Category Archives: Reading fiction

How did the reading habits of your parents affect you?

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Brian Bixby

My parents were both firm advocates of education and voracious readers. My father liked the books he grew up with, and history books, while my mother was more inclined to British murder mysteries and American paperback novels. Initially, this affected … Continue reading →

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Review: Russell Kirk, Ancestral Shadows

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Brian Bixby

There are devils that lead to your downfall, and there are devils that make you extend yourself. My reader Judy of Janthina Images is of the latter kind. Knowing that my personal politics are a bit left, she sent me … Continue reading →

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Fictional religious communities

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Brian Bixby

There have been a lot of fictional religious communities. The Children of the New Revelation in my running serial Prophecies and Penalties are hardly the first. So I thought I’d take a look at four examples, two from the 19th century, two … Continue reading →

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Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Brian Bixby

There seems to be a rule that “popular” writers are disdained by critics, if not in their lifetime then shortly after they die. After a few decades, if they’re lucky, some influential critics says, in effect, “Although I’m not supposed … Continue reading →

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Alchemists of alchemy: Principe and Jonson

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Brian Bixby

Everything you know about alchemy is wrong. Well, not everything. Yes, some alchemists tried to discover the Philosophers’ Stone, which could turn base metal into gold and guarantee long life and health. Sort of like going to Vegas. In his … Continue reading →

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Review: William Hope Hodgson, The Ghost Pirates (1909)

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Brian Bixby

William Hope Hodgson (1877 – 1918) was a modestly successful English writer in his day, until he joined up in World War I and was killed on the battlefields of France. His reputation, never great, languished for several decades. In … Continue reading →

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Stoker devolution: from Dracula to Seven Stars to The Awakening

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Brian Bixby

Between having some idle time, and doing some Egyptian-themed reading, I decided to watch a movie I’d been meaning to see for some years, The Awakening. No, I’m not going Kate Chopin on you, nor am I talking about the 2011 … Continue reading →

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Review: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Sept./Oct. 2013

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Brian Bixby

I wanted to like the current issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction more than I did. The writing is polished and there are some clever ideas here. That’s the problem: the stories are more successful going for my … Continue reading →

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Chapter 28 of Martha’s Children, and dreams

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Brian Bixby

Detective Kammen warned Nora O’Donnell that something bad might happen to him or to her brother. So when Kammen appears to be missing, Nora goes searching for help. And in chapter 28 of Martha’s Children, she find it . . . … Continue reading →

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The comparative anatomy of glamorous vampires: two novels

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Brian Bixby

Since the serial I’m writing, Martha’s Children, is a vampire story, I figured I should get caught up on some of the contemporary literary depictions of vampires. As luck would have it, I stumbled into two novels of vampires of the … Continue reading →

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