Catholic Space Marines
I've put up both of John J. Reilly's books that I publish in the Summer 2025 Based Books Sale. I've participated in the sale before, as there are a ton of authors I like who also participate, and I usually sell a few copies
Latest
The Long View 2009-04-24: Witch Hunts & Purges
Last night on Twitter/X I suggested that John J. Reilly may be the prophet of our times. John died in 2012, but his writings offer us useful concepts for understanding our times based on history.
In this 2009 blog post, John shows us what a modern day purge would
Trap Line by Timothy Zahn
"Trap Line" might just be the perfect introduction to Timothy Zahn for those who are unfamiliar with him. This short story has Zahn's signature style, a hybrid of Campbelline science fiction with adventure, and often a little bit of mystery and intrigue too. His characters [and
WBH Digest 2025-04-25: The Campaign Continues
Welcome back friends to the With Both Hands Digest! I logged off of Twitter/X for Lent and that ended up turning into a sabbatical from WBH as well. I spent my time engaging in spiritual disciplines, thinking different thoughts and doing different things from my normal routine, and I
The Uses of Convention
Nick Cole's Strange Company 3 is coming out April, so I started reading the first Strange Company again this week. And that got me to thinking about the use of convention in telling stories. We cannot truly understand literary genres without understanding the conventions that comprise them. Yet
WBH Digest 2025-02-14: Saint Valentine's Day
I have an essay on how to win at D&D, Kickstarters for your consideration, the Based Book Sale, along with some literary thoughts.
Captain_Hook's Brolog: Wargames are not 'Playing Toy Soldiers'
An excellent reflection on how good games make a tradeoff between simulation
WBH Digest 2025-01-17: Agony and Ecstasy
Unfolding the World – Agony and Ecstasy
I've said in the past that great men are often ridden by their obsessions. Based on this story from J. Daniel Sawyer, pain can also serve as a spur to accomplishment.
The old humility was a spur that prevented a man from
Adrian Cole's The Dream Lords
The 50th Anniversary Edition of Adrian Cole's The Dream Lords will release on Amazon on January 15th, 2025, and you, my loyal readers, simply must pick this up, because this is the book for anyone who wanted Dune to be a comedy instead of a tragedy.
If you
WBH Digest 2025-01-03: Welcome to the Party Pal
Welcome to 2025! When I started my commentary on Northrop Frye's The Anatomy of Criticism, I thought to myself that I could write about it for a year at least. That has absolutely come true, with the first post coming just over a year ago now, and I&
Northrop Frye on Symbol as Archetype: The Mythical Phase
With my recent comparison of two D&D-inspired anime using a method of genre analysis, this is a good time to get into Northrop Frye's fourth phase of interpretation, the mythical phase. In the mythical phase, we will interpret literary symbols as archetypes. This phase of interpretation
The Long View 2009-04-17: Spengler at the Zombies' Tea Party
Fifteen years ago, I probably wouldn't have taken a bet that the Boston Globe would still be in business in 2024, but they are still chugging along. On the other hand, the loss the New York Times took to sell the paper was staggering. The Times bought the
Frieren and Dungeon Meshi: Beyond Romance's End
The society emerging at the conclusion of comedy represents, by contrast, a kind of moral norm, or pragmatically free society. Its ideals are seldom defined or formulated: definition and formulation belong to the humors, who want predictable activity. We are simply given to understand that the newly-married couple will live
WBH Digest 2024-11-25: Books!
As part of the launch of John J. Reilly's The Perennial Apocalypse I am cross-promoting John's books with Hans Schantz' 2024 Black Friday/Cyber Monday Based Book Sale.
2024 Black Friday/Cyber Monday Based Book Sale by Hans G. Schantz
Running Now Through Tuesday December
The Long View 2009-04-10
John J. Reilly died before the hostage incident he mentions in this blog post got turned first into a movie starring Tom Hanks and then into a meme, but this now fifteen-year-old blog remains topical. John didn't name his blog idly.
One of the big questions of late