If you're like me, you raced out to your local book merchant last Tuesday and got yourself a copy of Neal Stephenson's latest book, Anathem. Then, more than likely, you tore through it before you realized, "Crap, it's going to be another five years before there is another one." But this isn't Book Squad, so what am I on about?

You might recall a January 2007 post by Kevin about Stephenson's earlier novel, The Diamond Age, being adapted for the Sci Fi Channel. As a longtime fan, I was thrilled to hear the news. But then, months and months passed with no real updates. I make periodic runs through IMDB, the official Neal Stephenson site, Smokehouse Productions, the Sci Fi Wire, wikipedia... Nobody has any information on just what the heck is going on with the adaptation. Given the nature of TV and movies, I was starting to worry that it had all just been back burnered. Or worse, they spent all that Diamond Age cash on Painkiller Jane. Not so fast...

I like to think that I read more than the average bear, and I certainly have my favorites. I've been counting down the days to the new Neal Stephenson novel, Anathem, since a release date was announced. That being said, I've never really been lured in by any of the television tie-in books. However, a guest article at the LA Times site by Tod Goldberg has left me curious about Burn Notice: The Fix.

In the linked article, Goldberg details the thought process behind him making the jump to television tie-ins. He has an interesting perspective and it makes for a good read. Among other things, Goldberg was worried that writing a tie-in might sully his career. One of the things that turned the tide was the fact that he is a huge fan of Burn Notice. He actually makes a great comparison, saying, "It's smart, funny, visually arresting and has the tone and style of my favorite Elmore Leonard novels." Why yes, it is. Goldberg's first foray into tie-ins is available now.

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

(S05E11) When I heard that we were going to be doing an X-Files week for Retro Squad the first thing that came to mind was "Killswitch." It has long been my favorite episode of the series. Aside from being a great story, it also serves as a marker for where my interest in the series changed.

By the time they made it to "Killswitch," X-Files had started to lose me with the mythology episodes. In the beginning it was almost annoying when there would be a standalone episode. I was so engrossed in the bigger picture story that it was like being forced to take a week off from that which I was really interested in. By season five, though, that interest had waned. Not that the show had gotten bad, just that it was pretty clear that those big answers weren't coming any time soon, so I started looking forward to these episodes more and more. And for me, "Killswitch" is the pinnacle of The X-Files in that form.

Sci Fi announced that George Clooney will be part of the creative team bringing the retro cyberpunk book 'The Diamond Age' to the channel. Neal Stephenson will adapt the miniseries from his novel, which I'll basically sum up as the adventures a young girl goes through as she comes into the possession of a talking "smartbook." Clooney and partner Grant Heslov will executive produce.

This is one of my favorite cyberpunk novels, and it may be blasphemy to some of you, but I like it a lot more than William Gibson's 'Neuromancer.' I'm glad Stephenson is writing this, and it'll be interesting to see what they manage to come up with. It's a fairly epic book in scope, following a girl from a very young age and stays with her as she blossoms into womanhood, so thankfully it's getting a miniseries treatment, and not "movie of the week" status.