Re: American Creation

In light of the current election, it’s really interesting to read American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic, by Joseph J. Ellis. The triumphs begin, of course, with winning the War for Independence, and the tragedies are rooted in contentious issues that were set aside in the immediate interest of securing […]

Re: A Siege of Cranes

“A Siege of Cranes,” by Benjamin Rosenbaum opens with Marish of Ilmak Dale trailing after the horrendous evil that destroyed his village and killed his wife Temur and his daughter Asza. He meets a jackal-headed warrior. “May you die with great suffering,” the creature said in what seemed to be a calm, friendly tone.

Re: Pahwakhe

In an atmospheric reading that casts a spell on you, “Pahwakhe” by Gord Sellar brings you into the borderlands between magical thinking and ghost stories. The narrator is the chief of a tribe that lives on a shore rich in salmon and blackberries. He is a wealthy man, and his greatest possession, the one thing […]

Wrong again

Just because it’s in the swath where I scattered sunflower seeds doesn’t mean this is a sunflower. I can understand mistaking a syrphid fly for a bee, or hemp dogbane for milkweed, or the various other misidentifications I have made. But you’d think I’d recognize a Black-Eyed Susan when every summer I walk around admiring […]

Re: Homecoming at the Borderlands Café

While it’s not as graceful as “Family Values,” “Homecoming at the Borderlands Café,” by Carole McDonnell manages to create a world while the narrator, Mike, is sitting in the café eating dinner with his parents. It’s so static, most of the story is in his thoughts. But it takes place in a world where it’s […]

Re: Vellum

I finished Vellum, by Hal Duncan, but I can’t say I read it. I was drawn in by the discovery of the Book of All Hours where all the worlds and everything that happens in them is written on its pages. I loved the introduction of Innana’s reincarnation and the telling of her descent into […]

Coneflower

As I said earlier, the coneflowers have been a happening place for bees since the middle of July. Other flowers have been popular party places, but nothing seems to have attracted so many bees for so long as the coneflowers. There’s still lots of bees, but the flowers are getting a bit ratty looking, and […]

Re: James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon

I’m not sure I can add anything new to the chorus of voices recommending James Tiptree, Jr: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, by Julie Phillips, except to say, it’s just as good as “they” say it is. The early chapters depict a talented, artistic writer who was the daughter of a talented, adventurous […]

Re: Gentleman of the Road

So I’m at the library and I see a beautiful little book in the New Books. The cover has a circle of elephants, the endpapers have a map of Khazaria, the page numbers are in red ink, the chapters have witty titles, and even the font itself is a delight to the eye. Turns out […]

Snapdragons

The snapdragons have been flowering for about a month now. I’ve been leaning in to get a whiff of their bubblegum / tutti frutti scent from time to time. And then I saw the weirdest bee. This was right after Readercon, so finding out what it was sort of got lost in the shuffle. And […]