m. c. de marco

So is time travel even possible or is it just something that science fiction writers invented? If you ask the scientists, it may indeed be theoretically possible. The problem is, there are different theories as to how it could be done. Famous physicist Stephen Hawking has been speaking out on the subject recently, no longer afraid of being labelled a crank for his ideas on time travel. In this article, he looks at the idea of linking wormholes in space to travel to the past, but concludes that it is impossible to move backwards in time, but things by accelerating to a very fast speed we'd be able to travel to the future due to the effects of time dilation as you approach the speed of light. Unfortunately, it's a one-way trip. While Hawking isn't sold on travelling through wormholes, others have not dismissed the idea entirely. Another line of thinking is the quantum time machine. With such a device, you'd just change the variables in the mathematical equation defining time travel until one of them allowed it to be true. That sounds like a whole lot of theory. Don't ask anyone how that could actually be done. This article goes explains the idea of quantum time travel in a little more detail, but it still sounds as improbable as journeying through worm holes or accelerating to the speed of light. Let's just agree that the boffins believe that time travel is possible. It's just a long way from actually happening. For now the only way to travel into the future is to keep on doing what you're doing so that you will get there one minute at a time.

The winnners of this year's Scibe Awards, for media tie-in writers, have been announced. The winners are...

George Mann's Ghosts of Manhattan is a police-procedural superhero novel set in an alternate, steampunked 1926 New York City. It's compelling...

ChiZine Publications and author Daniel A. Rabuzzi are giving away free electronic copies of his The Choir Boats, through the end of the month...

When I spotted a link to the science fiction movie Primer from IO9, I was going to urge you stop what you are doing and head over to Google Video to watch it where it had made it freely available for anyone to watch online. The only thing is the video isn't there so maybe it wasn't legit. I'm sure you can find it from other online sources if you do a bit of searching. It really is worth seeking out. I'm not surprised to find it on this recent list of the 16 most intelligent science fiction movies. I was also pleased to see Gattaca on the top of the list, which I was just mentioning the other day because it appeared on a list of underappreciated sci-fi movies. If you want to watch other science fiction movies online, you may not be aware that YouTube has a movies channel where you can watch full-length films. The usual categories are represented, including science fiction, although the pickings are slim and you won't find any of the titles on the aforementioned best-of lists. For even more schlocky online movie watching, here's a long list of 100 science fiction films, arranged by decade. It would take a long time, and a strong constitution, to wade through all of them.

Seemingly soft plot lines surprise when they don't disappoint, as the Warehouse continues to heat up with fun, fashion, and folly. And the humanizing influence of Claudia is not to be overlooked... (Warning: this review contains some spoilers.)

Kit Berry's self-published YA fantasy series Stonewylde has been picked up Gollancz for traditional publication with wider distribution...

Our galaxy is teeming with Earth-like planets. As a science fiction fan, you probably already figured that was the case, but now there's some real science to prove that it's true. In recent years, astronomers have been finding all sorts of exoplanets, but they are bizarre, gas giants orbiting close to their suns at tremendous speeds. The new Kepler Space Telescope can spot much smaller worlds and has already identified an amazing 140 candidates for planets that are Earth-like, at least in size. Whether or not these worlds have atmospheres like ours or water is not known yet, but don't rule out the possibility that life may be there if those elements are not present. There are plenty of scientists who think you don't need water to harbour life. For those of you who subscribe to the water=life theory, then you may be intrigued to learn that some experts believe that our neighbouring planet, Mars, once had 1/3 of its surface covered by oceans. Perhaps movie director James Cameron will help us better understand the red planet. He's convinced NASA to let him film the place in 3D on one of their upcoming missions. Forget Avatar, this the Cameron movie I want to see! Of course, the UFO conspiracists will tell you were wasting our time wondering whether or not life lives elsewhere in the universe. There's already a vast, government conspiracy covering up the UFO fact.

Better, with a pretty good story line, but still a very slow-moving start to a new series... (Warning: this review contains some spoilers.)

Outsiders, even non-humans, can show us our own true natures in slightly distorted mirrors... (Warning: this review contains some spoilers.)

So how do you decide which books to read? Many of us rely on word-of-mouth from friends or from other fans posting reviews on websites like this one, but some of us are now turning to book recommendation engines. These are social websites which compile the likes of its members to crunch the stats to come up reading ideas for you. If the thought of your tastes being boiled down to a mere algorithm is distasteful, be aware that there are professional book recommenders. No, it's not a recommendation you get from reading a professional book review. It's a flesh-and-blood person who quizzes you on your tastes and comes up with a reading list for you. We used to call those people librarians. If that sounds too pricey, you could always turn to free web quizzes like this one which lets you decide which flavour of apocalyptic fiction is right for you.  

Simon R. Green turned in the fifth Secret Histories novel, while Jack Campbell delivered the newest Lost Fleet Beyond the Frontier book, both to Roc...

The October 2010 issue of Realms of Fantasy includes fiction by Euan Harvey, Daniel Hood, Jay Lake, Eilis O'Neal, Alan Smale...

Genre films own the top of the charts this week, with box office receipts really concentrated among the top 10...

The most popular SFScope articles during the last week, as well as those which were updated...

Graphic Audio will publish abridged versions of Simon R. Green's Hawk & Fisher novels, while Recorded Books bought unabridged rights to the latter Secret Histories novels and the Ghost Finders books...

It looks like a critical backlash against the science fiction movies Inception has begun. This article points out how the number of positive reviews for the film seems to be sliding from the early days. It theorizes that the earliest reviews were from those no-good, uncritical "bloggers" who don't know anything about movies when compared to those exalted, mainstream newspaper reviewers. I'd argue that the latter group will tend to give the film lower marks because they have difficulty grasping original science fiction movies that aren't all about special effects and laser battles. It's a fairly common occurance to see mainstream critics give low marks to genre films that are beloved by fans who can be very demanding when it comes to what qualifies as a good science fiction film. As this writer points out, a similar situation arouse when Eterntal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was released. Many loved it, but a goodly percentage didn't understand it and hated it as a result. Inception director Christopher Nolan has already distinguishes himself in the eyes of genre fans with his movie the Dark Knight, but also for his underappreciated The Prestige. On the subject of underappreciated science fiction movies, here's a top 10 list which is topped by my favourite, Gattaca. When someone revises the list in a decade or so, perhaps Inception will be there. At least it's helping salvage a mediocre summer movie season.  

The women who run science fiction publishing have rejoined forces for a social evening...

Graphic novel publisher Asylum Press is entering the standard book trade through its distribution deal with SCB Distributors...

Project: Rooftop's newest contest seeks a redesign of Captain America's outfit...