last reads

Post-Apocalyptic Walkabout By S.C. Flynn Adolescence is rightly considered one of the key periods of human life. The young person has to find out for themselves who they are and what they will become. All this while questioning the values and family they grew up with and re-evaluating their relationship to their peer group, who are going through the same thing. They had something in common that the elders could never have, never share. Our technological Western society tends to leave young people to get through this as best they can. Other cultures take a much more focused approach. One of these is the traditional Aboriginal culture of Australia. I am a descendant of white European settlers in Australia, so I can not hope to fully understand the complexities of Aboriginal culture; I grew up in the country, though, and have always been interested in it. One aspect that still intrigues me is the adolescent-to-adult transition often known as the Walkabout. The young person goes off on the...

Last week I reviewed Peter Orullian's The Unremembered pretty favorably( review here ). With his new book, Trial of Intentions, just being released . Peter graciously stopped by with a guest post. So without further ado: Memory as a Weapon by Peter Orullian What if instead of a fireball, or a lightning bolt, or even a magic missile, what if the weapon you wield . . . is memory. I’ll grant you, it doesn’t have the sizzle. Or nostalgia. But there’s something potent about it, don’t you think? I mean, if you stop to really think about it. Least ways, there is for me. Go with me for a moment. If you’re an adult—somewhere down the beaten path that we call life—there’s a very good chance that where you’ve ended up is not where you meant to be. That doesn’t mean you’re in a rotten place. But . . . It can be true that the weightiest thing, the thing that most burns, is the difference between where you thought you’d be and where you’ve wound up. Mainstream novels often dwell on this topic as...