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Internet Column from Science Fiction Age,
March 1998

Cory Doctorow

A selection of 'Net-based science-fiction treats, with thanks this month to Martha Soukup.
The Ministry of Whimsy
MoW is a small sf press devoted to whimsical, postmodern literary pursuits. Their Web presence is easy to navigate and pleasant to look at, with interviews, book reviews, and links. Worth a visit.
The Dead Media Project
Cyberpunk nutbars Richard Kadrey and Bruce Sterling began a project in 1995 to document all the odd and kooky communications devices that have gone away, from dead-animal-semaphore to mechanical machines that printed transmitted images in the 1920s. Check here for information on joining their mailing list, and for pithy quotes on the nature of dead media.
Dark Horse Comics
The publishers of such titles as Groo, Star Wars: Crimson Empire and Predator have a brand new Website. Features include news about upcoming titles, interviews with writers and artists, and a searchable archive of previous books.
Galaxion
It's strange: self-published fiction is almost uniformly dreck. On the other hand, self-published comics are the only game in town if you want to read fresh stories, with original artwork and novel ideas. Galaxion, a space-opera comic by Tara Jenkins, is available here, along with background information and other content of note.
Cheapass Games
Taking the prize for best company-name and funniest idea is Cheapass Games, of Seattle. At roughly $6 each, these board-games would be worth a shot even if you'd never heard of them. Now that you have, you'll know that Cheapass publishes some of the most addictive, playable boardgames on the planet. Don't say I never gotcha nothin' for Xmas.
Scream 2
Don't go looking for the Scream 2 site at http://www.scream2.com; Web-prankster Bill Sweetman registered the domain last summer. The studio offered him "a couple hundred bucks" for this primo Internet real estate, so he laughed them off and put up a page telling the story. The people at Dimension Films haven't learned their lesson: someone else registered scream3.com a little while ago.
Cosmic Visions
A site distributing the electronic zine of the same name. The site has samples and covers, but the zine is only available through paid subscription. It's pretty good -- solid fiction and a decent editorial section.
Star Trek: The Experience
Ok, first ViaCom gets all the fan-built Trek sites taken offline. Then they build a big ride in the Vegas Hilton. Then they built this site. So much for the much-vaunted Star Trek brain-trust.
id Software: Quake II
This is the videogame that ate my brain. From Doom to Doom II to Quake to Quake II, id Software's cheerfully amoral 3D shoot-em-ups are just about the most fun you can have with your computer. See! Horrendous Monsters! Hear! Their foetid breath on your neck! Feel! The horrible, horrible agony of being eviscerated by a beast from the nether-hells!
Aardman Animations: Wallace and Gromit
Academy Award-winner Nick Park's Wallace and Gromit stop-motion animations are funny, witty, beautiful and highly addictive. Aardman Animations is your Wallace and Gromit connection, with official home pages for Wallace, Gromit, "Feathers" McGraw and Shaun. Fab-oo merchandise, too.
Click here for info on my second novel, Eastern Standard Tribe

Click here for info on my first short story collection, A Place So Foriegn and Eight More

Click here for info on my first novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom