Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

With Black Friday nearly upon us it seems like a suitable time to take a look at some of the goodies on offer as presents for the genre fan in your life. There’s loads of ideas out there but these are some of the things that have caught our eye…

Doctor Who

For the younger fans (or those who resolutely refuse to grow up), this year’s Annual is a treat, and both Twelve Doctors of Christmas and Time Lord Fairy Tales will make great gifts.

For others, there’s the recently released Power of the Daleks (from BBC Store or on DVD), the lavishly illustrated Whoniverse or the unusual but great fun Whographica.

If they want new adventures for the Doctors, why not consider looking at the Big Finish ranges? Subscriptions for 12 stories from the main range are £130, while there are good offers on the other tales – check out www.bigfinish.com

Big Finish is the place if you’re after more Torchwood: both The Torchwood Archive and Torchwood: Outbreak celebrate the series in style, but do be aware that these contain adult content.

Star Trek

It’s the 50th anniversary of the original series so why not pre-order the fan in your life The Roddenberry Vault, which has many previously unseen or not well known items (review coming nearer release date). Or pick up The Animated Series on Blu-ray.

It may not have been everyone’s favourite, but for our money, Star Trek Beyond was the best of the three reboot movies, and that’s now available in multiple formats.

Looking for books? There’s an original series trilogy from Greg Cox, David Mack and Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore that should please the most ardent fan – or a very unusual guide to the planet Vulcan.

Star Wars

All the cool Rogue One items are being released to go with the film, but don’t miss the prequel novel out now – Catalyst by James Luceno. There’s plenty of intriguing information in Star Wars Complete Locations from DK that may surprise even the most avid fan.

If you want to really treat them, then get them tickets for Star Wars Identities, currently at the 02…

If they want something more unusual, how about a pizza cutter that sounds like a lightsaber? Or a pair of (very comfortable) R2-D2 slippers?

Game of Thrones

Chances are that they’ve already got the season 6 box set, but there are other ways to experience the powerplays and politics around the Iron Throne – including versions of classic games such as Cluedo, Monopoly and Risk. There are loads of items at the HBO EU shop – and over the Black Friday weekend, there’s money off if you use the code CYBER.

Comicbooks on screen

Marvel fan? You’re going to want to pick up the Hidden Universe guide to the Cosmos, Marvel style, or one of DK’s beautifully illustrated guides – there are new ones on Captain America and Doctor Strange.

Not got Netflix? Daredevil series 1 is now out on DVD and Bluray; Jessica Jones follows at the start of December. And the second season of Agent Carter can also be pre-ordered.

DC more your style? All the most recent seasons of the Greg Berlanti shows are out now – the most recent season of The Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl – as well as the first year of Lucifer and iZombie and the second of Batman prequel, Gotham. All of them have plenty of extra material, including footage from Comic-con, and insights into the making of the shows.

If you’re a Bat-fan, by the way, don’t miss the new Celebration of the TV Series from Titan – again, full review to follow, but this gives extraordinary insight into the Sixties show.

Celebrating Film

There are always plenty of books about the movies hitting our screens at the moment – Titan have a range of art books from many of this summer’s blockbusters including Independence Day: Resurgence – but it’s the books about the classics that many may overlook.

This year, there’s a fantastic delve behind the scenes of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth in The Ultimate Visual History – one of those books that you start to flick through and find yourself still reading an hour later. Or if they’re into horror, check out Seeking Perfection, a guide to the Tremors franchise. And if they’re interested in the 007 franchise, then Bond vs Bond provides some illuminating insight into the changing character of Mr Bond.