Category Archives: Reviews

Thoughts on Classic and Contemporary SF vs. Fantasy Hugo Best Novel Award Winners while Failing to Write a Review of a Great Book that was not Nominated

Posted on December 14, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb Series is a discovery from my stint as a Hugo Award panellist in 2020 and 2021–the years that Gideon the Ninth (book 1) and Harrow the Ninth (book 2) were nominated. As much as I loved these books–and … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging the Hugos, Fictional Worlds, News & Links, Reviews | Tagged A Canticle for Leibowitz, Alix E. Harrow, allegory, apocalyptic literature, Arthur C. Clarke, Dune, Ender's Game, Gene Wolfe, Gideon the Ninth, Harrow The Ninth, Hugo Awards, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Mary Doria Russell, N.K. Jemisin, Nona the Ninth, Science Fiction, speculative fiction, Tamsyn Muir, Ursula K. Le Guin | 9 Comments

Dorothy and Jack: The Transforming Friendship of Dorothy L. Sayers and C. S. Lewis by Gina Dalfonzo, a Review

Posted on November 9, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Dorothy and Jack: The Transforming Friendship of Dorothy L. Sayers and C. S. Lewis by Gina Dalfonzo My rating: 4 of 5 stars C.S. Lewis is famous for his comment on a dust jacket autobiographical note that “There’s no sound … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged biography, C.S. Lewis, D.L. Sayers, Dante, Dorothy and Jack, Dorothy L. Sayers, Gina Dalfonzo, Joy Davidman, Lord Peter Wimsey, Narnia, Ruth Pitter, Sr. Penelope, Whose Body? | 6 Comments

A Thing of Forms Unknown: Thoughts on C.S. Lewis and Horror with Chris Calderon

Posted on October 31, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Within a longer project on C.S. Lewis and the Ransom Cycle, I have outlined a chapter focussing on some instinctive horror elements in Lewis’ science fiction. I have written up the close readings for the piece, but am missing one … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Classical Mythology, Forms of Things Unknown, Horror, literary criticism, myth, Of Other Worlds, Ray Bradbury, Roger Lancelyn Green, Science Fiction, The Dark Tower, The Outer Limits | 9 Comments

The Literary Life in Dorothy L. Sayers’ Murder Mystery, Whose Body? (1923)

Posted on October 21, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

Dorothy L. Sayers has fallen into my life–and I into hers–because of my gloriously irresponsible definition of the Inklings. With a lifelong interest in J.R.R. Tolkien, and a growing curiosity about C.S. Lewis, I was thrilled to discover an entire … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged Agatha Christie, BBC, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, Dorothy L. Sayers, g k chesterton, George MacDonald, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord Peter Wimsey, Sherlock Holmes, The Inklings, The Man Born to be King, The Mind of the Maker, Whose Body? | 28 Comments

An Author Who Has Changed My Life, Frederick Buechner, Has Died (1926-2022)

Posted on August 17, 2022 by Brenton Dickieson

On Saturday, just as I was waiting to go onto a church platform to officiate a wedding, I heard that Frederick Buechner had passed away. At 96 years old, the news did not come as a surprise. And though he … Continue reading →