Don't Forget to Read a Book!

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Fritz Leiber's  Our Lady of Darkness. The Short of It Plot:  Something sinister is haunting Franz Westen, and dealing with it involves unearthing answers that might be best left buried.  Page Count: 183 Award: 1978   World Fantasy Award  Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Moderate. Review:  This is a horror story. Atmosphere is excellent. Book begins with some truly unsettling images and world building. The narrative itself is slow and frequently self-indulgent, but atmosphere stays on point. A qualified recommendation; but some scenes from this will stick with me for quite a while. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Alright, spoilers for the first ten pages. Did I just enjoy Fritz Leiber? The author of Sexy Space Cats ? I think so. I don't even know who I am anymore. First, the good. Leiber starts with a truly and supremely unsettling ...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Fritz Leiber's The Wanderer. The Short of It Plot:  A mysterious planet appears out of hyperspace, high jinks ensue. Page Count:  320 Award:  1965 Hugo Worth a read : For the love of all you hold dear, No. Primary Driver:  (No) Bechdel Test : Pass (Surprising!) Technobabble:  Plenty Review:  How do you take a book about a planet of freedom fighting space cats appearing out of hyperspace to devour the moon and make it so boring? So many characters, none of them have personalities except for racial stereotypes. Silly to include multiple comic relief characters when the book itself is a joke. I think I understand book burning now. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! We're not doing this, Stranger. The only reason to read this book is to tell other people how bad it was. I haven't decided if that makes it so-bad-it's-good. I'm inclined to say it's so-bad-it's-bad. Do...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Fritz Leiber's The Big Time. The Short of It Plot:  Even soldiers in the time war need safe havens Page Count: 130 Award: 1958 Hugo Worth a read:  No Primary Driver:  (Plot, World , or Character) Bechdel Test:  Pass Technobabble:  Plenty Review:  A rather bland story involving time travel. Uninteresting characters and dull plot are used to flesh out a none-too-thrilling world. Saving grace is that it's super short. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! The basic premise of this book is pretty good. There is a war raging throughout time between two great factions, the Spiders and the Snakes. The war is fought all across time, with each faction trying to gain strategic victories that will ultimately shift the tide in their own favor. Not bad as a concept.  We stay within the confines of The Place, an area outside of time, where soldiers come to rest and recover between battles. This too is an interesting approach; we are not in...