Review—The Twilight Zone (2019 Remake)

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"You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of one's fears and the summit of one's knowledge. You are now traveling through a dimension of imagination. You just crossed over... into the Twilight Zone."

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Let me preface this by saying, I am too young to have been a fan of the original series. Having been born in the late 80s, I have not yet delved into the beloved classic that was the original Twilight Zone. From my limited research on the topic, the original series was characterized by short, unrelated 30-minute episodes that each put forward an alternate reality in which one key variable had been changed or introduced in order to make brief moral statements in the context of a sci-fi/fantasy allegory.

Having watched both seasons of the remake, I can tell you that unfortunately, the new series doesn’t really live up to that heritage. There is a pithy moral to each episode, but upon deeper analysis, each of those “morals” winds up falling flat. They’re not the kind of profound truths that the original series became famous for. These are more superficial observations. Having said that, the remake is still great entertainment—or at least half of it is, anyway. Almost exactly half of the episodes have decent twists and interesting ideas, making them entertaining to watch, but the other half run the gamut from mediocre to abysmal. These unfortunate offerings even managed to fail as entertainment, being too slow, too improbable, too predictable, or just too meaningless on every level.

Yet there were a few episodes with a deeper meaning that managed to sneak through the rest, thereby coming close to the lofty goals of the original series. For example, in season one, “Replay” (S1E3) is about a Black woman who discovers a camcorder that has the ability to rewind not only the tape, but also time itself. She uses the device repeatedly in an attempt to escape a dangerous encounter with a racist cop. This episode has some strong parallels to current events, and it’s particularly powerful, because it helps to put the viewer in the shoes of the protagonist. Being singled out and mistreated just because of the color of one’s skin is an unfortunate reality in the world, and this episode manages to make several important statements about that exact problem. Preachy? Maybe, but I thought it was fantastic.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are episodes that I couldn’t even watch because they were so boring. The Wunderkind (S1E5) is a great example of this. A campaign manager gets a kid elected as the President of the United States. I couldn’t bring myself to suspend disbelief to the point that I could imagine anyone, ever, electing a child. Maybe it was hyperbole to suggest that any candidate with the right backing or campaign platform could get elected, but I just couldn’t get into it.

Then there was The Blue Sc​orpion (S1E9), about an old antique revolver that seems to have a mind of its own. I watched the episode all the way through, only to wish I could get that hour of my life back.

In season two, the trend continues: some episodes are good entertainment while others are too boring or ridiculous to endure. The better ones, Try Try (S2E9), Among the Untrodden (S2E5), and Meet in the Middle (S2E1) are all great entertainment with ironic twists that you might not see coming, but the second season still lacks the punch of having any particularly deep meaning, and I would characterize fully half of the episodes as skippable or unwatchable, even though I did watch a few of those through to the end. You can safely skip 8 (S2E6), which is about sentient octopuses plotting to take over the world, and Downtime (S2E2) which is about an artificial reality (presented in the most boring way possible), and You Might Also Like (S2E10), which was so unbelievably obtuse that I couldn’t even tell you what it was about after watching it halfway through.

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Overall, if you’re already paying a subscription fee for CBS, then it’s worth picking through the remake to find the jewels. If I had to rate both seasons together, I’d give the remake a 6/10. But the individual episodes rise both above and below that average. If you’d like a more detailed guide, here are my individual ratings and comments:


SEASON 1

The Comedian (S1E1) – 6/10 – “A stand-up comic incorporates details about people he knows into his routines, unaware that every joke results in someone being erased from existence.” Entertaining, but there’s no deep meaning here.

Nightmare at 30,000 Feet (S1E2) – 6/10 – “A journalist finds an MP3 player with a true crime podcast that details how the airplane he is currently on will disappear.” Entertaining.

Replay (S1E3) – 9/10 – “A woman sets out to prevent a racist state trooper from killing her son by using a camcorder with the power to turn back time.” More than just entertainment. Has a deeper meaning, and makes a strong emotional connection with the viewer.

