Reality logged in small, easy to digest, doses
A few years ago, I started a project to produce a study of the works of John Wyndham. I did some research, bookmarked lots of sites then did nothing. I recently found all the bookmarks, most of which have since passed away in the entropic mist that is internet history. I don't know if I'll... Continue Reading →
If you aren't sure who Frederik Pohl, author of recently reviewed Gateway was, here's a link to his Encyclopaedia Britannica entry: Frederik Pohl, American Author. There's the obligatory Encyclopedia of Science Fiction entry: Pohl, Frederik and even a link to his website (maintained until at least 2016): Frederik Pohl. Let me know if I've missed any others I should have!... Continue Reading →
As part of my research for a book on 1970s science fiction, I have read some long-overlooked gems and re-read some fondly remembered titles. Gateway the multi-award winning novel by Frederik Pohl is very much one of the latter. It's a book I read when it first hit the UK in paperback and I loved it,... Continue Reading →
When I reviewed Doorways in the Sand I assumed its author, Roger Zelazny, was better known than might be the case. If you want to know more about this highly respected and influential writer, the Encyclopaedia of Science Fiction entry is here. Meeting Roger Zelazny One year I was working on a friends bookstand at a... Continue Reading →
I've done a few posts on Day of the Triffids and while I hope most science fiction fans have some idea of John Wyndham and his works, perhaps I am making the same assumption I did about Nigel Kneale. In case you do want to know more about John Wyndham, here's a great reference from The... Continue Reading →
As part of my tour of 1970s science fiction, I've been catching up with some favourite titles and some I missed at the time, despite the relative paucity of new titles being released compared to today. Roger Zelazny's Doorways in the Sand is one of the latter. Quick review: I didn't like it. Long review... Doorways... Continue Reading →
There is a moment in the film Mermaids when Cher's character slaps her daughter (played by Winona Ryder) in the middle of an argument. The shock of the blow causes both of them to pause, and there is a splendid moment when they realise that they are arguing hammer and tongs not because they are... Continue Reading →
If you lived in Brighton in the 1970s and 80s and were into sci-fi then there was only one place to hang out - Vortex Books not far from Preston Circus. This was a shop that sold both comics and books and only sci-fi/fantasy. This was in the days before CDs / VHS /DVDs so... Continue Reading →
