Author Archives: John Walters

The Library Blues

Don’t let the title of this essay mislead you: I am profoundly thankful for the local public library system. Its online search capabilities are excellent; I can reserve a book and it will be transported free of charge from any … Continue reading

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Book Review:  The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean by Susan Casey

The Underworld has many positive attributes: it is fascinating, it is well researched, and it is very well-written. However, what shines through and illuminates it more than any of these is this: the author is clearly in love with her … Continue reading

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A Glimpse of the Cosmic Dance and Other Stories Is Now Available!

My 35th book and 12th short story collection, A Glimpse of the Cosmic Dance and Other Stories, is now available as a paperback and as an ebook at various online outlets. Links to these are below. In a world whose … Continue reading

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Book Review:  Babel; or, The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R. F. Kuang

I had never heard of this book until it won this year’s Nebula Award for best novel from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association. Since then it has won several other awards, and since awards season is not over, … Continue reading

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Book Review:  Chasing the Light: Writing, Directing, and Surviving Platoon, Midnight Express, Scarface, Salvador, and the Movie Game by Oliver Stone

With its subtitle in place, this book has a long, long title. I’ve found that most nonfiction books have subtitles; publishers probably figure that buyers browsing in bookstores won’t pick up a book unless a bombastic title spells out the … Continue reading

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Book Review:  Elevation by Stephen King

The cover of this recent book by Stephen King says: Elevation: A Novel. In fact, though, it’s not a novel; it’s a novella, and a short one at that. We are all accustomed to King’s books being thousand-plus page brick-heavy … Continue reading

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Book Review:  Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle over Technology and Prosperity by Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson

This brilliant book is not an easy read, but it is definitely a rewarding one. The authors (both professors at MIT) delve deep into history and economics to explain why in our present era the very few elite prosper while … Continue reading

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Book Review:  At the Center of All Beauty: Solitude and the Creative Life by Fenton Johnson

A while back I became aware that there was no quick cure for my living alone and being alone much of the time. To mitigate the loneliness, I looked for some books that might give some insight on turning the … Continue reading

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My Story “Dark Mirrors” Has Just Been Published in the Summer 2023 Dragon Gems Anthology

The Dragon Gems anthology for summer 2023, published by Water Dragon Publishing, has just been released, and it includes my short story “Dark Mirrors.” About “Dark Mirrors”: The people of Earth are losing a war with aliens that they themselves … Continue reading

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A Spray of Short Stories for Summer Stimulation

This article was originally written and posted in January of 2019. I have updated it to include my latest short story collections. Relax and enjoy the excitement of some great short stories while you bask in the summer sun. I … Continue reading

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