Bookotron.com : The Agony Column Book Reviews & Interviews

07-02-09 : New and Notable from Night Shade : 'Bar None' by Tim Lebbon and 'The Mall of Cthulhu' by Seamus Cooper

Welcome back, Jeremy and Jason! It's been too long, and now you're making up for lost time, big time. Night Shade Books is back, and a couple of titles jumped out of the mailbox and into my greedy hands. Here are two books that seem to me to be no-brainer must buys. Tim Lebbon, back with a post-apocalyptic road novel titled 'Bar None,' which bills itself as "A novel of chilling suspense, apocalyptic beauty and fine ales," and novel that sells itself to me by virtue of title alone; 'The Mall of Cthulhu' by Seamus Cooper.

Recent Commentary
• A Review of 'The Angel's Game' by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
• David Rabe Literary Double : 'The Black Monk' and 'melborP goD ehT'
• "C.C." Finlay Is No 'Traitor to the Crown' : A Supernatural Revolution
• I, Frankenstein : Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, Charles Robinson and Peter Ackroyd
• Commentary Archive

The Angel's Game
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Reviewed by:
Rick Kleffel

Sinister, sensuous, sweet and occasionally savage, 'The Angel's Game' is a fully realized, unique addition to Zafón's portrait of reading, writing and Barcelona. The humor is sharper, the pain a bit more intense but the love affairs are still powerful and poignant.

Review Archive

			The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafón Reviewed by: Rick Kleffel

			The City & The City China Miéville Reviewed by: Rick Kleffel

			Madder Mysteries Reggie Oliver Reviewed by: Mario Guslandi

		New Book Review! The Angel's Game Carlos Ruiz Zafón Reviewed by Rick Kleffel

06-29-09: A 2009 Interview with China Miéville

"I don’t think crime is a realist genre at all"
— China Miéville

China Miéville

China Miéville is back with a new novel, and thankfully, Random House is smart enough to get him over to America for a tour. I had the privilege of speaking with him at KQED, where we talked about his latest novel 'The City & The City.' Now, we say this in the interview and I'm going to say it again: Here be spoilers.

07-01-09: SF in SF Panel from June 20, 2009 — Pat Murphy, Lisa Goldstein, and Michaela Roessner Hosted by Rick Kleffel : Transformative Literature

I was fortunate enough to be asked to host the most recent meeting at SF in SF, and found myself sitting at the head of the class with Pat Murphy, Lisa Goldstein and Michaela Roessner, talking about their writing, all of which, it seemed to me, attempted to "transform" the world we know into something more interesting.

Recent Podcasts
• Michaela Roessner Interviewed at SF in SF
• Pat Murphy Interviewed at SF in SF
• Pat Murphy Reads "Clap If You Believe" in 2008 and 2009
• Michaela Roessner Reads at SF in SF : Fish Story
• Podcast Archive

The Agony Column for July 5, 2009
Next Week, on The Agony Column, David Sedaris talks about quitting smoking and his book When You Are Engulfed in Flames. Email me! Sunday, July 5 from 6-7 PM PDT, on KUSP, 88.9 FM. Go to the KUSP website and pledge to help support this show!

Monday, June 29, 2009, 5:51 AM

Welcome to the Kiss Army!

Sure, I shirked my friggin' blogging duties. Shoot me. But I do come out from under a river of interviews and prep to mention that apparently I was deceived by a colophon page. I'm told that indeed, the Harlan Ellison story in Son of Retro Pulp Tales, "The Toad Prince, Or Sex Queen of the Martian Pleasure Domes" is like, ten years old. I'm guessing that some slight alterations were made to get that colophon attribution, but still. Thanks to the alert reader who mentioned this, and to another alert listener who pointed out format problems in the hell-fire damnable RSS files. Should any interruptions occur, please email me.

And I guess I have a brief moment to mention that we at last know the fate of the Jedi. They joined the Kiss Army. Ace Frehley lives! And has a lightsword.



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