science fiction | Andrew Ferguson

Star Trek: Enterprise (TV Review)

Posted on May 17, 2020 2 Comments

After a little gentle coaxing from the wife and fifteen years late for the party, I decided to give Star Trek: Enterprise a second chance.

Spotlight: The Time Tourists by Sharleen Nelson

Posted on May 5, 2020 Leave a Comment

Imogen was four the first time it happened. As she flipped through her grandma’s dusty photo album gazing into the faded, monochrome faces of her grandma’s sombre family—relatives with funny names like Aunt Ada and Uncle Paul and Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Gordy, and second cousins Percy and Viola from Missoula—suddenly, the universe tilted, and for a brief instant Imogen found herself inside of one of the pictures.
One of only a handful of individuals who can time travel through photos, she establishes an investigative business to help people recover lost items and unearth the stories and secrets of friends and relatives from the past.
Step into time with Imogen Oliver in this first book in the Dead Relatives, Inc. series as she investigates a teenage girl who disappeared to 1967 San Francisco with her boyfriend, then journeys back to 1912 to locate a set of missing stereoscopic glass plates that hold a curious connection to her own life.

Spotlight: Grinders by C.S. Boyack

Posted on March 31, 2020 6 Comments

Jimi Cabot made one mistake as a starving college student. When she went to work for the San Francisco Police Department, it nearly cost her the job. The union stepped in and they had to reinstate her. They did so by assigning her to the duty nobody wants, Grinder Squad.
Grinders are people who use back room surgeries to enhance their bodies with computer chips, and various kinds of hardware. Jimi is sure that if she can just bust one grind shop, it will be her ticket back.
Paired with veteran cop, she soon learns that Grinder Squad is a cash-cow for the department. They are nothing more than glorified patrol cops, and generally get the worst assignments.
Matchless is the most wanted grinder of all time. He disappeared years ago, leaving only the evidence of those he enhanced during his career. With these pieces, Jimi picks up the cold trail to try working her way back to more respectable duty.

Throwback Thursday: Writing Non-Human Characters #2: Aliens

Posted on March 26, 2020 Leave a Comment

Last week, I had planned to write a single post talking about how to write non-human characters, such as animals, aliens, mythical creatures and so forth. Unfortunately, it turned into such a long post that I decided to chop it up into a series of posts instead. This week’s post is the second instalment on writing non-human characters and today I’m going to focus on how to write aliens from other other worlds. If it’s animal characters you’re interested in, that was covered in last week’s post, which you can see by clicking here. If, on the other hand, it’s robots or mythical creatures you’re after… well, you’ll just have to wait.

Before we begin, let’s take a moment to remind ourselves of the golden rule for writing non-human characters…

Throwback Thursday: The Secret of Sig. Pieroni’s Pizza

Posted on January 30, 2020 Leave a Comment

It occurred to me that a takeaway restaurant could make a lot of money if only the owner had exclusive and discreet access to a time machine, thus allowing him to deliver food promptly no matter how busy a night he was having. However, I neglected to actually show you the story that came about as a result of that plot bunny.

Spotlight: The Deathless by Peter Newman

Posted on January 7, 2020 Leave a Comment

In the endless forests of the Wild, humanity scratches a living by the side of the great Godroads, paths of crystal that provide safe passage and hold back the infernal tide. Creatures lurk within the trees, watching, and plucking those who stray too far from safety….

Throwback Thursday: Doctor Who (Series 11) Review

Posted on December 27, 2019 Leave a Comment

Jodie Whittaker’s first series as the titular character in the BBC’s Doctor Who is finally over. Actually it was over almost two weeks ago but I had to do 6 Six Word Stories for the 6th last Sunday so you’re getting the review this Sunday instead. Lap it up.

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

Posted on November 14, 2019 Leave a Comment

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.

Throwback Thursday: 5 Sci-Fi Tropes I Could Live Without

Posted on October 31, 2019 Leave a Comment

For some reason, sci-fi is just chock full of certain clichéd tropes, some of which are so very ridiculous that it frankly beggars belief that they ever became clichés. The others are just plain done to death. What follows are some of my (least) favourites.