“Dan Simmons is a stud.”
So said my high-school-English-teacher brother, after a friend had recommended one of Simmons’ books to me.
My brother was referring (I would soon find out) to Simmons’ writing abilities and to his raging intellect.
Before encountering Simmons, the only science fiction books I’d ever read were The Sparrow (which is one of my all-time favorite books and sort of defies genres: you can read my post about it here) and Ender’s Game.
I am not at all, in other words, a sci-fi connoisseur. But when my brother speaks about writing, I listen. Continue reading →