This one might just be better than "the Only Good Indian." It has horror, humanity, history and a fantastic vampire narrative bleeding through all theThis one might just be better than "the Only Good Indian." It has horror, humanity, history and a fantastic vampire narrative bleeding through all the pages. SGJ is brilliant at bringing humanity to the horror and not letting anyone off easily. We are all monsters, we are all gluttons, we all survive on the corpses of our past dead. God I loved this. ...more
A great noir novel that seems a mix of Willeford's sunny, Florida Noir, and Patricia Highsmith art antics. A book about art, art criticism, ambition, A great noir novel that seems a mix of Willeford's sunny, Florida Noir, and Patricia Highsmith art antics. A book about art, art criticism, ambition, fraud, and collusion. Sometimes, the only thing that matters is having your fame outlive you. ...more
Lamb is one of those early, popular historians, that is great on narrative, but not necessarily the best at following the rules of historical writing.Lamb is one of those early, popular historians, that is great on narrative, but not necessarily the best at following the rules of historical writing. Most bigger biographers have avoided writing about Hannibal because most of what we know about Hannibal comes from Roman writers (with their biases fully intact). Lamb understands that limit, but also dances around it by speculation and assumption. A good story, but one that will always exist within a vague cloud of obscurity and bias....more
Better than I expected. A twin romance (one with a dead woman) and a political sci-fi thriller with Mormons (and a ship named Nauvoo) might not have bBetter than I expected. A twin romance (one with a dead woman) and a political sci-fi thriller with Mormons (and a ship named Nauvoo) might not have been what I was expecting, but the Corey team delivered and tied up all the threads with more emotional resonance than one usually finds in a hard sci-fi space opera. On to book two. I think I'll read three this year, three in 2026, and three in 2027, just to stretch everything out. ...more
A nice collection of Dan's take on contemporary social/political/religious claims attributed to the Bible. Dan's writing is clean and he's talented atA nice collection of Dan's take on contemporary social/political/religious claims attributed to the Bible. Dan's writing is clean and he's talented at discussing academic ideas about the Bible and related topics in nonacademic ways. He's a fantastic communicator, as his social media following makes clear. He's also a mensch. ...more
Not my favorite POE but it plays a significant part in the second book of Bottom's Dream, and eventually, I'd like to be a Poe completist, so I guess Not my favorite POE but it plays a significant part in the second book of Bottom's Dream, and eventually, I'd like to be a Poe completist, so I guess now is the time. Solid. Reminds me a little of other travel fiction novels. But because it didn't finish, it felt it lacked narrative drive or conflict. It was a bit of a walkabout a tour. It would have been interesting to have read it if Poe had the chance to write the second half. Would have loved to see it drop, suddenly into a bit of a funky mythic space of the West. Who knows. All I can do is judge what is left, what is finished. It was good Poe, good writing, but just not great. ...more
OMG. It is going to take me a while to write about the trilogy and just how well SGJ wrapped this series up. What a Goddam, beautiful, bloody bow. AlsOMG. It is going to take me a while to write about the trilogy and just how well SGJ wrapped this series up. What a Goddam, beautiful, bloody bow. Also, listen to the afterword. The man is incredible. When he writes, he writes. He is like WTV, Dostoevsky, Steven King, etc. He must be superhuman, hypergraphic, or maybe he just walks on water that other writers swim in. ...more
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