"When I do not want to say things in real life I often say them here." — Mimi Smartypants
“If democracy came to China they would end up electing idiots, as in America.” —Kim Stanley Robinson, Red Moon Red Moon by Kim Stanley Robinson My thoughts on “Red Moon” are similar to those I expressed in my review of KSR’s previous SF novel of ideas, “New York 2140.” I loved the first half of […]
“The future always looks good in the golden land, because no one remembers the past.” — Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays by Joan Didion I was at Sacramento State during the years Didion wrote the essays in “Slouching Towards Bethlehem.” By 1970, when I started grad school, her book had […]
“Out of the blue and into the black is what they called going into a tunnel. Each one was a black echo. Nothing but death in there. But, still, they went.” —Michael Connelly, The Black Echo The Black Echo (Harry Bosch #1) by Michael Connelly In an earlier review, I commented on the differences between […]
This is collection of reviews previously posted on Paul’s Thing: these are the books, old and new, that I most enjoyed reading this year. I’m about to embark on Philip Pullman’s “The Book of Dust,” a potential contender, but doubt I’ll finish it before the end of the year (also, I’m sometimes disappointed with long-delayed […]
“It wasn’t for trash, my bookshelves would be mostly empty.” —Paul Woodford, unpublished memoir The Great Passage by Shion Miura Clearly, I’ve been reading too many mysteries and thrillers, where every new object or action introduced into the story comes back later in some significant way. In real life … and Japanese novels … the […]
“Am I a person or a weapon?” Borne asks Rachel, in extremis. “You are a person,” Rachel tells him. “But like a person, you can be a weapon, too.” — Jeff VanderMeer, Borne Borne by Jeff VanderMeer The “Southern Reach” trilogy sold me on Jeff VanderMeer. I’ll probably read anything he writes and I’m not sorry I […]
“We are all part machine, Kaaro. Your phone is a polymer under the skin of your hand. You have a locator chip in your head.” —Tade Thompson, Rosewater Rosewater by Tade Thompson A Goodreads friend said this about “Rosewater”: “This book is one of those discoveries that not only is enjoyable for itself; it’s good […]
“Page took the record that was playing on the turntable off without asking anybody and put on Jimi Hendrix: long tense organic guitar line that made him shiver like frantic electric ecstasy was shooting up from the carpet through his spine straight to the old pleasure center in his cream-cheese brain, shaking his head so […]