The last two books I read had something in common. A group of flawed people each making personal, hard choices to change their society - whether that's a whole galaxy or just where they live. Alone, none of them were successful. It required a community effort. In Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone, Viv is … Continue reading Two Books of Collective Heroism
Category: Book Reviews
Two Book Benders
There have been several attempts at the What-If notion about characters coming out of books or readers popping in. And while I have only read a few of them, The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep is now my gold standard. The trick is that Parry manages to excel on three levels simultaneously. Character, Plot, and … Continue reading Two Book Benders
The First Free Women by Matty Weingast
This translated collection proves to me that poetry is the universal language. I fully expected these poems to feel distant, to be dry and esoteric, or perhaps quirky with their Buddhist lens and historical distance, but instead I found myself in tears. The truths in this work struck me hard. Weingast managed to preserve the … Continue reading The First Free Women by Matty Weingast
Nesting Doll Doorway Books
You ever read a book and think, huh. That is so much like this other book, but also entirely different. What a magnificent world we live in where I can read both and compare them! The Starless Sea and The Ten Thousand Doors of January! The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern promises a book … Continue reading Nesting Doll Doorway Books
Shelfie Check – December
Last month, I had grand plans for working on the physical books. The Shelf. What I ended up doing was reading on my phone because of eyestrain. That's been great news for my Kindle app usage and my Libby account! eReads - (click on the title for my full review) The Broken Kingdoms by N. … Continue reading Shelfie Check – December
Book Review: Ctrl Alt Delete
Earlier in the year, PK interviewed Jennifer R. Donohue twice. Once for her self-pubbed debut, Run with the Hunted, and then for her her entry into SFWA. I'm excited to announce she's back (!!) for her charmed third appearance for the sequel, Run with the Hunted 2: Ctrl Alt Delete. With the sequel, Donohue’s voice … Continue reading Book Review: Ctrl Alt Delete
Shelfie Check – November
As evidenced by the barest of budges in this photo, I spent too much time playing Breath of the Wild in October. Plus, I do the short story reads for The 300 Story Project twice a week, so that takes up reading space and time. My lack of progress is all for a good cause! … Continue reading Shelfie Check – November
Shelfie Check
I just finished Gideon the Ninth and a re-read of Slaughterhouse-Five. Both of which I highly recommend for different reasons. The Magazine of SF&F copy is a little misleading because it's really the current issue on my Kindle app that I'm reading through for review on my Patreon. I've read Whitman's Song of Myself several … Continue reading Shelfie Check
Book & Book
What would it be when you took the Dust of His Dark Materials and covered it in sin? That would be Dan Vyleta's Smoke. Mr. Vyleta has written a Dickensian tale of class structure, ethical theology, and coming-of-age in the most naked and brutal of ways. What if every sinful thought and compulsion you had were … Continue reading Book & Book
Language as Lesson
In this Book & Book, two classics with an ambassador to a new world, whether by choice or force, demonstrate the lessons of language and their bearing on interpersonal power dynamics. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin sees an ambassador on the faraway planet of Winter where he must navigate shifgrethor … Continue reading Language as Lesson
