ince 2002, The Dragon Page radio show has been discussing the SF and fantasy field, focusing more—though never exclusively—on writers and their fiction than on TV or big-budget film projects. Since its inception, the program has grown and mutated into two different shows. "Live Fire" is a live call-in program that talks about terraforming, military SF, appropriate holiday gifts for fans and just about everything else. Meanwhile, "Cover to Cover" continues to put written SF under the microscope, staying true to the Dragon Page team's original vision.
Broadcast on radio stations across America as well as online, The Dragon Page offers literate and insightful discussion of the genre to any reader with a Web connection. Its site provides just a taste of what the show has to offer, allowing visitors to listen to recent programs while reading through reviews and summaries of earlier installments. Fans can also browse through the Dragon Page blog, a congenial grab bag of posts covering scientific discoveries, serious SF news, humorous links and other items of interest, many of which are contributed by the show's regular listeners.
Dragon Page has interviewed many of the best-known authors working in SF today—giants like Arthur C. Clarke and Ray Bradbury, hot new stars like Cory Doctorow and award winners from Connie Willis to Spider Robinson. Meanwhile, past media guests have included Lani Tupu of Farscape and Battlestar Galactica's Richard Hatch. The show's guest listings are very much a who's who of SF, and the site provides photos, mini-biographies and a bit of information about each writer's body of work. Readers who may be curious about their favorite authors' lives or who are looking for new books to try out over the holidays will find that The Dragon Page's sincere affection for SF literature makes it a first-rate referral site.
—A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—December 20, 2004
s its title may suggest, Sci-Fi Lists is a compilation of "best of" rosters for all types of SF media—books, television shows, movies—and authors, too. Mixing scientific analysis with a sincere fondness for the art form that is science fiction, this site provides a fantastic reading and viewing list for any SF fan ... especially one who is just becoming familiar with the canon and wants to sample the finest it has to offer.
Of the many lists on this site, one dominates its content—the Top 200 SF Books list. This opens with Frank Herbert's Dune enshrined comfortably in the number-one position, and closes with the excellent if somewhat less well known Mother of Storms, by John Barnes. The rankings, for this list and the lion's share of the rest, are determined statistically, using awards information, lists compiled by critics and data from Internet polls as sources. Additional rankings take the interesting step of separating critically acclaimed works from popular ones, as well as breaking choices down into subgenres: cyberpunk, robot stories, time travel and satires, to name just a few.
Sci-Fi Lists is the sort of site a dedicated fan can use as a springboard to new discoveries, when more tried and true sources of reading and viewing pleasure have dried up. It is a first stop on the Web for anyone wanting to pile up some reading material for a vacation or catch up on their cult movie viewing. The lists are content-rich, filled with solid recommendations, and the short reviews attached to each title—one-paragraph summaries that give a sense of what any given book, TV show or movie is all about—make it that much more probable that a visitor will hit upon an exciting new author or film.
—A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—December 13, 2004
ovie news, a calendar of SF author readings, Lost recaps, art galleries and book reviews—Dark Worlds has been offering visitors a little smidgen of everything since its launch in 2002. With a focus on dark fantasy and horror and a slick, attractive Web design, this site is the electronic equivalent of a mystic scroll—eerie and illuminating at once.
Most of the book and media reviews on Dark Worlds are written by its resident Watcher, Amy Berner. Berner's interests, Lost aside, tend to lie squarely in the Buffyverse. Her articles on the character arcs of Xander and Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, in particular, are don't-miss features. The Watcher dips into other arenas—The Matrix, for example, and Wonderfalls—only on occasion, so visitors hoping for a wider range of reviews may find this tight focus frustrating. (Writers take note, though—the site is seeking other contributors to expand its coverage.)
In contrast, the news section of this web page is frequently updated and comprehensive, covering not only film and TV but game releases, comics and books and even keeping a close watch on the doings of genre directors like Sam Raimi and Blade: Trinity's David S. Goyer. Art is another primary focus of the site, with galleries of work by H.R. Giger, Clive Barker and many other outstanding horror artists.
Dark Worlds also has a "Shopping Maul," where visitors can go to buy horror-themed art. Hellboy prints, a plush Aliens face-hugger, and even a chrome bust of the Terminator's head (this would be the female Terminator, from T3) are just a few of the things a collector can pick up here. Meanwhile, those fans with no inclination for shopping can browse the Dark Worlds archives, admiring its spooky graphic design while catching up on developments in the sometimes-frightening underbelly of the SF genre.
— A.M. Dellamonica
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