Category Archives: Books

Maneka Gandhi’s The Rainbow and Other Stories

Pinky Vincent penned this review. One is left wondering at Maneka Gandhi’s sudden change of heart, at least in this little collection of stories. Renowned for her affection for quadrupeds, she takes time off to weave tales of human foibles … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Comments Off on Maneka Gandhi’s The Rainbow and Other Stories

Alex Von Tunzelmann’s Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire

It was probably a natural progression for me to slip into Indian Summer after reading The Ruling Caste and Raj not so long ago. As its title suggests, Indian Summer is about the final years of the Raj, i.e., British … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Comments Off on Alex Von Tunzelmann’s Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire

David Gilmour’s The Ruling Caste: Imperial Lives in the Victorian Raj and Lawrence James’ Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India

When I was a kid, I really enjoyed reading Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Books and Just So Stories. Decades later, I can still recite large parts of “The Law of the Jungle” from memory. Over the last few years, I’ve read … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Comments Off on David Gilmour’s The Ruling Caste: Imperial Lives in the Victorian Raj and Lawrence James’ Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India

Barbara Cleverly’s The Last Kashmiri Rose, Ragtime in Simla, The Damascened Blade and The Palace Tiger

These books by British writer Barbara Cleverly form a murder mystery series. Although I have read other serial fiction and other murder mysteries, this is my first encounter with this particular combination. I found the first two books in a … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Comments Off on Barbara Cleverly’s The Last Kashmiri Rose, Ragtime in Simla, The Damascened Blade and The Palace Tiger

S. M. Stirling’s The Peshawar Lancers

In 1878, a series strike of asteroids the earth, impacting in the Atlantic Ocean. The debris in the atmosphere causes a winter that lasts for quite sometime , seriously affecting Europe as the Gulf Stream ceases to be, and massive flooding … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Comments Off on S. M. Stirling’s The Peshawar Lancers

Jack Zipes’ Beautiful Angiola: The Great Treasury of Sicilian Folk and Fairy Tales Collected by Laura Gonzenbach

Laura Gonzenbach’s nineteenth-century collection of Sicilian folktales was remarkable for several things. It was the first collection of folk tales from Sicilian sources, it was first published in German rather than Italian or Sicilian, and it was produced by a … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Comments Off on Jack Zipes’ Beautiful Angiola: The Great Treasury of Sicilian Folk and Fairy Tales Collected by Laura Gonzenbach

Ellen Kushner’s Tremontaine

Tremontaine is the latest foray into the world of Swordspoint, but it is not, as I had at first supposed, a collection of stories. It is, rather, an ongoing narrative with chapters by a group of writers, most of whom … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Tagged | Comments Off on Ellen Kushner’s Tremontaine

Ellen Kushner’s Swordspoint

Every once in a while, being a reviewer offers a special perk, whether it’s a new book by a favorite author, a new find who stands head and shoulders above the crowd, or the chance to take another look at … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Tagged | Comments Off on Ellen Kushner’s Swordspoint

Gene Wolfe’s An Evil Guest

It will help a lot if you read Charles Finney’s The Circus of Dr. Lao before tackling An Evil Guest. I can say that much with certainty. And I’m fairly confident that if I’d ever read any of Wolfe’s work … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Comments Off on Gene Wolfe’s An Evil Guest

Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun

Science fiction, like any other genre, has its landmarks, those works that stand above their cohort and may, all else being equal, stand above most works from other genres as well (and I include so-called “mainstream” literature among genres). Gene … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Tagged , | Comments Off on Gene Wolfe’s The Book of the New Sun