In the year 2045, life on Earth is rather bleak for many people. Living in rundown trailers stacked on top of each other and pressed too close together, people find their only escape is through the “OASIS,” a virtual reality world developed by tech visionary James Halliday. Inside the Oasis,
There’s a moment in the original “Pacific Rim” where one of the Jaegers (a giant, human-piloted robot fighter) picks up a cargo ship — an actual, full-size cargo ship — and uses it to take a swing at an attacking monster (a.k.a. Kaiju). This giant robot vs. giant monster battle
As long as Hollywood is making movies, there will be reboots and remakes…even though many of these seem to flop or flounder at the box office. Working with an already recognized property always seems like a smaller risk, at least on paper, so we aren’t likely to see film makers
THE SLEEP DETECTIVES GO TO WASHINGTON By Matthew Bieniek 188 pages www.storiesbymatt.net Matthew Bienek has been writing and self-publishing his genre books for the past few years. He’s a regular at the annual Windy City Pulp & Paper Convention and that is where our paths crossed. Several years ago he
What if the reality we know is only a small fraction of the universe? What if there are worlds and dimensions beyond our own, that we could access if we only knew the secret of how to push beyond the “known” into the “unknown”? The classic sci-fi novel “A Wrinkle
I’ve been looking forward to Marvel/Netflix’s “The Punisher” ever since the character showed up in season two of “Daredevil” (and was actually the highlight of that season for me). However, I was also a bit nervous about how Marvel and Netflix would handle his solo show, based on the fact
“Annihilation” is a weird movie. I don’t mean that as a bad thing, but it’s good to know that going in. It’s a trippy, mysterious, puzzling, sometimes beautiful/sometimes terrifying science fiction film that dares to ask more questions than it answers. If you’ve seen the trailers, you know the basic
CEARA AMENA Warrior of the Qumran Desert By Jamie Evans Pulpsmack Publishing 88 pages For the past several years, writer Jamie Evans has been writing and publishing his own fiction in small chapbooks. Released in 2015, this one clearly had no real editing. What appears on the pages is often
There was a lot going on in “Captain America: Civil War,” so it’s a testament both to the power of the Black Panther character and actor Chadwick Boseman’s screen presence that Black Panther was such a standout in that film. He brought a fresh perspective to the Avengers lineup and
As a person who is so scared of horror films that I couldn’t even watch the trailer for Stephen King’s “It,” I wasn’t originally planning to see the movie “Get Out.” However, even a year later, people are STILL talking about this buzzy horror film, likely due to the fact
THE GUNS ABOVE By Robyn Bennis Tor Books 351 pages We love this book! The reasons for this overwhelming reaction are many and we’ll happily elaborate for your edification. Years ago, while still in high school, we discovered the works of British writer C.S. Forster and his clever navel hero,
As a kid, I remember watching the original “Jumanji” for the first time at a friend’s slumber party. I was awed (and a bit terrified) of this tale about a cursed board game that comes to life and causes dangerous events to happen in the real world — like carnivorous
