Observed at Wal-Mart

This afternoon, toiling my way through the aisles of the local Wal-Mart, I chanced upon the books aisle and began to browse. I didn’t need more reading material–I have enough of a backlog to last me until sometime in 2006–but it’s always interesting to see what Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, thinks of the readingContinue reading “Observed at Wal-Mart”

On Deep Space Nine: "Fear, Itself"

Tom Sharp raised the question, “Could [“Fear Itself,” published in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds V] be considered a part of the DS9 post-finale stories I have listed at DS9 Avatar? There are two possible answers here, and each has their reasons: Yes, include it–“Fear Itself” takes place post-“What You Leave Behind.” No, don’t includeContinue reading “On Deep Space Nine: "Fear, Itself"”

On K.W. Jeter's Warped

The impression I’ve gotten over the years is that most of the Star Trek novel readership hates K.W. Jeter’s Warped. I’ve always been more than a little mystified by that reaction; I found Warpedto be an engaging and unusual novel that had a good deal more depth than other Trek hardcovers of the period. WarpedContinue reading “On K.W. Jeter's Warped”

On Deep Space Nine's Tenth Anniversary

Marco gave us all a pleasant surprise with these announcements: 1. The mass-market edition of THE LIVES OF DAX (originally published as a trade paperback in 1999), which will be reprinted under the new DS9 logo, identifying it as part of the relaunch. To everyone who hasn’t read The Lives of Dax yet, buy itContinue reading “On Deep Space Nine's Tenth Anniversary”

On the Christmas Round-Up

Ah, Christmas. It’s over. I think I can breathe now. What an incredible Christmas! At Electronics Boutique, we would do as much in a single day as Payless would do in an entire week. There were moments of extreme insanity. I know people keep talking about the terrible recession we’ve found ourselves in, but IContinue reading “On the Christmas Round-Up”

On Star Trek: Phase II

Star Trek: Phase II. In the 1970s Paramount wanted to start a new television network, and they wanted to launch it with a new Star Trek series, bringing back together as many of the old crew as they could. Only, it didn’t happen. Instead, the pilot story, “In Thy Image,” became Star Trek: The MotionContinue reading “On Star Trek: Phase II”

On Middle-Earth Nomenclature

Discover thy name as a…. Hobbit Elf Dwarf Orc Or, discover who (or what) you were in a past life in Middle-Earth. For myself, I was: Bilbo Millbanks from Yale (as a Hobbit). Arhis (though some records list me as Arhision) as an Elf. Báin Loreboot (as a Dwarf, naturally). Grishalûk the Atrocious (my OrcContinue reading “On Middle-Earth Nomenclature”