In my experience, the bigger the hype, the bigger the disappointment. And so it is with Hugh Howey’s Wool, the first of his Silo saga. Wool began its climb to fame as a self-published series of short stories. Then those various pieces were collected into a novel when Simon &
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When it comes to adaptations, I am normally a stickler for the purity of the source material (I’m looking at you, Peter Jackson). I realize there will always be exceptions like The Princess Bride, when a book’s narrative structure makes it difficult to film but it still has a viable
Read moreH.P. Lovecraft’s Miskatonic University has a West Coast campus. In the world of H.P. Lovecraft; the creaking of a door, a shadow passing in your periphery or a bizarre sighting at sea means any number of things, natural and supernatural. The massive sea god, Dagon, really existed in a primordial
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The cuckoo is a bird best known for laying a single egg among the clutch of another species, in order that its chick be raised by the other parents. Cuckoo’s Egg, C.J. Cherryh’s short stand-alone 1985 novel, is about a very similar occurrence. It is a closely-told tale of human
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Superman may be the Man of Steel, but a Man of Steel does not live by heroism alone. In 1971, before the famous Christopher Reeve movies and the romantic getaway at his Fortress of Solitude, the inimitable Larry Niven (Ringworld, The Man-Kzin Wars, and many productive collaborations) decided to address
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The Art of Language Invention by David J. Peterson is a short, information-packed guide to creating imaginary languages for fun and profit. Peterson is the linguist responsible for multiple alien languages for various television shows, not the least of which is Game of Thrones, with its Dothraki, High Valyrian and
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One of the great things about science fiction is that it can draw from virtually every other genre out there. Want to try an interstellar western, or an alien espionage story? No problem. Want to compare a hard science look at evolutionary biology to a riotous space fantasy with light
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‘The Rats in the Walls”, published in Weird Tales in March, 1924, is one of H.P. Lovecraft’s essentially non-mythos tales (he injects a deity into the proceedings at nearly the last minute), a bit of grim narrative that manages its cosmic horrors without relying on the normal godly oppression. It is
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The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a 2015 non-fiction history book from Irish writer Damien Lewis, subtitled How Churchill’s Secret Warriors Set Europe Ablaze and Gave Birth to Modern Black Ops. Why on earth are we reviewing a history book on NerdGoblin? Well, this one has serious geek connections… It
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Elric of Melniboné and his terrible sword Stormbringer made their first appearance in Michael Moorcock’s elaborate and fluid multiverse in 1961. Elric is rather a popular figure in popular culture, with the legendary albino prince showing up in comics and RPGs, songs, TV episodes, and tribute stories. Michael Moorcock’s own
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