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AICN BOOKS! Adam Balm’s Back With A SF Update! Reviews Of FAST FORWARD 1 And THE ANTAGONIST!!

Kevin J Anderson by ErnieAnderson	Feb 28th, 2007 06:38:48 AM
is wholly untalented. And I've told him this to his face.
Someone set us up teh Balm!!! by havocSchultz	Feb 28th, 2007 07:58:20 AM
Nice review Balm...but I smell a plant...oh...sorry...that's just me...apparentely I forgot to flush...If I could actually read..and then, if they actually allowed me books in my solitary confinement - I would read this book...not because of what you said in the review...but because of what you did with your nipples while writing said review...
SF&Fantasy: Review Bk 1 of The Pandora's Box Trilogy by dead youngling	Feb 28th, 2007 08:49:31 AM
Just came out--5th grade up to adults are enjoying it--internet and magazine reviews will be out soon. Get it on the site. yeah, the author is a good friend of mine, but I read a lot, and this book's got a look going on, if you like dark fantasy with children as the main characters, check it out! It's got Medusa and an evil Tin Man, too! All his talks and books sell out.
Contact for The Pandora's Box Trilogy by dead youngling	Feb 28th, 2007 08:54:21 AM
http://www.myspace.com/pandora trilogy--he'd send you a free review copy probably.
Great column, Mr Balm. by raw_bean	Feb 28th, 2007 08:56:36 AM
You'll have at least one avid reader with every article. I have just started a personal drive to take my fandom 'back to it's roots' and get some serious SF and Fantasy reading done. The 'SF Masterworks' and 'Fantasy Masterworks' series of reprints are helping me get up to speed on the classic stuff that I'd never gotten around to, and these articles will help me get into what the scene is at the moment.
science fiction by darkjedijaina	Feb 28th, 2007 09:21:46 AM
double feature...mmm. loved the intro and reviews. i'd say they were more tingly than the lips on the screen in rocky horror picture show. i've really got to check out Fast Forward 1.
Go get 'em BALM!!! by SkidMarkedUndies	Feb 28th, 2007 09:52:05 AM
TEH BALM STRIKES AGAIN!
Thank you, teh balm by monorail77	Feb 28th, 2007 01:28:15 PM
Very nice reviews. Love the intro, makes me hungry for your future recommendations. I confess I didn't twig to half or more of your references in the review of the new anthology, but that's because I'm not a regular reader of emerging sci-fi. Certainly was interesting, though, with lost of good references for me to squirrel away and look up, peruse, read, etc., should I be so inclined. Keep up the good fight, AB. -monorail77
"it seems to be one of the by Patrick Nielsen Hayden	Feb 28th, 2007 04:48:23 PM
"it seems to be one of the latest trends in the industry, one being spear-headed for the most part by Tor" Actually, it's just an accident of timing and schedules that a bunch of different books like this all wound up in the same year.
"dark fantasy with children as the main characters" by godoffireinhell	Feb 28th, 2007 06:01:11 PM
So it's torture kiddie pr0n? No, thanks.
Sorry, godoffire, you'll have to look elsewhere... by dead youngling	Feb 28th, 2007 06:43:50 PM
none of that in this Pandora book. Maybe the sequel! i don't think he'd be invited to speak at so many schools with that stuff you said.
TEH BALM!!! by WONKABAR	Mar 1st, 2007 02:28:25 PM
Keep up the cool!
A suggestion by readingwriter	Mar 2nd, 2007 12:22:54 AM
Your column should have started with this line: "You know, this is probably as fitting as any place to begin my review feature proper." Just do the damned review, and your opinions and thoughts will justify having cultural critics. No offense, but you certainly aren't going to settle that issue here, and frankly, it's already BEEN settled. (What's next, justifying art?) I just scrolled past your loooong intro--Ellison...Dick...anthol ogies...ok, ok, I get it, you're saying all the "right" things. I know this sounds bitchy but it's really not--if you just write a damned good review, it's its own justifucation. I saw the first volume of the Dune thing in the bookstore this weekend and may actually have to thoroughly read the first book, which I've had for years with the John Schoenherr (sp?) illos. I actually started the second book and really enjoyed it--liked the movie and the miniseries, too (both of em). But it was really depressing walking through the science fiction bookstore and seeing 90% of the books fit into distinct categories: Star Wars-ish, Star Trek-ish, LOTR-ish, sexy vampire hunters and such. I thought people got into reading this stuff because it was surprising and different, now all the readers seem to want their futures nice and safe and predictable. Good thing Harlan is basically done writing, his 60's-70's stuff would have no market if it were new today.
readingwriter by adambalm	Mar 2nd, 2007 12:55:27 AM
You make an interesting point about '0% of the books fit into distinct categories: Star Wars-ish, Star Trek-ish, LOTR-ish, sexy vampire hunters and such'. It was almost as interesting when I stated it in the introduction that you said you didn't read. I see that your username is only half right. But to answer your question, I put in the introduction because I didn't want to take back half of a talkback thread responding and regurgitating the reasons explaining why I don't do this, or just cover that, or why I bother with this and the other thing.
adambalm by readingwriter	Mar 2nd, 2007 01:27:47 AM
Seeing how I came up with the same thought without writing a post of equal length to your looong intro kinda proves my point doesn't it? You don't need to take half the talkback thread if you just wrote something interesting, instead of burying your opinions with longwinded explanations and background. I'm sorry you are so touchy, and yes, half my username is accurate; if you cut about 5/6 of babble maybe I'd actually read all of what you wrote. I came here for book reviews, not looooong explanations. Seeing how you even admit I said basically the same thing more succinctly, here's another clue: You don't HAVE to regurgitate why you do or do not do something in a review if you just write it well enough that all anyone cares about is wanting MORE from you. Then we won't have to skim so much.
Is this the line? by readingwriter	Mar 2nd, 2007 01:29:29 AM
"Over the years the SF bookshelves have been eaten up by media tie-ins, roleplaying books, comics and manga." Wow, sorry I dared restate that in my own way. You really had to go a long way to find something to bitch about, didn't you?
not too long... by adambalm	Mar 2nd, 2007 02:29:02 PM
I can understand where you're coming from, although I always found it fascinating when someone would post in the talkback 'I didn't bother to read blah blah' because it seems to me like less work to actually read something than to go off complaining about and try to justify why you didn't. My intention with the introduction, besides giving my reasoning for what you would see from me and why, was to give a 'state of SF' for the field, to give the proper context for the reviews to come. Some of that dealt with tie-ins and such but it was more. It's a personal taste, and I realize not everyone shares it but I like my reviews when they talk about how something fits into the wider picture, be it the author's life, the history of a type of story, or the current trends that it finds itself entwined in. This is the style of review you'll find in the New York Review of Science Fiction and I always thought of them as the gold standard. You don't agree, and that's cool. I'm sure my type of review isn't for everyone. In any event, I was surprised myself by the length (both the large font and the decreased page width I didn't account for) and I expected the next review column to be about half the length for many reasons, while featuring more reviews.

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AICN BOOKS! Adam Balm’s Back With A SF Update! Reviews Of FAST FORWARD 1 And THE ANTAGONIST!!

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