Monthly Archives: July 2023

Cordwainer Smith – Norstrilia (1975) Review

Posted on July 31, 2023 by Jeroen Admiraal

8.5/10 What a wild, silly, unpredictable story!  In the year 15,000, the planet Old North Australia (Norstrilia) is the richest planet in the universe. Inhabited by a tiny population of farmers, the planet exports an elixir of immortality, which the … Continue reading →

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Boston 2023 Trip Report

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Jeroen Admiraal

Visiting both Chicago and Boston in one trip gives me an excellent opportunity to compare the two cities. What I can say about it is that I found Chicago more impressive than Boston to visit as a tourist, especially when … Continue reading →

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Haruki Murakami – 1Q84, Books Two & Three (2010) Review

Posted on July 24, 2023 by Jeroen Admiraal

Review of Books Two and Three. The mysteries deepen and begin to take on shape as we burrow our way deeper into Murakami’s trilogy. Continuing in strength from Book One, the rest of the 1Q84 trilogy is definitely worth it. … Continue reading →

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Jorge Luis Borges – Fictions (1944) Review

Posted on July 20, 2023 by Jeroen Admiraal

Originally published as Ficciones. Translated by Andrew Hurley. I’ve been reading fantasy for 17 years and I still had no idea what I was in for. The density and complexity of magical ideas that Borges put into these stories is … Continue reading →

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Chicago 2023 Trip Report

Posted on July 17, 2023 by Jeroen Admiraal

It has been 11 years since the last time I visited the United States, and it is a personal accomplishment for myself to take such a long flight again across the pond. On this trip I visited Chicago and Boston, … Continue reading →

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James S.A. Corey – Leviathan Falls (2021) Review

Posted on July 15, 2023 by Jeroen Admiraal

7/10 We did it! The final book in the series. All the stuff about the protomolecule and the ring builders will end here. This final book was… not exactly what I was hoping for. Let’s get into it. The plot … Continue reading →

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Lord Dunsany – The Charwoman’s Shadow (1926) Review

Posted on July 13, 2023 by Jeroen Admiraal

7/10 The Charwoman’s Shadow (1926) is a dreamy, fairytale-like fantasy novel from the hazy years before Tolkien. Lord Dunsany was in some ways like Tolkien, seemed to long for the days before industry, for a world full of wonder that … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Fantasy | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments