s part of its mandate to address the representation of people of color in the SF, fantasy and horror genres, the Carl Brandon Society has just rolled out a new weblog. Bright, cheery and eminently readable, the blog promotes member publications, book signings and other events of interest to genre fans looking to broaden their reading horizons.
Current publishing events touted on this blog include a reading from the World Fantasy Award-winning Dark Matter: Reading the Bones anthology (edited by Sheree R. Thomas), the much-awaited release of Fledgling, Octavia Butler's first novel in seven years, and a link to an interview with author Charles Saunders. There are also links to relevant Web pages, mostly the sites of member authors like Samuel R. Delany, Owl Goingback and Pam Noles, but also SF artists, translators and publishers.
The Carl Brandon blog is so new that it has few posts in its archive at present, and has yet to generate much in the way of visitor participation. That said, the authors represented here are a brilliant and varied group, and their announcements are quick, to the point, and loaded with intriguing links. Readers across the Internet would do well to visit this site often, using it as a handy roadmap to some of the most mind-expanding and original writing being produced in the SF field.
—A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—December 5, 2005
he cinema of fear gets some intense and loving scrutiny at Icons of Fright, a fan-built Web page focusing on horror films and everyone associated with making them. Convention reports, celebrity sightings and photos galore—not to mention interviews with horror personalities from Uncle Creepy to the women of The Evil Dead—are just a few of the macabre delights available on this quirky site.
The backbone of the Icons Web page is its archive of reviews: short, snappy commentaries on a wide range of horror flicks, with notes about any special features included in the DVD editions. These reviews are supplemented by two specialized sections: the Vault of Forgotten and Obscure Movies (think Terrorvision, Megaforce and Blood Diner) and This Month's Trilogy, a monthly event that creates suggested triple features along a variety of themes. November's theme is horror-comedy flicks, while previous months celebrated religious scarefests, zombie movies and vacations from hell. To round out the chatter about movies big and small, Icons of Fright offers horror soundtrack reviews, fan art, an extensive links section and an area covering the oft-ignored horror comic genre.
Horror film sites tend to be heavily sponsored by e-vendors looking to sell DVDs, so it is a pleasant surprise that Icons of Fright is less commercial than most, with a much smaller pool of ads and sales links. The site focuses on having fun, providing behind-the-scenes gossip to movie fans and publishing the straight scoop on horror pictures. Looking for a good scare, an offbeat and creepy occult flick or one of those unintentionally humorous gorefests that pop up, now and then, within the horror genre? The Icons Web team is ready and waiting to suggest just
the right film.
—A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—November 28, 2005
t's a far cry from a Jedi Holocron, but the Star Wars Wiki is still crammed with enough information to keep even the most studious padawans occupied for months.
The wiki's 16,400 entries exhaustively detail the six Star Wars movies as well as the myriad spinoff media, from the Clone Wars micro series to the Knights of the Old Republic games to the two Ewok TV movies. As with most wikis, the quality of the entries can vary greatly, but the best ones—such as those for Boba Fett and Mace Windu—are exceedingly detailed, offering full bios, lists of appearances and behind-the-scenes information. Less detailed entries can also be found, but thanks to the site's open nature, any one can easily edit or expand a writeup.
Where the self-described "Wookieepedia" may be most useful is in filling in the gaps in the official Star Wars mythology, particularly for those who may not have read every novel or comic book. Answers to questions like "Why does Mace Windu have a purple lightsaber?", "Who is General Grievous?" and "How did Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas know to commission the Clone Army years before it was needed?" abound in the wiki and make for enlightening reads.
—Ken Newquist
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