Author Archives: John Walters

Book Review: Best American Short Stories of the Century Edited by John Updike and Katrina Kenison

I picked this book up at a library sale. It was published in 1999 and represents the opinions of the two editors on which stories are the best from the yearly volumes of The Best American Short Stories from 1915 … Continue reading

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“Escape Strategies” in Aftermath: Explorations of Loss and Grief

Radix Media has recently held book launches on the east and west coasts for its anthology Aftermath: Explorations of Loss and Grief, which contains my short story “Escape Strategies.” It’s a beautifully designed book containing short stories, memoirs, comics, illustrations, … Continue reading

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Book Review: Lenin’s Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire by David Remnick

Because the vast empire of the Soviet Union is dead and gone, it’s hard sometimes to remember how pervasive, influential, and terrifying it once was. I grew up during the Cold War, when the ongoing struggle between communism and capitalism … Continue reading

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Book Review: Past Master by R.A. Lafferty

Rafael Aloysius Lafferty, who wrote under the name R.A. Lafferty, was an inescapable presence in the 1960s and 1970s in the science fiction field. It seemed that just about every best of the year or awards anthology I picked up … Continue reading

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The Egregious Practice of Charging Reading Fees

(This article first appeared on the website of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America on March 26, 2018.) I am a hybrid author, which means that I self-publish books and also publish short stories in traditional venues. Last … Continue reading

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Book Review: Report to Greco by Nikos Kazantzakis

I don’t know how many people remember Nikos Kazantzakis nowadays. He’s known mainly for two novels that became acclaimed and controversial movies: Zorba the Greek and The Last Temptation of Christ. When I was a young man obsessed with becoming … Continue reading

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“Dark Mirrors” in Alien Invasion: Short Stories

I’m pleased to announce that one of my personal favorites among my short stories, “Dark Mirrors,” has just been reprinted in a hardcover anthology with a beautiful embossed cover called Alien Invasion: Short Stories. It’s part of the impressive Gothic … Continue reading

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Book Review: Everfair by Nisi Shawl

I’ve come across Nisi Shawl’s short stories from time to time, including one set in the Everfair universe. This is her first novel. In it, she posits an alternate history in which Europeans and Americans purchase a tract of land … Continue reading

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A Second Look: Dark Mirrors: Dystopian Tales

When it malfunctions, a teacher discovers a microchip implanted within her forehead which was designed to eradicate her free will.  She determines to rescue the orphaned children in her care from a similar fate. In the aftermath of a conflict … Continue reading

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Book Review: I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai

This is a wonderful, exciting, amazing, and important book. It’s one of those world-changing special books that rarely comes along. It celebrates freedom, education for all, and women’s rights while at the same time telling a horrendous story of oppression, … Continue reading

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