Dec 09
I want to give you some background. Be patient. My reasoning will, I hope, become clear. Before I was published, I walked into Bakka Books and was recommended a novel by Minister Faust. Coyote Kings of the Space Age Bachelor Pad. I read it and cursed him out. It was the book I wished I …
May 31
On Saturday night, while Roy Halladay was pitching his perfect game in Philadelphia, I was sitting in the Canon theatre watching Cats. Have you seen Cats? I have. It’s shit. If any of my cats acted like that, I’d have them put down. Slowly. By a dog. There’s no point discussing the so-called plot, the …
May 18
As I’ve lately been a bit busier than normal, I haven’t been posting as much. Probably doesn’t matter. With the weather getting better, you probably haven’t been reading as much. I have, however, been reading more paper than I have in a while. Been through five books in the past five days and I’ve enjoyed …
Mar 15
To the right is a doodle I did while waiting for GRIMMtoo to begin. Things like that are why I dislike people looking over my shoulder when I’m “taking notes.” Anyway, my new review for Mooney on Theatre is up. Go have a read. It’s also my final review for the site. I’ve resigned. The …
Sep 14
About a month ago, I bought a whole whack of John Brunner books. Most of my to-read pile has been sitting idle while I’ve been enjoying these. Around these parts, John Brunner gets jumped to the top of the line. He’s that good.
Jul 31
It’s funny how things work out. Last week I linked to Moorcock’s “Starship Stormtroopers” about the disturbing, authoritarian undercurrents in the bulk of science fiction. This week Orson Scott Card is pulling out his ray-gun and blasting gay marriage. He calls it “the end of democracy in America.” And I had no idea that democracy …
Jul 24
I’m sick of hearing it. Orwellian. This is Orwellian and that is Orwellian and everything is just so 1984. Doublethink, Big Brother, Newspeak: George Orwell certainly gave us a glossary. But, instead of inspiring thought, his novel has now become a shortcut to thought. It’s a shame. It was a good novel.
Jan 31
One would imagine that historical fiction about mathematicians would be exciting. But it really isn’t. “The Indian Clerk” by David Leavitt is not a bad book. It just could have used a mischievous space-monkey or a diabolical panda-bear. Failing that, some suspense would have sufficed. It tells the true story of the mathematician, Ramanujan, who …
Jan 10
I’m surrounded by some talented fuckers. And I’m always happy when other people agree. Otherwise things look a bit suspicious and that bothers me. For example, I wrote some nice shit about Jeff Lemire, who drew my header and the pic to the right, and he wrote some nice shit about me. So people could …
Jan 06
I like history with a moral but John Cornwall’s “Hitler’s Scientists” has too much of a moral. It’s a decent but disappointing book. About the Nazi scientists, he asks: “Were these cases of Germans behaving according to type as Germans? Or scientists in Germany behaving according to type as scientists?” There are risks to being …
"This ultra-sharp, darkly satiric, hyper-speed novel is set in a world where multi-level mega malls serves as city states and everything on the outside lies in ruin. On the lower red levels, gang violence and media saturation and bio-tech designer drugs rule. During the weekend, slummers from the green levels leave their safe lives of jobs and families to partake in risky, sometimes deadly, fun on the red levels. And on every level, TV and advertisements literally penetrate the mind. Death is easy and life cheap, until that life is your own or your beloveds. Extreme stylization, great characters, and a high-level of intensity is maintained throughout. This is a whip-smart, truly violent novel that has at its core a still very human pulsing heart."
