It’s quiet and thoughtful without being heavy, the magic is subtle and understated, and the two protagonists are thoroughly rendered and deeply explored. There are plenty of djinni stories, and plenty of golem stories, but this one manages to do something unique and interesting with both those commonplace fantasy beings.
Theseus and Romulus Review
We are closer in time to the great inventors of the Renaissance than Plutarch was in time to his first two subjects.
The War in the Air Review
Though the narrator makes some gestures to the human toll and tragedy attendant to the war in the air, the downward spiral precipitated by the first battles is holistically depicted with a kind of solemn glee
Job Review
The framing story in Job asks this question; Job’s resultant suffering is meant to test his righteousness in the absence of reward – that is, will he continue to be selfless if the selfish reasons for doing so are removed?
Mazirian the Magician Review
With its variety of the vignettes, Mazirian the Magician still tells a cohesive story for the reader, just not in the way we normally understand the idea. It's a bit like how a collection of fables can give an overall consistent sense of a culture.
Maintenance: Of Everything Review
As you read, you will find yourself looking around at the complex systems with which we interact every day, and thinking either a) there's a lot of maintenance going on behind the scenes we don't normally notice, or b) it's astonishing they don't require more maintenance.
Assyria Review
As Frahm points out, the Assyrian Empire is as much a part of our cultural heritage as the Greeks, though they receive far less attention for their contributions.
The Dispossessed Review
Contrary to how most readers seem to interpret the book, The Dispossessed is no straightforward pean to collectivism and condemnation of capitalism.
The Research Magnificent Review
Wells wrote some outstanding works of fiction which remain relevant and compelling today. He also, apparently, wrote books like The Research Magnificent.
Esther Review
Alternatively, we could treat it as it is, without worrying too much about what we cannot know about it, and read Esther as a brief chronicle of a peculiar incident in the history of the relationship between the Jews and the Achaemenids.
