Dystopian | Raging Biblio-holism

Transmetropolitan: Lonely City

April 9, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: So the Smiler won the election and Spider is feeling a bit gloomy. Still, there are stories to be discovered and Truth to be told – so he, along with his filthy assistants, continues about his merry way. But when he latches onto the story of a brutal beating on Dante Street, he suddenly finds himself smack in the middle of a perfect trap, laid out by maybe even the President himself… The Review: I’ve been impressed […]

Categories: Fiction, Sci-Fi • Tags: Darick Robertson, Dystopian, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Journalism, Lonely City, Patrick Stewart, Politics, Sci-Fi, Transmetropolitan, Warren Ellis

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The Dewey Decimal System (Dewey Decimal #1)

March 14, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: Sometime after the Valentine’s Occurence(s), New York City is a comparative wasteland – less than a tenth of the population remaining, most of the bridges destroyed, an apocalyptic air about the town. A war vet with a few mental issues (PTSD, OCD, memory loss) who goes by the name of Dewey Decimal has taken up residence in the Schwartzman Building and does some odd jobs as detective/tough for the City in the meantime. But when the DA sends […]

Categories: Fiction, Noir • Tags: Dewey Decimal, Dystopian, Fiction, Nathan Larson, New York City, Noir, The Dewey Decimal System

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Transmetropolitan: The New Scum

February 19, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: The election is in full swing and Spider Jerusalem is trying everything he can to swing it one way or the other. Problem is, both candidates hate him and the public – despite loving Spider and his work – doesn’t give a damn about the election. And that’s going to put Spider in a hell of a dangerous spot come election day. The Review: I needed a break from the book I’m currently reading, which is strangely rather […]

Categories: Fiction • Tags: Comics, Darick Robertson, Dystopian, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Journalism, Politics, Sci-Fi, The New Scum, Transmetropolitan, Warren Ellis, Winter

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Transmetropolitan: Year of the Bastard

February 16, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: Spider Jerusalem, firmly retrenched in the City, has been writing with his usual vitriol about any and everything – except the upcoming elections. But the time has finally come: the bastard is back, with a vengeance. The Review: Okay. Now things are starting to kick into a more proper gear – this is what I signed up for. I don’t think it’s any secret to anyone who even so much as looks at an issue of Transmet […]

Categories: Fiction • Tags: Darick Robertson, Dystopian, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Journalism, Sci-Fi, Transmetropolitan, Warren Ellis

Transmetropolitan: Lust for Life

February 8, 2013 by Drew

The Short Version: Spider Jerusalem, back on the beat, manages to lose his assistant to a cult and get himself hunted by a bunch of assassins and cops and other angry ne’er-do-wells. All in a day’s work… The Review: Coming from the world of novel-novels, I’m still learning a bit about the Graphic Novel realm. I grew up with Jeff Smith’s amazing Bone (how have I not referenced that in all this time?) and that set a sort of standard […]

Categories: Fiction, Sci-Fi • Tags: Comic Books, Cyberpunk, Dystopian, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Lust for Life, Sci-Fi, Transmetropolitan, Warren Ellis

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Ready Player One

August 23, 2012 by Drew

The Short Version: In the future, a massive online universe has begun to supplement reality. The OASIS, as it’s called, is full of everything and anything you could want – a perfect escape from the dystopian reality of life in the 2040s. When James Halliday (the creator of OASIS) dies, his will sparks a treasure hunt with the grand prize of Halliday’s entire fortune. Then, when a young teen named Wade makes the first breakthrough in the hunt after years of […]

Categories: Fantasy, Fiction, Literature, Sci-Fi • Tags: Dystopian, Ernest Cline, Fantasy, Fiction, Literature, Music, Ready Player One, Sci-Fi

Store of the Worlds: The Stories of Robert Sheckley

April 28, 2012 by Drew

The Short Version: Twenty-six short stories by “the creator of dystopian worlds and alternative universes”, blending sci-fi, morality, and humor is a way that would later inspire writers like Douglas Adams and Jonathan Lethem. The Review: I vaguely remember reading a handful of these stories as a very young man, in the second floor office at my grandmother’s house – the room where all of the books were, the books my two uncles hadn’t taken with them into their lives. And […]

Categories: Fiction, Sci-Fi, Short Stories • Tags: Alex Abramovich, Dystopian, Fiction, Humor, Jonathan Lethem, New York Review Books, Robert Sheckley, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Store of the Worlds, The Stories of Robert Sheckley

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Transmetropolitan: Back on the Street

April 7, 2012 by Drew

The Short Version: Spider Jerusalem is broke and five years late on a book contract, so he leaves his mountain solitude and returns to The City – a wretched hive of scum and villainy. He gets cleaned up (moderately…) and gets a reporting gig – and finds himself right back in the thick of things, rousing the rabble and making those in power quietly terrified. The Review: A terse recommendation of “you should read this. you will love it.” from […]

Categories: Fiction, Sci-Fi • Tags: Back on the Street, Dystopian, Fiction, Graphic Novel, Literature, Transmetropolitan, Warren Ellis

The Books of Ember

December 25, 2011 by Drew

The Short Version: After some kind of major cataclysm, a remnant of the human race has gone underground to a city called Ember. But Ember itself is dying and two bright children – Lina and Doon – know it, so they strike out to find something to save their town and their people. In doing so, they manage to find a path to the surface that leads them back into the world and towards a new home in a town called […]

Categories: Fiction, Sci-Fi • Tags: Dystopian, Fiction, Jeanne DuPrau, Sci-Fi, The Books of Ember, The City of Ember, The Diamond of Darkhold, The People of Sparks, The Prophet of Yonwood, Young Adult

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Brave New World

December 24, 2010 by Drew

Another revisited book – this Christmas just seems to be the break of re-reading, doesn’t it? I can’t remember, honestly, when I first read Brave New World. I want to say freshman year of high school… but I can’t be sure. I didn’t remember much of it – to be honest, I don’t think I understood much of it at a real level at the time. I remembered the “everyone’s drugged and happy” bit but I completely forgot about The […]

Categories: Fiction, Sci-Fi • Tags: Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Dystopian, Fiction, Olive Edition, Re-Reads, Sci-Fi

Raging Biblio-holism

The overwhelming urge to collect, consume, and consider books

Archives

Transmetropolitan: Lonely City

The Dewey Decimal System (Dewey Decimal #1)

Transmetropolitan: The New Scum

Transmetropolitan: Year of the Bastard

Transmetropolitan: Lust for Life

Ready Player One

Store of the Worlds: The Stories of Robert Sheckley

Transmetropolitan: Back on the Street

The Books of Ember

Brave New World

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