Review: From Norman Spinrad and Edgar Pangborn, Two Classic Science Fiction Novels

Ah, science fiction. Glimpses of futures that most likely will never come to be. Or will they? I read a lot. Slowed down a bit as the years rolled by, but still a lot when compared with the average. What's amazing is that the number didn't increase during the pandemic! OK, guess I really read …

Fallout: Not Your Father’s Post-Apocalypse

From the Fallout franchise. The single-player, first-person games. I've always been a fan of the end of the world. Wait, I mean the fiction. But I'm not the only one. Fallout's all the buzz at the moment, but coincidentally I've been reading a variety of post-apocalypse fiction recently. And I mean that, it's coincidence. But …

Review: Fallout Nuka Break (The Web Series)

Fooled you! I bet you thought I was going to review the official new Fallout series, didn't you? Just to be contrary, I watched this unofficial fan series instead. Bottom line, it's great and a must-see. Personally the jury has to wait for me to watch the official series before it gets to deliberate on …

Shelby’s Shelfies I – Gamma World, Metamorphosis Alpha, Wizards

This is the first in what I hope will be a long series of posts. I’d like to showcase portions of my gaming collection, along with my relevant thoughts. For something to be in my collection at this late date, what with having become a gamer way back in the 1970s, it should be a …

Review: Encased (a PC Game)

Here’s a game that I think I got for free. Having finished The Outer Worlds and not having a rig to play Starfield on, I tried satisfying my thirst for more SF role-playing by installing this. I’m going to state up front that I found the endings disappointing and unsatisfying, so be warned. The story …

Review: ATOM, Trudograd RPGs

Zdravstvuyte! Do you miss the days of Fallout 1 & 2, bunkie? Isometric turn-based post-apocalyptic wandering, digging through the scraps of a fallen civilization while fighting off your fellow looters? Fondly recalling the glory days of the socialist world, joyously working with your komrades to free humanity from the chains of capitalist oppression? Wait, what? …

Role-Playing Game Recommendations

Say you don’t want to play Hasbro’s version of Dungeons and Dragons. Don’t fret, there are plenty of reasons to avoid it. Maybe you'd like to support independents and small businesses instead. Maybe you've heard it's overly complicated. But it’s not the only game in town! OSR Games Depending on who you ask OSR stands …

Review: Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl (2009), and The Water Knife (2015)

I saw this author mentioned in an article I was reading, did a little browsing and decided to give The Windup Girl a try. The Water Knife is apparently the only other non-YA novel he’s written so far, so I gave that one a try too. I thought I’d share my opinion with you. The …

Review: Falling Skies (2011)

“And the human spirit remains the most powerful weapon on this planet.” This show was originally on cable channel TNT, which was why I didn’t see it. It was executive-produced by Steven Spielberg (as was Halo, another show I recently reviewed). Star Noah Wyle (as Professor Tom Mason) is also credited as a producer on …

Gamma World / Metamorphosis Alpha / Orphans of the Sky / Non-Stop

I expect many of you know of the Gamma World role-playing game by James Ward, set in Earth’s post-apocalyptic future world and filled with neon-colored fantastic mutants and humanoid animals with blasters and air cars and killer robots. Homicidal chickens, smart-alec giant badgers, and murderous six-foot-tall rabbits who can turn metal into rubber. It’s not …