lying cars, moving sidewalks and battles with Martians—surprisingly little time has passed since many believed the near future might be a glittering, high-tech utopia ... or the scene of an interplanetary war. At Tales of Future Past, these dreams and the SF art that informed them are lovingly examined, curated into a sort of electronic museum for anyone wanting to indulge a bit of nostalgia for the innocent future view that pervaded the Golden Age of the genre.
The brainchild of pop-culture commentator David Zondy, this site does not try to comprehensively archive all the pulp art of the early 20th century. Instead, representative samples of magazine and book covers are divided into themes, like atomic power, future cars and
robots. The images illustrate short essays on Zondy's chosen themes: Sketches from the 1927 Fritz Lang film Metropolis adorn the article on future cities, while in the discussion of life on other planets, demonic aliens caper in the harsh environment of their Venusian homeworld.
It is always a pleasure to find a site that combines good writing with a balanced selection of well-chosen images. By mining the sometimes cheesy but always delightful pulp-art scene of the 1930s and subsequent decades, Tales of Future Past provides a genuine feast for both the eyes and the mind, a sincere and thoughtful celebration of SF's rich artistic and imaginative heritage.
—A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—July 6, 2005
illing itself as a fandom lifestyles 'zine and offering no shortage of attitude as it enters the Web equivalent of middle age, MarsDust celebrates its third birthday this July. Brash, articulate and wide-ranging in its interests, this site challenges readers to define and explore what it means to be a fan in the 21st century.
But what, precisely, is a fandom lifestyles 'zine? A look to the MarsDust forums reveals the answer. Where other communities focus on the SF books, TV offerings and movies they adore, MarsDust's discussions tend to center around cultural and philosophical concerns: relationships in fandom, optimum "lair" design and ways for self-professed geeks to identify and pursue a dream career.
For visitors uninterested in mixing it up in the forums, Marsdust offers convention news, interviews and fan polls, as well as a newly launched op-ed blog irreverently named The Finger. Its feature articles make especially good reading: Recent entries cover the history and influence of Fangoria magazine and the work of filk artist Tom Smith. The site also aspires to a review section, though at present this area has almost no content.
The Detroit-based creators of Marsdust profess a dedication to the idea of forging new paths for SF fandom ... and in this site they have certainly created a comfortable gathering place for like-minded Web surfers. However, this community (like many other ambitious and intriguing SF Web sites) has yet to reach critical mass. If MarsDust can attract more repeat visitors and increase its pool of writers and frequent forum posters, it could shake up the online SF community. Whether the site can realize this potential, though, has yet to be seen.
—A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—June 27, 2005
ubbish or masterpiece? At SF Bookcase, fans rate SF and fantasy novels, post reviews, plug favorite authors and offer book recommendations to like-minded readers across the Internet.
This fan-run archive has amassed thousands of reader opinions on books and authors. A lively and well-established community, it covers everything: from classics like Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination to the latest Star Wars tie-in novel. Visitors can search for specific titles or authors, rate books on a scale from 1 to 10, and post spoiler-free comments on any novel listed at the site. (Moderators do screen comments sent by non-members before posting them—to avoid delays, just sign up.)
SF Bookcase maintains a list of 100 top authors, a ranking that shifts constantly as new recommendations come in—though J.R.R. Tolkien, in the lead, is a comfortable 700 votes ahead of the first runner-up, George R.R. Martin. There is a similar list of top-rated novels, of course, as well as links to author Web pages, fan clubs, SF-inspired video games and other relevant sites.
Literary snobbery has no place at this Web site: The SF Bookcase community leans to an informal posting style, and its membership enjoys all the speculative genres from hard science fiction to high fantasy. For readers who wish to speak their piece about a particular book, track the career or popularity of a favorite author, or just join a discussion on any new work of SF or fantasy, this page is a definite must-see.
—A.M. Dellamonica
Back to the top.
