Online Science Fiction Serial: The Mercury Men

A science fiction web serial!  The Mercury Men.  This is amazing. I love stuff like this. A group of filmmakers are producing a series of cliffhanger shorts just for the web. The trailer looks very interesting, well-shot, exciting, and perfect for web viewing. These people seem to really know what they’re doing.

The director is Chris Preksta who made the Captain Blasto series.  The producer is Kati LightholderMark Tierno, who acted in George Romero’s Day of the Dead and will appear in the upcoming feature, The Road, plays the lead role.

I know it’s going to sound silly, but the Mercury Men Pictures logo with the light bulb is one of the best movie production logos I’ve ever seen.  I also love the way the trailer clip uses light and shadow to maximum effect.  And the alien is really creepy and looks amazing.

poster_previewThey even have this wonderful poster.

When people do this kind of work on the web they do it with limited means that require them to use real creativity in order to bring their vision to fruition.  It lends a sense of adventure and excitement to the endeavor which translates directly to the viewer.  This is something that is mostly lacking when you turn to a television.  Science fiction is going to have a fantastic golden age because of the web.  Keep watching.

Science Fiction Story Anthology from Starship Sofa

01 Front_Section.inddThe wonderful science fiction podcasting site, Starship Sofa, in celebration of its 100th episode, has published its first collection of stories as a book. Not just an ordinary book. It’s a book filled with fantastic illustrations and gorgeous layout that hearkens back to the pulp publications of the 1930s through 1950s. It even has vintage advertisements!

The best part is that you can either buy the book or read it as a free ebook in an excellent ebook viewer.

Some of the authors featured are Michael Moorcock, Alastair Reynolds, Ken Scholes, Ruth Nestvold, Elizabeth Bear, and more.

UFO Sighting Sci-Fi From India

All UFO sightings and reports of them are works of science fiction and should be judged on their artistic merits. Some are simply genius. The whole Area 51 alien ship landing story in the U.S. is terrific science fiction and fascinates me every time I read about it. This little video from India is extremely good science fiction. It has a cheerfulness sorely lacking in most sci-fi produced in the U.S. Our sci-fi has become big, self-important, thumping, overbearing and deadly dull. This video shows a tiny glimpse of the future of science fiction as I see it. The best science fiction will be made on a cell phone. Trust me, if it’s got Will Smith, it ain’t science fiction.

Via weeimage

Podcast Novel: A Princess of Mars (Chapter 12)

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A Princess of Mars

This is the first John Carter of Mars novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author of the Tarzan books. It was his first novel, published in 1917 and it’s a work of rip-roaring science fiction that has inspired many of the great writers in the genre.

Chapter 12: Someone spied on John Carter’s conversation with the prisoner and now he learns just how dangerous his situation really is.

You’ll find regular podcasts of all the chapters over the next couple of months. Subscribe to our feed.

Duration: 00:11:25
Read by Alessandro Cima

All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

Podcast Novel: A Princess of Mars (Chapter 11)

DOWNLOAD MP3 AUDIO

A Princess of Mars

This is the first John Carter of Mars novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author of the Tarzan books. It was his first novel, published in 1917 and it’s a work of rip-roaring science fiction that has inspired many of the great writers in the genre.

Chapter 11: John Carter helps the beautiful prisoner move into new quarters and has a revealing conversation with her.

You’ll find regular podcasts of all the chapters over the next couple of months. Subscribe to our feed.

Duration: 00:14:49
Read by Alessandro Cima

All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

First Sci-Fi Film: A Trip to the Moon

Today is the 107th anniversary of the first science fiction film ever made, A Trip to the Moon. It was directed in France by Georges Méliès who had been inspired by the novels From Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne, and by The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells.  This is the film with the famous image of the spaceship landing in the eye of the moon’s face.