Star Wars: Tales of the Bounty Hunters

Anthology edited by Kevin J. Anderson, 1996

If you've seen Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back...OK let's be real, you've seen it. Remember that short scene with all of the bounty hunters on Vader's ship? The authors that took part in this anthology had enough from that scene to write pages on these guys. Not only do you learn where each of these villains come from, but their (mostly) futile attempts to catch Han Solo during Episode V are described as well. If you read the whole book, you get five totally different stories, only sharing the aforementioned scene from Episode V in common (and a few other encounters between each other).

I found this book at a hospital on a "free books-shelf" [AWESOME]. What's neat about this collection is you don't have to read the whole book to enjoy it. I did, of course, but each story is great by itself too. If you're not a big Star Wars fan the first "tale", IG-88's "Therefore I Am" by the editor, is an awesome sci-fi story by itself. You don't really need to know anything about the Star Wars universe to get it and it's classic homicidal robot madness. If you ARE a Star Wars fan I would recommend the second story in the anthology, "Payback", Dengar's tale. It includes a fair amount of lore on Han Solo's past as well as other locations during Episode V and was definitely my favorite in the book.

I've seen this book in most bookstores and it's not expensive. It's definitely worth a look for at your local library at least!

Well that is all for today's posts, Space Homies. I hope to bring you more next week.

Until then,

Space Out!
--Liam

Moon (2009)

Film written/directed by Duncan Jones

So somewhere in the not-too-distant future, a wealthy corporation has set up a mining facility on the Moon. Only one person is needed to operate it and they do so in 3-year stints. Our protagonist, Sam Bell has almost reached the end of his 3-year tour and he is incredibly anxious for his replacement to show up so he can go home and see his family.

Well, not only is he anxious, he is hallucinating. Three years in isolation will do that to someone who only has himself and a computer to talk to (he is unable to communicate live to anyone on Earth for reasons explained in the film). Anyways, Sam eventually meets his replacement (or does he?) and let's just say things don't work out as planned.

I didn't hear too much advertisement or talk about this movie when it came out, but I loved it. The story was classic sci-fi. No unnecessary action scenes or special effects, just a great story. It was well-casted, too. Sam Rockwell ("The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", "The Green Mile") plays the protagonist and creepmeister Kevin Spacey voices the paranoia-feeding computer, GERTY.

Oh yeah and it was written and directed by David Bowie's son. 'NUFF SAID.

Watch the entire movie for free through Crackle.com right here:

Brainwave

Novel by Poul Anderson, 1956

One day in the mid-1950s, everyone wakes up a little bit smarter. Actually, they wake up A LOT smarter and continue to gain intelligence. This sounds like a great thing for humanity but it actually becomes more of an apocalyptic problem. The world's custodians and factory workers begin to get too bored for work. Foreign relations get even more complicated than usual and not everyone is coping with all the new ideas that are suddenly surfacing in their mind. 

OH YEAH. Not only do humans get smarter, but so does every other sentient being on Earth. For instance, pigs don't really like being harvested for food anymore and take on the offensive against their captors. On a much more neato note though, dogs can understand their masters perfectly and at least some chimps even speak rudimentary English.

I first heard of this novel when it was referenced in Stephen King's "The Tommyknockers". I'm happy I did. While it's not the greatest story-telling ever, sci-fi master Poul Anderson does an awesome job of describing every broad and minute effect a sudden global intelligence boost would have on our world. You can get it crazy cheap on Amazon, too.

I Shot an Arrow into the Air (from "The Twilight Zone")

TV episode written by Rod Serling, 1960

Three astronauts crash onto a desert-like planet and quickly realize their hope for survival is slim. As the trio's water supply diminishes, tensions rise to horrific consequences. Oh, and of course there is a crazy twist at the end.

I watched this classic "Twilight Zone" episode (Season 1, Ep. 15) a little while ago and it easily became one of my favorites. The twist at the end was actually used in a Futurama episode (I'm not going to mention which one so I don't spoil this awesome Rod Serling story). I highly suggest checking it out. It's only 24 minutes long and has been available on Netflix Instant at the date this was posted. Or watch it in three parts right here, through YouTube:

Welcome...to ScienceFictionLand!

Hello there, my fellow Space Homies, and welcome to ScienceFictionLand!

My hope is to make this blog a center of everything "sci-fi", be it short stories, television, movies, art, or even tourist attractions. I hope to get everything underway shortly, so if this is the only thing you can see in ScienceFictionLand, please return soon! There will be many more attractions on the way.

Until next time my friends,

Space Out!

--Liam