Author Archives: mkevane

Has to be the laziest writing this side of typing, but not going to disrespect the sheer volume of interesting information about the development and applications of CRISPR. I have little idea about the science, and know enough to see … Continue reading →

The Corner that Held Them, by Sylvia Townsend Warner, traces 50 years of a small Benedictine convent in England during the time of the Black Death (1349-82), through the acts and thoughts of many of the nuns (and the men, … Continue reading →

A very messy, moody “mind-bendy” intersecting story. Maybe modeled on Michael Cunningham’s styles and themes? I slogged (sorry) through to almost the end and then just skimmed. I suppose there is an audience for this, but it was not me. … Continue reading →

My sister recommended V.V. Ganeshananthan’s novel “Brotherless Night.” It is a very straightforward “historical fiction” account of a young woman’s experiences during the Tamil Tiger civil war against the Sinhalese government of Sri Lanka. The reader learns a bit of … Continue reading →

We read and discussed for my neighborhood book club. Highly recommend. Looking forward some day to being in the Gulf of Mexico, walking along a beach, drinking some coffee, walking streets of New Orleans, and having my digital voice assistant … Continue reading →

I tried. I really did. and I wanted to like it. I really did. And maybe I thought I learn something; more dubious about that, but still a possibility. Failed. Total. The writing is godawful. Robinson’s intent is in the … Continue reading →

Tremendous short highly literary fiction. Loved it, perhaps because it is short. But so rich. I definitely could spend hours reading literary scholars about what Keegan does and how she does it. Filled with allusions, it seems, to mythology and … Continue reading →

Page turner police procedural. First one I read about the L.A. detective Harry Bosch. I’ll take Chandler, Chester Hines, or George Higgins I think. Serviceable, but I found the prose super-clunky and the characterization wooden. I can see the appeal. … Continue reading →

Since I just finished Adrian Tchaikovsky, Children of Memory (and will add Children of Time, but not Children of Ruin), I was thinking about what other sci-fi – fantasy novels I have enjoyed reading so much that I can see … Continue reading →

Gripping for the first 7/8, especially if you are familiar with the earlier novels of the trilogy. Tchaikovsky manages to join, in one novel, the space opera genre (new planets, new technologies, faster than light travel!), with the Ursula Le … Continue reading →

A well-written and interesting historical young adult novel about two survivors of slavery in early 1900s West Africa and Brazil. Here is the link:

The first half was excellent. Just the kind of involved, detailed, ordinary life scifi, about a sub-light-speed travel to colonize a world far away. But the second half spiraled out, for me… and so I skimmed it. And a very … Continue reading →

Enjoyable action sci-fi about colonists on a new world. Sort of like the Murderbot series. I tend to prefer more literary and involved reading, but sometimes a light touch is enjoyable.

A student passed this book on to me. Incredible story about the Osage murders of the 1920s, and the involvement of the nascent FBI. Early staff of FBI solved the case, but left many stones unturned. The facts of the … Continue reading →