I’m taking on “The Dark Tower” series! It starts with The Gunslinger. It was reassuring to read King’s preface to the edition I picked up, in which he describes the creation of the story: he was very young, and he was very green, and it took him a very long time to finish the series. And then, as he finished, he went back and revised for clarity and consistency. I admire this, and appreciate it as a reader, and knowing that he was young and green […]
A Film Noir State of Mind
As per the book blurb: When Clara Bishop, a struggling screenwriter-turned-tabloid journalist in Hollywood, is jilted by her philandering husband, she follows him to London, determined to win him back. Armed with only a glamorous wardrobe of vintage clothing inherited from her grandmother, a former film noir actress, Clara discovers that the clothes really do make the woman. Dressed to kill, she adopts a new femme fatale persona: confident, sexy and set on revenge. This was a different sort of book that required a suspension […]
A time travel romance for the ages
A mention of time-travel romances in the comments of another review inspired me to revisit my very favourite time-travel romance, Son of the Morning, by Linda Howard. I first read this book 10+ years ago and was completely gripped from beginning to end. I’ve since re-read it several times. It’s one that never gets old for me. Perhaps ironically, what I love most about this book is not the time travel or the romance. In fact, those parts are my least favourite. What I love […]
Finding Mrs. Right
Downtiming the Night Side by Jack L. Chalker (1985) As a longtime hard science fiction reader, I’ve always liked Jack Chalker books, especially his Well of Souls series. He’s a space opera kind of guy, and a reader can splash easily into one of his books. However, Downtiming is something completely different. Time travel books are by nature convoluted and this is probably one of the most convoluted time travel tales you’re ever going to read. Poor Ronald Moosic is having a really bad first […]