Tag Archives: allegory

Where Do We Find Meaning When We Read? A Spectrum of Discovery in Storytelling

Posted on September 25, 2024 by

Where is the meaning found in the art of reading? Is it in the text itself–some magic of language or mystery of persuasion in the telling of a tale? Or do readers carry meaning in their own curiosity and willingness … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged allegory, Animal Farm, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, C.S. Lewis, Canada Reads, George Orwell, His Dark Materials, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, lion the witch and the wardrobe, literary criticism, Literary Theory, Narnia, Philip Pullman, Reading | 6 Comments

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

The Heroic Gideon and Harrowing Features of Living in the Ninth: Thoughts on Tamsyn Muir’s Necromantic Dream Vision (Blogging the Hugos 2021)

Posted on December 14, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

In our 2020 Hugo Award roundtable, I was tasked with presenting Alix E. Harrow’s gorgeous gateway fantasy, The Ten Thousand Doors of January. Though I chose the book simply for its name and cover design, I came to love the … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging the Hugos, Fictional Worlds, News & Links, Reviews | Tagged Alix E. Harrow, allegory, apocalyptic literature, Gene Wolfe, Gideon the Ninth, Harrow The Ninth, Hugo Awards, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Science Fiction, speculative fiction, Tamsyn Muir, Ten Thousand Doors of January | 4 Comments

Hugo Award 2021: Best Novel Signum Roundtable (Sat, Dec 18th, 6pm Eastern)

Posted on December 13, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

As I announced in my “Blogging the Hugos 2021” series launch, I am once again joining Signum University’s Hugo Award Best Novel Roundtable. In a gala zoom event that no doubt will rival the Worldcon ceremony in DC, I will … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging the Hugos, Fictional Worlds, News & Links, Reviews | Tagged Alix E. Harrow, allegory, apocalyptic literature, Gideon the Ninth, Harrow The Ninth, he Ten Thousand Doors of January, Hugo Awards, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Martha Wells, N.K. Jemisin, Network Effect, Science Fiction, speculative fiction, Susanna Clarke, Tamsyn Muir, The City We Became, urban fantasy, Ursula K. Le Guin | 13 Comments

N.K. Jemisin’s Super Strange Urban Apocalypse in The City We Became: Part 2: The City I Can’t Become (Blogging the Hugos 2021)

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Brenton Dickieson

N.K. Jemisin is clearly one of the science fiction greats of the generation. Time will tell if she will stand with the all-time greats, like H.G. Wells, Robert A. Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, Ursula … Continue reading →