The new Akashic anthology “Venice Noir,” edited by Maxim Jakubowski. Says reviewer Karl Wolff, “There is something for everyone in this [book], a delicious sampling of tastes, styles, and stories.” Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: Venice Noir, edited by Maxim Jakubowski
Masters of the Planet by Ian Tattersall is a fascinating exploration of the always controversial topic of human evolution. Continue reading Masters of the Planet, by Ian Tattersall
A limited-run series where I review three books about the Supreme Court of the United States, exploring its historical and ideological conflicts, and the transformations it wrought upon law and society. This week, the Burger Court stops Presidential tyranny in its tracks. Continue reading Mondays with the Supremes: Part IV: Tapes and Tapes
This week I explore Storm Constantine’s trilogy Wraeththu, about a hermaphroditic human species that overtakes humanity during a postapocalyptic catastrophe. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: On Being Human: Wraeththu, by Storm Constantine
This week, Karl Wolff reviews Richard Sharp’s novel “The Duke Don’t Dance,” tracing several friends across decades and continents from the jungles of Southeast Asia to a DC lobbying firm and beyond. The novel combines nuanced literary observations with cutting satire. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: The Duke Don’t Dance, by Richard Sharp
I’m published!!! My short piece, “The Anarcho-Libertine Manifesto, 2nd Iteration” (page 31) has been published by Paraphilia Magazine. In a nutshell, I call for the arts to be dangerous again and to not be afraid to use lush and opulent language. Continue reading Published!!! Read my manifesto in the pages of Paraphilia Magazine
A Cultural History of the Chinese Language by Sharron Gu attempts to provide a means for non-specialists to approach Chinese, not from the technical and scientific discipline of linguistics, but from the discipline of literary history. Continue reading A Cultural History of the Chinese Language, by Sharron Gu
Today in Karl Wolff’s CCLaP essay series “On Being Human,” it’s ‘The Culture’ novels by Iain Banks, in which humans, aliens, and machines all live in a post-scarcity utopia. Banks’s novels follow eccentrics and troublemakers in a society where humans can switch gender, become aliens, and even become machines. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: On Being Human: the Culture
The Driftless Area Review interviews Isaac Goldman, author of “Isaac: a modern fable,” to discuss folklore, favorite writers, boxing, and why you shouldn’t try to sell the Tonight Show a joke. Continue reading An Interview with Ivan Goldman
Today’s book review at CCLaP: “Make It Stay” by Joan Frank, which I calls my favorite read so far of the year. The novel explores the lives of two couples in a small Northern California town as they encounter births, deaths, joys, and frustrations. I assert, “Frank’s highly polished literary prose is definitely worth your time.” Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: Make It Stay, by Joan Frank
The Driftless Area Review 