So we saw Abrams'  re-envisioned Star Trek at the IMAX a few days ago and, for once, our great expectations weren't misplaced. For sheer entertainment this is a superb movie - visually stunning, perfectly cast, moving and exciting from start to finish (well, it does lose some pace in the middle). For the most part the actors not only capture the essence of the iconic characters they've inherited, but they bring something new to the characterisation, notably Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Zoe Saldana (Uhura), John Cho (Sulu) and Simon Pegg (Scotty). But without doubt, it is Karl Urban's Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy that is the stand out performance, Urban nailing DeForest Kelley's idiosyncratic creation with reverance and great humour. The plot doesn't bear thinking about too much (especially the necessary coincidences on which much of the plot hangs), but I will say that the introduction of an altered time-line is a really neat way of opening up a whole new universe of possibilities  for the Star Trek enterprise.

What a relief that the rebuild of the website is over! While the end result makes the time and effort worthwhile, it's taken way too long. Now, finally, we can get back to writing articles.

Although writing a review of Inkheart is nowhere close to the top of my list. We saw the movie last night and were underwhelmed to say the least. The problem I think is plausibility. If you're going to set a fantasy novel (or movie) in the real world, there needs to be a fit between the fantasy elements and the "real" world: in Inkheart there are individuals called silvertongues who can draw out from a novel (make it real) anything that they read: such power would make them gods amongst men and yet none of them appear to have succumbed to the desire to use their power for personal gain (or to rule the world for that matter).

Imagine what would happen if they read the Bible!!!

A review of Bernard Beckett's Genesis is forthcoming however - this is a gem of a novel, science fiction at its very best. And I'm reading James Murdoch's Gray Apocalypse for review. Although I enjoyed watching the X-Files, alien conspiracy fiction isn't really my cup of java; that said - and despite the inclusion of all the familiar / tired ingredients you'd expect from an alien conspiracy - Murdoch has written a compelling story. If you expect polished and sophisticated writing, you'd be disappointed, If you want a page-turner, Murdoch delivers.

This one sounds intriguing: Bernard Beckett’s Genesis (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, due in April).

From the publisher:

Set in a post-apocalyptic future that's somehow eerily familiar, Genesis ignited bidding wars in 22 countries and has already received international acclaim. Written while Beckett, who lives in New Zealand, was on a Royal Society genetics research fellowship, it's a riveting story that forces us to think long and hard about what it really means to be human. And it's capped off by a gut-punching, jaw-dropping ending so stunning that it puts The Sixth Sense to shame. Beckett has delivered a fresh update to the perennial "man vs. artificially intelligent machine" scenario...

As no one in SF since the great P.K. Dick has convincingly tackled the question of what it is to be authentically human, I'm really looking forward to reading Beckett's take on this.

SFFMedia review forthcoming.