Books of the moment:

A Deepness in the Sky
by Vernor Vinge

Winner of the 2000 Hugo Award for Best Novel, as voted by the World Science Fiction Society.

All Tomorrow's Parties
by William Gibson

The latest offering from the master of virtual reality. This novel takes plot elements and characters from the two preceeding books (Virtual Light and Idoru) and recycles them into a new multi-viewpoint story. You don't need to have read his earlier works, but it adds an extra dimension. As always with Gibson, thought-provoking, deep and not an easy read... but entertaining if you want more from your science fiction than superficial flash.

Cryptonomicon
by Neal Stephenson

Many science fiction fans will have enjoyed this author's previous novels Snow Crash (virtual reality) and The Diamond Age (nanotechnology) - Winner of the Hugo Award 1996. This one is a little different: it's not really science fiction at all, being partly set in the Second World War and partly present day. It links the stories of war-time codebreaking with computer/communications technology... many of his science fiction following will find this just as entertaining. It's certainly well-written, amusing and consistently interesting.

The Redemption of Althalus
by David Eddings

The Gormenghast Trilogy: Titus Groan, Gormenghast, Titus Alone
by Mervyn Peake

You saw the groundbreaking BBC production of this gothic work of imagination... you might like to read Mervyn Peake's classic in its printed form...

Or find out more about the Gormenghast TV series

SF reference/nonfiction books:

Science Fiction of the 20th Century
by Frank M. Robinson
Winner of the Hugo Award 2000 for SF Related Book

The Dreams Our Stuff is Made Of
by Thomas M. Disch
Winner of the Hugo Award 1999 for SF Related Book

SF News

Contents:

Lord of the Rings

Dune, the mini-series

Star Wars: Episode 2 (the hype begins!)

Eric Idle writes a science fiction novel

Science Fiction awards

SF links

Dune, the mini-series

The Dune "mini-series" is well into production. Richard Rubinstein produces and John Harrison is scriptwriter. Shooting is on location in Prague and Tunisia. The eventual release is planned for the second half of 2001.

George Lucas mentioned some of the plot of Star Wars: Episode 2 in an interview with a Japanese magazine...
Concerning Stormtroopers:
"The reason why the stormtrooper army was created will be told in Episode 2, but it becomes obvious to the Emperor that droids are of no use for fighting… This entire issue will be explored fully in the next film. You will learn why droid armies perform badly and evolve into stormtrooper armies."
Concerning Obi-Wan:
"Obi-Wan is a developing character with little personal history at present. In Episode 2, his relationship with Anakin and the Queen will be brought into focus over the course of a love story. Episode 2 is basically a love story set when Anakin is 20 and Amidala is 24."

Eric Idle, most famous for his part in Monty Python, has written a strange SF book called The Road to Mars. It concerns a couple of second-rate (or even third-rate) stand-up comics, struggling around the space resorts of the future telling bad jokes. It's difficult to define, but in the best traditions of SF, the author uses the format to examine ideas that are of interest to him... in this case, the nature of comedy. Go to the main book page for more about books.

Lord of the Rings

There is a new, live-action film of Lord of the Rings. Liv Tyler (Armageddon, Empire Records, Stealing Beauty) is said to have signed up for the project... Also Christopher Lee mentioned that he was about to work on the project when he was interviewed for Scrawl magazine.

SF links