MONKEY BEACH BY EDEN ROBINSON - Knopf, 2000 - Eden Robinson is a First Nations’ writer whose work explores fiction through the lens of her culture and lived experience. My wife’s book club had this on their reading list and there were a few readers that didn’t like the ‘non-lineal’ style of the narrative. …
AKIN BY EMMA DONAGHUE
AKIN BY EMMA DONAGHUE, HarperCollins 2019 - Noah Selvaggio, a widower living in New York, is within days of turning eighty. Noah’s father was a famous photographer whose work is now valuable and often found in museums. Noah’s sister Fernande, mother of Victor, died recently, leaving Noah an envelope with some photos taken in …
DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL BY MATT DINNIMAN
DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL BY MATT DINNIMAN, ACE 2020 - I’d have to guess that Matt Dinniman spent a good part of his spare time playing video games and ‘Dungeons and Dragons’. Aside from the gaming world, Dungeon Crawler Carl seems to draw a little inspiration from Bancroft’s ‘Senlin Ascends’, Collins ‘Hunger Games’, television’s ‘Survivor’ or …
ABORIGINAL TITLE
I looked across the street and coveted my neighbor’s house. One side of the house had an ocean front, on the other side I saw a fishing pond and they had a creek running through acres of forested land surrounding it. They’ve lived there longer than anyone else and call themselves ‘FIRST NEIGHBOURS’. So …
THE GREAT AI CONUNDRUM
It’s SO EXCITING!!! AI and robotics are revolutionizing work and we’re ALL GOING TO BECOME REDUNDANT. Tech giants are leading the way - FIRING EMPLOYEES BY THE THOUSANDS to help pay for new facilities that use the TRILLIONS of watts of electricity needed to feed AI. This, of course, IS GOOD NEWS for those who …
SERAPHINA BY RACHEL HARTMAN
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman 2012 Doubleday In Hartman’s fantasy world, there have been forty years of an uneasy peace between human people and their traditional enemy, the dragons. While in their natural state, the dragons have all the traditional trappings: wings, scales, massive bodies and the ability to breathe fire. The new twist in this …
THE NEW MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE
Malcolm in the Middle - Life’s Still Unfair (in four episodes produced by Hulu, 2026) The original ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ ran from 2000 until 2006 and produced some of the funniest episodes in the history of sit-com. I suppose someone must have thought it was a brilliant idea to assemble the original cast, twenty …
THIS WEEK IN THE ASYLUM
These days I pity people who make a living writing comedy and satire. The politicians and their antics are putting the professional gag masters to shame. Granted, it’s pretty hard to compete against the WORLD’S GREATEST COMEDIAN: THE ONE, THE ONLY RONALD RUMP, Prez for life, Emperor of the ‘Muricas, Viceroy of Greedland and KEEPER …
FAYNE BY ANN-MARIE MACDONALD
FAYNE BY ANN-MARIE MACDONALD - Knopf 2022 - It’s not often I’m as conflicted about a book as I am with Fayne. For the most part the story is written in the tradition of a nineteenth century novel. With the main character occasionally speaking directly to the reader (Oh, reader…) and the story’s many unlikely …
ANOTHER WEEK AT THE ZOO
His Holiness the PRINCE OF PEACE, Ronald Rump, started his week with a real blast of OF MIRTH AND MERRIMENT - another round of bombs on the I-Rainians. Taped to one of the warheads was his latest peace proposal demands, which included opening the oil channels in the Gulf of Rump (formerly the Gulf of Horrorsnoose), …
Richard's Left Bank 