Interstellar Flight Magazine Best of Year 4

A fantastic collection of thoughts and reviews by film geeks for film geeks. I picked this up predominantly for the horror articles and found some great ones in the mix.
I really enjoyed "John Carpenter's Halloween (1987): Watching Horror Unfold" by Gretchen Rockwell as I think Rockwell did a great job nailing down why we consider this movie a classic and how groundbreaking it was. I also related a great deal to Todd Sullivan in his article "The Gift of Horror: The 1980s Horror Flick TerrorVIsion Inspires a Career in Horror." It really got into why so many of us love and are inspired by horror - even those who you don't feel fall into the bottom of the genre barrel type.
Other articles could have used some content editing but were ok overall.
A great find for movie lovers.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Interstellar Flight Press for an advance copy of this best of collection featuring articles from Interstellar Flight Magazine.

Back before the Internet killed a lot of fun things I used to love going to independent record, book stores, head shops, groovy places and look for Zines. Zines were fan magazines all self published some looking slick, some barely stapled correctly, if at all. Ofttimes brilliant zines were the best way hear about new music, read about cinema and movies that never came close, find authors and publishers not carried in Waldenbooks, and even find information, and new ways to process what was going on. I loved zines and still have a pretty good collection, enough to make most fire inspectors flee my house in terror of the inferno that could be. That people loved, or felt strongly enough about something to write it down, lay it out, print, fold, and think of names for their works, I had so much respect for it. Reading this collection I had flashbacks to zines, learning alot about subjects I had no idea existed, reviews for the familiar, and the new to me, and interviews with writers I have to find out more about. Interstellar Flight Magazine Best of Year 4 features some of the best articles from the magazine, edited by Holly Lyn Walrath and is a fascinating look at science fiction, horror, and fantasy, and the need for more cats in scary movies.

The book is broken into sections, essays, reviews and finally interviews. There is a nice essay by Lee Murray about the fact that many people say they don't like horror, and yet in many ways horror is pretty much all around them in literature. My favorite piece and makes me even now stop and think is an essay on the Marvel Comics character Black Panther by Todd Sullivan, that I don't want to ruin, but makes one question the idea of super heroes and their actions in a very big way. Christina Sng has two articles about cats in horror, speculative haikus, and is also an interview subject. The reviews cover different views of Star Trek, the Foundation television show, the Predator sequel Prey, along with other smaller movies books and television shows. The interviews cover authors and their works, or themes that are prevalent in genre fiction.

A very diverse collection of essays and other works that really reminded me how much I used to love finding small, passionate works by people who viewed art outside of the mainstream. Not everything here is for everyone, and that is great. Sometimes an article might not seem to be for you, until it is. Or maybe one just has had enough of Star Wars, something I never thought I would say, and for that I blame the mouse. The writing is very good, with a lot of interesting points, and new ways of looking at things. The different voices help and more than a few made me go, hmm I never thought of that. And of course I now have more things, to read, watch and investigate further.

A really good collection, one that I wasn't sure what to expect, and one the blew me away. Perfect to read straight through, or spaced out over a week. Finding great writing, with a fresh way of looking at things is always a great thrill.

[Blurb goes here]

When I stumbled upon Interstellar Flight Magazine's Best of Year 4, I initially skimmed through the blurb, expecting to find flash fiction or short stories set in the vastness of space or on gravity-bound new worlds. To my surprise, these were not stories but essays, as the blurb had suggested. 'Let's give it a try,' I thought, even though I had to conceal my initial disappointment.

As I delved into the book, I was taken aback by the masterful writing within its pages. Some of these essays proved to be truly intriguing, with 'I don't read horror' standing out as a personal favorite. Each essay is a short yet thought-provoking piece, and despite their brevity, they offer a unique glimpse into the minds of individuals with diverse opinions on various subjects.

Interstellar Flight Magazine's Best of Year 4 is not a lengthy read, but it certainly provides a captivating exploration of different perspectives. If you have a penchant for book reviews or enjoy delving into the thoughts and opinions of others, this book will undoubtedly be an eye-opener and a rewarding experience.

Thank you for the advanced copy!