Kieron Gillen is one among a very limited number of comic book writers who never fail to deliver excellent works. Whether you look at his heartbreaking "Journey into Mystery,"( exploring the life of a young Loki), or his multiple collaborations with Jamie McKelvie -- Young Avengers, Phonogram and the godly Wicked/Divine -- you are bound... Continue Reading →
Ah, recommending the second book of a trilogy, that's a new one for this blog! The Walls of Air is the second novel in Barbara Hambly's Darwath trilogy. The second book of a trilogy is always a bit tricky; you have to find a balance between answering some of the questions that the first novel set up... Continue Reading →
Ray Bradbury is one of the great American storytellers of the 20th and early 21st century. I'm currently making my way through his "Zen in the art of writing," and let me tell you...it does not disappoint. This post is about Fahrenheit 451, a book that Ray Bradbury wrote with a certain message in mind;... Continue Reading →
It's been a long time coming, this. Philip K. Dick's look at an alternate version of the world where the Germans and the Japanese won World War 2 is nothing short of a spectacular example of speculative fiction. How does he do it? How does Dick create such a mortifying vision of the world such as... Continue Reading →
Some time ago, I wrote about an appreciation thread on reddit; it was about author Barbara Hambly and her many works, which include but are not limited to vampiric noir, dark fantasy, world-jumping fun with wizards and much more! The Time of the Dark was the first amongst these recommendations, and the favourite of the... Continue Reading →
I saw "The Dark Tower" movie today, and it left me with...mixed feelings. Matthew Mchonaghy makes every scene he's in so much fun, but the adaptation makes everything so much...less. The ideas shown within the movie are a fraction of what The Dark Tower is about. But this is about the book, not the movie.... Continue Reading →
William Gibson created the "archetypal cyberpunk work," even if he eventually grew to hate the term which now connotes an entire subgenre of sci-fi. It's a wonderful, fascinating book, Neuromancer, and I will attempt to persuade you to read it! “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.” What... Continue Reading →
Whenever I read Neil Gaiman's short-form fiction -- his poetry and short stories -- I feel as if I'm inhaling some alchemical substance, an aroma whose very essence is imagination, refined by years of study and hard work. Fragile Things is one of several short story collections which might very well be my favorite (althought that's arguable). ... Continue Reading →
Terry Pratchett is one of the writers I most admire. A few posts ago, I wrote about adding humor to your writing. Pratchett doesn't simply 'add' humor; he weaves social commentary into his impressive body of works -- Discworld and otherwise -- and then proceeds to mask it with satire and sharpness that can kick... Continue Reading →
Joe Abercrombie is a master of subverting expectations. I have yet to touch Abercrombie's most well-known work, the First Law trilogy, although I have only heard good -- Nay, great -- things about it. Now that I've read the first book in the Shattered Sea trilogy, I am more than looking forward to that experience.... Continue Reading →
The Grimoire Reliquary 