Feature articles from Issue 219. February 2012.
Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol (Mark's take)
01/02/2012. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol still does not have the hang of what made the TV show so good. Instead of an intelligent puzzle for the viewer, it offers mindless excitement in one action stunt from Tom Cruise after another. But given that it is a Tom Cruise vanity piece and a mindless action film, it is one of the best mindless action films of 2011. Considerably better than the previous entries of the "Mission Impossible" series formerly animation director Brad Bird gives us quite a ride in his first live-action film. The film is a mixed bag of elements, but some are very good.
Dreaming while wide awake
01/02/2012. Writing stories is akin to dreaming while wide awake, except it’s depicted in words rather than dream images. It’s often said that everyone has at least one decent story in them. The problem a lot of the time is finding it. You should see my own ideas file as I’m still looking.
Whatever happened to the Megalomaniac?
01/02/2012. Wanted: Megalomaniac. Must be prepared to sit in a chair and look menacing. Desire to rule the world a must. Being totally ruthless as asset. A speculation by: GF Willmetts.
The Strange Case Of Angelica (Mark's take)
01/01/2012. This film is a Portuguese fantasy written and directed by Manoel de Oliveira. The pace is operatic and slow enough so that there is not much story here. Some dreamlike photography and a soothing musical score are pluses but slow, draggy telling is likely to frustrate the viewer and pay off with far too little reward for the effort of watching.
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Book, Comic, Magazine & Film Reviews from Issue
219. February 2012.
X marks the spot for book conversions
Doctor Who: The Leisure Hive by Davd Fisher
The Almighty Johnsons
Reasonable Atheism by Scott F. Aiken and Robert B. Talisse
Laddertop Volume One by Orson Scott Card & Emily Janice Card and illustrated by Honoel A. Ibardolaza
Star Wars: Millennium Falcon: Owner's Workshop Manual by Ryder Windham, Chris Reliff and Chris Trevans
Manhattan In Reverse by Peter F. Hamilton
A Sci-Fi Swarm And Horror Horde by Tom Weaver
Alien Contact edited by Marty Halpern
Samurai's Blood # 6 of 6 by Owen Wiseman, Nam Kim, Matthew Dalton & Sakti Yumono
The Juniper Tree And Other Blue Rose Stories by Peter Strawb
Dragon Age: Asunder by David Gaider
Sherlock Holmes: The Final Problem And The Empty House by Arthur Conan Doyle and adapted by Nicholas Briggs
Doctor Who Monthly Series: Witch From The Well by Rick Briggs
Doctor Who Monthly Series: House Of Blue Fire by Mark Morris
Doctor Who: The Creature From The Pit by David Fisher
Doctor Who: Galaxy Four by William Emms
Doctor Who Companion Chronicles: The First Wave by Simon Guerrier
Elisabeth Sladen: The Autobiography
Elisabeth Sladen: The Autobiography
Doctor Who: Serpent Quest 4: The Invasion of Hexford Part 4 by Paul Magrs
Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James
Doctor Who: Sound Effects
Greasepaint And Gore: The Hammer Monsters Of Roy Ashton by Bruce Sachs and Russell Wall
On Spec: The Canadian Magazine Of The Fantastic vol 23 no. 3 # 86
Regicide by Nicholas Royle
Runemarks by Joanne Harris
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Fleet Of Worlds by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner
Doctor Who: City Of Death by David Agnew (actually Douglas Adams and Graham Williams)
Ray Harryhausen's Fantasy Scrapbook by Ray Harryhausen and Tony Dalton
The Magazine Of Fantasy & Science Fiction Jan/Feb 2012 Volume 122 # 699
Inside Cyber Warfare by Jeffrey Carr
Supernatural: The Complete Second Season Boxset
The Divided Crown by Isabel Glass
Promises To Keep by Charles de Lint
Them Or Us by David Moody
Doctor Who: Destiny Of The Daleks by Terry Nation
Green Lantern (2011)
Build Your Own Time Machine by Brian Clegg
Make: Ultimate Kit Guide special issue
Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Buried Age by Christopher L. Bennett
Rat Trap by Michael J. Daley
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Daily news.
