A Test Of Faith
By Julian Gilmour

© 2007 and reprinted with the author’s permission.

“Bless me Father, for I have sinned.” Father John looked up with a start as he had seen no one approach the confessional. “I have told lies on occasion,” said the voice “but I am about to tell you the truth.” Father John noticed an unusual echo in the man’s voice, and that his own hair was standing on end, as if he were charged with static electricity.

“Bless you my child. How long has it been since your last confession?”

“That will take some explaining. I am here to deliver a message to you, and I haven’t much time. Locking is only temporary”

“What do you mean by ‘locking’ my child?” The charged atmosphere, Father John felt, was becoming unnerving, and it was then that he noticed the background buzzing noise beneath the man’s voice. He wondered if perhaps the stranger had a radio with him. “A message from whom and about what?”

“Firstly it might be an idea to explain something to you”

“And what might that be?”

“That I am from your future” The buzzing surrounding the stranger ebbed a little.

“I beg your pardon?” the priest hoped that he had misheard.

“I am from your future, Father John”
(more…)

Southland Tales

From Richard Kelly, creator of (one of my favourite films) Donnie Darko.

“HAVE A NICE APOCALYPSE!” or “THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS, NOT WITH A WHIMPER BUT WITH A BANG!”

I watched the checkdisk, my brain went to mush. And I could quite easily imagine that is where the above quotes come from, the mushing and/exploding of the brain. As Richard Kelly apparently said, “You need to watch it twice to unlock its mysteries”. Yeah, no brainer really, it’s like a weird comic with so many strands and freaky things all at once it makes me think maybe he made it for his own amusement - a lets see how many ideas and effects and storylines and actors and other such things we can have in a large viewing timeframe-, and forgot there were people who were looking forward to it, to having to pay to watch it, to at least get some semblence of a cohesive story from watching it.

I’ll be putting myself through 2 hrs 25 minutes in the next day or so, and hopefully will be able to work out what the heck was going on.

By the way, the above doesn’t mean I dislike it, it’s just a lot for the five senses to take in. I think two of mine shutdown after about an hour and a half, so, once they’re bolstered up and recovered, I’ll re examine the film.

Until then, here’s some info to whet your appetite…
(more…)

We Just Want To Borrow Your Brain For a Few Minutes.

Q) Molly asks, I have a 1950’s trash can I want to sell, but not sure what it is please tell me if you know..

It is a Ballonoff home products made in Ohio it has the names in caracters of Me2, Zig 6, Gaz and it is totally a sci-fi thing, it has planets on the inside and characters and walking machines on the outside all around the can.

Do you know what this can is?

A) We actually did a google to see if we could find the answer, but even the names of the characters don’t mean anything to us! Aggh.

Do you know the answer? If you have an idea, please post a comment.

Cosmic Ceilings: Glow In The Dark 3D Effect Imagery

Grant Hicks is a painter with a slight difference, he paints Cosmic Ceilings, scenes from outer space onto mainly bedroom ceilings.

Using specialist glow paint (which is actually invisible during the day) he creates stars, shooting stars, blackholes and other such images. These ceilings can only be seen in the dark. They look truly amazing as they have a 3D effect, and you feel as though you are actually looking up to the stars.

He can also do themed ceilings such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who and fantasy scenes (images of which you can see below).

He also trains people to do this for a living as self-employed ‘Startists’.

Images Of Ceilings Painted And Websites:
(more…)

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back: Reenactment On Your Mobile Phone

SW: TESBOM is an action/arcade game based around a series of fun and challenging mini-games where the player participates in the key events from the Episode V movie.

Take control of either Luke Skywalker or various Star Wars vehicles such as Snow Speeders or even the Millennium Falcon itself.

Travel through the various worlds of the Star Wars universe; fly through asteroid fields, train with Yoda, or even fight the mighty Imperial Forces on foot.

Key Features:

· Re-enact key scenes from the Empire Strikes Back!
· Jedi Combat/Training Mode featuring Yoda and Luke Skywalker
· Millennium Falcon game mode – Escape from the Star Destroyer through the asteroid field
· Train your force abilities with mini-games featuring the famous scenes with Yoda and Luke in the swamps of Degobah
· Easy control mechanism using contextual action points

Actual Screenshots And Purchase Info:
(more…)

Bioshock Computer Game Character Statue

Status: Open

Other information: The seller wants this piece of artwork to go to a good home, and doesn’t particularly want to put it on Ebay, as the audience isn’t necessarily targetted. Will accept any reasonable offer and answer questions regarding the product, shipping costs etc.

