Tag: animal

June 24, 2013

Spectral Reality

A review of Sandra Kasturi’s Come Late to the Love of Birds (Tightrope Books, 2012) By Derek Newman-Stille In her poetry collection Come Late to the Love of Birds, Sandra Kasturi creates a spectral reality, an assemblage of words that makes the familiar strange and the strange familiar. She reveals the extraordinary in the natural, taking scenes of everyday life...

Categories Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 2

June 2, 2013

Quote – Humans Have Much To Learn From “Inferior” Life Forms

“The mortals have much to learn from what they deem inferior life forms.” -Nancy Kilpatrick – Berserker (in Vampyric Variations)

Categories Quotes Comments: 0

April 16, 2013

Quote – Any Evil that Entered the World Contaminated the World

“No cure was worth torturing cats and mice. It was like arguing that inventing, then using, the atom bomb was justified because it ended the war and diminished suffering. Any evil that entered the world contaminated the world.” -Scott Fotheringham – The Rest is Silence (Goose Lane Editions, 2012)

Categories Quotes Comment: 1

February 2, 2013

Frankengoats and Unicorns

A review of Amanda Sun’s Fragile Things (In Tesseracts Fifteen: A Case of Quite Curious Tales. Edge, 2011). By Derek Newman-Stille In Fragile Things, Amanda Sun explores the role of a teen-aged boy, Alex,  who is taking care of a unicorn, or, as he calls it, a Frankengoat. The unicorn is a hybridised animal that was born accidentally on his...

Categories Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 0

January 14, 2013

Quote – People More Capable of Evil Than Creatures From Legend

“Men were far more capable of evil and cruelty than any creature out of legend.” -Charles de Lint – Mulengro (Orb 2003)

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January 13, 2013

The Timeless Power of Legends

A Review of The Monkey King & Other Stories Edited by Griffin Ondaatje (Harper Collins, 1995). By Derek Newman-Stille Griffin Ondaatje compiled The Monkey King & Other Stories as a celebration of the 40th anniversary of World Literacy of Canada. The stories within represent Canadian and Sri Lankan adaptations and re-tellings of Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim tales, bringing the timeless...

Categories Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 0

December 18, 2012

Interview with Jerome Stueart

An interview with Jerome Stueart by Derek Newman-Stille There is nothing quite as fantastic as an interview that begins by thanking reviewers! It was truely a pleasure to talk to Jerome Stueart and I hope that all of you enjoy his insights as much as I did. I will let him introduce himself to you. Spec Can: To begin this...

Categories Interviews Comments: 3

December 14, 2012

Upcoming Interview with Jerome Stueart on Tuesday December 18th, 2012

Jerome Stueart is the most Northern of the authors I have interviewed, hailing from the Yukon. An American ex-pat, he was able to look at Canadian SF both from an outsider AND an insider perspective. Check out our interview on Tuesday December 18th. I hope that you enjoy his insights on SF in the Yukon, teaching and the education system,...

Categories Interviews/News Comments: 0

November 29, 2012

Eldritch Summonings from the World of the Unconventional

A Review of Here Be Monsters: Tongues and Teeth Edited by Duane Burry, Vincent Mackay, and Alexander Newcombe (Here be Monsters Speculative Fiction issue seven, September, 2012) By Derek Newman-Stille Here Be Monsters: Tongues and Teeth is the first of the Here Be Monsters anthologies that I have read, and I am extremely impressed with the quality of work in...

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October 31, 2012

Werewolf Ecology

A Review of Douglas Smith’s Spirit Dance (from Impossibilia, PS Publishing, 2008) By Derek Newman-Stille As the final installment in Werewolf Wednesdays for October (and on Halloween of course), I thought I would do a review of Douglas Smith’s short story Spirit Dance. Not only does this story feature werewolves, but also several other types of shapeshifters. Spirit Dance represents...

Categories Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 6