Tag: book reviews

book reviews, booksLeave a comment

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: a history of Nazi Germany (Thirtieth Anniversary Edition) by William Shirer

driftlessareareview

Nazi Germany.  Hitler.  The SS.  The names bring up connotations ranging from the cinema of Steven Spielberg and Mel Brooks to tasteless political posters at town hall meetings and anti-war protests.  In the eternal words of stand-up comic Bill Hicks: “We’re going in for God and country and democracy and here’s a fetus and he’s a Hitler.”  In our modern age, we have called whatever enemy of convenience a Hitler.  The same phenomenon throughout history with different groups of people thinking the Antichrist was Nero, the Pope, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, FDR, Ronald Wilson Reagan, Ayatollah Khomeini, Mikhail Gorbachev, Bill Clinton, … Continue reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: a history of Nazi Germany (Thirtieth Anniversary Edition) by William Shirer

Rate this:

book reviews, books, The Horus Heresy, Warhammer 40K1 Comment

Legion (Horus Heresy, Book 7) by Dan Abnett

driftlessareareview

Can Dan Abnett save the franchise? After the underwhelming Descent of Angels by Mitchel Scanlon, the Horus Heresy series is in desperate need of revival.  None is better equipped to revive the flagging franchise than the prolific Dan Abnett.  Abnett, author of Eisenhorn, the Ravenor series, the Gaunt’s Ghosts series, and other titles for Marvel and Doctor Who, has the rare gift to write well and to write a lot.  Like the space fantasy version of William T. Vollmann, he churns out full-length novels at a ridiculous rate. In Legion, Abnett throws the reader into a desert landscape, a war … Continue reading Legion (Horus Heresy, Book 7) by Dan Abnett

Rate this:

book reviews, books, nature, TVLeave a comment

Where the Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators, by William Stolzenburg

driftlessareareview

On the tip of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, ecology professor Robert T. Paine threw starfish into the sea.  In Alaska, killer whales preyed on sea otters.  In the northern forests of Wisconsin, massive deer herds mowed down several species of wildflower.  What do these disparate actions have in common?  In Where the Wild Things Were: life, death, and ecological wreckage in a land of vanishing predators, author and nature columnist William Stolzenburg explores what happens when top-tier predators go extinct.  Discussing several case studies, ranging from the tiny starfish to the polar bear-eating killer whale, Stolzenburg shows the ecological devastation following … Continue reading Where the Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators, by William Stolzenburg

Rate this:

book reviews, books, The Horus Heresy, Warhammer 40KLeave a comment

Book Review: Descent of Angels (The Horus Heresy, Book 6) by Mitchel Scanlon

driftlessareareview

The Horus Heresy series continues in its sixth installment, Descent of Angels, written by Mitchel Scanlon. The series makes a major reversal with this series. Scanlon has written previous novels for the Black Library, but his work involves the Warhammer brand, the epic fantasy sister ‘verse to the space fantasy of Warhammer 40K. Unlike previous volumes, the action occurs on one planet under circumstances one could label “low-tech.” Descent of Angels begins with an original story, telling the tale of how humanity settled on the planet Caliban.  The settlers became separated from the rest of humanity because of warp storms … Continue reading Book Review: Descent of Angels (The Horus Heresy, Book 6) by Mitchel Scanlon

Rate this:

books, Critic's Notebook, film, food, The Art of Reviewing, Warhammer 40KLeave a comment

The Art of Reviewing: Introductory Remarks

driftlessareareview

Every blog needs a large-scale project. The Art of Reviewing will explore reviewing as an art form and as a valuable element to understanding society.  During this project, I will profile specific reviewers of merit.  Several specific cases also explore other facets of reviewing. What makes a good reviewer? A review is only good as the individual reviewing the work.  But what is meant by good?  Good – like value, civilization, and culture – is a loaded term.  It should be not be used in a cavalier fashion or overloaded with moral baggage.  Does the reviewer have a technique, a … Continue reading The Art of Reviewing: Introductory Remarks

Rate this:

book reviews, books, filmLeave a comment

Gravity’s Rainbow (1973) by Thomas Pynchon

driftlessareareview

“unreadable, turgid, overwritten and obscene.” — Pulitzer Prize board. Scenario: Imagine you’re a peasant, wallowing about the mud, occasionally getting hassled by men in armor alleging they are kings because some lass threw a scimitar at him, and you’re late for the biweekly meeting of your anarcho-sydiclist commune. Perhaps you’re name is Dennis. Life is a constant struggle involving mud, plague, and rampaging Crusaders lopping the heads off random farmers. Your daily routine of mud farming is disrupted. Out of nowhere, an day-glo painted SR-71 Blackbird, piloted by a figure reminiscent of Donald Sutherland’s character from Kelley’s Heroes and co-piloted … Continue reading Gravity’s Rainbow (1973) by Thomas Pynchon

Rate this:

book reviews, books, Critical Appraisals, film, TVLeave a comment

Vineland and the Pynchon Canon: A Critical Appraisal

driftlessareareview

Introduction: “The bums lost.” The Big Lebowski: Your revolution is over, Mr. Lebowski. Condolences. The bums lost. My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski? The Dude walks out and shuts the door. The Big Lebowski: The bums will always lose! Brandt: How was your meeting, Mr. Lebowski? The Dude: Okay. The old man told me to take any rug in the house. The Big Lebowski (1998) – Los Bros. Coen In 1990 saw the publication of Vineland, by Thomas Pynchon.  The novel concerned the … Continue reading Vineland and the Pynchon Canon: A Critical Appraisal

Rate this:

book reviews, books, The Horus Heresy, Warhammer 40KLeave a comment

Fulgrim (Horus Heresy, Book Five) by Graham McNeill

driftlessareareview

The epic tale of the Horus Heresy continues in Fulgrim, the fifth volume of a planned twelve-volume cycle in the Warhammer 40K series. In the previous book, Flight of the Eisenstein, Battle-Captain Nathaniel Garro flies to Terra to warn the Emperor of Mankind of heresy. Not just any heresy, but heresy led by Warmaster Horus to overthrow the Emperor. Fulgrim tells a story parallel to the events of Eisenstein, eventually meeting up where the previous volume left off. The Fulgrim of the novel is the Primarch of the Emperor’s Children, a Space Marine legion priding itself in its fighting perfection. … Continue reading Fulgrim (Horus Heresy, Book Five) by Graham McNeill

Rate this:

books, Critic's Notebook, Dollhouse Riffs, TVLeave a comment

Critic’s Notebook: Whedon, Pynchon, and the Flexible Canon

driftlessareareview

In the next few days, I’ll be posting another Dollhouse Riff.  Riff #3 will focus on the unaired episode “epitaph one” and how it relates to the Dollhouse Canon.  I will also write a Critical Appraisal of Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland.  For years, Vineland has been relegated to second banana status in the Pynchon Canon.  With the publication of Inherent Vice, the Pynchon Canon requires that we re-examine the works and their critical status. Continue reading Critic’s Notebook: Whedon, Pynchon, and the Flexible Canon

Rate this: