When we last left Don Juan, he had just arrived in England where he will remain for the remainder of the poem. Byron starts, as we’ve come to expect, by writing whatever he happens to be thinking about at the time. This time, it’s death. Continue reading
Mexico City
We again see elite panic in the aftermath of the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. The government ordered buildings bulldozed even when there were people still inside. But we also see altruism since many students lay down in front of the bulldozers to stop them. Continue reading
When disaster strikes, many people believe all hell breaks loose and it’s every person for themselves, but in her book, A Paradise Built in Hell, Rebecca Solnit makes the case that people actually pull together and become more altruistic than normal in the wake of catastrophe. Continue reading
When we last left Don Juan, he was in Russia and Catherine the Great had taken a shine to him. Let’s see what happens next.
Canto 10 opens in praise of astronomers: Continue reading
The Metamor City podcast takes place in a world in which sci-fi and fantasy meet. There’s flying cars, but also vampires, psychics, wizards, and the like. This is an action-packed story with a large cast of characters and interesting plot twists. Continue reading
Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
In The Ghost Club, William Meikle does something quite audacious. He presents a collection of ghostly short stories attributed to several Victorian authors such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Anton Chekhov, Helena P. Blavatsky, and Henry James. Some of the hauntings in this collection are subtle, while others have high body counts. Continue reading
When we last left Don Juan, he was fighting for the Russian army. Now what happens? Continue reading
“The earth is good at healing itself. This wound will scab over quickly in geologic terms.”
The Fifth Season takes place in a world prone to periodic disasters called fifth seasons. Every once in a while, there’s a civilization destroying natural disaster and things get all post-apocalyptic for a time before life settles back down again and things get back to normal. This is a pretty brutal story featuring the deaths of children and large scale disasters, so be warned. Continue reading
When we last left off, Don Juan and his friend John Johnson had just joined the Russian army to fight against the Turks in The Battle of Ismail. Let’s see how this turns out. Continue reading
When we last left Don Juan he was in a Turkish harem disguised as a maid. The sultan’s wife, Gulbeyaz, was about to kill him for sleeping with Dudu. So what happens next?
War! Continue reading
Mania Delight 