Tony’s Comments (group member since Dec 19, 2018)

Tony’s comments from the Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy group.

I believe the Foundation series was originally due to be released last year, but was understandably delayed due to the pandemic. I did a reread of Asimov's entire Future History (Robots, Galactic Empire and Foundation) to prepare for its release. I don't currently subscribe to Apple TV, so I might wait until the entire season is out and then subscribe for a month to binge it - Apple TV doesn't look to have much else that really interests me, so I'm not inclined to keep a subscription.

Michelle wrote: "I just started Winter King by Bernard Cornwell. It's an Arthurian series."

I have Cornwall's Arthurian trilogy in my TBR pile - along with Lawhead's 5-book series, and Mallory, and maybe a dozen other Arthurian titles.

When I first started in IT back in 1977 there were no PCs and we didn't even have a terminal on each desk - they were in a separate room. Even as someone who has been in the industry (on and off) for over 40 years, I can assure you that setting up a new PC or laptop is still a time-consuming pain-in-the arse :)

Georgann wrote: "I remember my very first SF book was The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet"

Welcome Georgann. That was the first book I remember owning - back in 1966, when I was 8.

I have finished (after nearly 6 weeks) Great North Road. Unlike with many huge books, I didn't find my attention wandering, and I was always happy when I found the time to get back into the story. It fills the 900+ page slot for my Bingo (1087 pages).

Welcome to the new month

Robin wrote: "Talking of bad fantasy flicks Tony... Does anyone remember an obscure 'epic ' the sword and the sorcerer? The screenplay was virtually Conan in all but name and whoever the writer was they were cle..."

I remember The Sword and the Sorcerer - it certainly belongs in the B-movie category. I will admit to watching a lot of fantasy and sci-fi B-movies :)

Troma is a studio dedicated to B-movies - they have put out gems such as the Toxic Avenger series, the Nuke 'Em High series, Wizards of the Demon Sword, and the awesomely-named Stuff Stephanie in the Incinerator and Sorority Babes in the Dance-A-Thon of Death.

Have you tried Lois McMaster Bujold (probably best known for the Vorkosigan Saga) or C.J. Cherryh or Marion Zimmer Bradley?

Canticle for Leibowitz is a great suggestion Robin. Similarly, the early books in the Deryni series by Katherine Kurtz feature religion pretty strongly.

Rather than Dune, you might read Dune Messiah - it has a far stronger focus on religion (and is a lot shorter).

I like most horror films, although I'm not interested in torture-porn like the Saw franchise and things like that. I found The Exorcist scary when I was finally able to see it - I was only 14 or 15 when it was released, but it didn't give me nightmares. I also thought Pet Semetary was very scary and it actually had me sliding down in my seat in the cinema :)

The film from my childhood that I found terrifying was The Blob, which I saw when I was 9 or 10. It scared the crap out of me, although now I find it pretty amusing.

Robin wrote: "Krull and Hawk the Slayer..."

I thought you were talking about GOOD fantasy films :p

Robin wrote: "I hope you are not referring to my books? (Errors are entirely possible though LOL I try very hard and scour them until I'm sick of reading them, then get fresh eyes on them but still...) I think l..."

I find proofreading my own work is usually a waste of time, as I read what I *think* I wrote, not what I actually wrote :) However, I certainly pick up errors when I read other people's work.

Michelle wrote: "Robin, one time I made a reference to Deborah Harry from Blondie to a young co-worker, and she thought I was talking about the comic strip."

I would have thought the comic strip was much more obscure, but I just checked, and it's still in publication.

I just found an article from March of this year that John Cleese, Rob Schneider, and Monty Franklin have just finished the script for a movie due for release late in 2022. No indication that Cleese will appear in the film. I would imagine it will be a comedy (of sorts anyway) as their is a fair bit of comedic talent in the script team (Monty Franklin is an Aussie comic).

I think it would also lend itself to a more SFF take on the subject.

I think the Great Emu War is a novel just begging to be written :)

Michelle wrote: "Tony, the cassowary is really cool looking! (I just googled it.)"

There are some really fascinating docos on YouTube on cassowaries. Not only do they look like dinosaurs, they sound like dinosaurs :)

Cassowaries are cousins to emus - the bird on our national crest. A little known fact is that in 1932 Australia was involved in the Great Emu War, in which the Australian Army went to war with emus - and lost!

Another little known fact is that Australia is (as far as I know) the only country where humans eat the animals on the national crest - the emu and the kangaroo.

I finished another volume in the excellent reprint series The Savage Sword of Conan, Volume 13, and have started a reread of Crisis on Infinite Earths. I am continuing to make progress in Great North Road

Andrea wrote: "I'm perfectly happy living somewhere where there are no venomous snakes. And our spiders won't kill us either. Nor are we likely to encounter jellyfish that will kill us (though for the most part our oceans are so cold we don't spend that much time in them in the first place).

Oh man, Australia is even one of the few places that have toxic birds, had to Google it to find out they actually even exist. But I think you're fine as long as you don't eat them."

Very few people die of snakebite each year in Australia - most snakes don't want to interact with people, So unless you surprise one, or deliberately irritate it, they are unlikely to attack.

Irukandji jellyfish are very nasty, and their sting can be fatal, but even the animals that aren't venomous can be dangerous, like the cassowary (the bird that will make you believe birds are descended from dinosaurs) and even kangaroos. A male big red can kill a person if it gets up on its tail and kicks with both legs.

But somehow we manage to survive without being wiped out every year :)

Great article Robin!

Another graphic novel adaptation of a classic sci-fi story, this one was Frost and Fire. Again, I don't think it does justice to Bradbury's story, but the artwork is lovely.