American Writers (One Hundred Pages at a Time)

Another Herman Melville novel. This one is much more conventional than "Pierre". but it is still a valuable read. "Israel Potter" looks at the life of a Revolutionary War veteran as his service to his country leads him into exile and lets him meet some more famous revolutionary heroes.

Part two of my review of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" gives us a chance to explore the empathy test as we watch Deckard begin his mission to hunt down the rogue Nexus-6 androids.

The opening chapters of Philip K. Dick's great novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" puts us in a bleak world of mood organs, empathy boxes, lead codpieces, and kipple.

The finale of my review of "Pierre" by Herman Melville.

So, after deciding to get married to his (maybe) sister, things start to get even stranger for Pierre. Listen to my thoughts on this in part three of my review of Herman Melville's "Pierre".

Philip K. Dick's contribution to "Dangerous Visions" was "Faith of Our Fathers", one of his most important stories on false fronts and the prison of state power.

"Retreat Match" by Philip K. Dick is a really good story on false memories, shifting realities, and the politics of empire.

In the second hundred pages of "Pierre" by Herman Melville our hero comes to believe he has what he always wanted, a sister. What will be the cost of this realization? 

Time to go mad with Herman Melville as we begin looking at his 1852 novel "Pierre, Or the Ambiguities".

The conclusion to Philip K. Dick's "Counter-Clock World" centers on a failed rescue attempt at the Library, a forthcoming race war, and the question of how our hero Sebastien Hermes can find new meaning in life with the death of his wife and the near destruction of his business.

The Library has become victorious in stealing the Anarch. Can the various factions interested in him get him back before the Library can prevent him from writing any more dangerous books?

In this section of Philip K. Dick's "Counter-Clock World" we learn that the once-dead Anarch Peak still has something to say and that there are lots of people who will kill to hear what he has to say...or to eradicate what he has to say. Our hero's scheme to make a quick buck gets a lot of more complicated.

In "Counter Clock World", Philip K. Dick takes us to an Earth where time moves backward, knowledge must be destroyed, and the dead come back to life. At least these is still money to be made digging up graves. Beware the library.

The final part of my review of "The Zap Gun" by Philip K. Dick. Is it possible that a toy can stop an alien invasion?

In the second half of Charles Brockden Brown's "Edgar Huntly" we enter a world of brutal frontier violence as our hero finds out how easy it is to kill. It is one of the darker visions of the American frontier.

Things get even stranger in Charles Brockden Brown's "Edgar Huntly", a novel of frontier violence, sleepwalking, Indian isolates, and global adventurers.

Comic book weapons, alien slavers, and time traveling androids complicate the live of our hero Lars Powderdry in part three of my review of Philip K. Dick's "The Zap Gun".

In this part of the Zap Gun, we continue to follow Lars Powderdry's depression, but learn that maybe there is a way about by taking the manufacturing of weapons a bit more serious. And it just may be important.

The conclusion of my review of Charles Broxden Brown's "Arthur Mervyn".

The second half of Charlie Brown's "Arthur Mervyn" drags a bit in my view, but there is still some nice moments and we can start to see the possibilities of a feminist interpretation of early American history in Brown's writing.

My review of the opening chapters of "The Zap Gun" by Philip K. Dick. An interesting novel exploring the relationship between the military-industrial complex and a consumer economy. In this part of the novel we meet our depressed hero with an explosive name, Lars Powderdry.

Part 2 of my review of Charles Brockden Brown's novel "Arthur Mervyn". In this section we experience the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 in stunning brutal detail.

A preview of his novel "Counter-Clock World", "Your Appointment Will be Here Yesterday" introduces us to the Hobart phase and the consequences of the rising dead.

In "Holy Quarrel", Philip K. Dick takes on big data....again. A really good story and more relevant than ever.

"Arthur Mervyn" is another strange tale by Charles Brockden Brown, although this one is a bit more down to earth. It tells the story of a young man who falls into a criminal network when he tries to go from the farm to the city. How will he end up?