Torn between the idea that it would be fun and funny to write a review for a movie like this, and that it would be dumb to write a review for a movie like this, I decided to let fate decide. I sent a letter to Seduction Cinema and asked for a review copy of the DVD, SpiderBabe. If they didn’t send it, no harm no foul. If they did send it, who am I to argue with fate?
Reviews
Review: “Crater County” by Jonathan Miller
So there I am at Ice Escape, and a young man starts chatting me up about his book, Crater County: A Legal Thriller of New Mexico. It’s a slightly supernatural legal thriller, he says. And I says, “A slightly supernatural legal thriller? I don’t think I’ve ever read something like that.” And he says, “How’d you like to review the book?” I says, “Sure, why not?”
We said a lot.
Review: “Haunted” by Kelley Armstrong
When she was alive, you didn’t fuck with Eve Levine. A half-demon witch and master of the black arts, she didn’t exactly seek opportunities to dole out pain and death, they just presented themselves on a regular basis. An unfortunate consequence of the life she chose. But she never flinched from what she had to do. Yup, in life, Eve was the biggest badass around.
In death, not so much.
Review: “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith” by Matthew Stover
The opening of the final chapter of the Star Wars Saga begins on a fast-paced note, and rarely slows down until the very end. All of us old-time Star Wars fans know exactly how things turn out, but what we’ve never known was how events progressed in that direction; until Episode II, we never knew just how much of the bigger picture was manipulated by Darth Sidious.
In this story, we learn how much has been manipulated, how long the pieces have been in play, and how they all come together in the end.
Review: “Necronomicrap” by Tim Frayser
The chapbook Necronomicrap: A Guide To Your Horoooscope, by Tim Frayser, mixes astrological “facts” with obvious lampooning. For example, while you can use the book to learn the names of Saturn’s moons, I highly doubt you should share Frayser’s interpretation that the moons regulate “various aspects of human flatulence.”
Review: “Medalon” by Jennifer Fallon
The first three books in the Hythrun Chronicles were actually known in Australia as The Demon Child Trilogy, and were bestsellers as well as finalists in Australia’s Aurealis Awards back in 2000. Here in the US, that trilogy is being combined with the books known as The Hythrun Chronicles Down Under to make it a 6-book series here.
Review: “Scream Queen” by Edo van Belkom
So, why am I writing about a card game I played weeks back when I should be informing you about the latest novel sitting on top of my all-to-high reading stack?
When you use cheesy horror tropes to make a card game that spoofs horror stories, you get a fun and exciting game, when you use cheesy horror tropes to make a paperback novel that seriously attempts to be scary, you get a shitty paperback novel, like Scream Queen.
Review: “The Dark Path” by Walter H. Hunt
Reviewing books, especially when you’re trying to write your own, makes you a bit self-conscious. When you’re asked for an opinion, you have to approach each title as a reader who is looking for a good escape. That self-conscious feeling only gets worse when I review works written by people I know. I want to give an honest opinion–but if I don’t like it, the friendship is irrevocably marred.
Review: “Gaudeamus” by John Barnes
When John Barnes gets a visit from his old buddy and private detective Travis Bismark, he knows two things for sure: Travis needs a ride, and he’ll get at least one new science fiction book out of it.
Review: “Across The Nightingale Floor” by Lian Hearn
Billed as “Asian Fantasy,” Across the Nightingale Floor is an epic tale of revenge, intrigue, and love unrequited. At least, that is what the book jacket says. The writing style could have ascended me to a higher plane of enlightenment, but its absent plot, vapid characters, and stilted dialog made me want to commit hari-kari.
Review: “Thomas the Rhymer” by Ellen Kushner
Apparently, the big screen is not the only medium in which remakes are popular. There are many authors that have written successful versions of children’s stories and fairy tales. Ellen Kushner brings us Thomas the Rhymer, winner of the World Fantasy Award.
Review: “Seven Seasons of Buffy”
I try to avoid reading books out of order, and while it usually wouldn’t matter in this case, my having read Five Seasons of Angel before this one brings a couple of things to mind… the foremost being that while editor Glenn Yeffeth obtained fewer essays for the Angel collection, he also seems to have obtained more highly engaging essays for the it than for the Buffy collection. While that may sound like a minor slam of the Buffy collection, it’s not… it’s a big time golf-clap salute.
Classic Review: “Minority Report and Other Short Stories” by Philip K. Dick
I drive a lot. So I’m always on the lookout for free or cheap-ass audio books of great SF. A few days ago I stumbled across Philip K. Dick’s Minority Report and Other Stories narrated by actor Keir Dullea, the perfect mind-escape from the four-hour drive back from Vegas over the holiday weekend. And what a ride.
Review: “Five Seasons of Angel”
You know that a pop culture staple has gone far beyond the normal range of fandom and reached saturation when serious academic studies relating to the psychology, philosophy, and morality of show and of its characters are being published.
To my knowledge, only Buffy the Vampire Slayer (with two academic conferences dedicated to it so far) and Godzilla fall into that category, but Buffy’s spinoff, Angel, should be right beside them.
Review: “The Incredibles”
What Monsters, Inc. did for monster movies and creatures in the closet, The Incredibles does even more for comic book heroes and James Bond flicks.
