Category Archives: review or meta-review

Missed Opportunities

Posted on July 5, 2023 by JE

I’ve always liked C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. But I’m baffled by how many screen adaptations they’ve received, and now they’re slated to get another one via Netflix. At this rate we’ll never get a theme-park thrillride based on Till … Continue reading →

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Paranoia Will Destroy Ya

Posted on April 14, 2023 by JE

I just got the Hofstadter volume from the Library of America and I’ve been enjoying/suffering through a reread of “The Paranoid Style in American Politics”. “Enjoying” because Hofstadter is a knowledgeable and deeply insightful writer with a dryly witty style; … Continue reading →

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Sharp Dialogue

Posted on March 31, 2023 by JE

I was watching an old video where John Sharp, the British actor appeared. I always think of him as the outstandingly creepy Number Two in the Prisoner episode “Change of Mind”. Then I wondered if the actor’s name had anything … Continue reading →

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Clods Without Witnesses (Dorothy L. Sayers, CLOUDS OF WITNESS)

Posted on March 28, 2023 by JE

In summary: Clouds of Witness features Sayers and her aristocratic detective at or near their best—or most unbearable, depending on how it hits you. This is a literate (even pretentious) and witty mystery story which also shows Sayers’ burgeoning skill … Continue reading →

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Romance and Murder: DOROTHY L. SAYERS, HER LIFE & SOUL by Barbara Reynolds

Posted on February 21, 2023 by JE

In summary: This is the best biography of Sayers that I have read, or am likely to read.

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Swords Against Redundancy: Leiber’s TWO SOUGHT ADVENTURE and SWORDS AGAINST DEATH

Posted on February 20, 2023 by JE

In summary: these two books collect the earliest stories Fritz Leiber published about Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, ergo one or the other is essential reading for the sword-and-sorcery fan. Both are probably essential only to the Leiberian completist, so … Continue reading →

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WHOSE BODY? by Dorothy L. Sayers

Posted on February 13, 2023 by JE

In summary: Whose Body? (Fisher Unwin, 1923) is worth reading if you like Golden Age detective novels and/or Dorothy Sayers. But novices to both might be well-advised to start with the second novel in the series, Clouds of Witness, a … Continue reading →

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SWORDS AND DEVILTRY by Fritz Leiber

Posted on February 11, 2023 by JE

Summary: this is essential reading for the fan of sword-and-sorcery, written by the guy who coined the name of the genre. Some mild spoilers follow. In terms of internal chronology, Swords and Deviltry (Ace, May 1970) is the first volume … Continue reading →

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Not the Last about THE LAST OF US

Posted on February 6, 2023 by JE

Like the rest of the universal world, I loved episode 3 of The Last of Us, but (and this may be where the universal world and I part company) episode 4 reminded me of why I’m tepid about the show … Continue reading →

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Alias That Guy and That Other Guy

Posted on November 28, 2022 by JE

This is just a blog post about a TV show, but it does involve some discussion of self-harm. Caveat lector! If you’re in a tough place, remember there are ways to get help, especially by calling or texting 988. One … Continue reading →

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