Site of the Week -- Jan. 17, 2000
cience fiction literature is so rich and varied--and its
writers so prolific--that even for the most avid reader there's always
another milestone work or subgenre-reinventing classic out there yet to be
read.
Scifan.com is an easy-to-navigate clearinghouse of the best titles in
science fiction, past and present. The listings are organized by theme,
such as post-apocalypse, robots, sex and military. Most themes have a brief
introduction and list of relevant titles (fiction and
nonfiction), as well as links to Web resources. Some of them include essays on that topic's
history and relevance. Each book title is linked to its page at Amazon.com, encouraging people to actually read the books.
Another section is given over to classics, with several essays that explore what makes a true classic. Accompanying these are lists of the greatest, near-greatest, famous, and critics' favorites, plus a combined list of ultimate classics--all created through an ambitious consolidation of polls, awards, and other sources. Lastly, there are sections that cover writing SF, series and sequels, and e-books.
As it continues to expand its content, Scifan.com will become and ever more useful resource for anyone who wants to explore the vast and variegated treasures of SF literature.
-- Mark Wilson
Site of the Week -- Jan. 10, 2000
ever give up, never surrender is the motto of all Questerians, those
passionate fans of the long-canceled TV space opera Galaxy Quest. And after two decades, their loyalty has finally paid off: A Quest film is in theaters.
Travis Latke's Galaxy Quest Page follows the "return" in fanatical detail. Like the movie it's based on, the page is a parody of--and loving tribute to--all the fans who ever stood by their favorite science fiction show and never let it die. Although actually created by DreamWorks, this isn't some slick, Flash-filled site. Instead it's built as a fan would build it--with lots of brightly colored letters, animated GIFs, spelling mistakes and SHOUTING WITH CAPS!
The site has a mock interview with Gwen Demarco (the "actress" who played Lt. Tawny Madison), a blissfully naive article about the show's commander, thoughtful analysis of five episodes, a screen saver and--of course--a full episode guide. It certainly makes up for the underwhelming Amazon.com-sponsored page featured at www.galaxyquest.com.
-- Kenneth Newquist
Site of the Week -- Jan. 3, 2000
ictional alien worlds are where hard science meets fertile imagination--where
the most provocative ideas and the trusty laws of astrophysics join to
forge new and exciting vistas. Enter the Alien Planet Designer. By translating physical formulas into
a computer program, site designer John Bray has devised a means to predict all sorts
of attributes for pretend star-planet-satellite systems, from density to tides to
horizon distance.
Users start with two systems, modeled either on actual celestial bodies
or on famous fictional systems gleaned from the works of Frank
Herbert, Poul Anderson, and others. There's an opportunity to fiddle with
things like star magnitude, planet shape, and chemical composition. The
final result is a detailed, comparative table that quantifies what these
hypothetical systems would look like and how they would behave. For those less familiar with the science involved, there are explanations and links to in-depth discussions elsewhere.
Though it feels a bit like a graduate student's rainy-day project, the Alien
Planet Designer offers a chance to explore worlds unlike our own in a way
that makes them more believable--and therefore more enticing--than ever
before.
-- Mark Wilson
