news, views & reviews
Posted in Literary on Feb 23rd, 2006
Reviewed by Debra Murphy
By virtue of his already classic Mariette in Ecstasy and Atticus, his two novels with Catholic themes, Ron Hansen must already be viewed as one of the great Catholic novelists writing in English. He’s also one of the few, judging by a recent interview in Sojourners, who doesn’t cringe at the description, […]
Posted in Classics, Fantasy, Mystery/Detective on Feb 15th, 2006
Reviewed by Debra Murphy
From the back cover of the illustrated Idylls Press edition:
"Originally published in 1908, G.K. Chesterton’s nightmare-fantasy of Police vs. Dynamiters, Law vs. Anarchy, and Religion vs. Nihilism has influenced writers as diverse as Franz Kafka and C.S. Lewis, and remains as exuberant and imaginative, as original and prophetic as when if first […]
Posted in Literary on Feb 13th, 2006
The Storm is Frederick Buechner’s lovely and forgiving little tale of a collection of eccentric misfits brought together—literally and figuratively—by a storm on a tiny resort island off the Florida coast. It is clearly inspired by Shakespeare’s last play and greatest of his late romances, The Tempest. As such, it provides the Bard-loving reader with […]
Posted in Literary, Mystery/Detective, Suspense/Thriller on Feb 13th, 2006
The myth of St. George-versus-the-Dragon comes to new and provocative life in this mystery-thriller set in Milwaukee.
James Ireton is a gifted young Shakespeare scholar haunted by a tragic past and recurring nightmares of a Knight, a Lady, and a vicious Dragon. James thinks they’re just dreams, but when two people close to him fall victim […]
Posted in Science Fiction on Feb 9th, 2006
Reviewed by Debra Murphy
How’s this for a “high-concept” premise for a bestselling sci-fi novel: The Jesuits in outer space. While the scenario may sound at first a mite odd—think First Contact meets Blackrobe—on second thought the notion is so obvious that one wonders why no one has thought of it before. […]