Estimated reading time: 6 minutes Don’t be misled by the book’s title. The “daemon” of Daniel Suarez’s novel isn’t an evil spirit. That evil-sounding word is a term of art in computer science and not at all diabolical. Wikipedia defines it as...
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Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace is sometimes called the greatest novel ever written. But I’m not sure why. For its time—the first edition appeared in 1869—it must have been remarkable for the stark realism of its depiction of soldiers at war. But War and Peace isn’t a novel in the...
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You may have come across reports about the violence surrounding the mining of the rare mineral coltan in Central Africa. It’s a source of the element tantalum, which is essential in the manufacture of cell phones and laptops. And about eighty percent of the world’s supply comes from...
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Think 1940s noir, and what comes to mind? Tough-guy private eyes and corrupt cops. Fistfights in dark alleys. Beautiful dames with murder in their eyes. But that’s not what Stephen Spotswood has in store for you in his 21st-century take on the period. Because only in the mood they convey do...
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For some reason I can’t fathom, one of the most vivid fantasies of my childhood was the story of Rip Van Winkle. The celebrated American author Washington Irving published a short story of that title in 1819. His hero is an indolent Dutch-American man in pre-Revolutionary New York who...
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Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review,
with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review,
with links to other nonfiction content.
The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.
Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.
The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.