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Blog | Eric Hendel

Personal blog devoted to long-form book reviews and criticism.

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An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

August 20, 2020

Absurdism Carl Saga Contact Fiction Dystopias Hank Green Magic Realism Novels Reviews Robots Speculative Fiction

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The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa

Dystopias Feminist Works Literary Works Magic Realism Novels Reviews Translations Yoko Ogawa

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Redshirts by John Scalzi

Humor John Scalzi Magic Realism Multiverse Stories Novels Reviews Science Fiction Space Opera

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The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor

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Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

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The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

February 18, 2020

Epic Fantasy Multiverse Stories Novels Philip Pullman Reviews Speculative Fiction Steampunk Young Adult

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Lock In by John Scalzi

January 21, 2020

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Arrival by Ted Chiang

December 31, 2019

Alternate History Contact Fiction Literary Works Magic Realism Reviews Short Fiction Anthologies Speculative Fiction Ted Chiang

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The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

November 18, 2019

Climate Fiction Dystopias Novels Paolo Bacigalupi Reviews Robots Science Fiction Steampunk

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Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin

October 31, 2019

Epic Fantasy Fantasy Feminist Works Literary Works Novels Reviews Speculative Fiction Ursula K. Le Guin

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Myst: The Book of Atrus by Rand and Robyn Miller with David Wingrove

September 25, 2019

David Wingrove Epic Fantasy Multiverse Stories Myst Trilogy Novels Rand Miller Reviews Robyn Miller Speculative Fiction Young Adult

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Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman

August 30, 2019

Contemporary Fantasy Humor Magic Realism Neil Gaiman New Weird Novels Reviews Speculative Fiction Terry Pratchett

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Word Puppets by Mary Robinette Kowal

August 15, 2019

Contemporary Fantasy Fantasy Mary Robinette Kowal Reviews Science Fiction Short Fiction Anthologies Space Opera Steampunk

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Popular Posts

Strange Horizons Review of Adam Oyebanji’s Esperance

(Cover Designer: Adam Auerbach ) I have a review of Adam Oyebanji's novel, Esperance , out in the most recent issue of Strange Horizons , which can be read at this link . Oyebanji's first novel, Braking Day , was a book which I was lucky enough to review for Strange Horizons back in 2023, and it was exciting to have the opportunity to return to this author's work and discuss what ultimately turned out to be a very different narrative. While Braking Day was a hard SF space opera that dealt with the social upheaval experienced by the crew of a decaying generational starship, Esperance is more of a surrealist modern-day crime thriller with sci-fi elements. The book's plot in part follows a police detective named Ethan Krol who, as the story opens, is assigned the task of investigating a bizarre murder. Concurrent to this story however is what at first seems an unrelated narrative following an enigmatic woman named Abi Eniola, who as her half of the novel begi...

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

(Cover Artist: Ernst Haas) There's a way that Ursula Le Guin's 1971 novel The Lathe of Heaven is often described, and I want to start this review by talking about why this is a summary of this book which I disagree with. Generally, the way I've seen The Lathe of Heaven characterized is that it is the story of a man named George Orr, who believes that everything he dreams becomes real. Terrified of this power, George is ultimately assigned therapy with a psychiatrist named William Haber, who sets out to cure George of these (supposedly) delusional beliefs in his brain's ability to change the world. In time however Haber reveals himself to actually be a mad scientist with a god complex--a man obsessed with finding a way to manipulate the reality-bending power of George's dreams so as to remake the world in his own image. Soon, George realizes that he must do whatever he can to keep the power of his dreams from Haber's control, and in so doing protect the univ...

Myst: The Book of Ti'ana by Rand Miller with David Wingrove

(Cover Artist: The Leonheardt Group) Rand Miller and David Wingrove's 1996 novel Myst: The Book of Ti'ana was a strange story to read, because while there was a lot about this book which I enjoyed, I also finished it fairly sure that the most interesting story the novel has to offer is not the one which the authors have succeeded in writing. Taking the form of a prequel to the prior installment in the Myst Trilogy (1995's Myst: The Book of Atrus ), The Book of Ti'ana is set many decades before the start of that earlier work. Following a woman named Anna who stumbles across the thriving subterranean civilization of D'ni, The Book of Ti'ana details how Anna befriends a citizen of this insular society named Aitrus. This is a character whose name, it should be noted, closely mirrors that of the protagonist of the earlier book except for a slight difference in spelling, but who nevertheless is explicitly indicated here to be an entirely different person. It'...

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