A Traveler (S1E4) – 4/10 – “A mysterious man's arrival at an Alaska police station's Christmas party prompts a sergeant to investigate his ulterior motives.” You can skip this one. There’s a decent twist, but that’s about it.

The Wunderkind (S1E5) – 2/10 – “A down-and-out campaign manager gets a kid elected President of the United States.” Definitely skip it.

Six Degrees of Freedom (S1E6) – 6/10 – “A space crew preparing for the first human flight to Mars is faced with a life-altering decision...and its consequences.” Entertaining and definitely sc-fi.

Not All Men (S1E7) – 5/10 – “A meteor shower spreads infection across an entire town affecting some of the inhabitants more than others.” Not bad, not great.

Point of Origin (S1E8) – 2/10 – “A housewife discovers where she's really from when she's taken away from her family.” I’d give this a skip.

The Blue Scorpion (S1E9) – 2/10 – “The emergence of a strange, elusive gun changes the life of an anthropology professor whose mind is slowly unraveling.” Skip it for sure.

Blurryman (S1E10) – 5/10  – “Sophie Gelson, a writer for The Twilight Zone (2019), is haunted by a mysterious figure.” Unique! Worth watching as a segue into season two.


SEASON 2

Meet in the Middle (S2E1) – 8/10 – “A lonely bachelor makes a telepathic connection with a stranger, but not everything is as it seems in his new romance.” Good twist!

Downtime (S2E2) – 3/10 – “After a woman is promoted to hotel manager, the nature of her reality is called into question.” Really bad, but maybe you’ll like it better than I did.

The Who of You (S2E3) – 7/10 – “A struggling actor risks everything to catch his big break, but an impulsive scheme takes a few unexpected turns.” Entertaining. Worth watching.

Ovation (E2E4) – 5/10  – “A struggling singer's music career takes off when she witnesses a tragic incident, but she soon realizes that her recognition comes at a steep cost.” Just okay.

Among the Untrodden (S2E5) – 7/10 – “A transfer student's unusual interests make her an easy target at her new all-girls boarding school before she discovers her popular classmate's special talent.” Nice twist!

8 (S2E6)​​​​ – 3/10 – “A team of scientists discover a new highly intelligent species that may endanger more than their research.” Too cheesy and unrealistic. The initial concept was good, but it gets progressively worse as the episode drags on.

A Human Face (S2E7) – 4/10 – “A grieving couple are led to second guess what's worth leaving behind when an otherworldly encounter interrupts their move.” Not bad, not good.

A Small Town (S2E8) – 5/10 – “A church handyman discovers a magic scale model that gives him the power to help his small town, but the mayor takes all the credit for his good intentions.” It’s unique, and has some interesting moments.

Try, Try (S2E9) – 7/10 – “A man dazzles a woman with his seemingly miraculous abilities, but their encounter takes a dark turn when the true source of his charisma is revealed.” Good twist! I enjoyed this one.

You Might Also Like (S2E10) – 1/10 – “A stay-at-home housewife is looking forward to acquiring a heavily marketed device that promises to make everything better forever, but the product has an unsavory truth.” I stopped watching partway through, so I can’t say much other than it bored me to tears.

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​Jasper Scott is a USA Today bestselling author of more than 20 sci-fi novels including the best selling First Encounter, The New Frontiers trilogy and Dark Space series. With over a million books sold, Jasper's work has been translated into various languages and published around the world.

Jasper writes fast-paced books with unexpected twists and flawed characters. He was born and raised in Canada by South African parents, with a British heritage on his mother's side and German on his father's. He now lives in an exotic locale with his wife, their two kids, and two chihuahuas.

You can follow Jasper on Facebook, Twitter and his website.

Review—Starship Troopers

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Title - Starship Troopers

Author - Robert A. Heinlein

Narrator - Lloyd James

Release Date -1959

Wiki Info - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Troopers

Review - Bobby Adair

Starship Troopers is the great-granddaddy of today’s Military Scifi genre.

