Category Archives: Culture

@The Movies with PopPop: The Hateful Eight

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Watched The Hateful Eight, the latest Quentin Tarentino movie last night via Netflix. As with many Tarentino movies, the rap about it is only tangentially accurate. Yes, there is violence – but quite little until late in the movie, and some … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

When I wrote about Some Sing, Some Cry, I was struck by how difficult it is for books to be successful. It takes a magic combination of timing, marketing, critical reception, and, yes, inherent quality. The more cynical you feel, the … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Black Company by Glen Cook

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Since The Black Company was published in 1984, Glen Cook has come out with nine further novels surrounding the adventures of the titular band of mercenaries. This is the only one I have read to date, and I did so without knowing … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Nekropolis by Maureen McHugh

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

I first read Maureen McHugh via her collection of short stories, After the Apocalypse, which is highly recommended–the best stories are magnificent, the rest merely good. Nekropolis (2001) is the first novel of hers I have read (at about 250 pages, it could even … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Oscar & Lucinda by Peter Carey

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Somehow, Oscar & Lucinda (1988) by Peter Carey got onto my radar via a fantasy-inspired recommendations. It doesn’t belong anywhere near that kind of categorization: instead, it’s a pretty straightforward historical romance, albeit one where little works out as expected for the characters … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Vorrh by Brian Catling

Posted on April 3, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

The Vorrh (2007) by Brian Catling (credited as B. Catling) is a fantastically imaginative book, but also a troubling one. The language is bright and inventive, and the characters–an unstoppable hunter, a cyclops raised by wooden robots in search of wider … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Set in a magically-infused vision of 8th century China, Guy Gavriel Kay‘s Under Heaven (2010) straddles the line between historical fiction and fantasy. The fantastic elements are treated lightly, and the history is very compelling. The setting is the real hero of the … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: The Peripheral by William Gibson

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

With The Peripheral (2014), William Gibson has returned to his wheelhouse: an incisive and disturbing vision of the near-future with engaging protagonists and sharp, snappy writing. Whether it is the hero of the book, Flynne (reprising a steampunk role originated by Y.T. … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

You will know if you will enjoy A Brief History of Seven Killings (2014) by the end of the second chapter. The first is told by a ghost, observing those involved in his own demise; the second is in a deep … Continue reading →

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Reading Well: Daughters of the North by Sarah Hall

Posted on March 9, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Daughters of the North (2007, originally published as The Carhullan Army) by Sarah Hall sits in the very thin area of overlap between literary and post-apocalyptic fiction. As such, it is a significantly higher level of craft than most of the latter … Continue reading →

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