I bet the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is making a heck of a lot of school administrators very, very nervous. And if they’re not … they should be. The latest Harry Potter book — the fifth in the series — is a story of quiet rebellion and passive-aggressive resistance against the … Read more
The gunslinger is not a whole man. For years he quested after the man in black, whom he thought was his key the Dark Tower. Along the way, he lost bits of his humanity. First, he sacrificed his hawk David to earn his guns by defeating his teacher, Cort. Then he lost his friends Cuthbert … Read more
“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” That’s one of the great opening lines in speculative fiction — or hell, any kind of fiction. It immediately evokes mystery, drama, adventure and an entire Old West mythology. It doesn’t merely tug at the mind — it rends. It compels. It forces … Read more
Once some fans encounter J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, they never truly leave it, choosing instead to keep exploring the myriad, mystical depths of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The rest of us though, could use some help staying in touch with the land of Frodo. The Guide to Middle Earth 2003 calendar does exactly that.’,NULL,8,NULL,’ … Read more
Jim Lee penciled the story that got me hooked on comics. Oh I’d read comics a few times before to be sure — I had a G.I. Joe subscription one year, and I remember my grandparents buying me a few when I’d stay with them during the summer, but I was never hooked until the … Read more
For the last few years — ever since the Harry Potter books became immensely popular — there has been an e-mail circulating online claiming that the adolescent wizard is in liege with Satan, aka the Prince of Darkness. In the books, there is a division between those who wield magic and those who don’t. The … Read more
Fans of Knights of the Dinner Table can now get a weekly web-fix while waiting for their monthly editions to arrive. Kenzer & Co. are posting original KODT strips to their Web site three days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday). Check it out. Dork Tower, Sluggy Freelance and KODT online? Who could ask for … Read more
Industrialist Marissa Van Hutten has a dream and a nightmare. She longs to see humanity return to the stars, exploring the solar system and given men and women a reason to look up with pride again. But she fears as well. One day in her early twenties she saw a fireball — huge meteor — … Read more
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is a creative, heroic and inspiring movie that faithfully reproduces the book of the same name on the big screen.
Fantasy addicts looking for their next fix of sword and sorcery should check out Robert Jordon’s modern classic The Eye of the World. Published in 1990, the novel is the first in a saga called The Wheel of Time. It opens in the tiny village of Edmond’s Field, where stubborn shepherds raise sheep and equally … Read more