Anne Rice Home Page
It has been a slow week. I've met two people who believed themselves to be vampires, and only one person claiming to be a werewolf. The phenomena is tapering off; isn't it time Anne Rice came out with a new novel to stoke the flames? This is another Rice page: vampires, mummies, spooky undead, and so forth. A few of her books are profiled and there are the ever-present related links. There is no reason to visit this page, a damning indictment indeed for a space built by a self-described web programmer and HTML designer.-SS

C-

Electronic Beowulf Project
The original manuscript for Beowulf, the English masterpiece starring Grendel the monster, was badly damaged in a fire 200 years ago. Taking the remains out of its display case in the British Library for scholarly study is obviously not the best idea. But in a hint at the future of the library, we are given the Electronic Beowulf Project, focused on scanning and analyzing the parchment to create a complete digital version of the document for study. With tons of related research and articles being added constantly, the Electronic Beowulf Project is an example of electronic media's power to archive artifacts from the pre-digital era of the written word.-DP

B+

H P Lovecraft
Cult horror novelist HP Lovecraft has found a worthy hidden home in this well designed and clear site. Of course a complete list of Lovecraft's tales is presented, but the most interesting elements of this site are the "readings"of Lovecraft's work. With the author's numerous references to numerous medieval texts containing secrets that "man was not meant to know," it can be difficult to discern between the actual dark manuscripts of our past and those that only have a history in Lovecraft's mind. Put simply, the Necronomicon is fiction. (We think. heh, heh, heh...)-DP

B-

Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now
Heart of Darkness is one of the most dense and murky short stories ever written, and Coppola's Apocalypse Now is a marvelous film adaptation of the work. A trip down a river becomes a metaphor for a journey to the darkest places in the human soul, an exploration of those fragile structures upon which civilization is constructed. This site offers the entire text of Heart of Darkness, searchable by keyword. In addition, there is a link to one of the most complete Apocalypse Now fan sites. All Conrad fans should visit this site at least once, if only to grab the e-text of the story.-SS

B-

Horror In Literature
Clive Barker? Stephen King? Young punks, both of them. When it comes to horror only one name matters: H.P. Lovecraft. To my delight, I did find Lovecraft on this site, as well as many other personal favorites. Billing itself as a horror archive, this space offers a list of someone-or-another's Top 100 horror books, a large collection of links to author-related home pages, and a few excerpts from recent novels. Of greatest interest are the visitor submissions, offering a chance to peruse the bad and worse in surfer-submitted horror. You should never pass up a chance to read another's horror fiction.-SS

B

Jack Vance Archive
Fans of award-winning Sci Fi and Fantasy author Jack Vance will be in the Web world of their dreams after a visit to this site. The archive's comprehensive bibliography of Vance's published novels, short stories and collections is a much-needed resource for anyone familiar with the extremely prolific writer. Looking for a first edition of The Languages of Pao? A marketplace for rare Vance artifacts is under construction on the site and will surely be a welcome resource for the dedicated Vance collector, earthbound or otherwise.-DP

B+

Neveryóna
I am sick and tired of pretentious book-snobs maligning the integrity of the science-fiction and fantasy genre. I hate loud-mouthed know-it-alls who consider Proust the standard by which all text should be judged. This is a Samuel Delany fan page, featuring the requisite bibliography and critical pieces. Though there is nothing particularly striking about the layout or content of the site, the page creator seems articulate, a rare quality among fan site maintainers. Maybe there is cause to hope the Web may someday improve in quality.-SS

B

Romantic Notions
"Who among us has not wondered...what if?" And so begins the online version of the Romantic Notions newsletter, a review of the latest in Angel, Ghost, Time Travel and Vampire romance stories. Numerous book reviews and a brief interview with an author did nothing to inspire my curiosity, but those with an interest in tales of eternal love overcoming the shackles of time itself may find this site rewarding. I am compelled to point out the background color in use here, one of the most tasteful--and subject appropriate--which I have encountered on the Web.-SS

B-

">Steinbeck
Steinbeck's popularity among high school English teachers is only to his misfortune. There are too few instructors capable of placing Steinbeck's work within an historical context, and unfortunately, this site will do little to assist the individual trying to decipher Steinbeck and his catalog. Visitors find a bibliography, a timeline of his life, photos of the houses Steinbeck stayed in, and a few images of the landscapes in which the stories were set. Those researching Steinbeck's taste in dwelling places will enjoy this site; others should do a net search.-SS

C

The Infinite Goof
It is a curious phenomena: nearly every existentially-aware, self-reflective female I know adores Tom Robbins. And few, if any, of the similarly-enlightened males I know can stand him. This is a Tom Robbins fan site, but is in no way a typical fan page. Of course there is a bibliography, critical essays, interviews, and related links -- but that's just the beginning. This is a fan site with JAVA objects, and a VRML version too! At last, an adoring fan space that is entertaining AND fawning. Bonus points for not using frames! I hope my exclamatory prose conveys my delight with this site!-SS

A-

The Papa Page
Hemingway was a one-trick pony who drank away what little talent he did possess, but that isn't reason enough to dislike this page. No, the client-pull embedded in the opening page inspired my ire. It annoys me when my client requests a document without my permission; call me a control freak, but I prefer to make these decisions. A short biography, a bibliography, a variety of related links including one to Real Audio files of the Old Man himself, this is a typical fan page. This site is a solid, if unexciting, source of information on the bearded suicide.-SS

B

The Scott Gallery
Michael Scott has finally brought his unique melding of photography and poetry to the Web. (Never heard of him? Neither had I.) Anyway, Michael has graciously organized his textual and visual artworks under a half dozen themes, including love, war, philosophy and others. The photos -- birds, flowers, raindrops on a branch, etc.-- are quite serene and well shot in a New Age postcard kind of way -- the accompanying poetry is extremely melodramatic. Michael says he's offering his work as "an oasis of positive thought on the Internet." With that in mind, his page deserves a look just for the karma alone.-DP

B-

Todd's Great Big Stupendous Poetry Page
Forget coffeehouses people, the Web is the new home for good (but too often really bad) poets: This page overflows with what Todd the poet calls his "Random Poetry" and he deserves kudos for taking the DIY approach to publishing his verbiage. For a hint of what's in store, check out "The,"a Todd masterwork that really touched me. Todd better be careful though. Some of his contributors may edge him out in the absurd poetry arena. Take "Tablet Junker" from Amanda Parks for example: "Michael Jacko / Is a wacko / He went smacko / In a cracko / Now he's backo / He gets slacko / I think his new album is okay." Yeah... dig it.-DP

B-

Virtual Urth
Someone spent a great deal of time building this site. More specifically, someone spent a great deal of time determining which background and text color combinations are most indecipherable, and then gleefully constructed a site based on that information. This is a poetry/literary 'zine, and I do wish I could have explored more of it. Unfortunately, poor HTML coding practices made for a mess while once again proving my first Law of the Web: frames are almost always a force for evil. The situation grew horrible enough to bring my Netscape 2.0 crashing down, carrying with it several telnet sessions and my mood.-SS

C-

William Gibson's yard show
Cyberpunk is nothing but a rehashed 1930's futurism coupled with a fetishizing of Intel's latest products. Espousing this creed, I approach with trepidation anything vaguely connected to William Gibson. As I wandered the site my unease turned to confusion, then curiosity, and finally bemusement. I'm not certain what any of this has to do with Gibson, but I like it. Peculiar images of keyboard playing sociopaths and detailed critiques of 50's era Atomic Disintegrator toys vie for the visitor's attention. Admittedly there are more than a few empty links, but the oddity factor is more than enough to excuse the mess.-SS

B+