his page covers the Grande Dame of SF and fantasy in detail, with a biography, bibliography and essays sure to please fans of the Witch World and Forerunner novels, plus a great deal more.
Loved by readers young and old, Norton has provided everything a visitor might expect from the Web page of a well-established author. The site offers photographs, information on hard-to-find books, images from book covers and exclusive data on the ideas that spawned Norton's various SF and fantasy universes. There are extra features, too, which bring the page alive. A particular highlight is a series of essays by Irene Harrison, which gives readers the inside scoop on every aspect of book collecting. There is also extensive coverage of the creation of High Hallack, a library and retreat for writers of genre literature.
Finally, this site offers access to the Andre Norton Message Board and Andre Norton Mailing List, two simple ways to keep track of all the latest news on Norton and her work. Visitors, whether die-hard fans or readers who have just discovered Norton's fiction, will be gratified by the opportunity to keep up on the doings of this influential author.
-- A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week -- June 25, 2001
reative anarchy rules at Broad Universe, a group dedicated to promoting and encouraging women writers and illustrators of speculative fiction.
Realizing that male geeks dominate most people's minds when they think of science fiction (and to a lesser extent fantasy and horror), the group promotes published works by women while simultaneously supporting fledging writers. The group is free and open to all--men, women and (if they exist) Martians are welcome to join. It's led by an advisory group, but prides itself on being a free-form organization that lets members play an active role.
The group's Web site is a major tool in its efforts. Its newsletter--Broad Sheet--is published on the site and includes advice, commentary and more, mostly written by established writers. The online catalog of "broad" fiction is an excellent data mine. Each book includes its ISBN number, publisher, author and a short description, as well as links to related Web sites. It's a great resource for those looking to expand their reading horizons.
Rounding out Broad Universe's online offerings is its e-mail discussion group. Hosted by Yahoo, this group sees hundreds of messages a month. It's a cordial group that serves as a good source of news about women in speculative fiction, and a great place for folks to talk about--and sometimes with--their favorite female authors.
-- Kenneth Newquist
Site of the Week -- June 18, 2001
nce upon a time, the term "mass media" referred to only two things: radio and "moving pictures." The history of films, in our current era of instant gratification and education via VCR, is quite wellknown. But the history of the more perishable medium, radio, is filled with lacunae. Still, there are many buffs of "Old Time Radio"--OTR for short--who collect, sell and trade tapes of classic performances, laboring to preserve, catalog and disseminate these inventive playlets.
Many of these hundreds of broadcast dramas involved material that would appeal to lovers of fantasy, science fiction, horror or thrillers, both original scripts and adaptations of famous genre stories. But zeroing in on a favorite episode often presents problems--problems which Jeff Dickson is intent on alleviating with his site, The OTR Plot Spot.
Dickson's site is basically a cross-referenced index with notes, so it's light on graphics. No animations or sound files here (although Dickson's extensive set of links will put you touch with many good sources for OTR material). Neither is Dickson selling CDs or tapes. Rather, he is intent on giving handy, short synopses of individual episodes, clustered by shows, so that the interested fan can track down specific stories. For instance, clicking on X Minus One we learn, first, a little about the history of this longest-running of radio SF shows, and then, in a random scan, that the episode "Appointment in Tomorrow" was derived from a Fritz Leiber story, and concerned itself with "a look into a dark future controlled by the 'Thinkers,' and the computer brain they rely on to do the actual thinking." "I'll order a copy now" might be your reaction!
Additionally, Dickson lists episodes per author, and groups episodes across many shows by themes. Dedicated visitors can also post their own synopses or reviews. All in all, this site is your ticket to those thrilling days of yesteryear.
-- Paul Di Filippo
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