Some writer or critic — I forget who; it was somebody who gravitates to Literature with a capital “L” — defined the content of a novel as “something happens.” The late Joseph Heller even wrote a novel with that title. (Not a good one, actually.) Stuff happens in...
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Estimated reading time: 3 minutes Sara Paretsky writes for me. I’m convinced of it. Her consistently excellent series of V. I. Warshawski detective novels features a believable central character, a handful of her charming friends, and a finely tuned appreciation for the depths of big-city...
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It’s interesting to speculate whether the number of murders depicted in English mystery novels is greater than the number of murders actually recorded in the country. I suspect it’s a close call. Peter Lovesey is one of the culprits in that caper. He is responsible for not one but two...
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Kim Stanley Robinson’s place in the pantheon of great science fiction writers is assured on the strength of his tour de force, the Mars Trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars). He’s written a number of other novels since then, but I’ve seen none that represented such a serious...
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Practically everything you know about North Korea is wrong. That, at least, is the inescapable conclusion to take from reading Daniel Tudor and James Pearson’s new book, North Korea Confidential. I exaggerate, of course. North Korea is, without question, one of the poorest countries in...
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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.