Avast! It's Another Chronicle Review

Today's San Francisco Chronicle includes my latest science fiction and fantasy roundup. Discussed are Gene Wolfe's "Pirate Freedom," "Ha'penny" by Jo Walton, "Black Dossier" by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill and "The Gunslinger Born" graphic novel from Marvel.

By the way, I do happen to know that the correct term for a story set in a timeline different from our own is an "alternate history," not an "alternative history."

Most of the time, copy editors are our friends. But not always.

Winter Solstice Stoppard Roundup

Great googly moogly! Where has the month of December gone? On to the collected Stoppard links!

With the stagehands' strike over, "Rock 'n' Roll" is still "humming along" on Broadway, hitting its highest box office gross to date. Early in the month, the PBS NewsHour presented a lengthy feature on the production.

Nicole Ansari, actress and wife of Brian Cox, discusses what it's like to perform "Rock 'n' Roll" with one's spouse.

As the Prague Herald reports, the Plastic People of the Universe are making hay while the sun shines.

The Moscow Times includes the Russian version of "The Coast of Utopia" among the best theater productions of 2007. The Times also recently examined the life of Herzen, one of the play's principle characters.

Given the lukewarm reception of the film adaptation of "The Golden Compass," Stoppard is probably relieved that none of the blame can be laid at his feet.

Finally, Stoppard will provide the first lines for three plays to be written in four hours by Daniel MacIvor, Morwyn Brebner and Claudia Dey.