Cinco de Mayo by Michael J. Martineck My rating: 3 of 5 stars In Martineck’s Sawyeresque novel Cinco de Mayo we’re introduced to a global event in which some cosmic force causes people to share their entire memories with one other. The resulting narrative deals with the lives of a series of individuals and how they cope with this sudden awareness, and the actions they take in their heightened state of social consciousness. The vignettes…
It’s not often I post about my personal life. Not to sound haughty, or rude, but it’s nobody’s business but mine. And besides, I cringe when I read blogs and Facebook updates and Tweets in which people are divulging all the very intimate details of their lives. It just somehow seems a bit gauche, to me. However, here am I, about to post something personal. It’s not earth-shattering. It’s more about adjusting things in my…
Silver Linings by Tim Pratt My rating: 3 of 5 stars Well-written short story, implausible but fascinating fantasy concept. Deals with the theme of moral responsibility of government leaders and developers of arms. Pratt could easily expand this story into a full-blown novel if he chose. My fundamental problem with the story is not regarding the craft of Tim Pratt. Rather, my problem is with Tor’s attempt, like so many of the Big Six, to…
The Choir Boats by Daniel A. Rabuzzi My rating: 4 of 5 stars If you’re an impatient person, don’t read this book. If you don’t love literature, especially classical literature, don’t read this book. If you don’t have a sense of humour, most definitely do not read this book. If, however, like me you enjoy a brain-teaser, a poke at literary figures, a story that is complex, and a writer who is not afraid to…
So we’re now into the hot, sticky days of summer. Cooking is just too much to think about. Full blown meals are just too much to think about. Salads are on the menu again. And today, trying to think up a new twist on an old favourite, potato salad, and wanting to make it a complete meal, I’ve come up with this variation. Already it’s yum. I can imagine what it’s going to be like…
Costume Not Included by Matthew Hughes My rating: 5 of 5 stars Matthew Hughes has to be one of Canada’s most under-celebrated, under-appreciated writers. Easily capable of dancing between genres, in this sequel to The Damned Busters, Hughes unfolds a wry, witty tale, absolutely heretical, deliciously irreverent, that continues the concept of ‘is God making this up as He goes along?’ As always there are clearly-drawn characters that lift off the page, a pace that…
Guards! Guards! by Terry PratchettMy rating: 4 of 5 stars It is a constant amazement that Terry Pratchett possesses a seemingly inexhaustible wit and imagination, and in this eighth installment in his Discworld series, that wit and imagination is in full flight (you will forgive the pun.) Filled with archetypes that shatter the definitions, the story clips along at an incendiary pace, exploding with humour, twisting with unexpected turns, and generally just takes you on…
The following is a press release issued by the Canadian Association of University Teachers. It is about the present Conservative Canadian government’s further attempts to change the landscape of what it means to be Canadian, disguised as budgetary restraint. I urge you to write your MP and light your own small candle for Canada’s heritage. (Ottawa,May 2, 2012) Recent cuts to staff and programming at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) will have devastating effects on…