We reckon this would go in any front room, gaming room or even as an out of the ordinary garden Gnome. As this is the first post of this kind, we will be sorting out a more automated way of passing seller information onto enquirers.

So if you have any second hand books, collectables or anything remotely scifi/horror/fantasy to send to a good home, then please let us know through the contact form.

Disclaimer: Once Scifi UK Review passes enquiries on to the seller, we will not be involved in any communication or potential transactions arising from this post. We won’t take a ‘cut’ and will leave the communication between enquirer and seller, once initial contact has been made.

Photo of the Bioshock Statue:
(more…)

The H-Bomb Girl: Stephen Baxter

“The Cuban Missile Crisis, Teddyboys, Rock N’ Roll, The Key To The End Of The World, Timetravel - There’s nothing quite like being a teenager in Liverpool during 1962…”

Laura Mann, 14, is The H-Bomb Girl and has just moved to Liverpool with her mum. Laura’s father is seperating from her mother, and he’s in the RAF, and very close to the rising angst between the US and Cuba.

This is a fictional account of history during the Cuban Missile Crisis, rise of the Beatles, threat of nuclear war and includes bit parts by the Beatles and Cilla Black. As I’ve spent quite a bit of time in and around Liverpool in the last few years, and the descriptions of 60s Liverpool, especially the Cavern and the feeling of the loud music rockets this story onto another parallel. I even looked around for footage of The Beatles playing early on in their career, and you can image The H-Bomb Girl and her friends somewhere in the crowd.

It’s worth pointing out that Baxter is well known for his harder SF, and this is quite a departure for him, don’t expect in your face SF, this is more subtle, and the way he introduces the SF elements are perfectly paced.

There is a big downside though, and that’s towards the end where the story collapses (as does the wall in The Cavern in an idiotic display of dangerousness of the British Military) and my suspension of belief was forced to vacate the area.
(more…)

TAU 4: V.J. Waks

“A being known as TAU 4, the terrible and uncontrollable brain child of a brilliant, enigmatic and ruthless scientist.”

On a distant planet of the Homeworld Alliance, Dr. Stephen Weller, acclaimed expert in behaviour, is about to penetrate one of the greatest mysteries of his field. He spent months of planning and care to get access to Altair Base, a high security experimental research facility.

Dark work is afoot at this Base controlled by Dyle Carzon and his entourage, under the guise of its focus for the war efforts against the hostile planets of the Outworlds. Securely tucked away in Altair’s encrouching forest, the Base is a natural strong hold, both to enter, and to exit.

Weller meets the being known as TAU 4, a morph, spliced together from human and Altair animal, to learn of her ‘behavioural problems’.

Victoria J. Waks has sewn together an almost poetic narrative in her debut novel, TAU4.
(more…)

Interzone : Now Available From Fictionwise.

Creative writing is not immune to information technology. The literary equivalent to music’s Ipod is the ebook reader and there are many portable devices into readers can download an electronic version of a novel or magazine. Alternatives to specific ebooks are PDAs, laptops and some mobile phones.

Fictionwise (http://www.fictionwise.com/) is a US website which formats books and magazines for web distribution to e book readers such as the ‘Amazon Kindle’ or ‘Sony Reader’. They take a file from the publisher and convert it to the multitude of formats needed to ensure all E book readers and many ‘mobile’ devices can display the text.

Fictionwise sell the files through their website though publishers can also do it themselves via their own, or retailer, sites.

‘MultiFormat’ ebooks are not encrypted and paying for one type of download format allows free access to other formats of that ebook. So customers who update to a new e reader or mobile device do not lose access to their library.
(more…)

We Just Want To Borrow Your Brain For a Few Minutes.

Q) Walter asks, I once saw a sci-fi flick when I was young. It was in the early 70’s. I had to do with scientist trying to creat a view screen into the future.

There were also some robots that helped them. They looked pretty cool with tubes and things. There were also mutants above ground.

At the end the mutants made it below ground and the scientist realized that their view screen was really a time portal into a new geneation.They escaped through the screen into the future.

What was the name of this movie? Help.

A) Do you know the answer? If you have an idea, post a comment!

The Future Of Cinema And Computer Gaming?

What Would You Do If You Accidently Found Someone Crying Out For Help On A Hidden Website?

Chris Purnell, is writer/director of new Alternate Reality Game entitled Gun Shots By Computer - Part 1. The films where produced in Scotland and feature two rising stars of the Scottish acting world, Shian Denovan (Night Is Day) and Claire Dicarlo.

