I have this crazy idea. I want to get Stephen King, Carl Sagan, and Lord Dunsany (Edward Plunkett) in a room together ... At first glance, these writers could NOT be further apart in terms of tone and subject matter. One of the books I am reviewing for this post isn't even fiction. But as... Continue Reading →
In glimmers, in shreds of thought, in the aftermath of my reading, I wondered if he kept a journal still, or if the dolphin's eye had been familiar for a reason other than that it was so human. But soon enough I banished this nonsense; some questions will ruin you if you are denied the... Continue Reading →
After reading and reviewing Cloud Cuckoo Land, my best book of 2023, I knew I had to pick up another of Anthony Doerr's books. This time, I figured, why not the book that won him the Pulitzer? In true Doerr fashion, All the Light We Cannot See is a masterclass in poetry. Every sentence sings.... Continue Reading →
While I love the idea-driven, philosophically oriented science fiction authors of the 50s and '60s, the likes of which include Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clark, Philip K. Dick, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, and Isaac Asimov---I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed by the first in Asimov's Foundation series. I truly, truly wanted to love... Continue Reading →
No matter how advanced artificial intelligence becomes---even after a thousand years of quantum computing---novels written by AI will never be worth anyone's time because fiction isn't a math problem to be solved. Storytelling is the greatest form of human expression. It's how we share our lived experiences, our fears, our pain, our aspirations. But a... Continue Reading →
What can I say about this book that hasn't already been said? Harper Lee's masterpiece and only true novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, has been analyzed to death by critics and is quintessential reading for any middle school English class. How Lee manages to write with such pathos, conviction, and storytelling skill without ever having... Continue Reading →
I have thoughts. No surprise, I know, but being an oh-so-special lover of words, my thoughts tend to be stubborn things. They stick to my brain like molasses and refuse to go away. Unfortunately, we live in a time when having thoughts can be dangerous. Expressing an opinion---any opinion, really---is like strolling through a minefield.... Continue Reading →
We were wrong about the future. Everyone had it wrong, in fact. The fears instilled in us from 80s and 90s films like The Terminator and The Matrix were off the mark. AI isn't going to kill us and it won't turn us into slaves (or batteries). But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be afraid... Continue Reading →
It's the end of the world as we know it ... and I feel fine. R.E.M I have a lot of experience writing about apocalyptic events. You could almost say it's my forte. In Ages of Aenya, when the sun expands from a yellow star to a red supergiant, 90% of all Aenya species perish. Millenniums... Continue Reading →
So I've recently come under fire, by (mostly) my pornographic Twitter followers, for my anti-porn rant, which I admit was sensational and reactionary, and I would now like the chance to wade into these waters with a clearer head. The subject of sex is complicated and controversial, with widely divergent opinions colliding about the media-verse to... Continue Reading →
The Art of Storytelling 
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