At least, I think so. I haven’t ready any Sci-Fi yet that predates it and also takes the military training/campaign trope and maps it onto a space adventure.

Let’s say a few quick words about the movie and novel before we blaze on to the audiobook. The movie shares a title and the names of most of the characters with the novel. It plugs in some of the good phrases, and seems to have been created from the same two-page outline as the book. Beyond that, the two differ vastly in tone, detail, and goal. The movie wants to be…maybe a satire. I think the book wants to be a user’s guide to creating Heinlein’s idea of a utopian society. Feel free to hate me if you disagree.

BTW, I read the book some years ago. This time around, I listened on audio. I found the audiobook much more enjoyable than the ebook/paperback, whichever it was I read.

So, 1959. This book was written a long time ago. It may have introduced the idea of the mech suit.

You see those in military Sci-Fi and big-budget Hollywood movies all the time. Back in 1959, I’d guess probably not so much.

The book starts strongly with a battle scene, an invasion from space of an alien world. Well, not really an invasion, more of a crash & grab, or maybe just crash. But, it’s fun and full of the kind of military detail that readers of the genre love. Heinlein builds the world, and the suits, and the tactics, and the characters nicely. He is, after all, a fantastic writer.

After the battle scene wraps up, the book slips into a pretty standard trope for military stories—a recruit, Johnny, in this case, joins up, goes through basic training, excels, hits some bumps along the way, and eventually graduates. A war is always conveniently in the offing—and why not, there’d be no story without that part—and Johnny is sent off to fight the war. More bumps along the way, but excels, does some hero shit, and in most of these kinds of stories, would drive the story toward an expected climax. That climax part is a tad weak here. Aside from the expectations of the trope, there’s little driving the story forward.

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I don’t intend for that to be a mean comment. The story was readable and enjoyable. 

However, unlike a lot of modern fiction in the genre, it wasn’t propulsive. It often languished down digressions that didn’t serve the story so much—I suspect—as the writer’s need to indulge his idea of a utopian society.

Maybe I overstate. Perhaps Heinlein is so good at building a world because he immerses himself so deeply in it, that he writes it as if it’s real, or the dream his characters want to make real.

I recall one stretch of the audiobook when Heinlein had one of his characters argue for thirty minutes (no exaggeration, I checked the time) on why beating dogs and kids was foundational to a stable culture. In fact, beating them was a favor to them they’d not appreciate until later in life. Thirty minutes. No shit.

His characters go down these kinds of rabbit holes over, and over, and over again, sometimes rehashing an argument Heinlein had his characters make once or twice already. 

So, though Heinlein makes a promise to the reader with the first chapter, well written, good action, good world-building, he kind of gives the reader the switcheroo after that. The action scenes after chapter one are few and far between. The characters spend entirely the first half of the book in basic training. Interesting at first, as Heinlein fleshes out the experience to a remarkable degree of realism. But, the scenes are pumped full of preachy characters sermonizing over points of training and soldierly behavior that I found a little tedious.

That, and continually advocating for their governmental system. Which, after a while, made me wonder whether it was me Heinlein was trying to sell on the idea.

Overall, Starship Troopers was a well-written, interesting book.

Not an action-packed barn-burner. Though, it contains plenty of skippable pages.

Bobby Adair

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* If you feel like I’ve been unnecessarily harsh on a masterpiece, or too easy on a terrible POS, please read my Disclaimers, Caveats, and Excuses page before you flame me.

Bobby Adair is a former programmer, with a long-lived passion - and only recently fulfilled desire - for writing.  He is the author of the Freedom Fire series, the Slow Burn series and the Ebola K series.

One of Bobby's favorite quotes:

“It’s not just about me and my dream of doing nothing. It’s about all of us...Michael, we don’t have a lot of time on this earth! We weren’t meant to spend it this way. Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about about mission statements.”
- Peter Gibbons, Office Space

You can follow Bobby on Facebook, Twitter and his website.

