With Both Hands

Sign in Subscribe

Benjamin Espen

Clockmaker by Kristen Brand book review

Action-packed would be an understatement for Kristen Brand’s Clockmaker [Silver Empire affiliate link]. From the beginning, when a desperate and cash-strapped Captain Melek takes a job that she knows is too good to be true, the Sultana and her crew are flying, and fighting, for their lives. It has

The Long View 2007-05-08: Sarkozy; the Naughty Vicars; Immigration

This is an interesting look back at the election of Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France at about the same time that Barack Obama had his first time as President of the United States. Sarkozy; the Naughty Vicars; Immigration Surely Amir Taheri goes too far in The New York Post, where

The Long View 2007-05-03: Spam, Spamalot, Spam, Nightfall

This is a pretty good quote about the attractions of sacred or magical objects: he is as aware as Tennyson was that "Grail Questing" is a dark and even sinister enterprise, usually undertaken by dark and sometimes sinister people Much like political office, usually the one who wants

Fade by Daniel Humphreys book review

This book scratched an itch I didn’t know I had. It struck me as similar to a Tim Powers book, if Tim wrote adventures with a hint of satire instead of secret histories. Apparently I had been looking for a tale of good and evil in an occult setting.

2017 OES Wages for the United States

Here is another post in my useful data series. This one is about wages in the United States, as collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is the data from 2017, which I am using because I have the percentile ranges translated into dollar amounts. This is interesting because

The Long View 2007-04-27: Next; Gliese 581c; National Greatness

This is my go-to quote regarding the works of Philip Dick: He wasn't a nihilist, but he was ontologically subversive. In contrast, I believe that reality is fragile and merits our support. Next; Gliese 581c; National Greatness Philip Dick's stories are unavoidable for someone with my

Stryker's War Book Review

What use is the valor of brave men in the service of evil goals? Stryker’s War is the most gut-wrenching book in the Order of Centurion series so far because it takes a good hard look at the reality that not everything that can get a soldier killed is