Monthly Archives: March 2004

Recommended in a USENET review by Andrew Plotkin, whose recommendations I mostly enjoy. (It was his review that led me to pick up The Golden Compass.) A very enjoyable young-adult genre novel of the popcorn type about some kids in … Continue reading →

Sir Apropos of Nothing was a difficult book to think about– I couldn’t decide, all the way through, whether I liked it or not. As I’ve said before, fantasy comedy is pretty hard to pull off- or at least to … Continue reading →

Books like this are why I don’t review books as much as talk about having read them. I don’t have the words to tell anyone about this book, except in a dry plot-wise way that would do nothing towards actually … Continue reading →

(I forgot to blog this when I finished it.) Not my favorite Baker, not by a long shot. It takes a real gift to write funny fantasy that works, and I’m pickier about it than most (I think). Anvil certainly … Continue reading →

Cory Doctorow has great ideas. His writing is lean and sparse in a good way; every time I read one of his stories I feel propelled through it, drawn on by what’s going on. I think that’s why I wish … Continue reading →

Peter Straub wrote a book that was one of my favorites as a teenager, Shadowland. I re-read it recently (it was reprinted in paperback), and really enjoyed it again, even though I can no longer really identify with the teen-angst … Continue reading →

The most enjoyable Mary-Sue I’ve ever read. Hey, it’s short, and if I say much more, you won’t have much reason to read it.