urrently, the publisher Ace Books is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and continuing to issue important works in the science-fiction and fantasy field. But to many avid collectors of vintage paperbacks, Ace Books is known mainly for one rather odd invention in the history of book production: the Ace Double. These push-me-pull-you contrivances were two separate novels (or short-story collections, or a mix of novel and collection, or even non-fiction works) bound in the same package, back to back and upside down to each other. The lifespan of the Ace Double in all its various incarnations was 21 years, and anyone who grew up reading SF in the '50s, '60s and '70s will have fond memories of purchasing masterpieces such as Delany's Fall of the Towers trilogy and various Philip K. Dick mind-bogglers in Ace Double form. And of course, throughout this period, Ace also released many important books in more traditional singleton format.
All this marvelous history is on display at Michael Smith's The Ace Doubles (And Singles): Image Library, a visual treasure trove of cover art, buttressed by some intermittent yet thoughtful and vital text. Upon first reaching the site, the viewer is given a brief history of Ace's glory days, and then invited to view thumbnails from the ranks of either the doubles or the singles. Within these two major divisions, the categories of "Science Fiction," "Mystery," "Western" or "Potpourri" are further distinguished. Once a choice is made, the books appear in ascending order by serial number. Clicking on a number (unique to each side of a double) brings up the appropriate cover art. And what a parade of pulp beauty is on display! Covers by such famous artists as Valigursky and Emsh are rivaled only by the melodramatic inimitable one-sentence blurbs, many of them coined by Ace's legendary editor Donald Wollheim. This archive represents the core of SF over several decades, and if you can't afford Ace Double D-36, the famous edition of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Conqueror, at least you can admire it here.
Smith very helpfully lists the contents of almost all of the short-story collections. He comments on individual covers, such as that for K-175, Virginia Coffman's Moura, a Gothic romance which violates artistic conventions by having two women instead of one on the cover (and in a somewhat suspect clinch at that!). And he provides links to sites where the dedicated fan can purchase printed checklists of all Ace publications. But the reader should be warned: This site can induce intense jealousy and covetousness. I want my copy of Robert Bloch's The Will to Kill right now, to answer the question "Was he to be 'Jack the Ripper' all over again?"
— Paul Di Filippo
Site of the Week—February 10, 2003
mad scientist's view on other mad scientists" is the bold claim of this site, which reviews cult SF movies at great and interesting length. Visitors should not view this claim too narrowly, though, because while there are over 200 film reviews on this Web page, the movies covered range widely across the spectrum of the fantastic, with plenty of coverage of horror films and Hong Kong supernatural adventures.
What does that mean? Merely that while the films chosen for review run the gamut from The Secret of Roan Inish to Robocop, leaving out more than a few mad-scientist classics—Frankenstein, for example—the site is not an exhaustive listing of mad-science movies. Instead, its reviews place an enjoyable emphasis on filmmakers' often paranoid treatment of the discipline of science.
And You Call Yourself a Scientist? reprints a number of real-world science articles and offers two collections of science-related dialogue snippets from movies and television programs. The page also lists potentially embarrassing horror films made by stars like John Travolta, Ray Liotta, Meg Ryan and Brad Pitt when they—and their careers—were young and fragile.
Getting to all this top-notch content is sometimes difficult, because the site is laid out in a chaotic fashion that makes it hard to navigate. Even so, its many joys—from a "Fish Without a Bicycle" section (covering movies about all-female societies and organizations) to the reviews themselves—make for intriguing reading and a lot of fun.
— A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—February 3, 2003
ll the newest research and news on current scientific questions can be found at a savvy Web incarnation of a British print magazine called, naturally enough, New Scientist. Packed with short, well-written articles that deal with the very latest developments in the world of science, this site is a terrific place to put together an overview on almost any science-related topic that has made the news in recent months.
Whether a reader is just browsing or looking for specific information on anything—mine-clearing techniques, new developments in paleontology, medical discoveries, to name a few—newscientist.com has the fresh scoop. What's more, their web page has a beautifully clean design that ensures that the answers a visitor seeks will be provided fast. There are links to the site's newest articles at the top of the main page, of course, but a quick scroll down reveals a list of hot topics, items like genetically modified foods, disasters, cell phones and cloning. Each topic gathers together any recent articles relevant to its subject, creating a miniature library of data.
Newscientist.com also offers readers a chance to get scientific explanations for the strange phenomena everyone encounters in daily life (a recent response deals with the sour taste of orange juice drunk shortly after tooth-brushing). There are also book reviews, interviews, links and a
vibrant letters section. The full New Scientist archive is open to subscribers only, but is available to newcomers and interested researchers on a seven-day trial basis. Even for those who balk at signing up for archive access, this site offers hours of intriguing reading.
— A.M. Dellamonica
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