Review: The “After Such Knowledge” Novels of James Blish

James Blish is mostly known today for his written versions of classic Star Trek episodes. He worked from draft copies of the scripts, so there are some discrepancies between his books and the episodes as aired. When I was young that used to tick me off. Now that I'm mature I'd like to read them … Continue reading Review: The “After Such Knowledge” Novels of James Blish →

Shelby’s Shelfies VIII – The Thieves’ Guild RPG from Gamelords Ltd.

My copy of the 2e boxed set for the Thieves' Guild RPG. Way back when Old School was the only school, 1st edition Advanced D&D was the giant in the playground. Its Dungeon Master Guide had finally been released in 1979 to complete the three core volumes. But there were also variants and competitors out … Continue reading Shelby’s Shelfies VIII – The Thieves’ Guild RPG from Gamelords Ltd. →

Review: The Alteration, by Kingsley Amis

Cover by Tom Adams. Still being on an "alternate history" kick, I picked up The Alteration. This 1976 short novel was written by British author Kingsley Amis; his son Martin Amis was also an author. And also British. Both father and son are celebrated for their mainstream work; they weren't genre writers. The Alteration takes … Continue reading Review: The Alteration, by Kingsley Amis →

Review: Hothouse, aka The Long Afternoon of Earth

Brian Aldiss was a British author who wrote the 1958 novel Non-Stop (aka Starship). That was about what happened to the crew of a generation ship gone wrong, one of the inspirations for TSR's Metamorphosis Alpha role-playing game. Aldiss also wrote this novel, Hothouse. It was originally published as a series of stories back in … Continue reading Review: Hothouse, aka The Long Afternoon of Earth →

Review: Finnish Sci-Fi Mythology! The Cosmic Kalevala by Emil Petaja

Myths and legends are some of the oldest traces that remain of our ancestors. Where history may be dim or lost, the legends of a people can be a light in the darkness. Emil Petaja was an American author of Finnish descent, familiar with the Finnish mythology of the Kalevala. He took four of those … Continue reading Review: Finnish Sci-Fi Mythology! The Cosmic Kalevala by Emil Petaja →