At mondyboy's instigation, I recently re-read Terrance Dick's Target novelisation of The Destiny of the Daleks . I enjoyed it, too, and was reminded of how much I loved them as a kid. Given I'm moving more and more in that direction, creatively, why not read more? So I asked myself--leading to my question for you, dear friends, or at least the sad old Who ( Read more... )

I'm in a metal mood this week.  Any suggestions?

If the Daleks were ever to record a song, I reckon it'd sound a lot like this:

Click to view

I'm juggling two projects at once this weekend, which always hurts my brain.  Here are some recent happenings:

• Shawn at Suvudu asked if any of my books originally had different titles. There are a few.
• Paul Cornell wondered what I was doing for Christmas.
• The ABC's Life Matters program wanted to interview me about my essay on Doctor Who in 50 Voices ( Read more... )

I’m very excited to be holding a copy of 50 Voices of Disbelief: Why We Are Atheists, a collection of essays edited by Russell Blackford and Udo Schuklenk featuring such luminaries as Michael Shermer, James Randi, A. C. Grayling, Joe Haldeman, Jack Dann, Susan Blackmore, Gregs Benford & Egan, and many, many more. Including me. Woohoo!

I posted a ( Read more... )

Recently I've been giving Doctor Who* credit for my atheism, when it might in fact have been a comic book character I completely forgot about--until spotting this article on that other Doctor entirely, the Man of Bronze.

I read Doc Savage when I was younger, but my memories of him had very nearly submerged forever. Certain philosophies and lessons ( Read more... )

Voices of Disbelief is (or soon will be) a book edited by Russell Blackford and Scottish bioethicist Udo Schuklenk containing statements and short essays by prominent atheists, humanists, and skeptics explaining why they do not believe in the Judeo-Christian-Muslim God or embrace any kind of religious belief ( Read more... )

No spoilers, I promise. Just wanted to say that Steven Moffatt managed to fit more ideas, world-building, character development, plot, and genuine scares into half a story than the rest of this season of Doctor Who combined. He has such a skill for teasing iconic images--zombie kids with gas-mask faces, murderous statues, and now shadows--out of ( Read more... )

Tom Huddleston ponders this perennial question in the current issue of Time Out magazine, with a quote or two from this old hack. Take a look.

Don't, however, get excited when it says that The Force Unleashed is available in a good bookshop right now. You still have to wait until August.

In the meantime, go out and buy John Harwood's The ( Read more... )

"Mr T vs the Cybermen" is the funniest and strangest thing I've seen for days, and much less disturbing than the Dalek/Cyberman slash I came across a couple of weeks ago ( Read more... )

One of the highlights of my honeymoon that I forgot to mention earlier was watching the finale of the latest Dr Who season "live" on TV in a friend's living room in Oxford (while, as an added bonus, eating real English hot chips--yum). Even if I thought the episode a bit sub-par (okay, I hated it), that was a very special moment for me. Sad ( Read more... )