Western stories are horror stories. Desolation. Solitude. The Unknown. Monsters. That’s what they’re always about. I think that’s why I like them so much – they strip civilization down to a skeleton and then they ask the most basic questions….
Category: reviews
I chose The Puzzler for my guy book club meeting this month, and it did not disappoint. We did talk about the book at our meeting, but my favorite part of the discussion was an impromptu show-and-tell session. Items included a lock-picking…
This book delighted me. All Systems Red provides thought-provoking characters and ideas without sacrificing a single bit of fun. It’s both enjoyable and insightful, especially about personhood. This series came highly recommended to me by fellow sci-fi enthusiasts. For this first…
“All life is dangerous. We forget that, we who have been reared in one of the small pockets of civilization. For that is all that civilization really is…small pockets of men here and there for who have gathered together for…
“You are standing at the gateway of heaven. You are living in the House of God.” Hunting Magic Eels is a map for burned-out Christians. Beck, himself burned out by years of doubt and Christendom, wrote this book as an antidote…
If you are a highly sensitive person (HSP), or if you are with an HSP, or if your kid is an HSP, or one of your direct reports is an HSP, there’s something in this book for you. And since…
Trevanian’s Shibumi is an international-man-of-mystery-spy-thriller. I think it’s also a sendup of the genre, capitalism, Orientalism, etc. But in a fun way. Like a Shaun of the Dead way. Here’s the back cover blurb form the 1983 printing of the 1979 book:…
I read S.C. Gwynne’s Empire of the Summer Moon as part of a book club. The titular empire in this work of history is Comanche empire. Gwynne says it was the Comanches that determined when the West opened up to white settlers….
“The further you get from home, the weirder things get.” Colin Dickey is a writer on the fringe. His books are about those who fear secret societies (Under the Eye of Power), an American history of ghosts (Ghostland), and monsters/aliens…
Family and friends recently took a trip down to the coast. I’ve always heard of beach reads, but I’ve never actually read anything while sitting on the beach. This was my chance! I loaded up my waterproof Kobo with some…
