. TolkienThis was another case of Tolkien mania -Boring, but I had a look due to
you know who’s name. That John Ronald Reuel Tolkien guy really sucked
me in as a kid, as he did many others. It was also a lot of what was
available, or what the various [...]
Continue reading about Farmer Giles of Ham – J. R. R. Tolkien
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J. K. RowlingJust not a very good writer. Ok to read if you are 6 and hadn’t discovered Tolkien, I suppose. I just do not understand how such poor writing does so well. Fun concept, I guess, even if not hugely original. Except for the groovy hoccerball on [...]
Continue reading about Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J. K. Rowling
Blackwood Farm – Anne RiceThis one was horrible. Looks like someone needs to kidnap her and tell her at gunpoint ‘woman, if you don’t get an editor, you ain’t getting out of here alive’. A mega-successful author with a big head and getting weirder as she gets older, it would seem. This [...]
Circle of Light – Martin MiddletonThere seemed to be more cardboard robots in this book, than characters. The swords and axes had more personality. For a writer with more limited talents, it would be much better for him to have a look at what James Barclay did, I think. An excuse to [...]
The Ring of Five Dragons – Eric Van LustbaderNo ninja. I think that sums up the problem. The suspense, pacing and writing are just not there. This is presumably aimed at a completely different audience, of course, but it completely missed me.
Obviously a non European fantasy, but no way was I going [...]
Continue reading about The Ring of Five Dragons – Eric Van Lustbader
That Hideous Strength – C. S. LewisTry and do a Jules Verne type story. Take the fun and adventure out. Make it boring and unappealing. Voila. You have C.S. Lewis’s planet trilogy. This is a textbook case of how to not do a planetary romance type tale, but rather than [...]
Perelandra – C. S. LewisAnother book that you could use as a cure for insomnia. Try and do a Jules Verne type story. Take the fun and adventure out. Make it boring and unappealing. Voila. You have C.S. Lewis’s planet trilogy. Characters should seem a little bit like people, in [...]
Battlefield Earth – L. Ron HubbardThis is so bad it is laughable. I mean, this is Ed Wood Plan 9 from Outer Space bad. The plot has holes you could drive either a Vogon Constructor fleet through, or perhaps even one of the Galactic Patrol’s anti-matter planet weapons. To be avoided at [...]
The Ill-Made Mute – Cecilia Dart-ThorntonI could not make myself finish this. Horribly twee, with too much forced floweryness. You could give it a rating of 5 florids out of 5, perhaps! Anyway, it is possible younger girls may enjoy this, but for a fantasy of kid hidden away, must escape and do great things [...]
Continue reading about The Ill-Made Mute – Cecilia Dart-Thornton
The Pilgrim’s Progress – John Bunyanhttp://www.gutenberg.org/etext/131
You could possibly write something more boring than this, but you would have to try really, really, really hard. Subtlety and sledgehammer are certainly two words you could string together in a sentence when describing how this comes across when slogging through it. Definitely in that order, as [...]
Black Trillium – Marion Zimmer BradleyThis book was not in the able to be finished category. How did this talent come up with such ordinary junk. Too many cooks in this case, I think.
Time after time when the characters did something I would think ‘what the hell is up with that’. Not [...]
Continue reading about Black Trillium – Marion Zimmer Bradley