A few weeks ago, I wrote a column complaining how the future just isn't what it used to be. In particular, I had this to say:
So, how cool is it that I found the Retropolis Transit Authority site this week? The RTA sells t-shirts with a couple of dozen different retro-science fiction designs, including the one above. You can also go here and order the same artwork on coffee mugs, calendars, posters and what have you. Besides the flying car design, there are designs for the Space Patrol, Space Cadet, Space Piracy and even the Retropolis Ladies' World Domination Society (motto: "Don't make me come down there"). I can't imagine a better gift for any fan of retro-style science fiction than something featuring these designs.Having written comic books, you know I have to toss out some suggestions in the comic book field.
I highly recommend the Girl Genius Omnibus, 312 pages of black and white steampunk adventure, providing an excellent introduction this fun series. Girl Genius has a Victorian-age setting, so you're looking at something with the equivalent of a PG rating. As an enticement, the most recent Girl Genius collection won this year's Hugo Award for the best graphic novel. If you give this to your favorite geek, the biggest problem you'll have is that your geek surely want to get the rest of the Girl Genius collections, too!
If you would prefer more traditional science fiction, take a look at Grease Monkey, a science fiction graphic novel for tweens and teens that's also quite entertaining for adults. After reading and enjoying it, I had no problems letting my son, who was ten at the time, read it. He loved the coming-of-age tale as much as I did.
For the fantasy fans, I'd recommend Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume. Collecting the entire 13-year run of the Bone comic book, this $30 paperback clocks in at 1300 pages, easily making it the best graphic novel deal I've ever seen. Bone won several comic book awards during its run and is entirely appropriate for all ages.
After reviewing the first half of A&E's take on The Prisoner, let me recommend you consider giving your geek the
Of course, Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas for a geek if books weren't under the tree!
At the top of my recommendation list is Naomi Novik's Temeraire series. The first three books in the series are now available in a single hardback volume. (Ignore the low ratings shown for the volume on Amazon. Many people bought the book thinking it was a new novel and graded it low for that reason.) Novik has come up with something truly different, combining dragons from the world of fantasy with the Napoleonic wars from history. It sounds strange, but Novik put a lot of careful thought into the impact of dragons on traditional armed combat of the time. She does use the standard trope of a dragon and human rider bonding tightly, but adds armor, gun crews and even boarding actions, where a dragon's crew leap onto other dragons in an attempt to capture that dragon. If this sounds odd to you, just believe me when I say it all works. And if you'd like another opinion, perhaps it will help if I mention that Peter Jackson of the Lord of the Rings fame has optioned the series for movie development.
For the fan of military science fiction, I recommend Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series. Starting with Dauntless, the series is a star-spanning retelling of the March of the 10,000 Greeks from ancient history. Trapped deep in enemy territory, John "Black Jack" Geary takes over command of a fleet of warships and attempts to battle his way back home to Alliance space. The tactics of space battles are handled well, with serious consideration given to relative speeds and large distances between ships. Also, five of the six books in the series have already been published and the sixth is due to be released at the end of April.
Oh, and if anyone is wondering what to get me for Christmas, I do still want that flying car!
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