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

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

I have finished reading Faster Than Light Vol. 2, which collects the final 5 issues of the comic. It's a pity that this didn't develop into an ongoing series - it had the potential to be an excellent SF comic story.

I have started reading Spores: A Sci-Fi Horror Novel, which will fill the 2025 slot in my Bingo.

I have finished Star Wars: Choices Of One, which I quite enjoyed. Also, as Luke is one of the characters, it will fill the Features a Son Bingo slot. I have now filled 15 of the 25 slots, but haven't completed a row or a column, although several have 4 slots filled.

I have started reading Faster Than Light Vol. 2, which collects issues 6-10 of the original series, which was all that was created.

I finished Faster Than Light, Volume 1: First Steps, which puts me halfway through the series. The artwork was good, but the story jumped around a bit.

I watched the Sabrina the Teenage Witch series in the mid 90s to early 2000s and I thought it was fun, but light, as you would expect from a series based on an Archie comic. I am now nearly at the end of season 1 of the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix, and it has got really dark, nothing like the 90s sitcom and not what you would expect from Archie comics - although I know they have published a number of horror-themed Archie comics.

Some more short stories - Double Take by Richard Wilson, Field Trip by Gene Hunter, and Larson's Luck by Gerald Vance. The first two were fairly forgettable, but Larson's Luck was fun. It was very much a light space opera - reminiscent of Perry Rhodan, Asimov's Space Ranger series, and Heinlein's juveniles.

I have started Faster Than Light, Volume 1: First Steps, which collects the first 5 issues (there were 10 in total) of the Image comic from 2015-16.

Two more short stories - All Day Wednesday by Richard Olin and Blind Spot by Bascom Jones. All Day Wednesday was a bit of a forerunner to Groundhog Day and Blind Spot was very short (only about 5 pages) but with a sharp anti-colonisation message.

June is here, the year is nearly halfway through, and winter has arrived in Australia - later this week the overnight temp will be down to 6 degrees. Not cold for some, but way colder than I like.

I finished the short story - almost a novella - Twelve Times Zero by Howard Carleton Browne. An excellent story, although I didn't think the ending was great, that reads like a pulp crime novel for the first half, before getting into the SF elements. It will fill the Genre Blender slot in my Bingo.

I read another short story - Thy Name is Woman by Kenneth O'Hara. It was an interesting, and possibly controversial for the times, look at gender roles.

I have started Star Wars: Choices Of One. It features Luke Skywalker, so it can fill the Features a Son Bingo slot.

I finished The Mage's Academy. If you like the LitRPG and dungeon core sub-genres of fantasy, this fits into both and is pretty good. It's also a series starter. Trigger warning - it does contain some graphic sex. It will fill the Underground slot in my Bingo

I have started reading The Mage's Academy

Michelle wrote: "Tony wrote: "I have started The Hard Blokes Of Sparta: The Relic In The Dungeon. This is the first book in the series (more of a novella really), but it feels like there are other b..."

As it turns out (from reading other reviews) it's the prequel to the Hard Blokes of Sparta series, but it's not the first book written. A lot of my questions were unanswered, but are apparently answered if you read book one of the series - The Princess In The Tower - first, which I haven't read yet. However, I found my general knowledge of how LitRPG books work was enough to allow me to follow along without much difficulty.

The story itself was enjoyable - funny in places, but never laugh out loud funny. It does make a good parody of a lot of D&D-style adventures. I also got it from Amazon for free, and will use it to fill the free slot in my Bingo.

I have started The Hard Blokes Of Sparta: The Relic In The Dungeon. This is the first book in the series (more of a novella really), but it feels like there are other books that should have been read. It kind of starts in the middle of a story, and not too much backstory has been revealed in the first half.

I have finished Alice In Wonderland

I finished a short story which, according to the contents listing of The Science Fiction Anthology, was Transfer Point by Anthony Boucher. However, the Goodreads description says the "story follows a group of characters as they navigate the complexities of transferring between different points in space and possibly different dimensions." That is nothing like the short story I read, which is a time travel paradox set in the last days of humans after an alien invasion. In any event, it was a good story and I would like to know what the actual title is.

Some more short stories - Jamieson by Bill Doede; A Fall of Glass by Stanley Lee; and Shatter the Wall by Sydney Van Scyoc. They were all good and yes, Stanley Lee is Stan Lee.

I have finished Alice in Wonderland (the first half of Alice In Wonderland and started on Through the Looking-Glass. Alice in Wonderland will fill the Dreampunk slot in my Bingo, and I might use Through the Looking Glass for the pre-1940 slot.

I have started Alice In Wonderland. This beautifully illustrated edition contains both Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

Rachel wrote: "not sure if this counts for this thread but i was looking for something light and funny and found Industrial Strength Magic by Macronomicon. About a s..."

If you're reading it this month, it's certainly appropriate for this thread.

Some more short stories - The Stuff by Henry Slesar; The Celestial Hammerlock by Donald Colvin; and Always A Qurono by Jim Harmon. Celestial Hammerlock was interesting, the other two were not great.