The Defenders, Philip K. Dick

I picked up a free copy of The Defenders for my Kindle.  I am really glad the book is offered in this format, and that I got my hands on it and got to read the story.

The Defenders is a thought-provoking piece about the human-robot and human-human (interracial, international, etc.) relationships.  It's got a classic sci-fi  feel to it, with themes that are common in the genre.  But, as always, Dick's writing is what is special.  He is masterful.

If you have a Kindle, this is a good free piece to pick up.  I enjoyed it, and can recommend it wholeheartedly.


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The Place of the Lion

The Place of the Lion, by Charles Williams, is one wild ride of a book.  It's heady stuff, addressing ideas of classical philosophy in a fantastic setting.

I have read several Charles Williams novels over the years (and hope to finish the rest that I have on my shelf before much longer).  He's always fairly heavy in the ideas department.  The Place of the Lion is all about Ideas, too — in the Platonic sense.  It made for quite an engaging read, as Williams puts the stories together well.

I am not sure if it is just because of my preconceived ideas about Williams (and his work on Authurian romance), but I'm always struck by an element of romance in his fiction.  This is especially true of The Place of the Lion, and it makes for quite an uplifting (and challenging) read.




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Unbelievable

It's unbelievable to me that in all of my reading/viewing from October, I didn't get to read/view a single work of sci-fi or fantasy.  That's a rare occurrence for me.

I did get a few big projects wrapped up.  And I've been overloaded with "the real world" for weeks now.  I am ready to get into some real out-of-this-worldly writing and movies.  I hope to be back on track with reviews of speculative fiction, poetry, and movies in the upcoming weeks.

...'cos it's kinda scary in "the real world"!




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