The City of Mirrors: A Novel (Book Three of The Passage Trilogy) by Justin Cronin. Ballantine Books. 624 pages. Back when I was a kid, there was a well-known, very successful author named James Michener. He was known for novels centered around specific geographic locations, with perhaps his most famous being his book, Hawaii. He was also … More Review: “City of Mirrors” by Justin Cronin
Three years ago I wrote a blog entitled, “Is There Such a Thing as Christian Horror?” The premise was that some Christians believe they should not read, discuss or know of anything negative or horrible in the world because of Philippians 4: 8: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is … More More Thoughts on Christian Horror
Here’s another take on my Vampires vs. Amish story that I hope to write someday soon. Vampires are not sexy. Yes, I know. The movie that came out a few years ago had the actor with the doe eyes going all sparkly when sunlight hit his vampire skin. All of the actors in that … More “A Baptism In Blood”
I am somewhat of an odd duck when it comes to my writing. I have positioned myself (with a lot of exceptions) as a Christian suspense writer who also writes science fiction. Here’s why: I am a born-again Christian who also loves science fiction. I believe each has something to teach the other. And I … More Magic, no. Supernatural, yes.
The Twelve by Justin Cronin. Ballentine Books, New York, 2012. It may seem odd to some for me to be reviewing this book a day after I reviewed the devotional Hearing God by Dallas Willard. After all, if you are familiar with the first book in this series, The Passage, you might have the idea … More Review: The Twelve by Justin Cronin
We had a discussion in Rough Writers a couple of weeks ago about whether some stories shouldn’t be written. Most of my short stories come to me as dreams. I have several stories in the back of my mind that border on horror, but since I don’t actually read horror, I haven’t written them down. … More “A Mirror Darkly”
“This above all: to thine own self be true.” –William Shakespeare I suffered through the typical teenage years. I was pretty insecure about who I was, and was eager to be accepted into “the inner circle.” And so I was constantly trying to reinvent myself. One week I would go for the cool surfer look … More The Trap of Reinvention
Maybe it’s because 2012 is the end of the world according to the Mayan calendar. But I have certainly seen a lot of apocalyptic stories being circulated out there. Of course, it all depends on how you define “apocalypse.” Most of those these days have to do with zombies (and defining that is another issue, … More What I’ve Learned from the Apocalypse
I’m the type of author that infuriates publishers. Hence I am publishing my own stuff these days. What I’m talking about it the whole concept of genre. I don’t know who invented the concept, but it didn’t take long for a lot of people to buy into the idea. The intent was to label stories … More Genre? What genre?
Playtime is over. I had a rough semester. The last week was a killer, punctuated by final exams, four recruitment presentations, putting a magazine to bed, graduation and a major septic problem at my house. It’s one thing to be productive when you have lots on your plate; try doing that when all of your … More Getting my act together
The Great Adventure 