Category Archives: Book Reviews

Book Review: Dawn by Elie Wiesel

This book came to me by accident.  I was visiting the library at Anatolia High School in Thessaloniki one day and, as is occasionally the case, there was a pile of books on a table outside the door – books … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Best from Orbit edited by Damon Knight

“Orbit” was a series of anthologies of original speculative fiction stories edited by Damon Knight in the 60s and 70s.  His aim was to expand the genre and select literary stories that would avoid the stereotypical spaceships and ray guns … Continue reading

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Short Story Author Highlight: James Tiptree, Jr.

Most science fiction enthusiasts know that James Tiptree, Jr. was the pseudonym of Alice Sheldon, an employee of the CIA who killed her ailing husband and then herself back in 1987.  A brilliant biography called “James Tiptree Jr.: The Double … Continue reading

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Book Review: Henry Miller: The Paris Years by Brassai

“Brassai” is the pseudonym of Gyula Halasz, a Hungarian photographer who lived in Paris at the same time as Miller did, in the 1930s.  Henry Miller was quite enamored of his photos depicting the streets of Paris, which Brassai published … Continue reading

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Book Review: This Immortal by Roger Zelazny

Roger Zelazny exploded onto the science fiction scene back in the mid-sixties.  Two of his stories won Nebula Awards in 1966, the first year they were ever given:  “He Who Shapes” won the Nebula for best novella, and “The Doors … Continue reading

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Book Review: The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T. J. Stiles

During the summer I often like to tackle really big books, often history books.  This summer I took on a book that has already received a lot of acclaim:  it has won the Pulitzer Prize as well as the National … Continue reading

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On Reading The Lord of the Rings for the Fourteenth Time, Part Three: The Return of the King

Now we come to the end of it.  There are some splendid passages in this book that never fail to bring tears to my eyes.  As Gandalf says, “Not all tears are an evil.”  One of the greatest is the … Continue reading

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On Reading The Lord of the Rings for the Fourteenth Time, Part Two: The Two Towers

I’m in a martial arts studio in New Jersey watching my oldest son train.  A peculiar situation, you might say, in which to write a review of a fantasy story.  But not so. “The Lord of the Rings” has to … Continue reading

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On Reading The Lord of the Rings for the Fourteenth Time, Part One: The Fellowship of the Ring

Every time I read “The Lord of the Rings” it is a profound literary experience.  I’m not sure I have read it fourteen times; it could be thirteen or fifteen, but I think fourteen is a good guess.  Most of … Continue reading

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More Favorite Short Stories

Yes, I do love those short stories.  In my last post on my favorite short stories I wrote about five of the all-time greats.   They were: 1.  “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream” by Harlan Ellison. 2.  “Sundance” … Continue reading

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