Tag Archives: book review

I never read comic books when I was a kid. I read Mad Magazine, but that wasn’t a comic, it was freewheeling satire suitable for the warping of impressionable young minds. Last week, at the local used book store, I … Continue reading →

I read a lot of genre fiction, but I’ve never quite had the patience to read literature. Read half of The Great Gatsby, lost interest. Read maybe a third of Tristram Shandy, lost interest. Tried Ulysses, didn’t get far. Liked … Continue reading →

Large fantasy novels sometimes get off to a slow start. When tackling a new one, I try to give it 125 pages before I decide whether to go on or bail out. By that point, if not before, a writer … Continue reading →

If you’re looking for a fine and somewhat unusual epic fantasy series, may I recommend Lois McMaster Bujold’s The Sharing Knife? It may be a little low-key for some readers’ tastes, but in the end it packs quite a wallop. … Continue reading →

Is it because we all see what we’re expecting to see? Or is it numbness of the soul? That’s the puzzle. In my collection I have a dozen novels by Kurt Vonnegut. Probably all of them except Player Piano, which … Continue reading →

Give a book 125 pages. When I pick up a new novel, that’s my rule. After 125 pages, you can safely assume that you understand the essence of the author’s vision. At that point you can make an informed decision … Continue reading →

If you could bring a historical figure back to life, not for your own personal amusement but for the good of the world, who would it be? This question seems to have been the mainspring of The Watch, by Dennis … Continue reading →