Category Archives: Speculative Fiction

Lincoln in the Bardo

Posted on August 6, 2017 by

I like George Saunders’s short stories, but I was skeptical of his first full-length novel. The premise—Abraham Lincoln surrounded by a chorus of ghosts at his son’s grave—seemed like something that could just be plotless introspection. I’d don’t need books … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Historical Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 8 Comments

The Carhullan Army

Posted on July 25, 2017 by

One of the things that I sometimes find regrettable about literary fiction is that it can be a little samey. I don’t know whether this is the result of writers’ workshops that go in cycles and turn out similar sorts … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 16 Comments

The Lightning Thief

Posted on July 10, 2017 by

I mentioned a little while ago that I’m having a book club with my kids this summer, each one separately. The first book I read with my 9-year-old son (chosen from my list) was The Inquisitor’s Tale, by Adam Gidwitz, … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's / YA Lit, Speculative Fiction | 9 Comments

White Tears

Posted on July 5, 2017 by

Seth was a quiet, standoffish, broke college kid when he first became friends with the wealthy and popular Carter Wallace. Obsessed with sound recording, Seth was testing out some new equipment he’d cobbled together when Carter approached him, asked about … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 10 Comments

Crosstalk

Posted on July 2, 2017 by

I don’t expect romantic comedies to be stressful, but the first third of Connie Willis’s latest novel was almost unendurable. It was entertaining, and I wanted to know where it was going, but I found almost every single person impossible … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 10 Comments

The Turn of the Screw

Posted on June 10, 2017 by

Lately, my husband has been reading The Ambassadors by Henry James. I haven’t read James almost at all (The Golden Bowl, but many years ago) and I thought I would renew my acquaintance with his most famous ghost story, The … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics, Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 13 Comments

The Fireman

Posted on June 8, 2017 by

In January, Teresa published a review of Joe Hill’s latest book, The Fireman. I had already been planning to read it, since I’ve read and enjoyed most of what he’s written, but her review made me really excited about it. … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary, Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 9 Comments

Charlotte Sometimes

Posted on April 30, 2017 by

Charlotte Makepeace, the central character in this 1969 novel by Penelope Farmer, is all on her own at a new boarding school. But she was lucky enough to get first choice of beds in her dormitory room, at the encouragement of … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's / YA Lit, Classics, Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 8 Comments

The Book of Joan

Posted on April 16, 2017 by

It’s the year 2049, and ecological disaster has rendered Earth inhospitable to human life. The wealthy life on something called, CIEL, a life raft in space cobbled together from pieces of space junk that is tethered to the Earth with … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 10 Comments

The Man in the High Castle

Posted on March 7, 2017 by

At the beginning of this year, I was completely hooked on the Amazon series The Man in the High Castle, based on the novel by Philip K. Dick. I’d never read the novel, so I decided that it would be a … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Speculative Fiction | 7 Comments