It seems that Mars books are back in vogue again. Two decades or so ago, there was Red Mars, Moving Mars, Mars, Return to Mars and a host of other books and movies. Now Joe Haldeman has released Marsbound and Ben Bova has returned with another Mars book called Mars Life. I don't know if it's part of a new trend of Mars books, but with all the attention we're focusing on the Mars rovers, the Phoenix lander and talk of a possible manned mission to the red planet, I wouldn't be surprised if it has inspired authors to visit their favourite solar system muse. Bova was also the co-winner this year of the Robert Heinlein Award. The author co-winner was Canadian author Spider Robinson. While we're on the subject of Mars and Heinlein, Locus recently wrote a retrospective focusing on the works of Philip Jose Farmer. The connection to Mars? Heinlein dedicated his most famous Mars book, Stranger in a Strange Land, to Farmer. How's that for a tenuous connection?

The producers of Stargate giveth and the producers of Stargate taketh away. The news that a third series in the franchise has been ordered coincides with the announcement that the current series, Stargate Atlantis, will be cancelled. The replacement series is called Stargate Universe and while a lot of sites are treating it as news, GateWorld reported on the existence of the new show way back in April. One commenter on that site observed that the new series would only be rolled out when Atlantis had run its course because the producers didn't want the hassles of doing two shows at once. Never having been a fan of any of the shows, I'm indifferent to the announcements. A new show that intrigues me more is Fringe, mostly because of the comparisons to the X-Files, one of my favourite shows of all time. The star of the show, Joshua Jackson, says I will be disappointed because it stands on its own. I could see for myself by downloading the leaked pilot, but I've got a collection of "leaked" pilots from other TV seasons that remain unwatched on my hard drive. One of those pilots was for the show The Sarah Connors Chronicles. Not only did I not watch the pilot, but I managed to not see a single episode and now the first season is available on DVD. A second season will start this September, but I probably won't watch any of those either. I find myself not caring about new series, instead waiting for them to establish themselves and catch up with them a few years later on DVD instead of investing my time in a show that's got no future. I'm probably not the only one who's changing their TV-watching habits. NBC wants to try to lure web viewers with a new online show called Gemini Division. It will feature daily webisodes that are a few minutes long with the lot of them collected as a single episode at the end of the week.  

The probloggers over at IO9 had an interesting debate recently about YA science fiction novels. One argued for them, saying they would save the genre, while another argued against them. The positive viewpoint noted that the science fiction audience is aging. Judging from the sea of white hair and balding heads that I see in front of me at science fiction convention panels, I'd have to agree. He notes that exposing young readers to books with sci-fi themes will only serve to indoctrinate a new generation of fans. Judging from the experience in my house, I would have to agree. My oldest son is only 8 and he's already reading YA novels and has even read a few adult novels, mostly media tie-ins. Now he's been asking about some of the books on my shelves, so I say score one for the YA novel. The opposing author's main argument against YA novels is that it artificially separates the generations and it is only a type of niche marketing. He's also annoyed that he feels that the books in these sections are not meant for him. Boo hoo. If you're looking for some new YA novels to buy, here's a roundup of some recent titles. Remember, they're not just for kids anymore, unless your the curmudgeon over at IO9.

Have you ever wondered what were the 15 top sci-fi sexpots according to TV Guide? If you want to see photos, click on this link to view them one name at a time, or read this list: 15) David Duchovny (The X-Files) 14) Eliza Dushku (Buffy, Angel, Tru Calling, Dollhouse) 13) Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) 12) Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) 11) Ben Browder (Farscape, Stargate: SG-1) 10) Nathan Fillion (Firefly) 9) John Barrowman (Torchwood, Doctor Who) Joe Flanigan (Stargate: Atlantis) 7) David Tennant (Doctor Who) 6) Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica) 5) Alex O'Loughlin (Moonlight) 4) Allison Mack (Smallville) 3) Tom Welling (Smallville) 2) Jared Padalecki (Supernatural) 1) Jensen Ackles (Supernatural) Hmmm ... more than half the list is guys. I don't know what that means, but I could think of a bunch of females I'd add to the list and I'm sure you could to. Speaking of sexy, The Fold is a new web TV series that bills itself as part sci-fi and part sex comedy. It also bills itself as part art movie which may be why New TeeVee reviewed it and thought it to be decidely non-sexy.  

