Let's Get Off This Rock Already!
Musings on space travel, science fiction, and the radiant future
My search for good indie sci-fi novels goes on. It is a perilous test of literary endurance, an endless journey through a wilderness of Kindle previews---perhaps an expedition into the heart of darkness itself. Some days I doubt I shall return with my health or sanity intact... Just kidding. There is no place for snobbery... Continue Reading →
As much as I love indie books, they're a minefield. You never know what you're going to get in terms of quality. I've had some books that started promising, then turned into total slogs; I've had others that were actually pretty solid. The novel I'm reviewing today definitely falls into the latter category---in fact, it... Continue Reading →
Hello, everyone! You might have noticed that there have been a lot of film reviews lately. That's because, going by traffic and likes, they are by far the most popular content on this site---so why not make more? Besides, it's a lot of fun putting them together, especially when I'm talking about my favorite movies.... Continue Reading →
Now here's a movie I look back on fondly. I was in tenth grade when Christopher Nolan's Interstellar came out, and in the months leading up to its release I excitedly reposted the trailers to Google+ (anyone else remember Google+? May it rest in peace). Five of my friends went with me to see it in... Continue Reading →
Hello again, all! Sorry for the unannounced hiatus, these last few months have been godawful. I'm finally back on my feet again, though, and ready to resume blogging---so here's that review of Starship Troopers I promised. Fair warning, this is one of my favorite movies. Expect some gushing. Starship Troopers was directed by Paul Verhoeven, and... Continue Reading →
It's almost Halloween, everyone, and I'm sure you can guess what that means: it's time to take a look at the spookiest space film out there, Event Horizon. Like Ad Astra, it is about an expedition to a doomed ship around Neptune; unlike Ad Astra, it's actually good. Some spoilers (but no gore) ahead: What a beautiful... Continue Reading →
I'm a little late to the party with this one---Ad Astra came out a while ago, now---but I just saw it in theaters, and boy do I have an opinion on it. My expectations were sky-high going in. I'd been looking forward to Ad Astra since it was announced (it was pitched as Heart of Darkness in... Continue Reading →
In 1970 the final three Apollo flights---18, 19, and 20---were cancelled, victims of the penny-pinching Nixon administration, and their hardware was either shelved or used for the Skylab program. As a result, only twelve humans from six missions have walked on the Moon. Or so the government would have you believe. I've recently rewatched Apollo 18,... Continue Reading →
This site's been on hiatus for a little while, but I'm back, and I'm kicking it off again with a review of a hidden gem of Soviet science fiction: A Dream Come True. It's an hour-long film from 1963, depicting first contact between humanity and an advanced alien race known as the Centurians. The aliens are... Continue Reading →
Here we will explore how not to write a science fiction novel. Now, I really wanted to like The Killing Star. Pellegrino and Zebrowski's novel is beloved in some sci-fi circles, and I can see why: their vision of the galaxy is a brutal place, where any civilization becomes an existential threat the moment it develops... Continue Reading →
Let's Get Off This Rock Already! 