Product Description
Word count: 1110. ... Read more

Product Description
In this, Di Filippo's first fantasy novel ever, Thomas the Rhymer confronts humans and faery and monsters, in a quest through lands known and unknown . . . but can he survive the machinations of the Faery Queen? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Spiritual and Speculative Alchemy
Many times we pick up a brief bit of fiction for a reprieve from the study of deep lore or historical fact.In this case, you will be sorely disappointed.This is not little dime store novel.This is a journey of alchemical and spiritual allegory disguised as a novel.Excellent read.Open your mind and enjoy.

ROBERT E. HOWARD = THE BEST OF THE BEST!
Beyond The Black River is a gutsy and barbaric struggle of everyday people trying to survive the attacking Picts which are small animalistic men bent on killing innocent men, women, and children. REH Scholars say this is one or if not his best story. I believe Beyond The Black River will make an excellent movie. Mel Gibson or Clint Eastwood would be perfect as they are the best directors/actors in the industry.

The six superb stories in this third edition of Weird Works from pulp magazine Weird Tales of REH are: A Witch Shall Be Born, The Grisly Horror, Jewels of Gwahlur, Beyond The Black River, The Challenge From Beyond (Horror),and Shadows in Zamboula - 352 pages.

These two horror stories were the first time I've read them and they scared the daylights out of me. The Thing on The Roof (People of the Dark)and Pigeons From Hell (The Black Stranger) are two excellent horror stories. To me, Pigeons From Hell is the scariest! Don't read these stories alone at night.

Highly recommend Volumes One and Two! An introduction in future volumes by the likes of Paul Herman, Don Herron, Mark Finn, Joe Lansdale, Jim & Ruth Keegan, etc. would be nice.

Red Nails is one of my other favorite REH stories and can be found in Crimson Shadows -The Best of REH by Del Rey Vol 2. Vol 1 is a must have, too as is Rogues In The House.

Must reads: Blood & Thunder, The Life & Art of REH by Mark Finn, One Who Walked Alone by Novalyne Price Ellis, The Barbaric Triumph and The Dark Barbarian by Don Herron, Two-Gun Bob, The Last of The Trunk and Selected Letter of REH at REH Foundation, Dark Horse Comics Conan & Pigeons From Hell, Marvel Conan B&W Magazine of the seventies by Roy Thomas & John Buscema, Almuric, The Star Rover by Jack London which had a major influence on REH, Bran Mak Morn, All Conans, Kull, El Borak, Solomon Kane, Boxing stories - Steve Costigan, Lord of Samarcand, The Black Stranger & Other American Tales, Cormac Mac Art, and more!!

Be sure to tell others about REH as if you've never read one of his stories before it's similar to the first time wearing glasses and seeing the world differently and being in awe! Reread them and you'll encounter details overlooked before. Enjoy!! ... Read more

Product Description
«One absolute knock-out story… that is among the most exciting pieces of fiction I’ve read in years».
[Cory Doctorow]

A novelette by Paul Di Filippo

«1. Meet Russ Reynolds.

Russ Reynolds, that’s me. You probably remember my name from when I ran the country for three days. Wasn’t that a wild time? I’m sorry I started a trade war with several countries around the globe. I bet you’re all grateful things didn’t ramp up to the shooting stage. I know I am. And the UWA came out ahead in the end, right? No harm, no foul. Thanks for being so understanding and forgiving. I assure you that my motives throughout the whole affair, although somewhat selfish, were not ignoble. And now that things have quieted down, I figured people would be calm enough to want to listen to the whole story behind those frighteningly exciting events. So here it is.»
... Read more