Review—The Forever War

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Author – Joe Haldeman

I’ll start by plagiarizing a meme (if that’s possible) and say:

The Forever War is the granddaddy of today’s Military Scifi genre. Change my mind. 

Of course, you’d say, ‘Well, there’s Heinlein’s Starship Troopers.’

And I’d reply:

Starship Troopers is the great-granddaddy of today’s Military Scifi genre. Change my mind. 

I’ll cover Starship Troopers in my next Classic Review. Today, it’s going to be The Forever War.

First, a little history. I bought this book in paperback twice. Once back in the 80s because I loved the title, once in the 90s because it had a different cover, and I didn’t realize it was the same book. Unfortunately, I used to buy a lot more books than I had time to read them (that really hasn’t changed), so I never read either until much later. At the time, I thought it was a fantastic book.

The copy I purchased this time around was the audiobook, and that’s what I’ll be reviewing here.

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A little about the narration:

The audiobook was recorded in 1999, and to me, the audio quality sounded just a tad substandard. Perhaps that was all in my imagination. It didn’t, however, inhibit my ability to understand the narrator at all. He read clearly, with excellent diction. He was just a tad dry for my tastes. I did, however, listen at 150% speed. Was that the narrator's style, or the story making me want to hurry it along? I can’t say. But at 150%, it worked for me.

On to the story: I loved it the first time I read it.

I’ve recommended the story to my friends for years. This time around, I thought it was thoroughly okay.

It is Military SciFi, but it is not a high-action story. Of course, there are space battles, even the big climactic throw-down at the end—very satisfying. But, the military action is a bit sparse when compared to many of the more modern books I’ve read in the genre.

So, what do you get instead of rock’em-sock’em war? 

Well, you get a lengthy newbie soldier training sequence. That’s a pretty standard trope in many military stories before the hero(es) goes off to war. You also get a heaping helping of world-building, a world that needs to get built and rebuilt several times because the author chooses to tell his story in a hybrid FTL universe.

What I mean by this is that one of the things authors have to consider when they sit down to write a space opera of any sort, is whether faster than light (FTL) travel occurs in their new universe. The choice carries significant implications for the story that develops. In The Forever War, Haldeman employs ‘collapsars’ the same way wormholes are employed in more modern fiction, as gates through which space travelers can jump from one area of the galaxy to another. For journeys in areas where no collapsar is in the vicinity, travelers in Haldeman’s books move at some significant fraction of the speed of light. Hence, time dilates. So, soldiers go off to battle and come back decades or centuries later. Haldeman squeezes this set of circumstances for lots of pretty interesting chapters, many of which have to do with explaining a world a hundred or several hundred years in the future.

Overall, it’s a good book — worth a read.

A few notes I should mention, however: Haldeman, through his character’s voice, does offer up an editorialized point of view on many of society’s changes. Perfectly fine, we all do it. That’s part of the fun of being an author. However, a few points arise in the book, one where female soldiers were required to sexually service their male counterparts, and one where homosexuality was portrayed as a choice, not a genetic outcome. He presents both of these without the irony that his character seems to view nearly everything else. That seemed a tad odd to me, as though Haldeman were presenting both as natural beliefs. I don’t agree with any point of view where such things are natural, at the same time, I’m not one to get offended by much. But if you, as a reader, are, then beware, there may be a few other pitfalls for your sensibilities wrapped into the text of the story.

Bobby Adair

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* If you feel like I’ve been unnecessarily harsh on a masterpiece, or too easy on a terrible POS, please read my Disclaimers, Caveats, and Excuses page before you flame me.

Bobby Adair is a former programmer, with a long-lived passion - and only recently fulfilled desire - for writing.  He is the author of the Freedom Fire series, the Slow Burn series and the Ebola K series.

