Michael G. Munz

The official website of Seattle sci-fi/fantasy author and geek Michael G. Munz

2017 IAN Book of the Year Finalist: A Dragon at the Gate

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I have more good news to report! 😀 A Dragon at the Gate, the third and final book in my post-cyberpunk series The New Aeneid Cycle, has just made Finalist in the 2017 Independent Author Network Book of the Year Awards!

To celebrate, and for a limited time, ebook versions of the first two books in the series will be on sale for just 99 cents!

New Aeneid Cycle 99 cents sale

Set in the urban violence of the mid-21st century in places ranging from the fictional city of Northgate, to a space station in Earth orbit, to a mysterious structure found buried on the Moon, The New Aeneid Cycle tells the tale of a handful of individuals struggling to save humanity from its own base instincts. With cybernetics, secret societies, and derelict alien secrets, The New Aeneid Cycle has a 4-star Amazon rating with over 150 reviews.

And now it’s got this, too!

Click here for the official award announcement and a list of the other winners…

Farscape Rewatch: “Losing Time”

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Farscape

“This plan is so bad, it HAS to be ours.”

Season 3, Episode 9:
“Losing Time”
***1/2 out of *****

 “I am bleeding and I have no wounds, so I’m either St. John of the Uncharted Territories, or there’s something very, very wrong with me!”

Having spent an entire episode with black-T-shirt Crichton aboard Talyn in the last episode, it’s time to swing back to Moya to spend entire ep with green-T-shirt Crichton! (Well, almost an entire episode, but we’ll get to that later.) I’d say this is a weird one, but this is Farscape, and they’re ALL weird ones, right? That’s why we love it! [Read more…]

Farscape Rewatch: Green Eyed Monster

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Farscape

In which the primary conflict of this episode is resolved through vomit.

Season 3, Episode 8:
“Green Eyed Monster”
****1/2 out of *****

“That’s no moon. That’s a budong!”

Take a love triangle that’s not really a love triangle, add in some neural transponder linkages, wrap it up in a setting that’s a fourth character in itself, and chuck it all down the gullet of a budong! What you’ve got is Farscape‘s answer to the psychological thriller Crichton, Aeryn, Crais, and Talyn all have to duel with each other’s emotions amid the pressure-cooker of a cyclopean alien stomach. [Read more…]

Farscape Rewatch: “Thanks for Sharing”

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Farscape

“Every frelling planet…”

Season 3, Episode 7:
“Thanks For Sharing”
***1/2  out of *****

 “Cross my heart, smack me dead, stick a lobster on my head.”

 All Crichton and the gang want is to buy some chromextin fluid to heal Talyn, but there’s obviously no way that’s going to go smoothly, and soon both Crichtons are caught up in some planetary politics with the ruling family and the Lobster-O-Truth. Also: A freaky-as-frell-looking red alien thingy. [Read more…]

Farscape Rewatch: “Eat Me”

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Farscape

Farscape does horror, and Crichton is beside himself.

Season 3, Episode 6:
“Eat Me”
★★★★ out of ★★★★★

“I’ve never twinned a Luxan before.”
“Why me?”
“We’re going to make babies.”

And here we have one of my favorite episodes from the third season. My admiration for it comes from both the horror of the episode itself, and for what it sets up for the future. [Read more…]

Farscape Rewatch: “…Different Destinations”

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Farscape

“I hope you weren’t planning on being happy anytime soon.” -This Episode

Season 3, Episode 5:
“…Different Destinations”
***1/2 out of *****

“Sub-officer Dacon. You are a soldier. A brave hero.”
“No. Heroes always get killed. I’ll be fine.”

Well, Zhaan’s dead, and things just keep getting worse and worse. At least, that’s the general theme of this episode. It’s cruel, and painful, and filled with the message that no matter what you try to do, you’re just going to screw it up. In a way, this episode is an embodiment of the anguished mental state that comes on the heels of tragedy. [Read more…]

Farscape Rewatch: “Self-Inflicted Wounds”

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Cover your ears. Jool has arrived.

Cover your ears. Jool has arrived.

Season 3, Episodes 3 & 4:
“Self-Inflicted Wounds”
**** out of *****

“Goodbye, you big, beautiful, blue bitch.”

I’m sorry to say that I lost all of my notes for these two episodes when my laptop died, so unfortunately this two-parter won’t get the attention that it deserves. It’s a great little thriller, on top of which it introduces a new shipmate (shrill and annoyingly petulant as she may be), and, most wrenching of all, takes Zhaan away from us. But I can’t put it off any longer, so let’s dive in and take these two episodes at the same time! [Read more…]