A better SF mag!

OK so I'd read a bit of SFX but got fed up with all the vampire/werewolf and zombie references-It may be a one off duff issue but where's the SF guys?? Anyway I came across Sci-Fi Now in Smith's and bought a copy. Its early days yet but it looks much more like kind of thing. It has SF in it for a start and even references a well known SF classic-Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card which is on my wishlist. Its not as good as Deathray but its not bad!
I even joined the forum!
Sci-Fi Now Forum

Bring on the Deluge!

and so onto book three, which compared to the previous 2 books is nearly new- it says on the cover First UK edition and I was missing this final book for years-I managed to get this one  from Bookmooch.com!
This book begins by seeming a lot more SF than the previous two as it mentions other worlds in the Humanx Commonwealth including the planet Moth which features in one or more of his Pip and Flinx novels!

Well what a ride! This one is definitely more SF than the previous 2.

The Tran, the natives of the planet Tran ky-ky, are a race of cat/bearlike beings (they are referred to as being Felursine) living on a planet formed largely of ice, with virtually no metal so therefore seem rather medieval. They've never seen a space ship till Ethan Fortune and his crew crash land on the planet in the first book, so things move along very much how a fantasy series does-until this third book comes along! I wont reveal anymore so as not to spoil it but it was a great finish, with a nice surprise for Ethan!
Good one!

End of Deathray magazine!

Oh man, just as I find a good SF magazine it folds! :

"British science fiction magazine Death Ray is to cease publication after its 21st issue (October 2009). The news broke today that due to the credit crunch and the separation of the magazine's publishers, Blackfish, from their parent company, Rebellion, it was no longer viable to carry on with either Death Ray or its sister magazine, Filmstar. However, there is a very slim ray of hope that another company may pick up the magazine, or the publishers may be able to remount publication at some point in the future.
Death Ray launched in May 2007, just one month after Imagine Publishing's SciFiNow. The near-simultaneous launch of two new SF magazines was a surprising move, since Future's SFX had been the sole science fiction glossy magazine on the shelves for some considerable time, whilst two older SF titles, TV Zone and Starburst, had both folded in 2008."

Moulokin Rouge

and book two is Mission to Moulokin, which I began last night. The original book was written in 1974 and this sequel was published 5 years later. Unlike the first volume there's a map which makes it look even more like a fantasy (was Foster thinking of 'Spellsinger' at the time?)
Another great adventure with Ethan From Fortune and friends. One thing about these books I've noticed is that the subject in the title, in this case the city of Moloukin, doesnt feature until we're well past the halfway mark, but even so the books are quickly paced and make for fun reading, especially if you dont mind fantasy-hard SF fans probably wont get as much out of the books as they might from say Alastair Reynolds or Stephen Baxter but theyre worth a read I think.

A slice of Ice

Next up the first of a trilogy by Alan Dean Foster. Icerigger has been on my shelf for ages now and I finally managed to find book 3 so now I'm going to delve into the world of Ethan Frone Fortune, and his sidekick Skua September on the planet called Tran-Ky-Ky which has a trading outpost called Brass Monkey! Sounds fun!
WellI finished the book yesterday (14th Jan), and it was another fun journey thanks to Mr Foster! The cover calls it 'space opera' but I wouldnt use that definition for this book-its more a planetary adventure, a voyage of discovery that reads rather like science fantasy a la Anne McCaffrey's Dragons Dawn (1988). In other words its like a fantasy adventure with SF elements. Overall, very good and now onto book two....