In 2003, the New York Times published an article casting judgement on which show was “the best spy series in television history.” The writer, Terence Rafferty, wasn’t thinking of the then-current hit series 24. He was writing about an obscure British series which had barely been broadcast in the United States - The Sandbaggers.  Exploring this unique and little-remembered series is fascinating for its low-key approach and its implications about the UK's place in the world.

Get in touch with a text message!

For more classic SF reviews and discussion, visit andyjohnson.xyz. To get free weekly classic SF updates, sign up here.

Resuming my exploration of the Hainish cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin, I reach The Dispossessed (1974). One of her most acclaimed books, it won the Hugo, Locus and Nebula Awards for Best Novel. This brief recap looks at the book's exploration of radically different forms of social and economic organisation, set on the two worlds of Urras and Anarres.

Get in touch with a text message!

For more classic SF reviews and discussion, visit andyjohnson.xyz. To get free weekly classic SF updates, sign up here.

"An Action Canon" is a new series which looks at some of the best and most important action movies of all time, and explores why they have a crucial place in the genre's history. This first instalment focuses on Paul Verhoeven's subversive sci-fi action masterpiece RoboCop (1987), which is definitely the only movie by that name ever released.

Get in touch with a text message!

For more classic SF reviews and discussion, visit andyjohnson.xyz. To get free weekly classic SF updates, sign up here.

Funded by a hugely successful kickstarter in 2012, Shadowrun Returns is that rare thing - an RPG which can be finished in a modest amount of time. This short piece looks at the appeal of an RPG which is made to be completed, and not just dipped into.

Read my top games of 2020 published by Entertainium here.

Get in touch with a text message!

For more classic SF reviews and discussion, visit andyjohnson.xyz. To get free weekly classic SF updates, sign up here.

Kathryn Bigelow's 1995 cyberpunk thriller Strange Days was a major flop, and seriously damaged her career. Watched 25 years later to see in the New Year, the movie is more relevant and impressive than ever - despite an ending that seems overly hopeful right now.

Get in touch with a text message!

For more classic SF reviews and discussion, visit andyjohnson.xyz. To get free weekly classic SF updates, sign up here.

In this conclusion to a three-part series looking at Crystal Dynamics' first trilogy of Tomb Raider games, we explore the final game - Underworld. A slightly haphzard effort to combine the best aspects of the two prior entries in the trilogy, it isn't the most consistent game in the series but certainly has its moments and serves as the end of an era.

Get in touch with a text message!

For more classic SF reviews and discussion, visit andyjohnson.xyz. To get free weekly classic SF updates, sign up here.

Part two of a three-part series on the Tomb Raider: Legend trilogy (2006 - 2008).

Tomb Raider: Anniversary represents a unique fusion of two eras of the Tomb Raider series. While preserving some of the smoothness and new mechanics of Legend, it also brings back the solitary, atmospheric adventuring and strong emphasis on puzzles from the 1996 original. The result is a game which is strikingly different to the one that preceded it and which has more of a niche audience - but which also shows just far the Tomb Raider series had come in its first decade.

Get in touch with a text message!

For more classic SF reviews and discussion, visit andyjohnson.xyz. To get free weekly classic SF updates, sign up here.

In 2004, the Tomb Raider series was in a bad place. The critical failure of The Angel of Darkness led publisher Eidos to sack Core Design from the series, and bring in another of their studios - Crystal Dynamics. Released in 2006, Tomb Raider: Legend overhauled Lara Croft's adventures in a number of key ways that have set the series in good stead for its ongoing success.

Get in touch with a text message!

For more classic SF reviews and discussion, visit andyjohnson.xyz. To get free weekly classic SF updates, sign up here.

There is a grand tradition of rally video games, stretching back into the 1980s. Released for a host of platforms, they have varied in their approach to realism and their relationship to official championships. Art of Rally is a genuinely unique take on this venerable sub-genre of racing games. Developed by Canadian outfit Funselektor Labs, it recognises the things that make rally unique and special - the mastery of its delicate technical skills, the sense of being alone against the elements and the clock, and the euphoric experience of getting a corner just right.

Get in touch with a text message!

For more classic SF reviews and discussion, visit andyjohnson.xyz. To get free weekly classic SF updates, sign up here.

My overview of Michael Moorcock’s epic Elric saga continues, and concludes, with this second part. The guide covers the eight main novels in the sequence in their internal chronological order; to catch up with the first four novels, be sure to read or listen to part I.

Following those first four books, Elric has made enemies in what remains of his Melnibonéan people, and in the powerful sorcerer Theleb Ka’arna. More positively, he has made a stout ally in the form of Moonglum of Elwher. He has won great victories, and done terrible things, all with the demonic sword Stormbringer at his side.

All of these events are factors in the stories which follow in books 5 to 8. Here, the chronology and provenance of the series becomes a bit more complicated. The four books were published out of sequence, during three decades. Confusingly, the book published first is actually the lastin the main sequence. Hopefully, this concluding part of the guide will clear up the probable misunderstandings - rest assured that these are fine books, and a wild ride in the Multiverse.

Get in touch with a text message!

For more classic SF reviews and discussion, visit andyjohnson.xyz. To get free weekly classic SF updates, sign up here.