Product Description
Mike Ashley is back with an all-new edition of one of the bestselling Mammoth Books ever, from the funniest writers in the field, including Neil Gaiman, Tom Holt, and Terry Jones. The thirty- five off-the-wall comic fantasies featured in Ashley’s new collection are a mix of specially written stories and hard-to-find gems: a computer salesman in fairyland, a vampire football match, a psychotic Father Christmas, and a wizard allergic to magic. Ashley expertly turns fantasy and horror fiction on its head and magic into mayhem. This is huge fun for all comic fantasy fans. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Mammoth Book of New Comic Fantasy
The Mammoth Book of New Comic Fantasy: A Dazzling New Collection of Comic Fantasy Masterpieces from Esther Friesner, Neil Gaiman, Tom Holt, Paul di Filippo, Adam Roberts, Molly Brown and Many More... A wonderful collection of stories. I enjoyed a lazy day reading this cover to cover and couldn't stop laughing.

Hannibal Hamlin's Stomach Spoke to Me from the Ether and Mentioned that the Denizens of the Afterlife prefer Colgate to Crest.
Into the gorge/I hardly stand it/This awful book/no likely bandit/I'll take in rapscallions, bickers, and moffs/but Mike Ashley must lop his unbid skull OFF!

Thanks to Tony the Tiger, Snap, Crackle, Pop, and Mikey the Cinnamon Life boy for the inspiration. ... Read more

Product Description
The Unitied States is divided, blue statesagainst red states. In the wake of the2004 Presidential election the citizensof America take matters into their ownhands, and secession becomes reality.In this volume of fiction, you will findtales that address the question: what ifthe blue states left the republic? What ifthe greatest country in the world split-up?What would this mean for the rest of theworld? How would the parts of the formerUSA fair in a new world where theyʼre nolonger the single superpower?What would this startling future hold?Read stories by Paul Di Filippo, RobertLopresti, Tara Kolden, Douglas Lain,Carole McDonnell, Gene Stewart, C.J.Henderson, Cody Goodfellow, EdwardJ. McFadden III, David Bartell, J. Stern,Patrick Thomas, Ruth Nestvold & JayLake, K.M. Praschak, Michael Jasper,Erin Fitzgerald, Paul G. Tremblay, DarbyHarn, and Seth Lindberg.Join these authors as they let theirfrustrations seethe, and discover the new world order ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Uneven -- keep your 30 bucks (confederate or otherwise)
A great idea for an anthology, but very uneven, as if the editors and some of the writers were in a hurry (I should say the same about the printer, who in this edition couldn't seem to make up his or her mind about the font size, often having type of two or three different sizes on the same page). Some of these authors will be familiar to readers of recent short SF, others are obviously novices.

The editors warn us up front that none of the stories are even-handed, but the collection as a whole is surprisingly so. Some of the stories are only marginally about the subject and others seemed to think the Red/Blue split and the Union/Confederate split are about the same thing. The Blue Nanny State and a Red Christain Fundamentalist America are common themes.

The editors also claim there's a lot of anger behind these stories but the only time I got angry is when I realized I paid $30 for this slim collection that apparently no one has bothered to proofread. ... Read more

Product Description
«Una storia che ti colpisce in modo assoluto… uno dei pezzi di fiction più eccitante che abbia letto negli ultimi anni».
[Cory Doctorow]

Una novelette di Paul Di Filippo

«1.Ecco a voi Russ Reynolds

Piacere, Russ Reynolds. Forse ricorderete il mio nome dai tre giorni in cui fui a capo della nazione. Ci siamo divertiti, quella volta, eh? Chiedo scusa per avere scatenato una guerra commerciale contro parecchi paesi del pianeta. Scommetto che provate tutti un gran sollievo per la mancata escalation allo scontro armato. Io di sicuro. E comunque alla fine gli Uwa l’hanno spuntata, no? Nessun danno, niente dolo. Vi sono grato della vostra comprensione e indulgenza. Giuro che i miei moventi riguardo all’intera faccenda, se pure piuttosto egoistici, non furono ignobili.

E adesso che il polverone si è depositato, immagino sarete abbastanza sereni da voler sentire tutta la storia dietro quegli eventi spaventosamente elettrizzanti».

