Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys My rating: 2 of 5 stars Warning: contains spoilers. Although this novel was praised by Alfred Bester as “one of the finest flashes of heat lightning to dazzle us this year,” that is, the year 1960, and John Clute, in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, called it “now widely regarded … Continue reading Goodreads review: “Rogue Moon” by Algis Budrys

All Things Huge and Hideous by G. Scott Huggins My rating: 5 of 5 stars I bought this book from the author at a Deep Dish reading here in Chicago (http://speculativeliterature.org/prog...). The section he read sounded funny, and there’s never enough humorous speculative fiction, so I started this book with high hopes. In fact, the … Continue reading Goodreads review: “All Things Huge and Hideous”

It’s all cancelled: the Deep Dish reading on March 14, the Longwood Gardens Community Read on March 27 and 28, and other events I was planning to attend, from church to cocktails. Of course, we have to do what we must to keep ourselves and others safe. We’re all in this together. I’m 64 years … Continue reading Cancelled

I’m joining an especially exciting lineup for the Spring Deep Dish Reading on Saturday, March 14, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Volumes Bookcafe, 1474 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. It’s organized by the Speculative Literature Foundation. “Francine (Draft for the September Lecture)” is a short story by Maria Antònia Martí Escayol, a science fiction writer … Continue reading I’ll be reading from “Francine” at the Spring Deep Dish Reading March 14

Dying Earths: Sixteen Stories from the Ends of Times by Sue Burke My rating: 4 of 5 stars Full disclosure: I’m a contributor to this anthology. When I got my contributor’s copy, I read the other stories. It’s a theme anthology about living (or not) on a dying Earth, and the stories range from high … Continue reading Goodreads review: “Dying Earths”

A Community Read Conversation with Sue Burke: I’ll be at Longwood Gardens as part of its Community Read program on March 27 and 28. Semiosis is one of this year’s books. At the Longwood blog, I answer some questions about the book and my love for plants. Lisa Carter is founder and creative director of … Continue reading Links about language, literature, and me

I took this photo last summer at Blarney Castle* in Ireland. The castle’s grounds contain a wonderful variety of gardens — jungle, Himalayan, bog, fern, and more — as well as the poison garden. The castle’s web page describes it this way: “Hidden behind the castle battlements, you will find the new poison garden, which … Continue reading Prisoners in the poison garden