He says this about GSBC1:

Cinema goers are a dying breed and due to spiraling cost, cinemas will soon be a thing of the past. I believe there has to be a future to film, and I think the Internet will play a major role in that. Already people download movies from the Internet instead of going to the cinema; people would rather see a film for free. I understand that, as I am one of those people. So to reach out to those people you have to make the whole experience of watching a film more interesting for them. You have to give them a reason not to just download it. I believe we have created the format to do that.

Our web based films are set in an Orwellian world in the year 2032 which parallels our own
present. The story begins behind the website, HMV, where one girl gives a direct address to the camera done through the style of video blogs.
(more…)

Can You Help Answer This Question?

Q) Hi, can you help me out with this one please. I saw a cartoon in the late 80’s that I can’t get out of my head and would love to see it again, only I can’t remember what it was called and internet searches are appearing fruitless.

It was feature length, not a series, and American I think. It involved a young boy on a space ship with his father, I think maybe they were lost on a strange planet where the ship crashes and the father dies. The boy is left completely on his own but a strange old man talks to him through the ship’s radio, and keeps the boy company. The
stranger calls himself Mike (presumably for Microphone).

I can’t remember the rest of the plot but the big twist at the end was that the boy had been talking to a future version of himself, and was basically destined to stay on that planet, on his own, for the rest of his life.

Pretty haunting stuff when I watched it as a 9 year old. Anyway, if you could find out the name, I’d be most grateful!

A) ‘Fraid it doesn’t ring a bell at all (Good job these aren’t questions for an exam or professional certification!)… Can anyone help? If so, post a comment!

Night Is Day : Full Feature

Fraser Coull at Silly Wee Films are to release the episodes of Night Is Day as a feature length edit.

The sci-fi/drama series follows the life of Jason Mackenzie, a young Glaswegian who is bestowed with the power of ancient lightening demi-gods, allowing him the power of foresight whenever he touches another human being.

However when he does, a charge of electrical energy transfers from his body into the person he touches. This can be fatal to both Jason and anyone he comes into contact with.

The feature length DVD is due for release in January. It will include a 50 minute behind the scenes documentary, outtakes from all 6 episodes, cast interviews, a photo gallery, promotional trailers and a music video for Transaudio’s “Frequencies” which is the official theme tune to the series.

Seeing the outcome of the editing will be interesting: will it be edited straight off as it is, sequentially, or will it be edited (as much as can be) across episodes…

You can get upto the minute information from the newly designed nightisday.com.

Watch episodes of Night Is Day.

Read other articles/reviews/background on Night Is Day.

The Highland Arts folk and HI-EX Comics are running a comic weekend event in Inverness on February 2nd and 3rd 2008.

It’s going to be at the newly refurbished Eden Court. It’s a great space and will be an excellent venue. There’s plenty of on and near site parking, a bar and restaurant on site.

Always useful for an event like this is local accomodation (within walking distance), and HI-EX are trying to organise event discount rates at nearby hotels.

So far the guest list is growing, with positive replies from the likes of Alan Grant, Cam Kennedy, John Smith, Andy Diggle, Yishan Li, D’Israeli, Colin MacNeil and a load more. (Subject to their workload).

As well as guest signings and sketching, there will be an art exhibition, kids workshops, talks, panel discussions, traders, small press, publishers, fancy dress, charity fundraisers, generally all the usual comic convention activities but they are working to give the event a wider family appeal with outreach sessions in local schools the week before and a lot of local promotion.

Inverness has boomed in recent years and ‘Highland 2007′ has been a year long cultural celebration across the Highlands with hundreds of diverse arts events. It’s a perfect time to get comics represented up here too.

Upto date details can be found on the HI-EX Comics site.

A world where men and women carry magic in their blood, and spilling it can unleash terrible power

Near the start of its development, we reviewed episode one and episode two of BloodSpell.

It has now been edited together, and the entire story has been released as a feature film, available for free download.

BloodSpell has been four years (and one month) in the making. It’s a “punk fantasy” adventure
story, about a world where some people are infected with magic in their blood. When that blood is spilled, the magic comes out, to harm or heal.

These people have been forced into slums and magical hiding places by the Church of the Angels, who believes they must hunt the “Blooded” down and bring them to their Angelic master to be “cleansed”. The story starts when a young warrior monk in training with the Church discovers that he has magic in his blood, and has to flee into the world of the Blooded…
(more…)