Dr. Shaun Duke, Professional Nerd

Editor. Writer. Professor. Host.

The Bookening: New Reads in the Pyramid of Plenty

Alternate subtitle: A Bear Sits in My Woods! For those that don’t know, I’m a pretty big fan of Elizabeth Bear’s writing. So, too, apparently, my cat, who has spent a goodly portion of the time I’ve spent writing this post sniffing all the books. If my cat approves, then the books must be good, […]

Adventures in Teaching: The Space Opera Syllabus Reading List

As most of you are aware by now, I’m teaching an upper division literature course in fall.  The theme:  American space opera.  A few weeks ago, the department approved my syllabus, so come the end of next month, I will be teaching a whole lot of really interesting works.  Here’s what my students will be […]

Book Review: Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear

For someone who considers themselves a fan of Elizabeth Bear’s work, I sure haven’t talked about her work all that much on this blog.  Two of my favorite science fiction novels — Carnival and Dust — were written by Bear, so it should come as no surprised that her latest novel, Karen Memory, would entice […]