L.S. Popovich's Blog, page 16

Review of Atari 2600/7800: A Visual Compendium by Bitmap Books

Makes a nice pair with the Commodore 64 volume. Bitmap Books makes immensely lavish retro video game books for readers like me, who prefer pixels to photorealism. And you get a lot of pixilation in this volume. I could complain about the book’s blocky pools of color, how the format of the Atari’s graphics does […]

Review of Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

This surreal collection of short stories put me in mind of Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls, Smart Ovens for Lonely People, and Life Ceremony. It uses the same recipe of injecting everyday tone with bizarro aesthetics. This is upmarket bizarro. Genre fiction pretending to be literary fiction. A popular tactic nowadays. It discusses the […]

Review of Instagrimoire//Fax Screen Sect: The Cancellation of Graham Greene, Volume 1: Tales from Orthographic Oceans, or: A Room with a View (Self-Portrait in a Concave Mirror with Interior Landscape & Key to the Scriptures) by Justin Isis

“The Ghost of Hana Kimura” is one of the finest poems I have read anywhere in a long time. These are utterly unique, rereadable, poignant statements about our times. Dissectable, dense glimpses into a mind steeped in the light of liminal “inner flame.” Landscapes of the cyber-dead, and the obsolete kings of our renown. A […]

Review of Butcher’s Crossing by John Williams

Brutal, Bloody Realism. Impressive in every way. While Williams’ old-fashioned style suits the atmosphere of this tense book, his sentences are florid in places. But the graphic depictions and tangible grit make this journey unforgettable. It reminded me of the film Wages of Fear. I mourn the millions of buffalo hides rotting on the plains. […]

Review of Through the Abyss: Supreme Creation Seriesby Sidney Son

The first thing you may notice about this book is that the cover is reminiscent of Andy Weir’s books. But I approve of covers that convey a book’s comp titles. The author provides a highly detailed style which coalesces into atmospheric descriptions without sacrificing a quick pace. There is a good balance of narration and […]

Review of Stoner by John Williams

Good storytelling. A memorable picture of American life. Steinbeckian. Stoner the famer becomes Stoner the stubborn professor. We witness his heartbreaking home life and his harrowing professional life–two spheres most middle class Americans dwell in like split personalities. It has been called a perfect novel. I would like to point out a few of its […]

Review of People from My Neighborhood by Hiromi Kawakami

Hiromi Kawakami collects here a dreamlike conglomeration of semi-related characters and events from her part of town, if the title and interior clues are to be believed. The random nature of the images and events lend the collection an experimental feel. The writing is smooth and simple and unadorned. Her earlier novels and stories were […]

Review of Save the Cat! Writes a Novelby Jessica Brody

There are several types of craft books.  You can start with The Elements of Style to learn how to avoid many grammatical issues. You can also just use ProWriting Aid. Then there’re structure books, like this one. Finally, there’re industry books, which contain contradictory information from what you read online and hear at writer’s conferences. […]

Review of Frankissstein: A Love Storyby Jeanette Winterson

Just great, bold, immersive writing.  The various perspectives sustain their storylines and characters through intense and quiet moments. Introspective, but with plenty of dense, quippy dialogue. Outrageous sex doll business planning discussions, Mary Shelley in bed with P. B. Shelley, pillow whispering poetry. Humans as monsters and monsters as humans. Redefining humanity through AI, ungendering, […]

Review of Letters of Thanks From Hellby David Vardeman

I’ve finished all of Vardeman’s published works.   Now I have to resist the daily urge to search the web for new publications by this author. LoTfH is a dramatic play taking place hundreds of years ago, with historically appropriate syntax and vocabulary. But somehow, Vardeman avoids confusion and localization, modernizing his prose just enough to […]