Author Archives: John Walters

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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Book Review:  Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman

Joe Haldeman is best known for The Forever War, an award-winning novel about a military conflict with aliens that lasts for over a thousand years. Forever Peace was published two decades after The Forever War, but despite the similarity of … Continue reading

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Why I Self-Publish

I shouldn’t really have to write a justification of self-publishing. If readers and writers were as open-minded and magnanimous as they should be, they would realize that there are as many artistic paths as there are artists. Unfortunately, however, there … Continue reading

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Book Review:  Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder

Rough Sleepers is a term used to refer to the portion of the homeless populace in Boston that sleeps outside on the streets instead of in shelters. This book tells of the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless program, and specifically … Continue reading

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