Review of Setting the People Free: The Story of Democracy

In this thought-provoking and readable book, John Dunn poses the questions of “what is democracy?” “Why is the term ‘democracy’ so prevalent around the world?” and “Why has democracy come to be seen as the only legitimate means by which a government may now claim to rule?” In seeking to answer these questions, he ranges from the bases of democracy in classical Athens through the French and American revolutions and all the way up to the present day (or at least until 2005, when the book was first published).

Read the full review here.

Review of Wolfe’s Shadow and Claw

Having heard so often that The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe is the “best science fiction” novel of the (last) century or that it is the “best American science fiction novel” and so forth rather put me off reading it but, having done so, I am relieved to say that it was better than I had feared. In fact, the first half of it (which is the book reviewed here), consisting of the separate novels The Shadow of the Torturer and The Claw of the Conciliator is rather good.

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Review of The Second Book of Lankhmar

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, Leiber’s famous comrades, are two of the most important and most subversive characters in the history of speculative fiction. Their importance lies not just in the wit and wordplay by which their various outrageous adventures are described but in the fact that they are, increasingly and increasingly obviously, controlled almost wholly by outside (and inside) forces.

Read the full review here.