+/- 67k characters (10.500 words)
... Read more

Product Description
What happens when the tools and themes of science fiction are applied to the genre of science fiction itself-and to publishing in general?Surprisingly, the result is not a black hole of dreary self-referentiality but a supernova of literary comedy, in the manner of classicists such as S. J. Perelman, Stephen Leacock and Robert Benchley, and postmodernists such as Mark Leyner, Will Self and Steve Aylett.In this collection of short, sharp, satirical gems, Paul Di Filippo-noted for his own fiction and criticism, which gives him an insider's perspective-turns a keen eye on the foibles, fallacies, fads and failures of science fiction the industry, mining comedic gold from the gaffes, pomposities and pretensions of authors, publicists, reviewers, publishers, editors, fans, librarians and bookstore owners.Using their own words as springboards in many cases, he extrapolates wildly, in the classic manner of the best GALAXY magazine stories, to give us such improbable but inevitable scenarios as literary hit men, self-blinded authors, agents as personal servants and a Victorian internet.Although these japes abound with in-jokes, nothing more is required to enjoy them than a basic familiarity with science fiction, an empathy for the human condition, and a willingness to laugh heartily. ... Read more

Product Description
Paul Di Filippo is one of Science Fiction's finest short story writers, wild, witty, exuberantly imaginative; Babylon Sisters and Other Posthumans is a generous showcase of his strange, transformative, and powerful Hard SF visions. The fourteen stories collected here are glimpses into the most fantastic possibilities of human evolution-biological, social, and cultural. From a New York split into warring walled enclaves, to the destiny of our species as a strain of virus, to an Africa made over by nanotech messiahs, to a future Earth protected by half-alien angels, to wars of liberation from what we have always so tragically been: these are only some of the awe-inspiring transitions to be found in Babylon Sisters. Read here of rebellion by books against their librarian, of cosmic destiny remade by stellar lunatics, of disorienting ventures beyond the boundaries of the human; discover here the perverse and terrible dangers of the age of posthumanity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wonderfully Inventive SF
This book was a real pleasure from start to finish.Di Filippo is an incredibly versatile writer.The end result blends genetic engineering, mind control, social organization, and erotics -- really, it's impossible to describe, but it's always incredibly entertaining.You don't know what to expect from one page to the next.I've read a lot of SF and fantasy, and would definitely give this work my highest recommendation! ... Read more

Product Description
Science Fiction is the genre that looks at the implications of technology on society, which in this age of exponential technological growth makes it the most relevant branch of literature going. This is only the start, and the close of the 21st century will look absolutely nothing like its inception.

It has been said that science fiction is an ongoing dialogue about the future, and the front line of that dialogue is the short story. The field has a long history of producing famous anthologies to showcase its distinguished short fiction, but it has been several years since there has been a prestigious all-original science fiction anthology series.

Fast Forward is offered in the tradition of Damon Knight’s prestigious and influential anthology series, Orbit, and Frederik Pohl’s landmark Star SF. Fast Forward marks the start of a new hard science fiction anthology series, dedicated to presenting the vanguard of the genre and charting the undiscovered country that is the future.

Contributors scheduled for the first volume include: Paolo Bacigalupi, Kage Baker, Tony Ballantyne, Stephen Baxter, Elizabeth Bear (Sarah B.E. Kindred), A.M. Dellamonica, Paul Di Filippo, Robyn Hitchcock, Louise Marley, Ken MacLeod, Ian McDonald, John Meaney, Larry Niven & Brenda Cooper, Mike Resnick & Nancy Kress, Justina Robson, Pamela Sargent, Mary A. Turzillo, Robert Charles Wilson, Gene Wolfe, George Zebrowski. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Not Free SF Reader
It is pretty cool to new a good old fashioned )in series terms at least, not in contest) sf anthology series.

