A few weeks ago, I wrote about how I prefer shorter fantasy books over the enormous epic fantasies that have become so typical for the genre—and for the most part, that is still true. However, my recent experiences with Louis L’Amour are prompting me to rethink some of that, or at least to recognize that …
Continue reading “When Longer is Better: The Novels of Louis L’Amour”
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Proverbs 29:18, KJV In my last post, about C.S. Forester’s Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, I mentioned how most conservative fiction these days—or indeed, most conservatism generally—is more reactionary than visionary, really only seeking to conserve all the things that …
One of the first pieces of writing advice that I ever recieved, right alongside “never end a story with the words ‘it was all a dream’” and “never introduce the main character by having them look at themselves in a mirror” was “never write a story where the main character has amnesia.” Which struck me …
Continue reading “An Amnesia Story Done Right: Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny”
Even good old Dr. Seuss’s zany imaginationcould not have ever thunk a place as crazy as our nation.Where decent folks, quite sane in fact, upon one knee quite bendedFear the cry of “racist!” from the perpetually offended.Who scream and swear and stamp their feet at everyone else’s sins;They cannot create, they only destroy, so do …
Continue reading “Joe Reviews: On Beyond Zebra! by Dr. Seuss”
Even good old Dr. Seuss’s zany imaginationcould not have ever thunk a place as crazy as our nation.Where decent folks, quite sane in fact, upon one knee quite bendedFear the cry of “racist!” from the perpetually offended.Who scream and swear and stamp their feet at everyone else’s sins;They cannot create, they only destroy, so do …
Even good old Dr. Seuss’s zany imaginationcould not have ever thunk a place as crazy as our nation.Where decent folks, quite sane in fact, upon one knee quite bendedFear the cry of “racist!” from the perpetually offended.Who scream and swear and stamp their feet at everyone else’s sins;They cannot create, they only destroy, so do …
Continue reading “Joe Reviews: And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss.”
The first four Murderbot books make a complete story arc, so this one in a lot of ways felt like a satisfying wrap up to the series, even though of course there are other books. I strongly suspect that Martha Wells wrote these with the intent of self-publishing them, but her traditional publisher gave her …
Continue reading “Joe Reviews: Exit Strategy by Martha Wells”
This book is the third and final volume of the complete original Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E Howard, and it absolutely lives up to the high quality and excellent production value of the previous volumes. Besides including what many consider to be some of Howard’s best Conan stories, the commentary paints a detailed …
Continue reading “Joe Reviews: The Conquering Sword of Conan by Robert E. Howard”
Some books that address controversial issues try to appeal to a broad audience, building bridges and trying to persuade others onto their side. Others are written to a narrow audience, to galvanize the true believers and give them strength and clarity as to the rightness of their side. Neither approach is bad necessarily, but it’s …
Continue reading “Joe Reviews: A Nefarious Plot by Steve Deace”
Ah, the Murderbot diaries. If you haven’t heard of these books yet, you’re in for a treat, because this is one of the best ongoing series currently in science fiction. This review will mostly just be for the first book, but since my reviews of the other books will probably contain spoilers, much of what …
Continue reading “Joe Reviews: All Systems Red by Martha Wells”
