Sci Fi Magazine is billed as the official magazine of the Science Fiction Channel. However, you should know that this magazine covers more than just science fiction and much more than the Science Fiction Channel. There is coverage of horror, fantasy, related video games, and books.
The two most extensive areas of coverage for the magazine are movies and television. In the issue I received were articles on new movies and current and planned television series. In case you think that this magazine is one big advertisement for this type of entertainment, think again. One article used the term "shlock-fest" to describe a movie (that I too think could be described by that terminology). Some articles are more in-depth than others, with some being short summaries, and others including quotes from directors, producers and actors.
In addition to the coverage of movies and television, DVD releases are covered. Included in many of the reviewing articles are grades so that you clearly know what the reviewer thought about the movie. While in the particular edition I reviewed I did not see any "Fs," I did see one "D." I will leave you to find which movies receive such a poor grade yourself, though I will also tell you that I agreed with all the grades with the exception of one.
I was impressed that this magazine covered books as well as video games. It seems to me that most magazines cover video games these days, so there was little surprise there, but when a magazine that appears to heavily weighted to television and movies covers books, even if the coverage was limited to one section, then Sci Fi Magazine truly makes all media related to the genre its own.
Having moved away from current video games, I am unable to speak about the quality of the video game reviews. However, once again there were grades for each of the video games, with enough explanation why the grade was received to justify the grade. One article about a certain video game based on a mega-hit fantasy trilogy explained that the graphics were incredible, justifying a higher grade, but the game play was sometimes tedious because you had to find a specific character during a battle (involving hundreds?) at exactly the right time, which kept the game from being a winner.
I stress again that this magazine covers more than just science fiction. In fact, I would say that the issue I reviewed contained more horror than science fiction, and about as much fantasy as science fiction. The magazine includes animé its scope as well. There was a tantalizing article about the impending release of early Miyazaki films (though the article stressed that the release had been delayed several times, so you should not hold your breath note that reviews are time capsules, so the early Miyazaki might have been released by the time you read this).
The editors and authors of this magazine are well versed in all these genres, and are readily able to relate the history of a particular film and its predecessors, as well as directors and actors, and any other individuals involved in a particular form of entertainment.
I have struggled to find a media magazine that talks intelligently to a reader about things they find interesting, versus whether they are dating or the clothes they wear and other mundane, irrelevant trivia. What I want to know is whether the movie, television show, video game, DVD, book, or whatever, is any good. What was the director's vision? Explain more what the actors have to say about the film, assuming they have something intelligent to say. While Sci Fi Magazine has a few minor annoyances (there were a couple of actor's quotes that related more to irrelevancies than something substantive), in general this magazine is the best single source of coverage for science fiction, fantasy, horror and animé movies, television, and DVDs, with additional coverage of video games and books. Once you try this magazine you may find yourself addicted.
Thanks to the folks at Sovereign Media, Inc., for providing me with a copy of this magazine.I have always wondered about the magazine but never read one until recently. I loved the articles and was surprized by the fact there is more than Sci Fi & Fantasy listed in this magazine. It was nice having a preview of TV shows I watch (although some of the material had already aired prior to the magazine coming out). I have even picked up a couple of books from the reviews in the magazine (and I am not a big Sci Fi/Fantasy book reader). I wish I had subscribed long ago.I love Sci-Fi and the insight it gives me to my favorite shows, etc. My only complaint is that some of the items are written months eariler and are now very out of date. otherwise, I love it.I enjoy reading anything about the latest Science Fiction movies, books, etc. This is the best book out there that gives me all I want to know.I wanted to renew my subscription online instead mail. SyFy is greatest -rating movies, books, dvds and TV. I consider it one best in reviewing SciFi ...
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