The book starts well with a good introduction by Anders as to why he wants to do it, and some of his inspirations, including a quote from Pohl.

There are also a couple of poems included for those that like them.

The stories are good, the average rating being 3.53, which is a bit over what you hope for from a book, and is rather well done in a new original project as opposed to some sort of reprint.

The standout is Di Filippo's Wikiworld, but Pride and Kage Baker's Plotters and Shooters were also excellent.

In fact, only called three of these '3' or average, so it is a book that is well worth looking at.

The one quibble I would have is the format, being the considerably more expensive trade paperback compared to the recently seen competitor the Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, being the good old paperback.I wonder if this will affect the success of either.

Wouldn't mind seeing an electronic version for easier obtainability, either.

Otherwise, I definitely recommend having a look.In fact, at the moment I would suggest that anything Pyr puts out is worth a look at, presuming you like fantasy as well, of course.

A fine opening effort, I was pleasantly surprised.


Fast Forward 1 : YFL-500 - Robert Charles Wilson
Fast Forward 1 : The Girl Hero's Mirror Says He's Not the One - Justina Robson
Fast Forward 1 : Small Offerings - Paolo Bacigalupi
Fast Forward 1 : They Came From the Future - Robyn Hitchcock
Fast Forward 1 : Plotters and Shooters - Kage Baker
Fast Forward 1 : Aristotle OS - Tony Ballantyne
Fast Forward 1 : The Something-Dreaming Game [SS] - Elizabeth Bear
Fast Forward 1 : No More Stories - Stephen Baxter
Fast Forward 1 : Time of the Snake - A.M. Dellamonica
Fast Forward 1 : The Terror Bard - Larry Niven and Brenda Cooper
Fast Forward 1 : p dolce - Louise Marley
Fast Forward 1 : Jesus Christ Reanimator - Ken MacLeod
Fast Forward 1 : Solomon's Choice - Mike Resnick and Nancy Kress
Fast Forward 1 : Sanjeev and Robotwallah - Ian McDonald
Fast Forward 1 : A Smaller Government - Pamela Sargent
Fast Forward 1 : Pride - Mary A. Turzillo
Fast Forward 1 : I Caught Intelligence - Robyn Hitchcock
Fast Forward 1 : Settlements - George Zebrowski
Fast Forward 1 : The Hour of the Sheep - Gene Wolfe
Fast Forward 1 : Sideways from Now - John Meaney
Fast Forward 1 : Wikiworld - Paul Di Filippo



Dream deal.

3.5 out of 5


Wild for not to hold.

3.5 out of 5


Prenatal drug dose.

4 out of 5


Deathlok defense defeat predicted, Avenger!

4.5 out of 5


Philosophy of upgrades is of arguable effectiveness.

3 out of 5


Autoasphyxiation communicates alien information preservation.

4 out of 5


Interbreeding expansion remnant conversation.

3.5 out of 5


Tinker, tailor, soldier, squid.

4 out of 5


Planet pool is tough on the artificial eight ball.

3 out of 5


Past master possession discovery preemption.

3.5 out of 5


Second coming, blogging, shooting.

3 out of 5


Matriarchal memory madness or many mutant men? Stealing space shuttle solution at least requires no sea severing.

3.5 out of 5


Battletech comes and goes, but pizza always popular.

4 out of 5


Peewee politics could be smooshed.

3.5 out of 5


Sabretoothed green-eyed monster.

4.5 out of 5


Future or past, advice not taken well by greedy power mongers.

3.5 out of 5


Trust the lightsabre Luke, not the woman.

3.5 out of 5


A quantum of solace.

3.5 out of 5


Dickieworld, with groups the Coodabeens could definitely love. Trade cybernetwarstylin'.

4.5 out of 5

Pretty good collection, with two standout stories. 3.4 stars
This is the first volume of a projected annual series of original SF stories. It has a couple of standout stories, and is pretty good overall (though not as good as the hype).