One of Bobby's favorite quotes:

“It’s not just about me and my dream of doing nothing. It’s about all of us...Michael, we don’t have a lot of time on this earth! We weren’t meant to spend it this way. Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about about mission statements.”
- Peter Gibbons, Office Space

You can follow Bobby on Facebook, Twitter and his website.

Review—Electric State

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Author – Simon Stalenhag

I’ll start with the bottom line first. I thought Electric State was an excellent book.

But, not for everyone.

Let’s start with the most salient oddity—it’s not quite a graphic novel, and it’s not quite a novella. It’s a book that decided to be something in between. It’s a story written around a series of stunningly beautiful apocalyptic art pieces. They create a vision of a world that words would fall short in describing. I totally loved the artwork, and I’d say, if you like the book cover, give it a try, if only to peruse the images from time to time. If you don’t dig the cover art, then don’t waste your cash on a purchase. You won’t like what’s to come, and the word count alone is insufficient to justify the cost. I paid $16.99 on Amazon for an eBook.

I should probably say something else about this. I own a spiffy little kindle that fits into the pocket of my cargo shorts, but I do most of my eBook reading on an iPad Pro with a 12.9-inch full-color screen. If you’ve got a small and/or black & white display, I wouldn’t recommend buying Electric State in eBook format. Spend a few bucks more and purchase the hardback, otherwise, you won’t get the full effect of the artwork.

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Next, the storytelling style—not for everybody. 

It has a very raw, ambiguous, dark feel. As a reader, I spent a good deal of the time unsure about what was happening in the present-day story of the narrative and what was the retelling of a memory. Characters from the recollected past seemed to come into the story, so suddenly that I spent many paragraphs feeling like I’d missed something. It took some time for me to put together who those people were and how they related to the main character. Having said all that, the entire story was a set of nested questions leading me toward a resolution that tied the story up very nicely.

I know reviewers like to talk about story details and how the plot developed and whether this scene or that scene worked, but I think to do that with this book would be an injustice. It’s a quick trip through a weird SciFi-apocalyptic world, and I thought the unmoored feeling I experienced was what the author intended—a feature, not a bug.

Check out the sample at your favorite eBook retailer. The artwork in the sample is worth at least a glance.

Bobby Adair

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Google Play
Kobo

* If you feel like I’ve been unnecessarily harsh on a masterpiece, or too easy on a terrible POS, please read my Disclaimers, Caveats, and Excuses page before you flame me.

Bobby Adair is a former programmer, with a long-lived passion - and only recently fulfilled desire - for writing.  He is the author of the Freedom Fire series, the Slow Burn series and the Ebola K series.

One of Bobby's favorite quotes:

“It’s not just about me and my dream of doing nothing. It’s about all of us...Michael, we don’t have a lot of time on this earth! We weren’t meant to spend it this way. Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about about mission statements.”
- Peter Gibbons, Office Space

You can follow Bobby on Facebook, Twitter and his website.

Time to Decide: The Best Books Of 2020 (so far) Are…

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Last week we asked you to consider your favorite books published so far this year, and you guys compiled an amazing list! If you haven't already, be sure to check out the list in its entirety and then be sure to add any of the ones you've missed to your TBRs. 

How many did you vote for last round? Which ONE are you going to chose this time around? 'cause you know what time it is...

...it's time to decide.

Last week you were able to nominate and vote for as many selections as you wish, this week we're going to pin you down to one selection.  Which ONE book published so far this year is the very best? Vote for your pick below and throw your support for it in the comments here or in our facebook group.

*This list is made up by combining votes from this blog and our Facebook group.  


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Time to Decide: The Best Books Of 2020 (so far) Are…
Results
 

Time to Decide: The Books with Best Sci-Fi Cover Art of All Time Are

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Rather than contemplating what is on the inside, last week's poll asked you to consider the artistry gracing the covers of your favorite science fiction novels. We asked you to pick the ones you thought were the coolest, most original, most beautiful—in a word, the best—and, per usual, to nominate and vote for your favorites.

