Author Archives: Barbara Howe

Banned Book Week 2022

Posted on 17 September 2022 by Barbara Howe

It is, once again, Banned Book Week: the American Library Association’s yearly campaign to draw attention to efforts to remove certain books from classrooms and libraries. Their current list of the most frequently challenged books is here. As far as … Continue reading →

Posted in On Reading, Politics | Leave a comment

The Hands of the Emperor

Posted on 10 September 2022 by Barbara Howe

I am conflicted about The Hands of the Emperor, by Victoria Goddard. I’m giving it three stars on goodreads.com, a compromise between five stars (It’s wonderful! You have to read it!) and two (meh). Let’s start with the part I … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy | Leave a comment

A Trio of Short Reviews

Posted on 19 August 2022 by Barbara Howe

A trio of books, all by New Zealand authors: Ten Acceptable Acts of Arson: and other very short stories, by Jack Remiel Cottrell, is a collection of flash or micro fiction; the longest stories are a page and a half, … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy, Kiwi author | Leave a comment

The Quicksilver Pool

Posted on 30 July 2022 by Barbara Howe

This was a pleasant surprise. The blurb on my copy of The Quicksilver Pool by Phyllis Whitney paints it as a somewhat cliché gothic novel. When I paid a couple of dollars for this vintage (1955) novel at a used … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Fiction | Leave a comment

Winter’s Orbit

Posted on 9 July 2022 by Barbara Howe

Irresponsible Prince Kiem isn’t ready to be married. But his cousin, Prince Taam, died in a crash, tearing a hole in the carefully arranged structure of alliance marriages binding the seven-planet Iskat Empire together. Someone has to salvage the situation … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemporary Romance, Space Opera | Leave a comment

Piranesi

Posted on 17 June 2022 by Barbara Howe

Piranesi’s house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy, Mysteries | Leave a comment

Elder Race

Posted on 28 May 2022 by Barbara Howe

Lynesse Fourth Daughter, the last and therefore least important of the queen’s daughters, is her family’s wild child. The one who gives the tutors ulcers and tries her mother’s patience. She is also the only one who takes seriously the … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Fiction | Leave a comment

Right Wing Fairy Tales

Posted on 7 May 2022 by Barbara Howe

Once upon a time… That’s the start of a fairy tale, right? Well… Once upon a time, a position espoused by the American right wing—the Republicans, the conservatives—was that the government should keep its nose out of personal life, that … Continue reading →

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Flashback

Posted on 23 April 2022 by Barbara Howe

Anna Pigeon is enjoying her temporary assignment as Acting Supervisory Ranger of the Dry Tortugas National Park. The Dry Tortugas, seventy miles further into the Gulf of Mexico than Key West, is one of the U.S. National Park System’s least … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Mysteries, Mysteries | Leave a comment

Death and Taxes

Posted on 1 April 2022 by Barbara Howe

Death and taxes: the only things certain in this world, and they’ve taken a toll on us over the last few weeks. Between a funeral (of a friend and former neighbour, not a family member) and some complications in our … Continue reading →

Posted in A Writer's Life, Historical Mysteries, Mysteries, On Reading | 2 Comments