If science advances to the point of usurping the forces of creation, humanity may have a lot to answer to," says Duvall. "If an afterlife exists, and the soul moves on to another plane of existence, what happens when it returns to a resurrected body that’s been clinically dead for years?"

This question is asked and answered in Duvall's novel, and the disturbing outcome leaves a lot for readers to think about.

"There's too much evidence to dismiss the probability of an afterlife," says Duvall, who is a member of the International Association of Near Death Studies. "Millions of people have reported near death experiences during a brief cessation of life, and serious study of this phenomenon is ongoing." One of the points made in Duvall's book is that reincarnation would cause serious problems for resurrected cryonics. A soul's reassignment means occupation of an entirely different body, causing a "tug of war" between incarnations when its previous vessel is revived.

The science fictional premise for Project Resurrection is rooted in reality. The scientific community comes ever closer to achieving success in the cellular repair of human organs through genetics and nanotechnology, which involves the manipulation of individual atoms or molecules to repair any physical object, including biological tissue. According to Dr. Richard Smalley, the 1996 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, such cellular devices will be in existence as early as the year 2010.

So the question posed in Project Resurrection isn't whether or not the resuscitation of cryopreserved humans is possible, but is it morally and ethically right? There are too many unknowns to elicit a definitive answer, but the concept itself deserves pondering.

Read more about Karen Duvall and her new book on her website at http://www.karenduvall.com/. The book can be ordered directly from Speculation Press, or from other sites as listed on the author's website.

SciFi Wire is reporting that Matthew McConaughey joins Christian Bale in Reign of Fire, a post-apocalyptic story (so, where do the dragons come from?) due to start filming in the United Kingdom in February. Rob Bowman directs the reputed "cross between Mad Max and the Arthurian legends".

Well, read the article if you want to know where the dragons come from. Watch your step.

Nonetheless, the trailer is set to appear in theaters on Friday, October 27 when Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 is released. The trailer will also appear with How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which is due for release on November 17 (and which stars Jim Carrey in what must be one of the most faithful adaptations of a book character we have ever seen).

Some shots from the prohibited trailer (which will probably be released officially on the Internet soon anyway) are available at IGN. Click on the link above for more. The Dungeons and Dragons movie is due for release on December 8, 2000 (the day after Pearl Harbor Day).

The poor box office, and universal bashing from critics, hasn't deterred Travolta who is a member of the Church of Scientology, which Hubbard founded. "The bottom line is that I feel really good about it," Travolta reportedly said. "Here I was taking big chances, breaking a new genre. ... I am so thrilled, believe it or not, at the outcome, because I didn't believe I could get it done."

Battlefield Earth starred Travolta as the leader of aliens bent on world dominance. Despite the vile film critic reviews, Travolta said, "When I felt better about everything was when George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino and a lot of people that I felt knew what they were doing saw it and thought it was a great piece of science fiction."

Travolta previously said that the movie was only based on the first half of the book, and that a sequel has already been preplanned.

"Xena has been an outstanding performer for us since its September 1995 debut, finishing No. 1 among all first-run syndicated dramas for the past four consecutive seasons, and we want to see it to go out on top. The series has been nothing short of groundbreaking in redefining the female action hero on television and has inspired a host of imitators across the television landscape. Its worldwide success is a testament to the vision and execution of Rob Tapert, his producing partner, Sam Raimi, executive producer R.J. Stewart, all the people at Renaissance and the work of the extraordinary cast led by Lucy Lawless. I can't say enough about Rob, who is one of the most incredibly talented and gifted producers I have had the pleasure to work with, or about Lucy, who is more than just the star of another TV show. She has taken her character to the level of a national cult hero."

"Xena has been a labor of love for everyone associated with it and we've been unusually lucky in having had the freedom to explore anything we've ever wanted to try -- from high-action dramas to slapstick comedies to musicals. We're excited about the shows we're currently producing and we hope to deliver some of the best episodes we've ever done. Having said that, all of us on the show feel it will be time to move on to new creative challenges at end of this season. We have been blessed with tremendously loyal fans all over the world and we look forward to bringing them new and exciting programs in the future.

In order to keep it and stay on the air, it needs to do better in the ratings, according to a report on EW.com. The premiere attracted 4.1 million viewers, better than its first-season average audience of 3.5 million, but a loss of 36 percent from its lead in 7th Heaven. The second episode was down to 3.9 million people, a 39 percent viewer loss. If things don't improve industry observers say it's a goner. "The WB will be watching it closely over the next few months to determine its future," John Spiropoulos, associate director of audience research for Initiative Media, told Entertainment Weekly. "To survive, it needs a much bigger audience than it's getting."

To try and attract new viewers, Roswell producers have shifted the show to focus more on the Sci-Fi and less on teen romance. "We learned that simply having a human in love with an alien was not a potent enough story to build the entire show around," executive producer Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: The Next Generation) told EW.com. "So the focus this season is more on the aliens."

It's all part of an effort to differentiate the series from the WB's glut of navel gazing teen angst dramas and get a piece of the fan base that made X-Files a hit. "We plan to darken it up a bit," says Frakes. "It's no longer going to be a 'talk around the locker' high school show. The stakes are now life or death." Frakes says that upcoming episodes will feature more mayhem from the show's deadly, epidermis shedding aliens, called "Skins", and time tested sci-fi conventions like having the characters see themselves in the future and in the past.

The show risks angering and -ahem- even alienating the old fans, the very same ones that saved it from cancellation. "If you shift the direction of a show, you're always going to lose some of the audience," says Tom Watson, Initiative's research director for the Pacific region. Roswell doesn't have much choice than to take that chance if the producers want to build upon their core female viewership. "Sci-fi appeals more to men," says Watson. "But if the show does it well, they should be able to keep a lot of their female audience and get men to watch, too."

Buffy the Vampire Slayer just entered its fifth season, and has been a hit for The WB. It has not only become one of its signature series, but also spawned the equally popular companion spinoff series Angel. The WB and Twentieth Century Fox, which produces the series, are scheduled for formal talks about next season's price tag, currently $1 million per episode. According to Enterainment Weekly, Fox may want to double that price to $2 million per episode, which The WB may not be able to afford.

"Since day one, [ABC Entertainment co-chair] Stu Bloomberg has been a fan of the show," a source close to the drama told Entertainment Weekly. "He's been trying to get [Buffy creator] Joss Whedon to create a show for them." Buffy's ratings are up this season, including a 12 percent jump among adults 18 to 34, and its best-ever performance among young women.