Fred's Blog

Category: Review

  • Which AI image generator is best?

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    Fred Rothganger
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    I recently took the plunge into generative AI. My goal was to make a cover image for the short story “Sofi”. This YA fantasy involves three main characters: a boy and two goddesses who are fighting over his soul. There is one magic battle in the story, which naturally lends itself to an intriguing cover.…

  • What went wrong with the Alchemy of Souls season 1 finale

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    Fred Rothganger
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    Alchemy of Souls (AoS) is an awesome fantasy K-drama on Netflix. If you haven’t seen it yet, do that first before reading the rest of this article. I really like the writing in AoS. Characters and setting are epic. In each episode, important things happen which move the plot forward, and subsequent episodes keep building…

  • Foundation

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    Fred Rothganger
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    Apple TV recently put out a show loosely inspired by Asimov’s Foundation books. I was really excited and subscribed for a few months specifically to watch it. In general it is interesting TV, but it does not follow the original material, nor even respect the underlying philosophy of Asimov’s work. We’ll get to that later.…

  • Theology of the Quran

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    Fred Rothganger
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    I recently read a translation of the Quran (reviewed on Amazon). The main motivation was to better understand how Muslims think. Partly this is background for a character I’m writing. Partly I just want to know whether Islam really teaches the kind of violence we westerners have come to associate with it. Based only on…

  • Dune

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    Fred Rothganger
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    Just watched the new Villeneuve version of Dune. In addition to being an A-grade scifi epic, it accomplishes the nearly impossible: clarity. The screenwriter actually understood the novel and boiled it down to its most basic elements. Brilliant work. I’ve previously watched the David Lynch version and the Syfy version. The reputation that Dune is…

  • Humans 2.0

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    Fred Rothganger
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    The second season of Humans is now available without extra charge on Amazon Prime. Yeah! Binge watched this week. Like the first season, it was an engaging story with interesting characters and problems. Here a few of the things it did right: Working out the relationship between humans and technology — This is really the…

  • Motel 6

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    Fred Rothganger
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    Yesterrnight we stayed Motel 6, and I felt compelled to write a review. Here’s a copy for your entertainment… Motel 6 has that reputation of being just one step above rent-by-the-hour places. If there are accommodations on the road to Hell, Motel 666 is the last stop before you reach the sign that says “Abandon…

  • The Golem and the Jinni

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    Fred Rothganger
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    I recently finished the book “The Golem and the Jinni” by Helene Wecker. I read and write hard science fiction, but this book is magic realism, so a bit out of my genre. However, I suspected that the Golem’s story would be much like that of a robotess, and it was. If you change the…

  • Tomorrowland

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    Fred Rothganger
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    When the credits started rolling on Tomorrowland, the theater audience erupted in applause. I can’t remember that last time that happened. The critics said it was tripe, but us stupid commoners seemed to buy into it anyway. Must have annoyed all those sourpusses. Sure, it was a bit syrupy, and the plot had a few…

  • Star Wars 7 — Spectacularly Mediocre

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    Fred Rothganger
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    I heard rave reviews from friends and family about the new Star Wars, for example, “The best Star Wars ever.” SW7 had quite a legacy to live up to, so it required the very best writing. (We can safely assume it had the very best special effects budget, so little worry about there.) I came…