A Brief History On April 5, 1974, Stephen King published the first of his more than 60 full length novels, Carrie, setting the stage for what may well be the greatest horror fiction writing career in world history, and possibly the greatest writing career by an American author. Digging Deeper While many authors have penned one, two, or even several momentous works, the incredible production by King, who says he writes about 2,000 words a day, is truly impressive. King’s books sell well, ranking him anywhere from 10th to 21st on best selling author lists, depending on the source and…
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A Brief History On November 15, 2024, we take pleasure in reviewing a new book about some of the less well known and popular ancient civilizations, aptly titled The Other Ancient Civilisations by renowned scholar and archaeologist Raven Todd DaSilva of London, England, which is hinted at by the British spelling of “civilization” in the title. Digging Deeper A book suitable for the casual reader or college classroom, the author blends academic information with an eminently readable style that does not bore or confuse the reader. Each of the 20 chapters about one of the title civilizations starts with a…
A Brief History On September 6, 2024, we scurried to our local theater to watch the remastered RealD version of the 2009 blockbuster stop motion film, Coraline. The original film was not only mega-successful when released in 2009, it also became the third highest grossing stop motion movie of all time with a box office of $172.8 million against a budget of $60 million Digging Deeper While the original version is of course great, according to various viewers, this new version, put together with incredible painstaking detail by the original animators, is absolutely extraordinary. Colorful, fast paced, and combining comedy…
A Brief History On June 8, 1949, the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by English writer Eric Blair, writing as George Orwell, was published, telling a story of a dystopian future where an intrusive government controls all, sees all, and wages never ending war. Digging Deeper Modeled after the regimes of the USSR under Stalin and Germany under Adolf Hitler, the novel terrified a generation about the dangers of big government and what the future might hold. Politicians and others often referred to the work in an effort to prevent the creep of government power. Some other novels that have shaped public…
A Brief History On March 1, 2024, American sci-fi movie fans will be treated to the opening of the latest of the movies based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, Dune. After the highly successful Denis Villeneuve 2021 reboot of the Dune story, the 2024 film, Dune: Part Two, is a sequel also brought to us by Villeneuve and with the same main cast. Digging Deeper Casting is indeed great, with Timothée Chalamet returning as the main character, Paul, and his frenemy/love interest Chani played by Zendaya. The all-star cast includes Christopher Walken, David Bautista, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Rebecca Ferguson,…