Book Review: The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo The Year of Grace 1482 is going to be the big one for Pierre Gringoire; he just knows it! The poet, philosopher and would-be playwright is debuting his new mystery play for the Cardinal of Bourbon and the Flemish ambassadors on January 6th, the Day… Continue reading Book Review: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Tag: injustice
Book Review: Octavia’s Brood
Book Review: Octavia’s Brood edited by Adrienne Maree Brown and Walidah Imarisha One of the many uses of science fiction is to talk about current issues in a speculative setting. One can posit a world in which current trends have become exaggerated to dystopian levels, or where a solution has been found to a current… Continue reading Book Review: Octavia’s Brood
Book Review: A Clash of Kings
Book Review: A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin Note: This review contains spoilers for the previous book A Game of Thrones; if you haven’t read that one yet, check out the review here. Westeros has too many kings. In the south, the King on the Iron Throne is Joffrey Baratheon, heir to the late King… Continue reading Book Review: A Clash of Kings
Book Review: A Shadow Bright and Burning
Book Review: A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess Eleven years ago, Great Britain was a powerful nation with a thriving magical community. Then the Ancients were summoned, seven supernatural beings who are hostile to human life as we know it. Since then, the British have been at war with these occupying horrors, and… Continue reading Book Review: A Shadow Bright and Burning
Book Review: Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante
Book Review: Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante by Susan Elia MacNeal It is late December, 1941. The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor, and America is now at war with the Axis powers. The United States’ alliance with Great Britain is now an active one, and to cement that alliance, Prime Minister Winston Churchill has crossed the ocean… Continue reading Book Review: Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante
Book Review: Our Man in Charleston
Book Review: Our Man in Charleston by Christopher Dickey One of the great things about reading history books is learning about obscure people whose lives illuminate a corner of time. In school history classes, the emphasis tends to be on larger stories, a few “great men” (possibly a woman or two) and lots of dates… Continue reading Book Review: Our Man in Charleston
Magazine Review: Cosmic Crime Stories July 2012
Magazine Review: Cosmic Crime Stories July 2012 edited by Tyree Campbell If you want to stand out in the crowded field of speculative fiction, one of the ways is “genre-blending,” taking two different popular genres and splicing them together. For example, horror and romance to create the vampire love stories so immensely popular in recent times.… Continue reading Magazine Review: Cosmic Crime Stories July 2012
Book Review: One of Our Asteroids is Missing | The Twisted Men
Book Review: One of Our Asteroids is Missing | The Twisted Men by Robert Silverberg (writing as Calvin M. Knox) and A. E. Van Vogt, respectively. This is another Ace Double, two books in one, upside down from each other. According to Larry Niven, during the 1960s Ace Books was known for being particularly skinflint… Continue reading Book Review: One of Our Asteroids is Missing | The Twisted Men
Book Review: Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin
Book Review: Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder The title is pretty self-explanatory; this book is about the location of the worst mass murders of the 1930s and 1940s; the part of Europe between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. Starting with the 1933 deliberate starvation of Ukrainians by the Soviet government, policies… Continue reading Book Review: Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin
Book Review: Insurrections of the Mind
Book Review: Insurrections of the Mind edited by Franklin Foer Disclaimer: I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. The copy I read was an uncorrected proof, and changes will be made in the final edition. (Specifically, a second introduction by Leon Wieseltier–an index may also be forthcoming.)… Continue reading Book Review: Insurrections of the Mind