science fiction | Andrew Ferguson

8 Super Snappy Speed Reviews

Posted on January 31, 2021 Leave a Comment

Well this might be a great idea or it might not be, but I thought it might be fun to knock together a couple of two or three sentence book reviews based on a selection from my bookshelf. Who knows, if it’s a hit, I’ll maybe do it again… maybe with movies or TV shows. But for today, it’s books.

I selected the books for review entirely at random. They are not necessarily of the same genre, nor are they necessarily books I particularly liked or disliked, nor are they sorted into any particular order.

What I have written about them are my entirely own impressions and opinions, compressed, squeezed and crammed into a few short sentences.

The Malice Restored My Faith In Sci-Fi/Fantasy Trilogies

Posted on January 29, 2021 3 Comments

A few days ago someone very kindly (but not entirely accurately) referred to Penstricken as a ‘writing tips blog’ when really I intended this site to be for both story writers and their audiences. So, I decided it was time to write a post for those of you who have put up with me rambling about writing week in and week out when all you really want is a book recommendation. And since I have recently finished The Malice, it seemed a logical choice to review it on this week’s post.

Naturally I will try to give a fair, balanced and critical review but you know…

The Vagrant trilogy is arguably the best sci-fi/fantasy series I’ve come across in a long time! It has made me believe in sci-fi/fantasy trilogies again! I wish the third book would just hurry up and COME OUT already!

… and relax.

Your Character’s “Thing”

Posted on January 14, 2021 Leave a Comment

The TARDIS is, after all, the Doctor’s ‘Thing’. It’s what makes him stand out as a truly unique character. Many characters in fiction have travelled through time and space; many are aliens; many speak in BBC English but no one else has a space/time capsule disguised as a British police box. If anyone did, we would all cry ‘Plagiarism! A space/time travelling police box is the Doctor’s Thing!’

Almost all of the most memorable characters in fiction have a Thing. It might be a physical object they carry, something they wear or perhaps even something they simply say. When one thinks of James Bond, we imagine a man who carries a Beretta 418 (though in reality, he did occasionally use other weapons) and drinks vodka martinis, shaken not stirred. Batman dresses like bat, drives a Batmobile and operates from a Batcave; no prizes for guessing what his thing is. Even characters from history are often assigned Things that make them recognisable when they are portrayed on stage or on film today. For example, one of the first plays I recall ever seeing included a portrayal of Henry XIII, who spent most of the play munching a turkey leg.

A Few Thoughts on Star Trek Beyond

Posted on January 5, 2021 Leave a Comment

My main problem with Beyond was the pacing of the plot. It was fast and exciting almost from the outset, but as any good writer will tell you, speed and excitement cannot make a good story alone. Slower scenes, rich in dialogue and other details are important to allow for a build-up in suspense and to keep the audience abreast of what is actually going on. In particular, these slow scenes are essential for adding substance and meaning to a story.

A Beginners’ Guide to Making Up Fantasy Names

Posted on December 20, 2020 Leave a Comment

How do you go about naming characters in your story? If you’re writing a sci-fi or fantasy story, you are certain to come up against this question, not only for your characters but also fantasy organisations, races, religions, philosophies, nations, planets, galaxies and just about anything else you invent!

After all, it’s no small job creating a world!

Well, for what it’s worth I’ve decided to share with you a little bit about how I like to go about naming fantasy things in this simple, handy-dandy beginners’ guide to naming fantasy things.

Author Interview: Jasyn T. Turley

Posted on November 15, 2020 Leave a Comment

Jasyn T. Turley is the author behind the zombie thriller series, Weeks. I caught up with Jasyn about Weeks, his writing routine and plans for the future.

Spotlight: Opposable by Kirk E. Hammond

Posted on October 20, 2020 Leave a Comment

The Arca Trochia; a shifty, omniscient mega-fungus two billion light years from Earth, impregnated Dr. Vanderbilt’s mind with Sparks; thought spores carrying ideas. The Sparks search the cosmos for other habitable planets and germinate in fertile minds. Once rooted, they create Spires; portals allowing for instantaneous travel between the two worlds.

The first Spark told Dr. Vanderbilt to document every detail of the Arca Trochia’s home world; Halteres. The second Spark told him to attach bionic, opposable thumbs onto his cats.

PAY ATTENTION. THIS IS SERIOUS.

The ambivalous Dr. V thinks these ideas are his, and what he’s too aloof to know, will kill us all.

EARTH’S FATE COULDN’T REST IN WORSE HANDS.

Can psychotic cyborg cats, a pyromaniac alien, the punk rock Veteran of Chemical Wars, a merc known as Lilac Vengeance, and a severed head convince the unwitting doctor that he and his cats hold the key to thwarting the imminent alien invasion?

It’ll take every gram of effort (and drugs) the multi-species cadre of rebels can score to knock some sense into Dr. V as they cut a swath of debauchery through the Rocky Mountains and Southwest on their way to head off the attack.

ALIENS, PREPARE TO ABDUCT SOME LEAD.

Throwback Thursday: Super Snappy Speed Reviews (Star Trek Edition)

Posted on September 10, 2020 Leave a Comment

The day we’ve all been waiting for with a combination of both hope and dread is finally here. Star Trek: Discovery premieres in America today, and so, in honour of this momentous occasion (and since we Brits won’t be getting it until tomorrow), I am pleased to present Super Snappy Speed Reviews: Star Trek Edition!

We’ve already had super snappy speed reviews for books (twice, in fact), TV shows and films but today it’s going to be a bit different. Today I’ll be reviewing all thirteen Star Trek films in order of release. As ever, these reviews only reflect my own personal opinions and impressions, phasered, disruptored and bat’lethed into just two or three sentences.

Throwback Thursday: The Monster

Posted on August 20, 2020 Leave a Comment

I recently entered a couple of stories into the National Association of Writers’ Groups 100 Word Mini-Tales competition. Suffice it to say I didn’t win, but since I believed in the potential of every one of the stories I entered, it seemed only fitting to try and publish them elsewhere. I selected this one to publish here on Penstricken after the winners of the competition were announced. The rest, I’ve submitted to other places.

As ever, what follows here is entirely my own work and has not been published anywhere else in the world, whether on print or online. And so, without further ado, I give you…