(Articles)

ARTICLE: Superman as Science Fiction, by Daniel Peretti

Saying that all Superman stories qualify as science fiction wouldn�t be entirely accurate, despite the presence of science fiction motifs and conventions. Many of them are traditional adventure stories, or perhaps more appropriately classified as sci-fi, since many of them choose not to explore themes related to human nature or the �something more� that many writers insist as a component of true science fiction.

COLUMN: Writing From A Strange Land: The Imaginative Displacement of Margaret Mahy, by Karen Healey

I come from fantasyland. To outsiders, it might be Middle-Earth, or Narnia, and (the Hollywood rumours say) Azeroth; exotic imagined locales. But it gets annoying to be enthusiastically complimented on the beauty of your country by the phrase, "It looks just like the movies!" No. The movie landscapes look like home.

FICTION: The Kiss, by Lauren LeBano

The goblin watching me from the bleachers has been watching me all my life. He's short, about five feet two inches, and he dresses impeccably, wearing a full tuxedo most days. His eyes are yellow with no whites, and hungry.

POETRY: Anasazi, by Richard Schiffman

At night they plaited mythic baskets. / Four worlds ago they tunneled up / ant people pouring from earth's navel. / The world they earned we live in now,

REVIEW: This Week's Reviews, posted three times a week

Monday: The Stone Dance of the Chameleon by Ricardo Pinto, reviewed by David McWilliam
Wednesday: Naamah's Kiss by Jacqueline Carey, reviewed by Hannah Strom-Martin
Friday: The Secret History of Science Fiction, edited by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel, reviewed by Paul Kincaid

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(Articles)

ARTICLE: An Empire in Words: The Great Library of Alexandria, by Jennifer de Guzman

But this much is clear: The Great Library of Alexandria was a bid toward immortality, a stay against annihilation. In the ancient world, Alexandria was a remnant of Alexander the Great's empire and a major cultural and trading center. Ships that sailed into the harbor were forced to hand over their scrolls to the library, where scribes made copies. The library gave the copies to the scrolls' owners in place of the originals, which became part of the Great Library's collection. The collection held works of only of drama and poetry and philosophy, but also scientific texts, works of mathematics, astronomy, medicine and mechanics. The library was the known world, past and present, under one roof: the ultimate empire.

FICTION: Who in Mortal Chains, by Claire Humphrey

They offered violence. It's an offer I can't help but accept.

POETRY: Sightings, by Marge Simon

A young writer at your door, / you made no excuses for / the empty bottles, the debris / of loneliness and bygone times,

REVIEW: This Week's Reviews, posted three times a week

Monday: Selected short fiction from 2009, reviewed by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro
Wednesday: 2009 short fiction, reviewed by Abigail Nussbaum
Friday: The Stone Dance of the Chameleon by Ricardo Pinto, reviewed by David McWilliam

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(Articles)

ARTICLE: Fall of a Superhero in Doctor Who: "The Waters of Mars", by Kristin King

There is an inherent contradiction in superhero fiction. The stronger the villains are, the more powerful the superhero must become. And the worse the situation, the more serious the consequences of the superhero's actions. Unless stopped, the superhero crosses a line and becomes not our protector but our villain.

FICTION: Small Burdens, by Paul M. Berger

Moth had a new possum. She had fashioned a little broom for the creature and now she was teaching it to sweep the floor. This was proving an uphill battle. The possum had no natural grasp of the concept of tidiness, and it was developing a rapidly escalating personal hatred of Moth.

POETRY: Cultural Climate, by F.J. Bergmann

On the centers of frozen lakes, / they built crystal palaces of ice / to demonstrate their faith that / climate was immutable.

REVIEW: This Week's Reviews, posted three times a week

Monday: Red Claw by Philip Palmer, reviewed by Jonathan McCalmont
Wednesday: The Brain Thief by Alexander Jablokov, reviewed by Karen Burnham
Friday: In Great Waters by Kit Whitfield, reviewed by T. S. Miller

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(Columns)

ARTICLE: A Stranger in a Strange Land: Ricardo Pinto and the Stone Dance of the Chameleon, by Angeline Adams

"Although it is within our power to eliminate poverty, for example, I'm not so sure that we have it in us to avoid the most terrible consequences of global warming. I feel that, because there is always hope that a human being can be talked around—talked off a ledge, talked into putting down his gun—too many of us treat our planet as if it was amenable to such persuasion. It isn't: it's not human, and it's implacable."

COLUMN: Scores, by John Clute

Peter Straub is a very well-known figure, with strong tastes, and the task he has undertaken in this very conspicuous and very sizeable (though not perhaps quite sufficiently vast) enterprise is a delicate one.

FICTION: Sundowning, by Joanne Merriam

"It's time for the bloodletting," I told him. I had the needle ready in my hand.

POETRY: What If, by Duane Ackerson

to sing their own dark songs

REVIEW: This Week's Reviews, posted three times a week

Monday: Heroes in the Wind by Robert E. Howard, reviewed by William Mingin
Wednesday: Audrey's Door by Sarah Langan, reviewed by Richard Larson
Friday: The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington, reviewed by Abigail Nussbaum

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