Published in 1818, Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" imagined the possibility of science re-animating dead matter, and the themes in her masterpiece have been as enduring as the Hollywood images of a block-headed, neck-bolted monster. What are the moral responsibilities of our scientific capabilities? Just because we can, should we?
Like Shelley's novel, Stephen P. Kiernan's intriguing debut, "The Curiosity," begins in the Arctic, where scientist Kate Philo leads an expedition to find the perfect "hard-ice" from which to re-animate single-cell life forms. The funding for the expedition comes from Erastus Carthage, a monomaniacal media-savvy genius who appoints Daniel Dixon, a lecherous mediocre journalist, to document the project. »Read Full Article
Fireworks erupted with the 75-minute set opener "Psycho Circus" — and popped during practically every song afterward; sparks even shot skyward from co-frontman Paul Stanley's guitar, "triggering" booming bursts above him for "Lick It Up." A dense fog shrouded the band at multiple points in the night and blasted down from above, as if the stage production itself were literally blowing off steam. There were flame throwers too, and co-frontman Gene Simmons spit fire at the end of "Hotter Than Hell." »Read Full Article(7)