Belgian author Georges Simenon set a dubious record with the publication of 75 novels in his series about Paris police commissioner Jules Maigret. The Maigret novels are widely regarded as the longest-running series of crime novels ever written. But those 75 books constituted less than one-fifth...
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A review of Why the West Rules — for Now: The Patterns of History, and What They Reveal About the Future, by Ian Morris. @@@@@ (5 out of 5). In Why the West Rules, he explores the state of society and the quality of life in both West and East since long before the onset of written history in the first millennium BCE — in fact, since the passing of the last Ice Age 15,000 years ago. Morris’s ultimate goal is to discern the shape of times to come. His conclusion is noncommittal: “The great question for our times is not whether the West will continue to rule. It is whether humanity as a whole will break through to an entirely new kind of existence before disaster strikes us.”
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The world’s richest author, J. K. Rowling, wrapped up the blockbuster seven-book Harry Potter series in 2007, and six years later she launched a new career writing mysteries under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The first of the novels featuring private detectives Cormoran Strike and Robin...
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Nowadays news reports and conspiracy channels are full of terrifying stories about artificial intelligence. But for decades advances in genetic engineering have generated similar horror stories. “Frankenfood.” Designer babies. GMO crops run wild. Toxic fungi. And about the time the...
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A review of Little Green Men, by Christopher Buckley. @@@@@ (5 out of 5). Not only does Buckley make me chuckle and wheeze with immoderate glee, but he also solves the mystery of the UFOs!
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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.