Death On Every Corner

Politicians in New York and San Francisco have decided to protect us from ourselves by taking away our right to make bad decisions. My rant against our dysfunctional Big Brother can be found over at Inkspot.

Read more about the looming threat of trans fats, sugary sodas, and other real and present dangers here.

Guest Blogging at KILLZONE

The fine authors over at Killzone invited me to guest blog on the subject of villains. With an offer like that, how could I refuse?



This past week has been dedicated to villains we love:

Con men who seduce us into parting with our life's savings, charismatic academics who persuade us to invite them over for dinner and then eat our livers. Smiling politicians who pretend to be our neighbors and then turn out to be, well, politicians.

Read more about The Killer Inside You at Killzone...

THE RAW SHARK TEXTS by Steven Hall

This book became a huge sensation last year for good reason. It's a provocative blend of a thriller with a metaphysical tour of human consciousness. It's a mystery that sucks you in with the first chapter and then takes you on a wildly conceptual journey that manages to raise some major philosophical questions without ever compromising the pacing of the story.

A man wakes up with total amnesia, the only clue to his identity a letter from himself. The letter tells him this has happened before and will likely happen again if he doesn't take steps to prevent it. The letter gives him directions to a doctor familiar with his case, but is also instructs him to say nothing about the letter to the doctor.

And what does the doctor say? Under no circumstances should the hapless amnesiac read any letters from himself. His condition is chronic and his past self will only confuse things. But the letters keep coming, and the story they tell is fantastic, a tale that blurs the lines between reality and nightmare.

Steven Hall is a gifted writer. It's a big book but a quick read that will have you thinking differently about your own existence.