Sites for Sore Eyes
01/10/2002 . Source: Rod MacDonald 

Our Rod brings you the latest in science fiction and fantasy web site reviews from the comfort of his warm den in the Highlands.

www.scifi.com

You've probably heard that here at the 'Nest are number 3 in the online science fiction world? Well, this lot occupy the number 1 spot. They're actually an American-based website which is there to support the SCI-FI Channel and as such have a lot of resources, human and otherwise at their disposal.

This enables them to update material on a weekly basis, something which would be next to impossible with Crowsnest. Uncle Geoff would be working a 37 hour day which is much more than his usual 28 hour daily shift.

This website with its familiar ringed planet logo certainly has a lot to offer. News on 'Stargate SG-1', 'Farscape', 'Earth: Final Conflict', 'X Files', 'The Outer Limits' and 'The Dead Zone'. However, not everything is necessarily connected directly to television output.

In their section, 'Sci-fi.com Presents', you'll find fiction, reviews and much more. There's also a web guide section with an abundance of links to other sites of interest, including ours. In a recent review, Sci-fi were full of praise for Crowsnest.

A flashy website, there is plenty to keep your attention here. A site like this is more or less planet-wide in nature and it doesn't really matter if you live in America, Britain, Australia or India, you should be familiar with most of the information. My only complaint is that it doesn't connect on certain aesthetic levels.

There is a lack of serious intellectual comment but that's probably because it's being aimed at a younger audience than we're used to at Crowsnest. There is a certain scarcity of in-depth literature review though, in saying this, reading probably takes second place to viewing with the majority of users.

Also, being tied to a television channel can cause restrictions rather than advantages and a website which has its own independent agenda can make more universal impact.
Sci-fi has a lot more money at its disposal than most websites and probably has more than hundreds of others put together.

This gives it the ability to change on a frequent basis and allows for more diversity of page style. It certainly isn't boring. By registering with them, you can be kept up-to-date with lots of news, etc.

You've nothing to lose by doing this because it's quite easy to unsubscribe but I don't think you will.

Asimovs.com

www.Asimovs.com

And now, from a television channel website we come to a magazine website. The same comments apply to this in that true independence is not possible.

These websites wouldn't exist on their own were it not for the TV channel or magazine. However, when adding things up, good material on the Net is scarce and both sites reviewed definitely fall into this category.

There's the usual stuff about how to subscribe, how to write for and what's within the magazine. Quite a lot appears about past content and there are an abundance of links about writers, magazines and societies.

I found the latter very interesting. An editorial by Gardner Dozois (the magazine editor) gives an account of his early reading experiences and how they shaped his life. Robert Silverberg provides reflections entitled 'the quality of pity is not folded'.

However, the best part for me was the book review section by Norman Spinrad - they were in-depth, realistic and well-written.

A section on the net provides interesting comment, even some good words about Crowsnest, (not that we need any convincing ourselves but nonetheless it's good to know that others appreciate us).

Never do you get far from the message that you should subscribe to the magazine but surprise etc, this is the aim of the website.

Not everyone likes to read the magazine in paper form but did you know that this magazine and a host of others are available in single issues and subscriptions in downloaded form?

Saves space on your bookshelf.

Rod MacDonald