Impulsive Review of THE COLLECTED STORIES OF PHILIP K. DICK VOLUME FOUR: THE MINORITY REPORT10/21/2013 Scaling across the myriad possibilities of reality, Philip K. Dick renders the future with the foresight and creative genius of a visionary turned Nostradamus, and eighteen of his intricate tales from the early years of 1954 – 1963 are captured in this powerfully provocative edition The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick Volume Four: The Minority Report. This volume’s title is named after a frightening glimpse into a world without violent crime in the short story/novella “The Minority Report.” When a system is built upon the precognitive abilities of three mutant crime-prophets, murder is a thing of the past. But Dick explores the idea of imprisoning people who never actually committed crimes, but were instead “detained” by a special police division for being about to do the deeds, the “pre-crimes.” If it is possible for human beings to warp the system and frame the man who invented it and was responsible for the non-violent decades, than is it not possible that punishing people for things they have not yet done skirts and perverts the moral compass governing society? This stark glimpse into the heart of humanity and its future explores philosophy and intelligent detective lines of reasoning, while the brilliant prose thwarts the readers' guesses and moves them along a thrill ride of suspense. This is a masterpiece. This collection contains only the best of Dick’s shorter works, and that is saying something, considering how grand his portfolio became over time. Each piece of speculative fiction gives rise to a range of emotional responses and thought provocation. While “The Minority Report” became a movie of the same name, and “Recall Mechanism” was drawn out in a sci-fi blockbuster starring Arnold Schwarzenegger titled Total Recall, these are not the only stories that warrant attention. The entire book is full of gems that cover a vast number of topics and characters set in extremely believable and fully-dimensional worlds. READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE ON FANTASY-MATTERS.COM HERE BY R.J. HUNEKE
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By R.J. Huneke; Edited by Cassandra DeMario In Neil Gaimain’s newest adult novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane, the reader is left, like the protagonist, to wonder in introspection and awe. Death is a prevalent occurrence in the novel that opens more doors than mortality usually sees fit to grant. A funeral and a forgone trip back to the lane where the unnamed protagonist grew up sparks an incredible memory that the reader becomes completely immersed in. With the recollection back forty years to childhood, he is struck with a vivid experience that, at eight years old, impacted him forever. There the hungry ghosts lust for life and mischief and more. Each of the characters in the book is memorable and extremely realistic, built on their own nuances and tendencies, like the father’s inability to make toast without burning it. And there's Lettie Hempstock, the confident eleven year old neighbor, who is a kind and young farmer’s daughter but is also filled with strength and a mysterious experience beyond her years. When the new nanny moves in, the boy finds himself in a fight for his and his family’s lives, and dark magic seems to surround everything around the lane. Ursula Monkton is a buxom beauty queen that is disarming in her appearance, utterly manipulative, and sickeningly powerful in her role running the family home. She is also pure evil. Magic is further crafted in words throughout the book, from the dark shades of humor to the descriptive joys, like drinking warm milk just gotten from a cow for the first time. But it is also present in the bleak pull that outside forces have on life, from money and lust, to the creatures that feed on these human weaknesses and grow fat on them. The memory is magic, the ghosts are magic, and the epic battles for the control of life are riddled with bits of magic while the tale goes forward at a thrilling pace. Read the rest of the review on Fantasy-Matters Here The words are gathering and a number, 30,000, comes nearer. These are the finest words I have ever put together under one fictional heading, and it is my sincere hope that they are the most innovative too. As a story of speculative fiction, this is going to be one that has not been done before. That is my goal. The reader will not have seen anything like this. So far, nearly 30,000 words so far, I am living up to this standard. It is exciting, it is terrifying, and it is incredibly difficult. Is the bar too high? My feeling is that the bar is never too high, but I do have to decide when to stop tinkering, when to stop scrutinizing everywhere in the feeble reach for revision perfection. And sometimes if the limbo bar is held just too low for success, you can arch your back and strategically use your stomach to nudge the damn bar up just high enough to get by without disrupting the entire conga line. How’s that for a metaphor? Be excited. This piece has a large part of my soul embedded within. An no one will see it coming. ~RJH At the forefront of Ian Fleming’s spy novels is, of course, the world-famous character of James Bond, but the grit and realism of Mr. Bond in the novel Live and Let Die is matched by an amazing array of world building, unexpected plot twists, a fearsome villain, and a gorgeous female named Solitaire. There is plenty of the hard-hitting Bond here, including a fantastic train scene where Solitaire somewhat falls for her rescuer and then teases him, knowing that the suave British agent 007 must painfully resist because of a near-broken wrist and hand. The man of action and few words is depicted as being at odds with everyone and everything, except his mission. But the true art of Fleming is in his tight prose, his cunning flurry of “edge of your seat” moments, and the detailed description of vastly contrasting and often exotic environments. . . Read the rest of the Impulsive Review at Fantasy-Matters Rune Works is ecstatic to announce that R.J. Huneke's newest thriller novel will also become a graphic novel written by the author! "I feel this work has a lot of intrigue for potential readers, and with its sharp, visual qualities, making a dystopian graphic novel makes a lot of sense," says Huneke. Read more of this conversation @ Rune Works. Reading The City & the City by China Miéville is like walking into a dream. There has never been anything written like this. Stark realism and a vivid murder investigation start the tale off as James Patterson might. But the story quickly builds with the unique setting where two cities co-exist alongside one another, sharing the same space though they are two different countries...read the rest on Fantasy-Matters. Tuesday, May 22, 2012 Dark Shadows: A Tim Burton Masterpiece The film Dark Shadows encompasses a rarely met joining of horror, gloomy fantasy, and dark humor, which is often created by the overwhelming sexual tension that oozes across the screen in numerous scenes. Read the Entire Article on Fantasy-Matters.com here! Well it's been a couple of hard fought months in this author's life. Family and work have been on the front-lines and been priority, but I vow here and now to write you folks in on the happenings much more often on this very blog. I have not ceased to read/write/create voraciously, and there are a few very incredible projects in the works that will be announced on here very soon.
What I can say now is that the R.J. Huneke novel THE CAPITOL MOVEMENT is well underway with more than 150+ pages written and edited already; this dystopian thriller will act as a start to a new series, where the Rune Works published novel THE SUBLIMINAL RELIGION would fit in as a prequel to this innovative work. More info will be available on it soon. I promise! Today's exciting news involves my acceptance to officially contribute to the reputable, interesting, and all-encompassing Fantasy Matters. They proudly project book reviews, film opinions, and even critical looks at the Fantasy art that projects across our beautiful universe! Here is a snippet from their introduction: "As we've made very clear on this website, we here at Fantasy Matters are big fans of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. And so, needless to say, we are VERY excited about the release of another book in the series: The Wind through the Keyhole. This book will be generally released on Tuesday, and we will celebrate this event with a review of the book from a new Fantasy Matters contributor: R.J. Huneke [link to the Impulsive Review]. It will be an exciting day indeed!" Check out the entire Impulsive Review above and remember that Stephen King writes "there will be water when God wills it." |
AuthorI have turned the tide and started on my journey. Words and Worlds hang in the balance and I am writing it all down before the RJ Tower! Read about my newest novel on CyberwarSeries.com Archives
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