The standout story is Ken MacLeod's amazing "Jesus Christ, Reanimator". It takes place in
present-day Israel (in part at Meggido) and opens: "The Second Coming was something of a washout, if you remember."Truly a KILLER story, MacLeod's best short to date, I'd say.Enthusiastically recommended. Look for it on the awards ballots.

My second-favorite story is Paul Di Filippo's very amusing (if slight) "Wikiworld," conveniently available online at pyrsf[dot]com . It's pretty much what you'd expect, but *very* nicely done. Recommended.

Past this we get into good, pretty-good, and "eh" stories. Here's the TOC, with comments:

"YFL-500", Robert Charles Wilson. Eh. Can't remember a thing, two weeks later.
"The Girl Hero's Mirror Says He's Not the One", Justina Robson. Pretty good, if very slight.
"Small Offerings", Paolo Bacigalupi. Unpleasantly gory, but a decent story.
"They Came From the Future", Robyn Hitchcock. Poem, sorta kinda. Eh.
"Plotters and Shooters", Kage Baker. Gamers in Spaaaace! Pretty good, really, if slight.
"Aristotle OS," Tony Ballantyne. OK but very slight.
"The Something-Dreaming Game", Elizabeth Bear. Pediatric autoerotic asphyxiation. Well-written but icky.
"No More Stories," Stephen Baxter.Forgotten already.
"Time of the Snake", A.M. Dellamonica. Violent, nihilistic and slight.
"The Terror Bard", Larry Niven & Brenda Cooper. Sequel to "Kath & Quicksilver"; pretty good.
"p dolce", Louise Marley. Channeling into Brahms; good.
"Jesus Christ, Reanimator," Ken MacLeod. KILLER story, best by far.
"Solomon's Choice", Mike Resnick & Nancy Kress. Weird aliens, except they're not. Good.
"Sanjeev and Robotwallah", Ian McDonald. Exotic violence & fashion in a future India. Good.
"A Smaller Government," Pamela Sargent. Literally so, and very amusing
"Pride", Mary A. Turzillo. Bringing up a sabertooth kitten. Very good.
"I Caught Intelligence", Robyn Hitchcock. Poem. Eh.
"Settlements", George Zebrowski. "Helpful" aliens; a downer (what a surprise!). Eh.
"The Hour of the Sheep", Gene Wolfe. I just don't get Wolfe.
"Sideways from Now", John Meaney. Interesting novella from the Nulapeiron guy.
"Wikiworld, Paul Di Filippo". Second-best, and available online, too.

Bottom line: worth checking out for the standouts, but not really worth your $15, in my opinion. Too many "read once & forget" stories. YMMV.

Happy reading--
Peter D. Tillman

fine collection forecasting technology vs people
In his introduction to what he plans as being a continual science fiction anthology containing all new stories, Lou Anders explains the premise is "making sense of a changing world" as "the implications of technology on society ... makes it (SF) the most relevant branch of literature".Bias aside, the contributions of nineteen original shorts and two poems (by Robyn Hitchcock) live up to Mr. Anders' prime objective.The tales focus on people struggling with an exponentially changing world that leaves many behind.The contributors are a who's who of Sci Fi or fantasy to include Larry Niven (with Brenda Cooper), Justina Robson, Stephen Baxter and Louise Marley.All the entries are strong with the best being those concentrating on everyday people dealing with commonplace technology like Paul Di Filippo's Wikiworld" and Justina Robson' The Girl Hero's Mirror Says He's Not the One" (in Mappa Mundi world) and those bringing the past into the future such as Tony Ballantyne's "Aristotle OS and Ken McLeod's "Jesus Christ, Reanimator".This is a fun collection that forecasts where technology will take humans including those left behind struggling with yesterday's artifacts.

