What little I’ve read of Neal Stephenson’s work has made me want to read more of it, but I don’t … More
Category: Fiction
A warm voice in a cold world
When I wrote down my thoughts in response to La Belle Sauvage, which is the first volume of Philip Pullman’s … More
Expert hand-holding
Worldbuilder, storyteller—these are Philip Pullman’s great strengths for me. As a ‘novel-maker’ he’s stuck in a rather old-fashioned, comfortable mode … More
Thresholds
We cross thresholds, we readers. Each book we read is entered through a portal, and marking those portals—projected onto the … More
A game of madness
I’ve never paid particular attention to Nicholas Hawksmoor’s famous London churches, although I am familiar with some of them. I … More
One face in a thousand
In Rhetorics of Fantasy, her important structural taxonomy of fantasy literature, Farah Mendlesohn identifies four key types of fantasy, defined … More
Worlds and authorities
I was spurred by the recent BBC TV adaptation of Northern Lights to re-read Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, … More
The magic of the real
My introduction to fantasy fiction was The Lord of the Rings, which I encountered surprisingly early, while visiting a friend … More
Energy and entertainment
My long-interrupted project to read or re-read all of Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion books has at last been resumed, after … More
A trajectory
General relativity tells us something enticing about time. It doesn’t tell us what many would like it to tell us, … More
For the readers
There’s something wonderful about being immersed in the world of a book, something which for me is even more pronounced … More
Veils of allusion
Iain Sinclair walks London’s sacred geometries, pursuing a dérive that moves obliquely across the familiar, prosaic territories of the city. … More
Ruthlessly imagined
It’s very unusual for me to read a recently published novel, much less a prize-winning one. This is mainly because … More
Impossible speech
I have a pet theory. I would like to articulate it eventually through a scholarly monograph, but for the moment … More
