Literary Fiction Book Reviews

A lyrical and multilayered exploration of humanhood, intelligence, art, and the future of all three, 2102: Pretense, the Play by William E. Jefferson challenges form, function, and the rules of reality.

On a distant stage where technology and theatrical performance are inseparable, a scribe must attempt to capture what wisdom can be found in the tragedy of that time, and bring it back for those who might prevent it. Within that paradoxical premise, Quill is a writer caught in this “maddening drama,” but fortunately he has the sage company of a feathered friend, Loreto, to accompany him on his mission […]

Defying structure, narrative decorum, and often logical thought itself, Expraedium by Armen Melikian is a hero’s journey like no other, a radical adventure of reinvention, leading to a reframing of language and the very nature of storytelling.

In search of Urmashu, a legendary republic of immortals, Brathki embarks on a surreal quest, without apparent destination or clear purpose, baffling the reader as much as the protagonist, as the narrative plays with the boundaries of reality and time. Melikian’s writing blurs prose, poetry, and inscrutable languages of sign and symbol, and if bold readers can decipher the paradoxical gymnastics of this […]