Steven S. Drachman's Blog

What would life have been like...?

Around 12 years ago or so, I drew up plans to open a restaurant in Manhattan. I still believe it would have been a great success! As we approached the closing, our first investor pulled out; then, spooked, the other investors all pulled out. Till it was just me. I folded my metaphorical tent and gave up.

In my dreams, I still see it. I know what the place would have looked like. I know how the food would have tasted.

Some of my bios online still describe me as a novelist and restaurateur. (Among the notable accomplishments of that time, I learned to spell restaurateur. It is counter-intuitive.)

In that other universe, where I opened my restaurant, I think I would have had years and years of great food, fun, music, followed by horrible panic in 2020.

It would still have been worth it, I think.

In the time of the pandemic, what is a critic to do?

What do movie and theater critics do now, when there are no theaters open? In Audere Magazine, I review the reviewers. See it here.

This Boy's Life: A Look Back 30 Years Later

Audere Magazine has published a Q&A that I did years ago with Tobias Wolff about his iconic childhood memoir, This Boy's Life, which they are publishing on the occasion of the 30th anniversary (plus a few months) of the first publication of the book. I remember what a stir it caused, back then. See the interview here.

In Audere Magazine, my review of The Good Place and Bojack Horseman Finales

Audere Magazine has published my thoughts on Bojack and Good Place. See the review here. Both finales were well-done, but I didn't buy what they're selling. What do you think?

The Oscars

CBS News ranks all the best picture winners from worst to best. I disagree with a bunch of the views here, but I appreciate the #25 ranking for "Wings," the first Best Picture winner. That one is usually mentioned with a smirk, as though it were some sort of silly fluke, a beginner's error. In fact, it isn't bad at all. And some of us are big Clara Bow fans.

A new column in Audere

Audere Magazine has published a new column of mine, in which I review The Good Place, Robyn Hitchcock, and a photography book about North Korea. Let me know what you think!

Listen to me on the radio (part 1)

My appearance on PatZi Gil's radio show is on the web. Take a listen!: https://radio-joyonpaper.com/steven-s...

The Big Idea

On John Scalzi's "Big Idea" page, "a famous Muppet is revealed to be a master of teleology by author Steven S. Drachman. And that’s not the wildest idea on display today!"

New Library Journal review

Hi everyone - I hope that you are having a great end of summer. So gratified that Library Journal has reviewed my new "Watt" novel. Some excerpts below, and you can see the whole review here.

"The third entry in Drachman's series (after Watt O'Hugh Underground) dives right into a complex world of time travel, lost love, faith, war, and the afterlife. The titular Roamer — a time traveler with cowboy flavor — is hoodwinked into getting good and dead. He wakes up in the Hell of the Innocent Dead, a place of Chinese myth devoted to those unjustly dead whose murderers still walk free. Watt and his new companions quickly run into trouble from a common enemy and embark on an adventure to maintain their humanity, redress their grievances, and defeat evil.... VERDICT: Genre mashup devotees should get some good laughs and thrills from this Western/adventure/sf/fantasy blend."

New Watt O'Hugh Book Now Available for Pre-Order

Watt O’Hugh and the Innocent Dead, by Steven S. Drachman, will be published by Chickadee Prince Books on September 1, 2019; it is available for pre-order in trade paperback from your favorite local independent bookstore, from Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and on Kindle! See you soon -