Search Results for: Galileo

Galileo Magazine of Science & Fiction, November 1979: A Retro-Review

Cover art by Larry Blamire – “Louis Wu Making Good His Escape” I’m going to start my review of the November 1979 issue of Galileo magazine by talking about Omni. I’ve heard people, people of a certain age — people who were there, man — talk about Omni like it was the second coming of Christ. I bring that up because Galileo magazine was like Christ rolled the stone out of the way and was serving up fancy drinks in the tomb….

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Finding Galileo in Florence

Galileo’s tomb in Santa Croce, Florence Florence was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and home to countless great names in art, literature, and science. For me, though, one figure towers over them all–Galileo Galilei. He was a man who profoundly changed how we look at the universe, a true genius whose impact is still felt today. So I and my astronomer wife went searching for him in Florence. Call it a pilgrimage if you want. It certainly felt that…

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A to Z Reviews: “When the Morning Stars Sang Together,” by Isaac Szpindel

Isaac Szpindel’s “When the Morning Stars Sang Together” appeared in the 2004 alternate history anthology ReVisions, which Szpindel co-edited with Julie E, Czerneda, which explored alternative technological advancements. Szpindel’s story, set in the twentieth century, looks at a world in which Galileo reconciled science with the Church rather than being persecuted for championing the scientific method. The main character has been given access to letters written by Galileo to his older daughter, Maria Celeste, who was a nun at the…

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A Decadal Review of 1989 Science Fiction Magazines: Wrap-up

I reviewed five science fiction magazines from mid-2021 to early 2024. Here are my overall notes and rankings. Asimov’s Science Fiction, September 30, 2022 Edited by Gardner DozoisCover by Wayne BarloweRanking 1st out of 5 Megan Lindholm’s (AKA Robin Hobbs) “A Touch of Lavender” and Walter Jon William’s “No Spot of Ground” really elevate this issue. Allen Steele’s “Ride to Live, Live to Ride” was solid, and two trying-to-get-in-on-the-‘cyberpunk’-wave stories, Robert Silverberg’s “Chiprunner” and Orson Scott Card’s “Dogwalker” had a…

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Quatro-Decadal Review: Weird Tales, November 1989, edited by John Betancourt, George H. Scithers, and Darrell Schweitzer

Weird Tales, Fall 1989 (Terminus Publishing). Cover by J.K. Potter There has been quite the gap in my reviews. I’ve been high-centered on Weird Tales. Many factors played a role in this — mostly that it is not a small magazine by any stretch. Then there is the fact that I read it in early 2023, got distracted by other things, and had to re-read it to write about it. As readers of these reviews know, I don’t hold back…

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Vintage Treasures: Frontera by Lewis Shiner

Frontera (Baen Books, August 1984). Cover by Vincent Di Fate I first discovered Lewis Shiner in Gardner Dozois’ Year’s Best Science Fiction anthologies, where he was a regular, and one of my favorite contributors. His first published story, “Tinker’s Damn,” appeared in the fifth issue of Charles Ryan’s Galileo magazine in October 1977, and he followed that with dozens more all through the 80s and 90s in places likes The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Twilight Zone Magazine, Omni,…

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Mummies, Sexy Robots, and an ancient Greek Labyrinth: May-June 2023 Print SF Magazines

May/June 2023 issues of Analog Science Fiction & Fact, Asimov’s Science Fiction, and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Cover art by Eldar Zakirov (for “Aleyara’s Descent”), 123RF, and Maurizio Manzieri (for “The Dire Delusion”) There’s a lot of great reading in store for us in this month’s print magazines. Including a classic mummy horror tale, stories of fox-gods and conjure houses, and a new tale of Cascor the Discriminator by Matthew Hughes (in F&SF); a sexy apocalypse robot,…

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The Legacy of a Legendary Collector: Denny Lien, September 26, 1945 – April 15, 2023

A handful of items from Denny Lien’s incredible collection I was able to save from the dumpster On Wednesday May 3, I drove 379 miles from St. Charles to Minneapolis, to help clean out the last of the legendary collection of the late Denny Lien. I’d been reliably informed that it was the final week his estate would have access to the house; the following Monday, Habitat for Humanity would take possession, and everything left would go in the dumpster….

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Vintage Treasures: The 1987 Annual World’s Best SF edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha

The 1987 Annual World’s Best SF (DAW Books, June 1987). Cover art by Tony Roberts By the time The 1987 Annual World’s Best SF appeared as a paperback original from DAW Books in mid-1987, editor Donald A. Wollheim was of course well established as one of the most important and influential — perhaps the most influential — editor in science fiction. Founding editor at Ace Books, and founder of DAW Books, Wollheim had been editing The Annual World’s Best SF…

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Quatro-Decadal Review: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November 1989, edited by Edward Ferman

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November 1989. Cover by Bryn Barnard I thought that Asimov’s was going to rule the 1988 roost, but MoF&SF gives it a run for its money. The issue jumps straight into the fiction! Fiction — “Icicle Music” by Michael Bishop A story told in time jumps, starting on Christmas Eve 1957. Danny Pitts, living with his mother in a small boxy house near the waste dump — is up early, and finds his…

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