Site of the Week -- March. 1, 1999
ooking for a good book? The Reader's Robot can help. The robot--a database-driven Web site--presents visitors with several lists of books and movies. The choices span the speculative fiction spectrum from Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land to Ursula K. Le Guin's The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia.
After visitors choose the titles they like (or recognize), the robot consults its database of more than 400 science fiction novels and comes back with reading recommendations. Visitors who select books they know will get back a list of related novels by that author as well as a few titles they may not have heard of before.
Visitors can also search through the robot's database or browse its lists of books by genre. The larger Reader's Robot site includes similar sections for fantasy, horror, mystery and other genres. All of the robot's reviews are written by visitors, so the success of the site ultimately rests on the willingness of users to keep contributing.
-- Kenneth Newquist
Site of the Week -- Feb. 22, 1999
he Unofficial Forbidden Planet Movie Home Page shows just why the looks, sounds and feel of the film Forbidden Planet were just as integral to the picture as the story, action and dialog. This site has the expected pages for posters, stills, credits and even an essay on Forbidden Planet's place in film history. But alongside these are sections devoted to the weapons used in the film, sound captures (in .au files), original art based on the picture, and even the alien lettering filmmakers used--including a downloadable TrueType version.
There is a page that links to sites offering Forbidden Planet merchandise, and a surprisingly extensive listing of science fiction links--not at all limited to Forbidden Planet. Of special interest is the Filmbook, a storyboard that steps readers through the movie using dramatic stills and brief captions from key scenes (including scenes cut from the film), which is much preferable to the usual synopsis on this type of site. Overall this Web page is a both a good resource for, and a respectful paean to, a distinctive motion picture.
-- Mark Wilson
Site of the Week -- Feb. 15, 1999
cience fiction fans may not be able to fly starships yet, but there's no reason why they can't build them, especially when the Starship Modeler shows them how. Twice a week this site pumps out news and reviews about starship models, including reviews of new products like the Enterprise 1701-C and Y-Wing from Star Wars.
Beyond the news, the site is divided into a dozen or so parts with features on major science fiction series like Star Trek and Babylon 5. Fans can easily interact with each other through discussion forums and the "trading post"; the latter gives builders a place to swap kits or post notes asking for spare parts. There is also a gallery where readers can display their finished products.
Starship Modeler goes beyond store-bought models with columns on how to build homemade versions of ships such as Babylon 5's Shadow Fighter. The only craft missing from the site are flying model rockets, but the balsa-wood-and-cardboard-tubing types don't exactly fit the Starship Modeler's focus.
-- Kenneth Newquist
