Alright. So I’m back on a fiction kick. It’s been years, really. I started with a Christine Dodd book called the Scent of Darkness. A cursed werewolf-type man (who is also an international winery CEO) is under attack by similarly-cursed assassins. So, he must escape the killers, and hunt them down, while he protects and... Continue Reading →
Zombies, Vampires and the Last People on Earth: an Integrated Review of I Am Legend, Warm Bodies, The Road and; The Walking Dead
Zombies, Vampires and the Apocalypse are on everyone’s mind these days (well, maybe not everyone), and I’ve been studying up on them...just in case. The “last person alive” genre is one of my favourites. I’ve just finished I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. It’s a classic that has spawned at least three film adaptations: The... Continue Reading →
The Assassination of Hole-in-the-Day by Anton Treuer (Borealis, 2010)
This is a superbly researched, deftly written history of what is now known as Minnesota and the Native people of that region, the Ojibwe. Hole-in-the-Day (the Younger) was a young upstart who claimed authority of all the Ojibwe people of Minnesota, much to the chagrin of the traditional leaders of the communities. Although he promoted... Continue Reading →
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
This book is, was, and always will be awesome...in my humble opinion. Written in 1940, I, Robot was way ahead of its time. Don't rely on the movie starring Will Smith (AKA the Fresh Prince), because the plot has virtually nothing in common with the novel. The novel itself is written almost like a series... Continue Reading →
Gateway to Atlantis: the Search for the Source of a Lost Civilization by Andrew Collins
You might already be familiar with the myth of Atlantis. The Greek genius, Plato, wrote about it in his famous works the Critias and the Timaeus about 2000 years ago. When he wrote about Atlantis, that great, lost civilization "beyond the Pillars of Hercules" he stated that the hey-day of Atlantis was many thousands of... Continue Reading →
Caesar: Life of a Colossus by Adrian Goldsworthy
Rome was crazy. Senators would fight, sometimes literally, for prestige and any chance to prove themselves worthy of being a senator. Some of the top ranks in Roman politics were Consul which would lead to Proconsul - the rank Caesar was when he invaded Gaul and when he first explored Britannia. In Caesar's day, family... Continue Reading →
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
I'm not a big fan of fiction in general, nor do I readily jump on the bandwagon, so it was a little out of character for me to read The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I wasn't disappointed. It was engaging from the first line to the last and kept me hooked on every page. The... Continue Reading →
Helpless: Caledonia’s Nightmare of Fear and Anarchy, and How the Law Failed All of Us by Christie Blatchford
If you have never ventured into the quagmire of First Nations and Canadian issues, laws, acts and history, then this book is NOT for you; it is not a good place to start. In 2006, Native people from Six Nations blockaded a land development operation because they assert that that land rightfully belongs to the... Continue Reading →
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Twain's writing is of a similar caliber to J.R.R Tolkien. Both writers have a poetic, descriptive and timeless feel to their words. Twain's Tom Sawyer is an incorrigible boy growing up in a small town on the Mighty Mississip'. Written in 1876, the story takes place about 30-40 years earlier. Sawyer's adventures open a window... Continue Reading →
North Spirit: Travels Among the Cree and Ojibway Nations and Their Star Maps by Paulette Jiles
It took me 8 years to read this book. No kidding. I first picked it up in Sioux Lookout when I lived there. I'd read a few pages from time to time and put it back on the shelf. Over the years, as I learned more about Nishnaabe culture, my culture, I could read longer... Continue Reading →
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