Was Gregor Demarkian really the “Armenian-American Hercule Poirot”? That’s what the popular press called him. Jane Haddam presents his last case in One of Our Own, the final and 30th novel in her insufficiently famous Demarkian series. She finished writing it shortly… Read More ›
Another academic mystery, this time by Isaac Asimov. Yes, Asimov was a prolific writer of science fiction and science fact, but he also wrote mysteries — mostly related to science fiction and science fact. A Whiff of Death was one of those… Read More ›
Any good academic mystery is always a treat. Robert M. Roseth’s Ivy is a Weed is a good academic mystery. The story takes place at a thinly disguised University of Washington, Seattle campus. For the most part it’s a spot-on satire of bureaucratic… Read More ›
What did Alex Trebek and Leonard Cohen have in common? “Both were Canadians,” you reply. “Both were beloved by huge audiences,” you add. Yes, of course. And both get the title of Rabbi, according to Mark Oppenheimer, cohost of the… Read More ›
True names are important: if somebody knows your true name, they have power over you. I’m not talking about Vernor Vinge’s important novella, True Names, although there is definitely a strong connection with it. Many contributors to social media, as we know,… Read More ›
Three months ago I reviewed Jo Walton’s The Just City. Recently I finished reading the sequel, The Philosopher Kings, which is equally fascinating and equally worth reading. “We don’t know when we are,” as one character remarks. When, not where. The gods live “outside… Read More ›
Will he go? Of course he will! We hope. He says he’s “not sure” that he will accept the results. I have just finished reading the short but vital book by Lawrence Douglas with the full title of Will He Go?… Read More ›
No, the title of this post is not the title of a book, despite the italics. More specifically, it’s not the title of a book: it’s a portmanteau of the titles of two books: The Answer is… (by Alex Trebek) Who is… Read More ›
You’re Fired: The Perfect Guide to Beating Donald Trump. That’s the full title. It’s partially successful at fulfilling its subtitle. I give it a B+. This is an often amusing and always fairly quick read despite the 61 pages of endnotes!… Read More ›
A very special island is inhabited only by knights and knaves. Knights always tell the truth, and knaves always lie. You meet two inhabitants: Zoey and Mel. Zoey tells you that Mel is a knave. Mel says, “Neither Zoey nor I… Read More ›
