Fiction Reviews
  • A review of Elwin's House (Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine Issue 21) by Tangent Online Reviewer, Keesa Renee DuPre was pleasing. Especially considering that this is a flash story.
  • A new review site for Aussie Speculative Fiction, Australian Specfic in Focus, reviewed "The Brass Man" (Issue 2 of Andromeda Spaceways In-Flight Magazine). They said, "'The Brass Man' (John Borneman) is an entire set-up, and a good one. Don’t skip to the end - read it all through slowly and lovingly to get the full benefit."
  • Paul J. Iutzi , Tangent Online, September 2005 reviews "Melody of Brass" published in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, #19, June/July 2005

    "It’s up to a blind orphan boy and his robot to bring music back to the ears of man in John Borneman’s “A Melody of Brass.” The theme here is an old dystopian standard: by banning music (or any art) because it arouses destructive emotion, you ban the thing that makes being human worthwhile. However, rather than the setting of antiseptic monotony that is the usual hallmark of this particular theme, this story is set on a rather pleasant topical island. This along with the fact that the story begins many years after the boy was successful made this story feel much more lightweight and uplifting than the standard leaden depression I generally get from dystopian topics. Plus, they refer to their robots as brass men, which for some reason I just find cool. Anyway, definite kudos go to the author here for writing a fun dystopia."
  • Rich Horton, Locus Magazine, June 2004 Reviews "A Wall of Brass."

    "From the February/March Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, stories by Lee Battersby and John Borneman impressed me the most ... Borneman's "A Wall of Brass" is a post-crash story, in which a new, gentler civilization has been built up on a Pacific Island. But their peaceful ways are threatened by boats from the outside world. Their creed of nonviolence is absolute, but they come up with a solution with the help of their AI servants -- a solution with stark consequences."
  • Michael Gabriel Bailey, Tangent Online Reviews "A Wall of Brass."

    "Borneman carefully engaged my senses to make the island of Aku come alive. Amid the scent of cinnamon flowers and the taste of a fruity wine with a hint of smoke, I began to explore Aku's unique culture (where big bellies are better!) just in time for a tragic assault that threatened the survival of the post-apocalyptic humans and their robotic servants. Borneman crafted a few weak sentences, and tended to use a passive structure too often for my taste, but he redeemed his story somewhat with his exploration of themes of sacrifice. Even though I felt the plot device that prompted the final solution seemed a bit forced, I enjoyed the last three paragraphs, whose impact lingered longer than that of the first stories in this issue."
  • Dennis Kriesel's  Infozine Reviews ASIM Issue 5 and Dr. Susan Lee Research Notes

"John Borneman has five vignettes in this issue, and given that the first one pops up as the second fiction piece, it is best to address them all now. All start with the title "Dr Susan Lee Research Notes:" with the subtitles of "The Wright Stuff", "Leopolda's Song", "Reingold's Wee Buugs", "The Labrador Recorder", and "Where's Pompo Bronski?". These fun segments all use humor, and are all of a scientific bent. All revolve around inventions; my personal favorite was "The Labrador Recorder". These were spaced out well, offering a sort of continuous stream between the longer fiction works."

  • "The Fix" reviews Issue Five of Andromenda Spaceways Inflight Magazine and Dr. Susan Lee Research Notes  (excerpt):

Issue 7 (2003) of The Fix, a UK based speculative fiction review magazine published by the folks at TTA press, covers Issue five of Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine and my five flash pieces published in that issue. Here are Peter Tennant's comments.

"Five more stories, all written by John Borneman, are presented under the general heading 'Dr. Susan Lee Research Notes', set in the far future and with the good doctor recording unusual scientific breakthroughs of the past. These are brief, humorous skits in the manner of Frederic Brown's 'Great Lost Discoveries' series crossed with Pythonesque absurdity, and certainly they have their moments, but they are in the nature of light relief sprinkled in among the more 'serious' stuff."

(My comments) Wow. "Pythonesque"! I wonder if Mr. Tennant realized that he could have given me no greater compliment. And, yes, Mr. Tennant, they were designed to be 'light relief sprinkled among the more serious stuff' so thank you for that as well.