We knew this would be tricky as one title might have several different covers worth nominating, but we thought we'd give it a try and you did not disappoint. There are some really special covers nominated, and it was wonderful to see them all. But now...

...it's time to decide.

Last week you were free to vote for as many as you'd like, this week, we'll ask you to narrow down your choice to one selection.  Which cover is the very best? 

*This list is made up by combining votes from this blog and our Facebook group.  

And here are the covers in question for your reference: 


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Time to Decide: The Books with Best Sci-Fi Cover Art of All Time Are...
Results

Time to Decide: The Best Furry Friends in Science Fiction are…

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Last week's poll asked for you to consider the furry (or not so furry) animal friends that inhabit the world of science fiction, and then nominate the ones you'd want by your side through the various and sundry challenges that life—sci-fi or otherwise—has to offer.

This topic struck a chord with our readership and between the blog and the facebook group, there were several dozen characters nominated. But by now you guys know how this works: only 10 of your excellent selections could move on to the final round of voting, and now... 

...it's time to decide.

Last week you were free to vote for as many as you'd like, this week, we'll ask you to narrow down your choice to one selection.  Which furry friend is the very best? 

*This list is made up by combining votes from this blog and our Facebook group.  

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Time to Decide: The Best Furry Friends in Science Fiction are…
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Time to Decide: What Are the Best Utopian Books/Series of All Time ?

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Last week's poll asked for you to consider outstanding sci-fi books, standalone or series, that grappled with the topic of utopias. As we alluded to, and as many of you noted in the discussion in our facebook group, utopian science fiction can be tough to pin down as inevitably, societies presented at the outset as being utopian have come at a cost we only learn about upon further examination, and almost invariably are dystopians in disguise. Still, it is possible to differentiate between straight dystopian stories and ones centring on a presumed utopia; many tense and thoughtful books have been born via exploration of this theme, and thanks to your nominations, we have a solid list of gems. 

But now, it's time to decide.

There were so many great options submitted, and while last week you were free to vote for as many as you'd like, this week, we'll ask you to narrow down your choice to one selection.  Which one do you think is the very best?

*This list is made up by combining votes from this blog and our Facebook group.  

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Time to Decide: What is the Best Utopian Sci-Fi Book or Series
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Time to Choose: What Are the Best YA Sci-fi Books of All Time ?

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Last week's poll asked for you to consider outstanding science fiction books and series written for Young Adult audiences.  We know there are some amazing books out there that, while geared toward younger readers, are written so well that they appeal to adults, too.  Reading your wonderful submissions was like taking a walk down memory lane!  

But now, it's time to decide.

There were so many great options submitted, and while last week you were free to vote for as many as you'd like, this week, we'll ask you to narrow down your choice to one selection.  Which one do you think is the very best?

*This list is made up by combining votes from this blog and our Facebook group.  Further, we wanted to note that since there was a nomination for Heinlein's Juveniles as a collection, as well as several individual titles from that collection nominated, we combined them into one entry for this poll. 

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What is the Best YA Sci-Fi Book of All Time
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Time to Decide: What Are the Best Books Employing Parallel Universes?

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In a parallel universe, are we all fans of romance novels?

Perhaps a question better left for another time! Today, there are more important matters at hand, namely, determining what is the best book or series employing parallel universes.

Last week we asked you to think about, nominate, and vote for your favorites—as many as you'd like—and you guys turned in dozens of incredible titles...

But now, it's time to decide.

This week, we're asking you to narrow down your choice to one selection: Which book or series employing parallel universes is truly the best? There are ten excellent titles in this final round of voting, so we know it won't be easy! Curious to know what didn't make the cut? You can see the original list of nominations in our facebook group.

*As alway this list is made up by combining votes from this blog and our Facebook group.  

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Time to Decide: What Are the Best Books/Series Employing Parallel Universes
Results