DC spends a million dollars on new logo
20/01/2012. DC Comics has revealed its new brand identity, which is, they say, "reflective of the company's mission to fully realise the value of a rich portfolio of brands, stories and characters, distinguished by incredible breadth and depth across publishing, media and merchandise." Well, if they say so.
NASA discovers first Earth-size planets beyond our Solar System
20/12/2011. NASA's Kepler mission has discovered the first Earth-size planets orbiting a sun-like star outside our solar system. The planets, called Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f, are too close to their star to be in the so-called habitable zone where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface, but they are the smallest exoplanets ever confirmed around a star like our sun.
Steelhaven
20/12/2011. John Wordsworth, Commissioning Editor at Headline, has concluded a pre-emptive three-book World rights deal for an epic fantasy series by UK author Richard Ford with the agent John Jarrold. The first volume is provisionally titled Steelhaven.
The Amazing Spider-Man
15/12/2011. Here's the latest suite of photos from the next Spidey reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man. Directed rather appropriately by Marc Webb!
Doctor Who named top TV show in US charts
13/12/2011. Series six of the world’s longest running science fiction TV series Doctor Who has pipped US home-grown favourites such as Dexter, The Walking Dead and Glee to become 2011’s most downloaded show (season) on iTunes in America.
Mrs Dickens' family Christmas
13/12/2011. As the nation prepares to celebrate the festive season, there’s one man whose name is synonymous with Christmas and whose prose depicted the season as a wonderful time for the family to get together and forget about their troubles.
Matt Smith interviewed in the wardrobe
13/12/2011. The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe is Matt Smith’s second Christmas outing as the Doctor and this time he doesn’t have his trusted companions, ‘The Ponds’, by his side. However, it hasn’t stopped him relishing in another Christmassy adventure and here he reveals what Doctor Who has in store for festive viewers.
Claire Skinner interviewed: Dr Who Xmas 2011
13/12/2011. An interview with actress Claire Skinner (of Outnumbered fame), who plays Madge Arwell in the 2011 Doctor Who Christmas Special. This is the seventh Christmas special since the show’s revival in 2005.
Alexander Armstrong interviewed: Doctor Who Christmas 2011
13/12/2011. An interview with Alexander Armstrong who plays Reg Arwel in the Doctor Who Christmas Special. The story is set during World War II and is about a family of Blitz refugees, Madge Arwell and her two children, Lily and Cyril, who have to relocate to Dorset, where they meet the Doctor.
BBC to launch new series of Doctor Who games
13/12/2011. The BBC has released the details of a new gaming development for the Doctor Who TV prog. Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock will be the first of a series of Doctor Who console games developed by BBC Worldwide Digital Entertainment and Games.
Solaris buys Gaie Sebold's Hunter's Moon
13/12/2011. Jonathan Oliver, commissioning editor of Solaris Books, has acquired Hunter’s Moon by Gaie Sebold, a sequel to Babylon Steel - the opening volume of a fantasy series to be published in January 2012.
Hero Of The Empire: steampunk from David Barnett
13/12/2011. Claire Eddy, Senior Editor at Tor Books in New York, has concluded a three-book World English Language rights deal for British author David Barnett, for a strong five-figure sum in US dollars. The agent was John Jarrold.
Drakenfeld
21/11/2011. Bella Pagan, Senior Commissioning Editor at Tor UK, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, has acquired world rights to the first two volumes of a new fantasy series called ‘Drakenfeld’ by Mark Charan Newton. The agent was John Jarrold.
Captain Nemo steampunked by Kevin J. Anderson
21/11/2011. Author Kevin J. Anderson’s newly released novel Captain Nemo (Titan Books) tells a steampunk version of Jules Verne’s creation, Captain Nemo, builder and captain of the Nautilus and secret benefactor to the castaways on the Mysterious Island.
Liam Neeson in new War of The Worlds
21/11/2011. Jeff Wayne's musical version of The War of The Worlds is returning with "The New Generation" worldwide tour in November 2012, SFcrowsnest was told this morning by Jeff Wayne and Liam Neeson.
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