Harriet Klausner

...from the Cutting Edge
Fast Forward 1 once again demonstrates Lou Anders' editing prowess (his Live Without a Net and Futureshocks are also excellent).The tagline identifies the collection as "future fiction from the cutting edge," and almost every story offers up an intriguing view of the future from some of the field's best writers.

Robert Charles Wilson's "YFL 500" opens the anthology with a gripping character tale regarding intellectual property, art, and theft in a post-scarcity world.Paolo Bacigalupi's "Small Offerings" is a chilling tale of sacrifice on an ecologically damned Earth."Plotters and Shooters," by Kage Baker, is a lighthearted "Lord of the Flies"-esque chronicle of the rise of hackers and geeks as the defenders of mankind in a new age.

Indeed, in a collection of 19 short stories and 2 poems (the latter a refreshing addition courtesy of Robyn Hitchcock), only 4 stories don't seem to belong.Elizabeth Bear's "The Something-Dreaming Game" and Louise Marley's "p dolce," while well-written, deal in concepts already well-traversed throughout the genre.Pamela Sargent's "A Smaller Government," while an entertaining satire, is more of a political fantasy than a work of science fiction.And George Zebrowski's "Settlements" is too trite and rife with tropes to be considered "cutting edge" - a story of mysterious aliens with advanced technology imposing peace on a violent, adolescent humanity.

Where the collection truly shines, though, are in the off-kilter stories.Tony Ballantyne's "Aristotle OS" is a comedic, philosophical view of the world through one of the most pervasive, defining facets of oursociety: the computer operating system."Jesus Christ, Reanimator" is Ken MacLeod's rational look at the possible second coming of the Christ - charming in its grounded outlook amidst a momentous religious event.Mary A. Turzillo's "Pride" is the endearing tale of a boy and his sabretooth kitten.Finally, the perfect capstone to the anthology is Paul Di Filippo's "Wikiworld" - one of the most brilliant short stories I've read - an adventure through a foreign but realistic near-future, where political lines are drawn between usergroups and power, prestige, and popularity ebb and flow organically between the real world and the virtual.

While the writing and stories are excellent, it is the variety of worlds and tales that makes the anthology truly compelling.Having enjoyed the majority of the book, I can safely say that Fast Forward holds something for everyone.One can only hope that Fast Forward 2 is future fact.

Great Anthology...a must for SF readers and writers...
I was able to read the ARC of this book prior to its release, and I was very, very pleased with the selections. I enjoyed 14/21 stories in this, with Robert Charles Wilson's,Paolo Bacigalupi's,Elizabeth Bear's, Louise Marley's, and the Mike Resnick/Nancy Kress piece being my personal faves for their "wow" factor. I recognized some of the stories in this anthology were not to my particular SF taste (and some stories I wished were written a bit differently, but that's me), but most of these pieces had good/fun premises, and it was nice to see a variety of stories in this anthology.

I'd definitely recommend this anthology to anyone reading (or writing) science fiction, and I'm not just saying that because I got the ARC: I think I'll pick up the actual copy myself, when I get the chance. Some of these stories really blew me away, and while I would've bought the anthology solely for Bacigalupi's work, I wouldn't have minded paying for the rest of it either, if that makes sense. In other words, there's something in here for everyone, and there's some really, really good stories here.

Also, an interesting stat that some people won't care about: 9/21 stories are penned by women (though two of those nine are co-written by men). The reason this stat jumps out at me is the fact that I've heard several women complain about how when you pick up an anthology of SF stories, there are few to no women featured. It's something I've noticed myself, so a big shout-out to Lou Anders for both sampling a variety of SF and not limiting anthology slots to the male population of the SF community.

Great anthology. Check it out. ... Read more

Product Description
In Neopolis, a modern city populated exclusively of super beings, it takes a unique and powerful police force to protect and serve.The officers of Precinct 10, also known as Top Ten, encounter all manner of the super powered and the supernatural on a routine basis.