Now that you've had time to read the excerpt from Arthur C. Clarke's final novel, why not read a review of the book? Here's one that is positive. Clarke didn't write the book alone. It was co-authored with another science fiction great, who in my opinion may even be a better writer than Clarke, and that's Frederick Pohl. This is how he described the collaboration that brought about the book. Clarke was 90 when he died. Pohl is a veritable youngster at 89 years old. Another big-name author who we are in danger of losing to cancer soon is J.G. Ballard. If you've ever been curious about his working habits, here's a peek at his writing room. Much younger than any of these fellows is Greg Bear, but his body of work is strong enough that he may one day be counted among the big names of science fiction. He has a new book out which returns to some of the themes that made his reputation. Younger still is Michael Chabon, this year's winner of the Hugo Award for best novel. He's considered by many to be more of a literary author, but he proudly maintains he is also a genre writer and winning the Hugo and Nebula has served to validate his assertion.

Have you ever wondered why some people scream during horror movies while other people laugh out loud? It turns out that your response to anxiety may be genetic. I wonder. I've seen horror movies that truly scared me while watching while others had me laughing my head off, usually because of ludicrous writing and/or acting. One horror sub-genre that I am fond of is the zombie movie. I don't know why, but they the concept has always seemed plausible to me, unlike a vampire or a werewolf. Not only are zombie movies fun, but so are zombie video games. This list purports to rank the 7 best zombie games. One weapon that features prominently in both zombie games and movies is the shotgun, something that is portrayed as being effective at stopping the undead. Zombies are Coming, a blog devoted to nothing but zombies, explains why it's not such a great choice after all.

Harry Knowles of Aint't it Cool News posted a negative review of the new Clone Wars movie saying it was the first Star Wars movie he ever hated. His review has since been pulled from the site, supposedly because LucasFilms has threatened to cut him off from future advance screenings, but the studio is just claiming that it is enforcing an embargo on reviews before the movie is released. Funny how the positive review from the Associated Press hasn't been ordered down since it appeared on some obscure site named Yahoo a month ago. They might be able to bully AICN, but MSNBC might be a tougher opponent. Their review of the movie was also negative. It may turn out that the movie is more style than substance, something that people have said about previous Star Wars movies. Let's face it, George Lucas knows how to create universes and make things look good on screen, but he's lousy at telling stories. I somehow doubt that even with negative reviews that a Star Wars movie is not going to make gazillions at the box office regardless. People are already changing their mind about the Star Wars prequels, now claiming how much they liked them despite their disdain for them when they first came out. Meanwhile, you hardcore fans in the U.S. may want to get your Star Wars election merchandise before November rolls around or at least before the LucasFilm copyright lawyers send them a cease-and-desist letter which is more or less what happened to the PhoneSaber application for the iPhone.  

There is much excitement in the gaming world about the news that a Star Trek MMORPG is about to be unleashed on the world. The gameplay videos certainly make it look like a lot of fun, but not having much in the way of leisure time, it's highly improbable that you'll find me there or on any of the other online franchise games such as The Lord of the Rings Online, ''The Matrix Online, 'Pirates of the Caribbean Online or Star Wars Galaxies. Another virtual world that sounds more interesting, probably because it doesn't have any name-brand franchise behind it, is a virtual world set on a Mars colony during the planet's terraformation. The Star Trek news that interested me more than the game news is the announcement that 40 years of Star Trek comics are set to be released on DVD, not that I have any more leisure time to actually read them all, but the completist in me like the idea of owning such a collection.

Sci Fi Wire (which is soon to spin off as its own website separate from the Sci Fi Channel) recently posted it's list of top science fiction TV shows that were cancelled before their time. Predictably, not everyone agreed with the list, including one blogger who cleverly titled his post as My Top 10 list is better than Sci Fi Wire's. I don't agree fully with either list. No one chose Max Headroom, although it got an honourable mention from the blogger. What about The Lone Gunmen or even the original Outer Limits? One show that nobody mentioned was the horrid Quark which, amazingly, is now set to be released on DVD. I'm still waiting for the Max Headroom DVD. One 80s TV show that still has a rabid following despite its short run is V. There's news that someone is trying to get the studios interested in a V movie . Who knows, it may even get turned into a series in the same way that Battlestar Galactica was. Speaking of which, fans of the show are delighted that a BSG made-for-TV movie prequel has been announced. One final item on scifi TV is this brief list of best classic science fiction TV show theme songs. I agree with all of the show son the list, but would add The X-Files theme to my version.

