A Far Out Fantastic Site

Credit: Pixabay.com Even though science fiction tends to anticipate future events and can be said to be prophetic, it may be getting harder for it to do that. This is especially because technology is changing and advancing at faster rates than it had 40 years ago and is increasingly doing so. That’s especially the case with computer technology, including internet and handheld devices. So it shouldn’t be too surprising that an article at the scholarly website, JStor Daily (daily.jstor.org) poses the question in its title “Can Science Fiction Predict the Future of Technology?”   The author of the article criticises the idea of science fiction as anticipatory of future technology. However, there is some truth to what she says, namely that not all science fiction gets future technology and its influence on society right. She also says, basically, that at its core science fiction is more about the present than it is the future. What?! you may be saying. Well like all fic...

Credit: Universal Studios/Pixabay.com What got me reading classic horror and sci fi novels such as Frankenstein and Dracula was their Universal movie adaptations. I grew up watching these films on television when I was a kid and because of that became interested in reading the books. That’s why I’m excited to hear that Universal is planning to produce several remakes of its classic horror films one of which has already been given a director. Universal Monster Movie Remakes According to Variety , Leigh Whannell has been hired to direct and write the script to the remake of Universal’s The Invisible Man . The movie, based on H.G. Wells’s novel of the same name, is part of a plan to remake several of Universal’s classic monster films, a plan that has moved away from a previous one that was to interconnect Universal monster characters under one story arc called the “Dark Universe”. Even though it has not been said which movies beyond The Invisible Man wi...

Credit: Pixabay.com We’re already a little more than a month into the new year. Even though a new year is supposed to be a time of hope and improvement in our lives and society, many people would say the near future does not look as such especially during this time of increasing climate change, racial injustice, a ruler in our nation who can hardly be called a president in the true sense, and reoccurring massive violence. I mean, since Sandy Hook, if not before, there’s been a mass shooting almost as frequently as movies are changed in theatres! And it’s no joke. This year sadly began with a sniper randomly shooting in public in Davis CA, not much more than ten miles from where I live. Still, it doesn’t matter. Since in order to solve these problems we need to hope for the future, both near and distant, even in the face of despair. In fact, it’s because of those causes of a dark future is why we have to look toward hope. So if there’s anytime we should promote hope for a be...

Credit: Pixabay.com I’ll admit that I have not read a lot of Graham Masterton’s horror fiction as great as a writer he is. One of the few works I’ve read by him was his novel The Manitou. I read it a few years back and would be willing to read it again. It’s a really neat and well-written book that utilizes Native American myth, particularly that of the book’s title. A manitou is a medicine man spirit in which the one in this book is not near as much a healer as he is a destroyer. The novel was made into a movie in 1979 which, although not as good as the book, was really good with plenty of terrifying scenes. I’ll have to do a Book-To-Movie review of it here someday. Anyway, one of the best modern horror authors, Masterton has been chosen by the Horror Writers Association as a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award . This award is presented annually to writers and other artists whose work has significantly influenced the horror genre. The award will be pres...