SPOILERS FOR GIDEON THE NINTH BELOW. Something about the absolute animosity between Gideon Nav and Harrowhark Nonagesimus lets you know…these two crazy kids love each other to death. That something isn’t the vague, zeitgeisty knowledge I had about the novel before ever picking it up (thanks, blogosphere!); nor was it an errant turn left down... Continue Reading →
I was thinking about what blog posts to write this week and one question wouldn't leave me alone: Why do I like dark fantasy so much? There's no one single answer to this but the title of this post is one possible response. Dark fantasy, good dark fantasy, with its surfeit of tragedy, brings catharsis... Continue Reading →
John Williams witholds the inner voice of the eponymous Augustus, born Gaius Octavius, until the very last. The first Roman Emperor remains among the most enigmatic figures in history, and Williams, too, keeps him at a hand's length, his motives obscure even as the author's other characters scrutinize Octavian's every move. And what characters they... Continue Reading →
I'm making a point of examining the great surviving tragedies of Ancient Greece. The time was right, I knew, when a Signet Classics edition of Euripides: Ten Plays looked at me invitingly from a shelf in the Sofia Airport bookstore this January. It's a wonderful pocket edition, and it set me back by three euro.... Continue Reading →
I don't remember how I came across Ecstasy and Terror but I knew when I read its blurb that I would love it. Having read every one of the essays in this collection, I've found myself not only loving it but hungry for more of Mendelsohn's writing. This anthology by Mendelsohn(who is Editor at Large... Continue Reading →
The Grimoire Reliquary 