Reviewing Books: a Muchness of a Good Thing

by Jerry Wright

Well, Bewildering Stories keeps chugging along, and we keep getting interesting stories, poems, and articles from new and veteran contributors alike. What a pleasure to see the vast variety of things to read!

I keep chugging along too, and I plan to do some writing and programming and learning when Summertime hits, in just about six weeks. I never knew teaching could be so wearing. But it is. You know, the sad thing is, because I teach technical subjects rather than, say, Macro-Economics, I actually have to know something, and faking it isn’t an option. Sigh. C’mon brain... You can do it. We hope.

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Changing streams in mid-horse, I’d like to talk about the other aspect of my life with Bewildering Stories. As you can see, if you look at the book reviews, the lion’s share are by me and our charming co-reviewer Danielle L. Parker. And over the last year, it has been almost ALL Danielle.

For which I’m eternally grateful. Danielle has a trenchant wit, she knows what she likes, and furthermore recognizes good writing; and she isn’t afraid to take an author and hit him/her upside the head with a 2x4 if they need it. I have a tendency to be more gentle and just not review the “bad and the ugly.”

But people keep sending me things to review:

Just yesterday I received a really bizarre novel by new author Charles Wu, How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, coming from Pantheon in September. This book is weird, literary, and although disjointed, reminds me of The Hole in Zero by M.K. Joseph, any number of books by Jonathan Lethem, and Robert A. Heinlein’s universe of "fictons". It is hurting my brain.
I have Embodiment of Evil by Bill Hubiak, a psychological thriller/horror novel about a comatose author of popular horror novels.
On the list... I have Nexus Point by Jaleta Clegg. I need to get on the stick and finish writing THIS review. Jaleta is a Bewildering Stories author, and this is a pretty good first novel.
As well, I read an ebook copy of Time Splash by Graham Storrs. This is an ebook only at this time, but well written and just crying out for a cinematic treatment. Mr. Storrs, another Bewildering Stories contributor, has a great camera eye and a new spin on time-travel. Fun book.
Plus I need to write a review of Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett; the new Cherryh book, Conspiritor; Jim Butcher’s Alera Chronicles; and wow, just a bunch of stuff worth writing about.

If only I could.

I know what... There is a “literary” group here in Moses Lake that I just found out about a couple of weeks ago... I’ll put them to work writing all the reviews I should have written.

Oh, yes, right now, as I’m writing THIS, my wife comes in and says, “I thought you were correcting papers.” Yeah, I should be. Sigh.

Jerry