About

In August 2014 I decided to review every book I read. At first I only published these reviews on Worlds Without End, a speculative fiction site. In October 2015 I decided to revamp an old, dormant blog to host them in a place of their own. You are reading that blog.

I read a lot as a kid. But although I’ve studied linguistics & literary science, somewhere in my early 20ies I stopped reading fiction. What followed was a strict diet of non-fiction and some poetry. 10 years later, a friend recommended me Anathem by Neal Stephenson. I decided to give it a go, since, well, I used to love reading fiction. It clicked. Banks’ Culture novels followed after that. Dune became one of my favorite SF books, as for so many SF fanatics, and I’ve written 6 lengthy pieces analysing all the books in the original series – some over 10,000 words. I branched out to fantasy too, so there you go. Lately, I’ve also been reading a bit more art books again, as well as non-fiction, and occasionaly a book of literature in Dutch.

The first 2.5 years of reviewing I read about book a week, but at the beginning of 2017 life happened, and because of that my reading dropped to about 2 books a month, depending on the page count, work, stuff.

I live in Belgium. My mother tongue is Dutch, which might explain some mistakes or oddities in my English. Drop me a note if you spot any. 

Don’t hesitate to comment if you want to share opinions.

 

“What do you despise? By this are you truly known.” – Princess Irulan

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29 responses to “About

  1. I came to the blog because of the name – we use it as a comment on testing in education here in the UK i.e. testing children doesn’t make them any more intelligent. Love what I found here. I too am a fan of the Dune series but I’m more a fan of Ursula K Le Guin’s work. I shall be a frequent visitor her.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks for the kind words!

      I loved The Left Hand Of Darkness, but had problems with both The Dispossessed and Lathe. I’m planning to read Earthsee in the near future, I hope I’ll like that a lot as well.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Nice story of the url and name of the blog.
    I would have never noticed that English is not your first language, because it’s not mine either. I already noticed a mistake in my first comment on your post about rereading Dune.
    I will be coming back to read more of what you write.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Love your reviews! I found you through your Dune review, but noted that we seem to have a pretty similar book taste. So, I connected also on GR. Come by at my blog!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Following from Taiwan at cli-fi.net

    Liked by 1 person

  5. A couple of SF recommedations for you:
    Not This August, by Cyril M. Kornbluth
    Shockwave Rider, by John Brunner

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Let me add — everything by George R. R. Martin. Start with Sandkings. His short stories are also excellent. Game of Thrones got a lot of attention due to HBO, but don’t let the TV connection mislead you. Martin is the best SF author I’ve come across.

    Liked by 1 person

    • I must admit I haven’t read anything by Martin. I thought the tv show was okay the first couple of seasons, but they didn’t prompt me to read anything by the man. I’ll check out Sandkings, thanks.

      Like

  7. Following – based on Dune. I don’t read much SF and little fantasy any more – I write mainstream fiction and don’t have the energy to read when I’m writing (long story) – but Dune is one of the complex many-layered novels that I use to spot potential readers of my own fiction, so I couldn’t possibly pass you up. It is mainstream literary quality in a SF bong.
    I have an open mind – but no capacity; maybe when I finish what I’m writing (7 more years?).

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks! What’s your own fiction about? Either way, I can imagine writing to be consuming your mental bandwith.

      Like

      • I write mainstream fiction – and am very slow. The first volume in the Pride’s Children trilogy, PURGATORY, took me 15 years to write. I’m almost finished (7 years later) with NETHERWORLD, and hope to finish the last volume much more quickly.

        From the beginning of one of my favorite reviews: “Elegant literary fiction which is also literate, modern, gripping, and extraordinarily entertaining, to label the subject matter a ‘love triangle’ would be like daubing the Taj Mahal with graffiti.
        Alicia Ehrhardt takes the reader into the persons of Kary, Andrew and Bianca by turns, and uses this approach with consummate skill to construct characters whom one comes to know, ((dare I say this?)) rather better than one knows one’s spouse, or significant other. She does this better than any other author I have yet read. The plot is more than character-driven; there is a sense in which the plot is the characters…”

        Electronic ARCs always available for anyone who might CONSIDER writing a review – I don’t nag. I suggest checking the Look Inside feature on Amazon first, and reading some of the reviews – then let me know if it is your kind of big book. Thanks for asking. And yes, it takes all my bandwidth. It has to be right – and I have very good teachers, of whom Frank Herbert, père, is one.

        Liked by 1 person

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