I did not expect to appreciate this book as much as I did. As you can see from the cover, the book looks very much like Halo. The cover led me to believe I was in for the novelization of a space marine-type video game. What I got instead was a nuanced military sci-fi story with an interesting and diverse cast of characters, realistic geopolitics, and real-world tactics. Knox’s Irregulars is the story of Randal Knox, the son of a national leader of New Geneva. […]
I’m Spaceship or Wasteland.
This is my second Patton review. His newer book, Silver Screen Fiend, is reviewed as well. While, I’m not a big fan of Patton Oswalt’s standup (outside of No Reason to Complain), I love listening to his long-form interviews. In some ways, we have very different worldviews. In other, more interesting ways, we are alike: We adore our talented friends. We appreciate artistry. We may or may not have spent more time leveling up our RPG characters than leveling up ourselves in an actual gym. […]
Poems from a Renaissance Man
In honor of National Poetry Month, I have reviewed several collections of poetry throughout April. You can also read my reviews of Michael Gilmore, Billy Collins, and Jack Kerouac. John Koblas was a renaissance man. He was a doo-wop musician, an historian, an author, a consultant for the History Channel and PBS, a script-writer, and also a poet. In other words, he was an interesting man. He died in 2013, a mere two years after Letters from the Moon was published. Death is an important […]
the soul burns out the eyes
Reading Pomes All Sizes feels like watching Birdman or Whiplash. It’s drunk, jubilant, sweaty. The collection is manic, exhilarating, confusing, fun, heartbeating, a little sad. You’ll find friend poems, wine poems, God and Buddha poems, and a few poems about girls. The subject matter isn’t that different from a hundred other poets, but the delivery is something else. Kerouac’s voice and playfulness and mindfulness read unlike so much of what came before. For me, it just rings clear like a bell through shelves of mumbling, […]
Pardon the egg salad stains, but I’m in love.
In honor of National Poetry Month, I am reading and review books of poetry. Last week, I read fellow Austinite Michael Gilmore’s Restless Astronomy. This week, I am reviewing Billy Collins’ Picnic Lightning. The book came out in 1998, but I received my copy around 2005. My college roommate, a mountain man/physicist/poet, gave me the book as a birthday gift. (He also gave me Heart of Darkness; what this says about our relationship I do not know.) As far as poets go, Billy Collins is […]
Your smile is a ladder / I climb into your beauty
In honor of National Poetry Month, I pulled Michael Gilmore’s Restless Astronomy off of my bookshelf and gave it the readthrough that it deserved. Admittedly, I am not an expert on poetry. Although, when I find poets that I do enjoy, like Saul Williams and Miguel Pinero, I dig in. Gilmore’s collection gave me plenty to underline and ponder on. Gilmore has a knack for speaking beautifully about mundane things like getting drunk or appreciated a barista who knows your drink. Restless Astronomy is a […]
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