Ancient Logic

The next chapter of "Agent Shield and Spaceman" is now available . This web novel is updated twice weekly and follows the misadventures of two anarchist spies fighting cryptozoological threats and weaponized nihilism during the Cold War. Thank you for reading!

A new chapter is available for my web serial "Agent Shield and Spaceman." I appreciate your continued reading and support of my work. Enjoy! In other news, I'm feeling myself relishing a relatively quiet and unhurried Saturday. Fall is typically a very busy time for me, and this year appears no different.  I think my basic thought right now is: cautious optimism tinged with impatience to get the election over with already. I am well and truly sick of talking about this election. No one is surprised about how this election is shaping up. If anything, this is exactly the race the polls and debates last year predicted. Clinton versus Trump: one campaign showing a dogged, cautious approach to rounding up the votes necessary to become president and the other throwing M-80s in piles of gasoline soaked rags. Clinton up between four and six points overall, more in precisely the states she needs to win. Trump behind and blaming everyone but himself. Anyway, only 17 day...

Slightly better situation this month for reading short stories. I still didn't quite to as many as I'd like to but I can recommend a few stories without hesitation.  Scent by Maria Haskins (Flash Fiction Online) Another tale of the horrific perfumes. Here, a daughter administers to a frightful mother, a kind of demon who steals away the fragrances (and presumably souls) of unlucky mortals. There is something memorable about the intertwining of imagery and odor, and also the slow, twisting tension between a mother and a daughter; the mask of pleasant perfumes over something dark and predatory. All the Mermaid Wives by Gwendolyn Kiste. (87 Bedford) a couple of Kiste's favorite motifs intertwine here. Fairy tale creatures updated for a fraught present, sisterhood, and questions of empowerment. This story broadens her work in some respects. While still retaining a directness and unpretentious grace, more and more o...

Ah, October. Surprise! This week has not been kind to me in terms of time to catch up with my web fiction. There's the news, my day job, various extracurriculars, and then more news! But I do have chapter 35 available to read today and I hope to make some progress with some upcoming chapters tomorrow. I still think, for the most part, the novel will be updated twice weekly but I have to admit, more weeks like this past one are going to happen between now and the end of November which was my projected completion date. So, I appreciate your patience and continue to press forward to the final third of the novel. Thank you for reading!

For your reading enjoyment a new chapter of "Agent Shield and Spaceman" is now available . In this chapter, Spaceman confronts the double agent Melissa LeHaze after stewing in his cell for hours. He begins to sense that the Master is not quite done with him. Thank you for reading!

For the most part I'm comfortable with a choice I've made for this blog. As some commenters have already noted, I'm more of a praiser than a critic. I like what I like and I tend to write posts about things I think are stupendous, amazing, and life-affirming.  Then I read a novel like Junot Diaz' "The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao," and I feel like I've run out of credible accolades. I've been casting about this year for main-stream, contemporary fiction books to read. Partly I felt it was time to branch out a little bit after three (five? 10?) years of hard-core speculative reading habits. Partly I thought it was my responsibility after taking the reins as facilitator for my local library writing workshop. Some of the participants write speculative fiction but most don't. Broadening the references I could use to critique stories seemed wise. So, I did what I usually do in these situations, google the top 10 best novels of th...

After a little bit of delay this week, I have updated my serial web fiction "Agent Shield and Spaceman," with a new chapter, the thirtieth.  Two quick notes on this chapter. First off, this is one of my favorites. When I was going through the old manuscript, trying to decide if this project was really worth my time and effort, this was the one that sealed the deal for me. Paradoxically, I'm still not sure if the tale of Igor Splendov really belongs in this  novel. This comes very soon after the Interlude chapter which was sort of like this one in form and function. But, I think it's impact would be lost later on in the story. That said, there's something about this episode that I find compelling. Perhaps that's the advantage of this web serial style of fiction. If you'd rather not read this back-story about the Delta Omega base, you can skip ahead. Well, not now , exactly, but when the whole thing is done, I suppose. Okay, second note. I recommend ...