Barbarians of the Beyond by Matthew Hughes, Spatterlight Press, 2021 – available through Amazon Matthew Hughes has had forty-two stories published in science fiction’s premier platform, the ‘Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction’. In addition he’s published over thirty books, he’s won or been nominated for every fantasy and science fiction award you can think …
FIREFLIES AND CHOCOLATE
Fireflies and Chocolate, Ailish Sinclair, GWL Publishing 2021 (available through Amazon) In 1607 Jamestown was established and the early settlers soon began importing indentured European servants/laborers into the new world. The system of indentures in that period was similar to slavery, differing only in that those sold under indentures gained their freedom when they had …
I’m Sorry – So Sorry
Is there another country better at apologizing than Kanadoodle? Yup, up in the frozen north, we may huddle in our igloos and kick back the brewskies, but when it comes to a good frozen apology, there’s no one that can touch us. Just look at all the practice we’ve had in the past decade or …
The Not So Glorious Past
Canada, like any country, has its past glories to celebrate and some things that are a shameful black mark. The discovery of hundreds of unmarked children's graves on old residential school sites has brought up a dismal racist aspect of our past, part of which is still with us today. By all means celebrate the …
SUCH A WEEK
For the most part, our glorious leader, Dustbin Truthless, the Prime Ribber of Kanadoodle, is sitting back and smugly smiling at the antics of the opposition as they try to get some traction out of the latest political scandals. First there’s the Minister of Deference, Hardhit Sandbag. According to Erring O’Fool, leader of the Consumptive …
Old Children’s Classic – Pinocchio
Pinocchio by Carol Collodi (my copy published by Simply Read Books, 2002, illustrated by Iasssen Ghiuselev) 1807 saw the first publication of Thomas Bowdler’s ‘Family Shakespeare’, an edition of the Bard’s works where all the parts deemed racy, blasphemous or otherwise unsuitable for the young or female readers were removed. ‘Cleaning up’ tales for children …
Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
Has anyone had the experience of reading a book that is touted by critics as a masterpiece, got to the end and wondered why you bothered? Vladimir Nabokov wrote Lolita in 1955 and the book was so successful that he was able to give up a teaching career at Harvard and devote himself exclusively to …
It’s All About Buggy Whips
Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello, Nichols & May, may have been great comedy teams but they don’t hold a candle to our current champions - Ronald Rump & the Publican Party. There’s a bond between the two that just seems unshakeable. After his election loss (you know – the one that was stolen because …
He’s Dead But He Won’t Lie Down
Anyone who doubts either the enduring appeal of Ronald Rump, former Prez of ‘Murica, or the moral bankruptcy of the Publican Party need look no further than recent events in Washington and Florida. In Washington, the comedy capital of the world, Publican Party leaders are being dismissed from their party posts if they dare to …
The Odin Incident – Excerpt
In last week’s blog, I promised (or threatened, depending on how the message was received) to give you an excerpt of the latest draft of my fantasy book ‘The Odin Incident’ (One prophecy, Two destinies – Nine worlds in peril). This latest draft was inspired by Les Edgerton’s book on how to write entitled ‘Hooked’. …
Richard's Left Bank 