Flashman and the Tiger by George Macdonald Fraser

The Flashman series of novels are great fun, a series of adventures by a cowardly cad actively trying to avoid Continue reading →

Happier Days by Jan Lars Jensen

I have no idea how this story works. All I know is the first time I read this, I spent Continue reading →

Two Sadnesses by George Alec Effinger

This comprises two thematically similar stories: one with a thinly disguised version of Winnie the Pooh (here called ‘The Bear’), Continue reading →

The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories by Neil Gaiman

Following on from yesterday, here’s an equally disastrous look at a writer’s encounter with Hollywood. While fictional, the main thread Continue reading →

Somehow, I Don’t Think We’re in Kansas Anymore, Toto by Harlan Ellison

I’d never heard of the TV show ‘The Starlost’ before I found this essay. By Ellison’s account, the show is Continue reading →

The Macbeth Murder Mystery by James Thurber

The high concept: an avid reader of murder mysteries reads Macbeth, and tries to figure out who really killed King Continue reading →

What This Story Needs is a Giant Gorilla by Darrell Schweitzer

What makes a story an enduring classic? Schweitzer approaches this from the other direction by looking at one that is Continue reading →

Silly Novels by Lady Novelists by George Eliot

Bad reviews are usually more fun to read than good ones, especially if the reviewer doesn’t mince words and comprehensively Continue reading →