The Science Fiction Review – Page 16 – Various reviews related to Science Fiction in books, movies, TV, and games

Foundation and Empire by Isaac AsimovFoundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov

August 15, 2007| Stettin| 0 Comment| 10:49 pm

Foundation and Empire is broken up into two longer stories, rather than five shorter ones that appeared in Foundation. The first story, The General, begins almost 200 years after the Foundation was established on Terminus. The second story, The Mule, takes place just over 300 years into the Foundation Era. I think I liked this book more because the stories were longer and the character development was a bit deeper. Also, it seemed that the action picked up noticeably compared to the last book. (more…)

Star Wars Galaxies 2003-2005Star Wars Galaxies 2003-2005

August 10, 2007| Stettin| 0 Comment| 3:51 pm

I figured that I should add a review for Star Wars Galaxies because I played for two and a half years. I can’t really remember when SWG was announced, but as soon as it was I signed up for the beta. I didn’t get invited until Beta 3, but I was still thrilled. A major thing that set SWG apart from other MMORPGs was the ability to dabble in different professions, or even surrender skills to start a new template fresh without starting a new character. Also, there was the fact that we could build our ships with custom parts and battle against each other in space. Unfortunately, the space portion was not finished by release and was later released as the expansion Jump to Lightspeed. (more…)

Comments enabled, RSS liveComments enabled, RSS live

August 9, 2007| Stettin| 0 Comments| 4:24 pm

Comments are enabled – I’ve enabled user registration (it takes just 30 seconds), so please register if you have the time. WordPress usernames are case sensitive, so keep that in mind when creating accounts and logging in. I look forward to seeing comments, however you don’t need to create an account to post a comment.

Also, I think I’m pretty much done fiddling with the site layout. I’m probably going to play around with the logo a bit and add a few more things to the right sidebar. I’ve also registered with Technorati and Feedburner to distribute RSS feeds.

Foundation by Isaac AsimovFoundation by Isaac Asimov

August 5, 2007| Stettin| 0 Comment| 2:40 am

It is hard to write a review about one of the most famous science fiction novels of all time, but I will try to do it justice. Asimov originally started the Foundation saga as a series of short stories for Astounding Magazine back in the 1940s. For the novelisation Asimov added the section “The Psychohistorians” to precede the original 4 stories that were published in the magazine. For those reading along with me in chronological order, most of this first story is covered in Foundation and Chaos. (more…)

Blog formatBlog format

August 4, 2007| Stettin| 0 Comment| 6:41 pm

I have been unsatisfied with my site layout since I launched the domain back in 2006. It was rather simple, but having all of my reviews on one page is getting rather cumbersome. Rather than cut and paste my reviews into unique files I figured that moving to a blog format might be the best move. This will also give me the opportunity to post about things unrelated to what I am currently reading. I’m hoping I can organize things better this way and possibly go back and work on some short story reviews also.

I haven’t yet enabled user comments, but I will as soon as I finish minor tweaking to my template.

Foundation’s Triumph by David BrinFoundation’s Triumph by David Brin

July 30, 2007| Stettin| 6 Comments| 2:24 am

David Brin does a good job of unifying the Robot and Foundation novels by explaining many of the contradictions which come up if we assume every book written so far is to be viewed as in the same universe. One of the nagging questions which bothered me while reading the series is, “How did 25 million worlds get settled in just 20,000 or so years?” Brin explains this and many other things throughout the novel. At some points it seemed that he was reaching very hard to explain every single little detail linking the other novels together. Overall the book was enjoyable, but I think that the last one was significantly better. (more…)

Foundation and Chaos by Greg BearFoundation and Chaos by Greg Bear

July 16, 2007| Stettin| 0 Comments| 10:23 pm

For those that read my previous review on Foundation’s Fear, you will be pleased to find that Greg Bear manages to save this series with his masterful work in Foundation and Chaos. If there were ever two books on the same subject that could be so different as to compare night and day, the first two parts of the Second Foundation Trilogy are it. While the first volume kept putting me to sleep with rambling on about simulated minds and aliens, Foundation and Chaos goes back to the roots more in line with the universe Asimov made me fall in love with. (more…)

Transformers (2007)Transformers (2007)

July 12, 2007| Stettin| 2 Comments| 12:02 am

Released July 3, 2007 (IMDb)

I have found myself not going to movies in the theater much lately, mostly because I don’t think that they would be worth the price of admission. I refuse to pay for candy and drinks at outrageous prices, so I find watching a movie at home on DVD with a pizza or cheese sticks is a much better deal. Transformers was one of the movies I didn’t want to wait and watch on DVD. I didn’t really follow the early production closely, but when I saw the trailer I knew I had to see it in the theater. (more…)

Foundation’s Fear by Gregory BenfordFoundation’s Fear by Gregory Benford

July 10, 2007| Stettin| 2 Comments| 10:00 pm

The Second Foundation Trilogy is a venture initiated by Asimov’s Estate. Gregory Benford was approached to work on the project, and eventually Greg Bear and David Brin finished the series. I remember from my previous experience with Foundation’s Fear back in 2000 or so that I didn’t like it. I made a point of keeping track of details that bugged me throughout the novel so that I could provide some constructive criticism. I tried to do my best to keep an open mind, but it wasn’t long before I remembered why I didn’t like this novel. There will be minor spoilers, but hopefully they will help you save some time reading this 597 page (paperback) monster. (more…)

Forward the Foundation by Isaac AsimovForward the Foundation by Isaac Asimov

June 25, 2007| Stettin| 2 Comments| 9:52 pm

I’ve read quite a few reviews of this novel and many people are disappointed because it does not tie up the questions left unanswered at the end of Foundation and Earth. Much of this disappointment comes from the fact that Forward the Foundation is the last book in the series written by Asimov just before his death. I think that the disappointed fans were looking for answers in the wrong places. This novel simply gives us a closer look at Hari Seldon and the progress of the psychohistory project at Streeling University. (more…)