Tag Archives: Fiction

Peter Green and the Unliving Academy – A Book Review

Posted on May 9, 2019 by Joel D. Hirst

“I’m really anxious to find out what happens when we die,” my little boy told me the other day, causing me quite a start. “No,” I answered gingerly, “that’s a long ways away. I’m curious what you’re going to do … Continue reading →

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Common Law for a Free Republic

Posted on February 1, 2019 by Joel D. Hirst

England has an amazing tradition of common law. These are “the part of English law that is derived from custom and judicial precedent rather than statutes.” This has allowed England to be resilient, refining its governing laws based upon customs … Continue reading →

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A Modern Romeo and Juliet, With a Twist

Posted on August 7, 2018 by Joel D. Hirst

I try to judge a book by what it is intending to do, not by how I would have written it. This is hard for a writer and occasionally takes discipline – as often times the prose does not live … Continue reading →

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“Lady Chatterley’s Lover” – A Book Review

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

The story goes that DH Lawrence and Earnest Hemingway were friends of sorts. The Belle Époque was raging; Paris was full of artists and dreamers. Brawling and drinking and dreaming – and writing. Hemingway was a “man’s man” who would … Continue reading →

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Solzhenitsyn, Writing and Our New ‘Curtain’

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Joel D. Hirst

I’m in the middle of “The First Circle” by Alexander Solzhenitsyn (review to come, hopefully this month). Concurrently – although unrelated – I’ve been somewhat discouraged of late. Success is a crafty little minx; at once flirtatious and elusive. And … Continue reading →

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Book Review: “Ceremony” by Leslie Silko

Posted on December 31, 2016 by Joel D. Hirst

Ceremony was hard to read; but I’m glad I did! It is the story of Native Americans from New Mexico and their experiences as they traveled through their lives. Participation in World War II; and how that changed people fighting … Continue reading →

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“Dreaming in Cuban” A Book Review

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Joel D. Hirst

Americans love antique shops. In the mountain villages above Colorado Springs or the tiny towns of the Blue Ridge in West Virginia people – tourists all – rifle through the clutter in hopes of finding that prize. I have known … Continue reading →

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New Novel by Joel D. Hirst “Lords of Misrule”

Posted on October 1, 2016 by Joel D. Hirst

With this post I am pleased to announce the release of my 3rd novel “Lords of Misrule”. Aliuf Ag Albachar, born into the noble Tuareg ancestry, is just thirteen when he crests a dune with his mother, looks down from … Continue reading →

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New Book Review “The Burning of San Porfirio”

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Joel D. Hirst

“The novel follows the stories of the two men. When the dictator dies, Machado makes his play for supreme power and Pancho is released under amnesty into a world he hardly recognizes. Pancho journeys through a country now riven by … Continue reading →

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Daughter of Fortune – A Book Review

Posted on May 31, 2016 by Joel D. Hirst

I found a copy of Isabel Allende’s “Daughter of Fortune” at a little used bookstore nestled between a Peter Piper Pizza and a Payless Shoe Store in a strip mall in Colorado Springs. The sky was gray; the great Pike’s … Continue reading →

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