Steampunk

If you like the idea of a mahogany and brass computer more powerful than a supercomputer, or maybe buzzing off to work in a zeppelin rather than a car, then you might want to check out steampunk.  It has a long history, with roots going back more than a century.  It really took off in 1990 [...]

Getting Away

What fictional world would you most like to visit? Would you like to visit the supernatural world of Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire novels, or maybe see what the weather’s like in Narnia or Middle-Earth? I’d be put off by how dangerous all these places seem to be, but it sure wouldn’t be boring!

Maxwell Perkins: Editor of Genius

Recently, I greatly enjoyed reading Maxwell Perkins: Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg, which won the National Book Award for Biography (paperback) in 1980. Dealing as it does with an important figure in American letters–one whose influence was felt quite strongly in the first half of the twentieth century–the book still has relevance as [...]

What makes for a good historical novel?

It’s not just good research that makes a historical novel a good read. Some historical novels are interesting stories that in all honesty could be set in any time period. The truly wonderful ones create not just an interesting plot with characters that will hold your attention but the entire novel immerses you in the [...]

Book2Film

What book would you most like to see made into a movie? I’d like to see “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand, even though it’s so long it would probably have to be a trilogy.  But wouldn’t it make a fantastic movie?!

The long and short of it

Short stories, like poetry, say as much as possible in a small space. Novels give writers much more room to expand their ideas, but that extra also makes it harder for all those ideas to hang together. Novels and short stories are so different that comparing them is fairly easy, but I wonder which novels might [...]

The best authors I’ve never heard of

Word of mouth may still be the best way to find out about authors who are less well known than they should be. My two favorite “obscure” authors, Octavia E. Butler and Philip K. Dick, are probably familiar to science fiction readers already. Their ideas transcend genre, however, and have much to offer anyone who [...]

How do you find good stuff to try?

It’s easier than ever to find suggestions for books, music and movies you might like. I use Amazon, which picks items based on what I’ve bought in the past. As a result I’ve discovered authors, movies and musicians I’d never have found on my own. Of course, there’s so much to choose from that deciding [...]

It’s a bird, it’s a plane…

Have you noticed how fiction genres are blending? A mystery can have elements of romance, a romance can include the supernatural, a space western can be farcical, all the genres switching partners like folks at a square dance. Some mixes work better than others, depending on the author. The results can be a breath of [...]