This is Sci-Fi, Issue 10: Killing Gravity, Mars, Blade Runner

This is Sci-Fi is a sampling of science fiction news across the mediums. From movies to books, to real life, and any bits in between that I can think of to list. This is by no means a comprehensive list of what’s happening, but it should whet your appetite!

Science Fiction Movies

Sci-Fi Movie Suggestion for the Week:
Blade Runner (1982) – With Blade Runner 2049 coming out in a few months, Blade Runner is on people’s minds again. Though, to be fair, it never seems to be far from sci-fi fans minds. Widely regarded to be a classic, it’s perhaps most notable for the fact that many people admit the movie is better than the book. (And I mean, really, when does that happen?) I plan on watching this soon myself.

Blade Runner Synopsis: A blade runner must pursue and try to terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.

Starring:  Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young

Sci-Fi Movies Opening This Week (May 12th):

Nothing. What in the world is going on?! Gah!

Sci-Fi Movies in Theatre (links to IMDB):

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (see our review.)

The Circle

Trailer to Watch:

Alien: Covenant is opening May 19th. Only a week away! Have you seen the trailer yet?

Featured Sci-Fi DeviantArt

Star Wars: The Force Awakens by PatrickBrown on DeviantArt

Not much to say about this other than it’s extremely well-drawn and fun to look at -whether you’re a Star Wars fan or not!

The Sci-Fi Zone:

Since we’re getting into week eighteen of Twilight Zone Tuesdays I thought I’d share with you my ten favorite Twilight Zone episodes. Since the seasons are so long and there are so many, I thought I would divide them each week by season. The episodes which have appeared on the blog already I will link the titles to if you’re interested in reading more.

Season One:

1. What You Need: I love this one. The actors are great in it and the story is interesting. No explanation is given and no explanation is needed. He’s a very modest-living little man. He has what he needs.

2. Judgement Night: A very good episode filled with mounting dread and paranoia. Whether you believe in an afterlife is beside the point. It ends on a somber note. It also has the distinction of actually showing a typical German officer (tall, blonde, handsome) in a sympathetic light at a time when it wasn’t exactly a popular idea.

3. Nightmare as a Child: A young woman meets a small child who seems to know quite a lot about her past and childhood, which should be impossible. This is a great episode that delves more deeply into the psyche than other episodes.

4. A World of His Own: A very meta episode where a writer decides to create a world of his own making. Love this one it’s interesting and breaks the fourth wall in an interesting way.

5. The Hitch-Hiker: A great episode where the actress carries almost the entire episode by herself. Which is no mean feat. The hitcher also does very well for only having one or two lines.

6. The Last Flight: A bi-plane lands on a modern day Air Force base in France. The pilot, from World War I, has no idea how he arrived there nor how much hinges on him overcoming his cowardice and returning to the past. A great episode with great acting and a touch of humor.

7. The After-Hours: A woman is puzzled by the seemingly rude behavior by the sales staff on a floor that seemingly doesn’t exist. Excellent acting all around with a vague undercurrent of uneasiness that runs through it, keeping you on edge.

8. Long Live Walter Jameson: A college professor grows increasingly suspicious of his daughter’s fiancee. With good reason. Another rather creepy offering that veers more into the horror genre than many others.

9. A Nice Place to Visit: A small-time hood is shot during a robbery and taken to paradise. Or is it? An excellent episode with a creepy twist of an ending and a bit of humor makes this one of my favorites.

10. Third from the Sun: This plot has been done since but seriously, the first time I read it (in Twilight Zone: The Original Stories) it totally blew me away. This, of course, was before every story in creation had to have a ‘twist’ to it and it totally surprised me. This and ‘To Serve Man’ were what hooked me on the Twilight Zone to begin with.

That wraps it up for now. On the next This is Sci-Fi I’ll list my favorites of season two, if that’s acceptable.

Science Fiction Books

Select New Sci-Fi Releases

Killing Gravity — Corey J. White — May 9, 2017

Mariam Xi can kill you with her mind. She escaped the MEPHISTO lab where she was raised as a psychic supersoldier, which left her with terrifying capabilities, a fierce sense of independence, a deficit of trust and an experimental pet named Seven. She’s spent her life on the run, but the boogeymen from her past are catching up with her. An encounter with a bounty hunter has left her hanging helpless in a dying spaceship, dependent on the mercy of strangers.

Penned in on all sides, Mariam chases rumors to find the one who sold her out. To discover the truth and defeat her pursuers, she’ll have to stare into the abyss and find the secrets of her past, her future, and her terrifying potential.

Note: Guys, gals, Killing Gravity is a wonderful read and I highly recommend it. My review comes out on the fifteenth, but short version is this: It’s on the shortlist for my best reads of 2017 at this point.

All Systems Red – Martha Wells – May 2nd, 2017

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it’s up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

Cold Summer – Gwen Cole – May 2nd, 2017

Today, he’s a high school dropout with no future. Tomorrow, he’s a soldier in World War II.

Kale Jackson has spent years trying to control his time-traveling ability but hasn’t had much luck. One day he lives in 1945, fighting in the war as a sharpshooter and helplessly watching soldiers—friends—die. Then the next day, he’s back in the present, where WWII has bled into his modern life in the form of PTSD, straining his relationship with his father and the few friends he has left. Every day it becomes harder to hide his battle wounds, both physical and mental, from the past.

When the ex-girl-next-door, Harper, moves back to town, thoughts of what could be if only he had a normal life begin to haunt him. Harper reminds him of the person he was before the PTSD, which helps anchor him to the present. With practice, maybe Kale could remain in the present permanently and never step foot on a battlefield again. Maybe he can have the normal life he craves.

But then Harper finds Kale’s name in a historical article—and he’s listed as a casualty of the war. Kale knows now that he must learn to control his time-traveling ability to save himself and his chance at a life with Harper. Otherwise, he’ll be killed in a time where he doesn’t belong by a bullet that was never meant for him.

A Focus on Mars

Notable Events in Sci-Fi History

5 Science Fiction Actors Birth / Death (April 28 – May 12)
Domnhall Gleeson – b. May 12 (Ex Machina)

Nicky Katt – b. May 11 (Phantoms)

Stephen Amell – b. May 8 (Arrow)

Orson Welles – b. May 6 (War of the Worlds)

John Rys-Davies – b. May 5 (Sliders)

5 Science Fiction Movies Released (April 28-May 12)

The Fifth Element (1997)

Gojira/Godzilla (1954)

Soylent Green (1973)

Short Circuit (1986)

Star Trek (2009)

Science Fiction on the Web

• Here’s a thought-provoking piece from The Guardian on How Sci-Fi  is Becoming More Female
• Sci-Fi Gaming Fan? Check out this article on Prey from USA Today
• N0thingBooks does a neat little compare and contrast on 1984 versus The Handmaid’s Tale
• The Verge has an interesting article on the deadly, beautiful, and naive sci-fi heroines
• I’ve never read The Man in High Castle, so here’s a review of it from Past Due BookReviews
• Inverse talks about the newest remake of War of the Worlds and a unique possibility for it.
• There was an article on Blastr for National Pet Week: 11 Ways Science Fiction is Real for Our Pets