Guinan & Bennett blend steampunk whimsy with real-life history in this delightful retro-romp
Review by Carlos Aranaga © 2010
When you’re done with reading the fascinating illustrated fictional history of the pioneering Steam Age automaton that goes by the name of Boilerplate, you will surely be at least half-convinced that the animate, self-aware tin man was in fact a key actor in the events of the late 19th and early 20th century. This is Time-Life meets Turtledove, and is a genius effort by the comic art couple Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett. With its lavishly illustrated narrative, chock full of sidebars, maps, and faux archival prints and photographs, it’s a riveting historical fiction of times as they were, and of a technology from pulp imaginings that never actually was.
by John C. Snider © 2010
Award-winning novelist Jack McDevitt’s latest offering is a fun-filled, chrono-nautical romp.
by John C. Snider © 2010
Iain M. Banks imagines a hard-hitting, multifaceted multiverse overseen by The Concern.
Harry Turtledove reinvents World War II with the kick-off of a new alt-history epic.
Congratulations to Angela Winesburg, Israel Yeres, Pat Connors, Jake Lsewhere, and Aaron Habel!
Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s far-future salvage thriller is a bit of a wreck itself.
Hiatus
February 4th, 2010Wow, ten years. As of today, I’ve been doing SciFiDimensions.com for exactly a decade. That’s a long time to do anything these days.
But…there’s a time for everything, and I’ve decided that now’s the time to put SciFiDimensions.com on hiatus. I have a number of professional and personal commitments that make demands on my time. Plus, there are a number of creative projects–including but not limited to writing some fiction of my own–that I no longer want to keep on hold.
I’d rather think of this not as an end to my involvement with the genre community, but rather the beginning of a new phase. The last ten years have been incredibly rewarding. I’ve met hundreds (thousands?) of people I might not otherwise have met, and I’ve been very gratified at the response of my fellow fans.
I would particularly like to thank Carlos Aranaga, Kevin Ahearn, and William Alan Ritch: their participation and feedback has been most welcome.
All this said, I still reserve the right to post material from time to time. SciFiDimensions.com isn’t exactly going away: all the content will remain online indefinitely, and I still plan to remain active in annual gatherings like Dragon*Con.
Bilbo Baggins put it bluntly when he said, “I am leaving NOW. GOODBYE.” I prefer the way Gandalf put it: “Look out for me, especially in unlikely times.”
John C. Snider
Tags: hiatus
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