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Freak Nation Reviews
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Everything a freak could possibly need reviews of, all in one place. Naturally, we handle books, from science fiction to fantasy to horror, from tech manuals to comics, comic collections and graphic novels. In our video section, you’ll find reviews of movies, TV shows, and new DVD releases in the same genres. We also cover music — mostly goth, punk and industrial releases, with occasional spice from other tribes. You’ll also find reviews of software, both free/open-source and proprietary, as well as ongoing clubs. (Sorry, we don’t tend to review cons, since they’re yearly and can change a lot from one year to the next.) Finally, of course, we give you the lowdown on games, ranging from tabletop RPGs to CCGs to computer games.
If you want to review something for us, please read the review guidelines. Then, by all means, send it in to the webmaster!
And just to make your life easy, here’s a time-sorted list of all the latest stuff, from all categories...
The modern trend for “advance marketing buzz” is making it easier to engage in the venerable fannish pastime of predicting whether an upcoming release will be a wonder smash or total trash — before it even hits the theaters or shelves. Here’s where we engage in some long-range prediction about such things.
- posted 11/27/2006Ghost Rider
Not content with the disaster that was Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk, Marvel Studios is going to try again to make a movie whose lead character is a special effect — and a bad, cheap-looking one, at that. Can Ghost Rider overcome the problem of having its audience cringe and snicker every time they get a good look at its lead character? Could any movie overcome that kind of problem?
- posted 02/29/2004Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2 looks set to follow in Spider-Man’s footsteps as the franchise Marvel gets right. Picking up where the original left off, it promises more of the deft balance of aerial action and human introspection that made the first movie a perfect screen adaptation of the classic comic.
- posted 02/22/2004King Arthur 2004
The eyebrow-raiser of a battling, tattooed Guinevere may be the most historically accurate thing in this creative take on the Arthurian legend. The producers are walking a tightrope between accuracy and audience-appeal, and it looks like they might fall off it.
From comics and graphic novels to tech manuals and textbooks, freaks of practically every stripe are die-hard bibliophiles. What would this site possibly be without book reviews?
- posted 01/20/2007Altered Carbon
In a world where anyone’s memories and personality can be stored, played back, and “re-sleeved” in a new body, death has become optional — at least, for those with the money to pay for new bodies. Takeshi Kovacs doesn’t have that much money, but his employer, Laurens Bancroft does — and can afford to hire Kovacs to find out who killed Bancroft. Emily Crow says Richard K. Morgan’s novel brings the cyberpunk genre back to vivid life, instead of copying previous masters.
- posted 08/13/2006Hammered
Elizabeth Bear’s first novel, Hammered, introduces us to a protagonist who has Molly Millions beat hands-down for realism, plus Richard Feynman as a rogue AI. It also gives us a host of supporting characters and a whirlwind plot full of standard-cyberpunk and outside-the-subgenre elements. But it’s only the first third of a story that’s being released as a “trilogy”, which makes the pacing seem off and keeps the plot from jelling entirely before the book’s end. Reviewed by Kai MacTane.
- posted 05/10/2006Jennifer Government
Max Barry’s rollicking cyberpunk satire asks the question “What if the world actually followed the advice of the laissez-faire free-market libertarians? What would we get?” The answer is “a ripping good adventure story that sparkles and delights so well you almost overlook its flaws.” FN Webmaster Kai MacTane reviews Barry’s novel.
Whether it’s on VHS, DVD, television, or a movie screen, everyone loves moving pictures. We review everything from SF, fantasy and horror-oriented shows to animé, science and nature documentaries, goth/punk/industrial music videos, and more.
- posted 05/05/2007Spider-Man 3
Sam Raimi and the Spider-Crew couldn't keep up the high level of the first two movies forever, but the third installment is still entertaining and enjoyable. The action, effects, and storyline are all solid, but the emotional interactions that form the core of the Spider-Man mythos are off-kilter, and it shows. A movie review by Aldyth Beltane.
- posted 04/29/2007Hot Fuzz
Since 2004's Shaun of the Dead breathed new life into the zombie genre, we’ve been waiting for a redux by its creators. Now they’ve returned, with a satirical take on Hollywood-style cop/action/buddy movies. While Hot Fuzz isn’t quite up to the high bar set by Shaun, it's still eminently enjoyable. Part homage, part parody, and thoroughly entertaining, it blends action and humor seamlessly.
- posted 12/17/2006Infinity
What would you call a Richard Feynman biography that ignores everything after 1945, and focuses on his marriage to his first wife to such a degree that it excludes nearly everything he did at Los Alamos? Deluded? Misguided? Incomplete? And what if it actually made Feynman’s life look boring? FN Webmaster Kai MacTane reviews Infinity: A Love Story.