There Will Come Soft Rains is one of Ray Bradbury's most famous stories. In 1984, Russian animators adapted the short story as a short film. Enjoy!

 

As you probably know David Tennant is taking a break from Doctor Who to try his hand at playing Hamlet and he's doing a good job at it. He's supposedly knocking the critics' socks off. One review said that he might convert some Shakespear lovers into Doctor Who fans. The cast also features Patrick Stewart so they might even become Star Trek fans as well. The big question for Who fans is what is the show's future with Tennant? Some BBC folks were at Comic-con recently and spoke at length about the show and its spinoffs and even they didn't know whether Tennat would be back for a fifth season. One of those BBC visitors was the new head writer for the show, Steven Moffat. All he could promise was that the show would feature new, scarier monsters which could mean a darker vision for the series. One thing that Doctor Who and Torchwood have done is revive interest in science fiction in Wales where the series are shot.

Warren Ellis has opined on the state of the big-name science fiction magazines and what he sees isn't pretty. Circulation to the likes of Asimov's and Analog continue to fall and reach a pitiful number of readers compared to other mainstream publications. Elllis believes that it's time to stop looking at online publications as little more than amateur fanzines and pretend that it's only print periodicals that are the final arbiters of quality. He cites Clarkesworld and Farrago's Wainscot as two sites where he looks first for short science fiction. He's not the only one lamenting the demise of short fiction. This observer notes that genre short stories still have a bit of a pulse, but their literary cousins are doing even more poorly. Author Lewis Shiner has stated "there's been no living to be made from short stories in my lifetime. But short fiction endures because it provides a way of introducing writers to new readers, and because there are stories that need to be told at that length." He is offering his stories online for free as a way of promoting his work and he is hardly the first or last writer to do that. Even if science fiction magazines disappear, we can be comforted by the belief that science fiction itself will endure.

Word on the street is that a movie adaptation of Isaac Asimov's Foundation books is in the works. I guess they were inspired by the previous successes of other Asimov adaptations such as Bicentennial Man and I, Robot. In other news about dubious movie concepts, there is also news that a prequel to I am Legend is being considered. I imagine they will call it I Am Only Moderately Famous. One thing you can take to the bank is the fact that there will be more movies based on comic books. The latest success of The Dark Knight will make sure of that. One comic book movie that was never made was a project called Superman vs. Batman. It's one of several great science fiction movies that were never made.

The U.S. is scheduled to retire the space shuttle in 2 years and it doesn't look like there will be any sort of replacement by then, but the military is testing a re-usable space plane that could carry out any orbital missions they may have. There are some who believe that the American military already has all sorts of black ops equipment in space that we don't know about. This page has some intriguing evidence of an unidentified, presumably military, space station in orbit above us. I'd be more convinced if they published some orbit details so independent observers could verify its existence. Perhaps its a giant weapons system that is being used to protect the Earth from asteroid collisions. The reality is we don't really have a response for such a calamity and private companies are actually looking at solving that problem. Or maybe the things we're seeing in orbit are meant to protect us from alien invasion. It does make us wonder who would be better equipped to protect mankind from aliens if he were president - John McCain or Barack Obama?

NASA has officially confirmed that there is water on Mars. It's not exactly unexpected, but it does further the hope that we'll one day find evidence of life past or present on our neighbouring planet. Close analysis of the soil on Mars has found that it's not unlike soil on Earth, although it's a bit alkaline, but that won't stop you from growing asparagus in it. With the release of the news NASA also unveiled a panoramic video of the arctic landing site of the Phoenix lander. It's pretty bleak looking. For prettier pictures, check out this impressive collection on The Boston Globe's impressive photo blog The Big Picture. While it's possible that NASA may accidentally stumble across evidence of life on the Red Planet, the fact is that no one on the mission is actually tasked with looking for extraterrestrial life. That's the job of SETI, which has yet to bear fruit, but some astronomers have suggested that we should search for aliens who have already found us. In other words, look in areas of the sky where Earth's inhabitants would be easiest to detect.  

A lot of people don't have time to read and for some the only time they get to enjoy a long book is during their holiday. This list from the Telegraph outlines the 50 best ever summertime holiday reads. The genre choices are interesting. The are The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon, King Solomon's Mines by H Rider Haggard and Perdido Street Station by China Miéville. For some suggested summer reading from this year's crop of books, you can check out these capsule reviews or these. Capsule reviews are common in mainstream newspapers since they offer so little space, if any, to review genre books so it's rare to see a full-length review. Critics resort to the roundup format as a way to promote many books at once. Fortunately, the shorter form works better online which is why capsule reviews are probably the wave of the future. Here is one roundup of reviews and here's another. One book that's been getting some attention from reviewers is The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson. John Clute reviewed it and other SF books for the Washington Post. It also gets a writeup at the California Literary Review. If you've only got time to read in installments, short stories are a good bet. The latest Nebula Showcase is guaranteed to have something worth reading. Future Americas is another short story collection that sounds like it will capture your attention. If you want to take a chance on something new, there are always local authors churning out new novels. Here is a review of one such book, but if you're like me you'd rather discover something obscure, but from a known author, or at least one who's name sounds vaguely familiar. Check out this list of off-the-beaten-path out-of-print books to look for the next time you are in a used book store.  

Arthur C. Clarke may be gone, but he had one more book in him before he died. The book is called The Last Theorem and was co-written with Fred Pohl. The Guardian has published a brief excerpt from the book to give you a taste of what is like. Clarke's been dead since March, but people are still writing about his influences on genre books and movies with great emphasis on the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Here's one essay that looks at the man and the film. One of the most moving moments in that movie was when the the out-of-control computer HAL is "lobotomized" by the astronaut he was trying to kill. This story examines exactly how the slow voice effect was accomplished. It wasn't simply done by slowing the tape.

Doc Savage is hard to classify. He's an action hero of the 30s and 40s that was hugely popular in his day and was undoubtedly a template upon which comic book artists drew inspiration for a future generation of superheroes. Savage books still have an avid following despite the cornball writing and hackneyed stories, but maybe that's why some people like them. One fan has taken to reviewing each of the books in his blog as he reads them. Not satisfied with the dozens of wonderful James Bama covers already in existence for the Ballentine printings of the books, another fan has created several fantasy covers of Doc Savage pitting him against other creatures from pop culture such as Godzilla and Frankenstein's monster. For more cool, pulp art, check out this fantastic collection of Ron Turner cover art as well as this eye-popping array of 50s Spanish science fiction book covers. If you enjoy the words as much as the pictures, PulpGen offers a fine collection of page scans of stories from the original pulp magazines. All that's missing is that mildewed smell of old paper.

The second X-Files movie is finally here and the reviews are almost uniformly bad, although I was heartened to read a very positive review from Roger Ebert whose opinion I highly regard. He notes that there is no CGI, no explosions and no one gets shot. How is it going to compete with the hype of the Dark Knight, not to mention it's opening against another one of Will Ferrell's retarded comedies. Cinema Blend has an interesting take on why no one cares about the movie or, to be more accurate, why not enough people care and why it won't do well, never mind whether or not the movie is any good or not. His points are all valid. One of his arguments is that the X-Files is a product of an earlier time and doesn't resonate with audiences in the new millennium. The Guardian explores this idea in greater detail. While Ebert's reviews notes the lack of CGI, just about all movies use some computer effects these days and X-Files is no exception. It was filmed in B.C., but they had to make the snow whiter than reality.

One of the Apollo astronauts was quoted recently as saying that he is in on the fact that we have been visited by aliens. Of course the same people who will believe that statement probably think that the Apollo moon landings were faked so you've got to wonder. On the subject of Apollo, I ran across this interesting story recently about how the Soviets recovered one of the early test capsules after splashdown then later handed it over to the Americans in an incident that remains shrouded in mystery. Flash forward to today and there is news that the Russians have released the design for a new manned spacecraft in partnership with the European Space Agency. It will have a crew of four and be able to land on Earth using retrorockets and landing gear, unlike any other previous spacecraft. The new craft will be able to fly to the International Space Station, but also be used for trips to the moon. Presumably it will replace the American Space Shuttle, but there is no sign of a replacement yet, so the U.S. continues to practice for shuttle disasters, something that will become more likely if they push the craft for too many more years. Since it looks like everyone's bypassing the ISS in order to use the moon as the stepping stone to Mars, what is to become of the station? One observer suggests we turn it into a spaceship and send it somewhere. Don't forget the French. They want in on the space action too.