BESIDE THE DAWN, HE CREEPS. Another entry in the Tolkien-Lewis sweepstakes of fantasy knock-offs that infuse an otherwise ordinary tale with worn supernatural elements that draw attention away from the graceless prose and feckless plot of its author. Writing under the pseudonym, Harriet Downer Steele, a well-known evangelical pastor’s wife depicts the story of a [...]

Since it’s been waaay too long since I’ve contributed, now seems as good a time as any to throw my opinion into the ring… With no further ado, my Ten Best Of: 1. The Book of the Dun Cow, and 2. The Book of Sorrows, by Walter Wangerin, Jr. – beautiful, heartrending, tender, heavenward 3. [...]

This book won the Hugo award in 1963. Not only is it an excellent work of science fiction, it is an excellent work of fiction, and a purely excellent written work, at that. Philip K Dick is among my favorite authors of all time. This isn’t to say that I read copious amounts (at least, [...]

Review of Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography by David Michaelis (Harper, 2007) I did not read Peanuts avidly when I was young—I’m not a Sunday or daily comics sort of guy. Partly because I never understood why it was called “Peanuts” in the first place. (This book answers that question, by the way.) But I [...]

Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis by Michael Ward (Oxford University Press, 2008) A review by Megan J. Robinson “In reading Chesterton, as in reading MacDonald, I did not know what I was letting myself in for. A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too [...]