Author Archives
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Holiday Gifting is for Big Books.
One of the most surprising gifts I received for Christmas in my twenties, from my parents, was a copy of Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros. I was surprised both because I quite enjoy the work of Sandra Cisneros but had not, yet,… Read More ›
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Elmer’s Epic Job Placement Service for Non-Traditional Workers #22
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The Fortieth Issue of one of the Most Interesting Zines in SF/F: Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #40
Approximately twice a year, I get this message in the post, paper bound, clearly created in a copying machine, with a hard paper cover, and stapled paper pages. It’s a message from a place stranger and more interesting than the… Read More ›
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Stardew Valley
The end of the world is probably going to be very slow. All the things we think are part of our civilization will betray us a little bit by a little bit, and after the end, people will still be… Read More ›
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Christmas Specials for Fans of the Fantastic
By definition, the very notion of Santa Claus riding down from the toy workshop hidden in the frosty wasteland of the North Pole to deliver toys to all the good boys and girls of the world in a single nocturne… Read More ›
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Planetfall by Emma Newman is Enjoyable Enough, but Not For Everyone
To me, one of the great narrative failures is when important information is kept from the audience simply because the author wants to maintain the secret. The narrator knows. They share winks and nods with other characters in the scene…. Read More ›
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Three Winter Books for the Cold and the Dark
The cold snap that passed through much of the United States made one thing very clear: Winter is Coming. It’s already snowed a few times for my family in the northern states, and even down in south Texas, where I… Read More ›
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All Souls, All Warnings – a Review of THREE MESSAGES AND A WARNING edited by Eduardo Jimenez Mayo, Chris Brown, and Bruce Sterling
A member of the family passed away on All Souls, November 1. As a resident of San Antonio, TX, I am very familiar with the importance of this day. It is the day when spirits return to visit their living… Read More ›
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Hungry Caterpillars and Hemingway and Horses and Men
Like many parents of small children, I have had cause to read the book THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR probably more times than I care to count. In this book, which is not very long, really, but extremely well illustrated, a… Read More ›
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Remembering the Classics: BURNING CHROME by William Gibson
When I spent a couple months in Vancouver one summer, while writing and dogsitting and housesitting for a relative that was vacationing in Italy in this beautiful house in Vancouver, I walked around the city constantly wondering if I might… Read More ›