'Game Changer' by Douglas E. Richards, A Very Personal Review
James C. Rocks [2018-10-20]

 'Game Changer' by Douglas E. Richards, A Very Personal Review

"Game Changer" is a book written by Douglas E. Richards, someone I would normally have considered extremely tech savvy and, until reading this book, one of my very favourite authors. I do not lie when I say literally devoured every book of his I could get my hands on; superb writing, good grammar and an incisive ability to create suspenseful situations. And then, completely out of the blue, it wasn't. I detested this book so much so that I doubt I could ever read one of Richards' books again.

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Science In Science Fiction
James C. Rocks [2018-10-20]

 Science In Science Fiction
Science fiction is easy enough to write but not necessarily well and old bookshops (and now, I suppose, the equivalent virtual stores) are full of often exciting but essentially daft space literature. Whilst some liberties can, arguably must, be taken, having chosen to write science fiction the author needs to reign in his or her excesses and confine their tale to something more believable. I would argue a science fiction writer has to have a good grasp of what is or is not possible, not necessarily now but in the future and, more than that, it has to be reasonable. Hollywood space films have conditioned us to expect scenes of rolling asteroids, fighters swooping in and out of danger, manoeuvring around each other in aerial style dogfights, missiles streaking after ships in long curving paths and, of course, the classic sounds of laser and explosions. None of these can really happen in space and a science fiction author should consider such things carefully before using such tropes.

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'Tales of the High Avenging Angel: #1-3' by Dietmar Wehr
James C. Rocks [2018-03-24]

 'Tales of the High Avenging Angel: #1-3' by Dietmar Wehr
Hoch Racheengel, former star pilot and star of Dietmar Arthur Wehr's dark science fiction tale, "High Avenging Angel", a brave attempt by the author to be original that is only partially successful. Set in a world the author calls "space noir", an idea based on the old cinematic idea of "film noir" the book has a fair degree of action and violence with stories ranging across Earth and several other systems. The tales all followed the same basic outline overused convenient high-tech devices leading to a lack of believability and suspense. Although I found the book readable, I felt it a shame it couldn't have been more adventurous and interesting. A good try that failed to meet its potential.

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James Cameron's 'Avatar' (2009)
James C. Rocks [2018-03-01]

 James Cameron's 'Avatar' (2009)

Quite possibly my all-time favourite film, a heady mix of science-fiction and fantasy, James Cameron's "Avatar" combines aspects of "Dances With Wolves", "Titanic", "The Last Samurai" in a heady mix of science, fantasy and romance. As he often does, Cameron takes a swipe at the industrial excesses of corporate commercialism, with human/corporate greed clashing with the natives of a distant world. Credited as the one which kickstarted modern 3D film technology, "Avatar" set the 3D bar and, in many ways, has a lot to answer for.

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First 'Iron Man 3' Now 'Predator' ... Somebody Stop Him!
James C. Rocks [2017-12-15]

 First 'Iron Man 3' Now 'Predator' ... Somebody Stop Him!

I am a huge fan of Marvel's "Iron Man" film featuring Robert Downey Jnr as Tony Stark/Iron Man and, though it was not as good, still liked its immediate sequel. "Avengers Assemble", with Downey's third outing as Iron Man, represented perhaps the very best a super hero film could offer. The "Iron Man" brand was so well established that I simply knew that a third film, "Iron Man 3" (Iron Man's fourth outing), had to be good because no one on Earth could possibly screw it up ... enter Shane Black!

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'Stars, Hide Your Fires' Is Finally Published
James C. Rocks [2017-12-09]

 'Stars, Hide Your Fires' Is Finally Published

After far too long, my first book has been published and is available in various eBook formats. eBooks can be bought from Amazon globally, Apple etc. and the paperback version from my publisher, Fiction4All. Signed copies can be obtained directly from me which, for the UK at least, won't cost you anything more except some additional postage.

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Paul Rocks, 10 Years Later
James C. Rocks [2017-10-30]

 Paul Rocks, 10 Years Later

Ten years ago, Tuesday 30th October 2007, my oldest brother Paul was interred after taking GHB a well-known recreational and date rape drug. Unfortunately, he had also been drinking heavily and once he took the drug I guess his body just stopped.

The funeral was humanist and was extremely well handled by the celebrant, showing respect to those of faiths other than my own (which happens to be none) and I was one of those who spoke.

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Things That Make Blokes Proud Of Themselves
James C. Rocks [2017-09-12]

 Things That Make Blokes Proud Of Themselves
A humorous look at the things that make men proud of themselves ... a little something to make us laugh at ourselves.


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'Stars, Hide Your Fires' Has Finally Been Submitted
James C. Rocks [2017-09-10]

 'Stars, Hide Your Fires' Has Finally Been Submitted

So, I have finally resubmitted my first book having made a number of changes. There's a new "prologue" chapter designed to create a high-action opening sequence, simplified sub-headings for all chapters to provide a clear location and date, more conversation and other changes. I now believe that the book flows better and addresses some of the concerns my publisher raised. The book is now some forty-two chapters i.e. some 87,000 words of actual story so now all I have to do is wait and wonder what on Earth am I going to call my website when I finally publish?

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Passengers (2016)
James C. Rocks [2017-09-03]

 Passengers (2016)

With stunning graphics and a stellar cast "Passengers" (2016) is a film that should have blown us away but instead it received heavy criticism but was that criticism as deserved as some would have us believe? I received a copy on Blu-ray for my birthday so I set about finding out if I agreed with the film's critics. Everyone knows it's rare for Hollywood to get it right in terms of the science and this film is no exception but, since just about every other film is the same, I feel it's unfair to unduly criticise it for it. And besides, "Passengers" is not really a science fiction film any more than "Titanic" is a film about a ship hitting an iceberg, it's a romance.

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Quotes

I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

Kilgore (Apocalypse Now, 1979)

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