I thoroughly enjoy stories set in the post-apocalyptic genre. Whether it’s nuclear MAD, alien invasion, killer plagues, or any one of the many other likely triggers of the End of the World, I enjoy watching the End unfold. Plucky bands of survivalists, roving mutant beasts, radiation-blanketed wastelands–it’s all good.
And so it was that I was [...]
I happen to be quite fond of Halloween, and each year as October 31 approaches I try to single out a few appropriately spooky books, games, and movies to enjoy. This year I sort of missed the seasonal opportunity and didn’t settle on any truly good scary movies. No good terrifying game surfaced, despite my [...]
Kender fans, rejoice! If you just can’t get enough of the world’s most annoying halfling, and you’ve got the cash, you can now treat yourself to a leather-bound, gilt-edged compilation of the Dragonlance trilogy.
OK, I’m smirking at it. But hey, if Dragonlance floats your boat, go for it–I’ve certainly spent more money on less significant [...]
Why, you ask, is Hawthorne ranked among the greatest of American writers? Because he finds room in his prose for quotes like this:
“Where is it, then?” asked Hilda. “I never peeped into it.”
“Wait, and it will open for you,” replied her friend. “The chasm was merely one of the orifices of that pit of [...]
I was surprised to learn this week that Umberto Eco has a new novel out. That’s wonderful news, to be sure. I also came across this interesting interview with the man himself. This tidbit amused me:
His second novel, Foucault’s Pendulum, took eight years to write. It was about three editors at a [...]
This evening, I finished reading Shusaku Endo’s novel Scandal. (I very much enjoy Endo’s writing; his excellent novel Silence is fairly well-known, and The Samurai would rank as one of my top five favorite novels.) I’m still trying to process exactly what Scandal “means;” feel free to read along as I mull over [...]
I’ve got a problem. A book-related problem.
A year or so ago, I started reading Neal Stephenson’s Quicksilver. I made it a good ways through, and was enjoying it. And then the unthinkable happened: I got distracted, and put the book back on the shelf… for about 12 months.
Now, I’d like to finish [...]
Very interesting essay on the re-creation of Spiderman for an Indian audience. (Via Instapundit.)
I finished reading China Mieville’s The Scar today. The Scar (hereafter TS) is a semi-sequel to Perdido Street Station, which I discussed a while ago–it shares none of PSS’ characters and takes place in a different part of the same world, but does have a few ties to the events of PSS.
I want to [...]
…and while I’m tossing out these short posts (hey, that Perdido Street Station post tired me out), you really ought to check out this interview with Neal Stephenson over at Slashdot. Even if you aren’t that interested in Stephenson, scroll down to question #4.
Neal Stephenson is pretty much the coolest guy ever.