Science fiction author Paul Di Filippo teams with artist Jerry Ordway to continue the classic award-winning series of graphic novels created by Alan Moore and Gene Ha. This volume focuses on the future of Top Ten's top cops as they face dangers from both Inside and outside their ranks, as well as the introduction of some new and decidedly unique cops on the force. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

I wish I could only give this half a star
I was thrilled when I found out that there was another Top 10 book. It wasn't Alan Moore, which is unfortunate, but I figured that anyone who would pick up the series would be well versed in the characters and do them justice. I was wrong.

The best I can do to describe this story, other than what has already been said by previous negative reviews, is that it seems like Di Filippo quickly skimmed a description of the characters, saw a few sketches, and made up the rest. The characters have almost none of their former personality. There's no development. The dialogue is awful and campy -- which would be fine if it was a parody or a completely different comic. But it isn't. The extra characters add NOTHING to the story, and in fact just further detract from any possible development. The climax of the story falls completely flat. So many things are done to this story that make no sense at all and are distracting rather than informative or interesting.
The writing lacks finesse. The intention to wrap up the story neatly, as Moore is known to do, is clear. The ability to do so is lacking, unfortunately.

I strongly recommend NOT buying this book. I regret having bought it and read it, and that is rare for me. Reading it actually made me angry.
If you liked the Top 10 stories and if you have any respect for Alan Moore's writing, don't read this. In fact, if you are in a comic book store and see someone pick it up, please tell them to put it back down.

Not as good.
I was really looking forward to reading this book, as I had enjoyed the two Top Ten books so much!This was enjoyable in that it further explored the city and environment of Top Ten, but some parts I choose to ignore, and pretend they never happened.I didn't like what they did to the Captain, (although, personally, the near absence of gay behavior was welcome).Pergrine losing her faith in God was disturbing to me.In the original stories one felt that nothing could surprise, yet in this book, silly cartoon characters often manifest in the background, such as Heckle and Jeckle, etc.Superheroes, even mouse super-infestations I can swallow, but famous cartoon characters??!Please!I enjoyed the idea of various sectors of the city, such as a section for the gods, the robots, etc; but for INSECTS??!I'm sorry.I just can't swallow it.Many parts were fun, and I'm glad I had a chance to read it, being such a fan of the originals, but, sad to say, after reading about half of it, I didn't pick it up again for about a week.

What a disappointment.
Until this point I had really enjoyed "Precinct Ten," but this author trashed the characters, slaughtered the style, and eliminated the appealing magic-realism edge that made the previous installations so interesting. There is no dialogue so much as there are long, pointless speeches interspersed randomly among floating strings of cliche conversation. Plots are opened and left to fizzle for no apparent reason. Character interactions are clunky and stock. Previously dynamic characters, like Girl One (now Girl 54) and Smax are left undeveloped despite their interesting situations. (Girl 54 is a replacement of Girl One, how does that make her feel? Does she retain Girl One's memories, friendships? We don't know because we barely even see her! The same goes for the sargeant, the force's robot members, Smax and Rexa - all occupy interesting plot niches with potentially interesting problems, but nothing happens!) Even the transitions between story arcs are confusing. I got the distinct impression that the writer DiFilippo was trying to imitate Moore - what a mistake! If there's one thing I've learned by editing short fiction it's that imitation is a sure recipie for disaster. And this, my friends, is a disaster.

Weak and ugly.
Don't waste your time. Story makes no sense, and the art is dreadful.

Great charcters. Pacing and plot... not so much.
As usual the Top 10 characters were great and the art was a lot of fun with all it's special "guest appearances" although they may have been a bit overdone. Unfortunately the story on this one was just ok it had a kind of deus ex machina ending and the pacing seemed off, like he ran out of the room and skipped to the end.

I'm not sure they needed to add new heroes to the mix either but at least they were fun. ... Read more

Product Description
Includes regular columns by Harlan Ellison,Isaac Asimov,Algis Budrys ... Read more