Category Archives: Literature

Children’s Sci-Fi: Marketing vs. Reality

Posted on March 6, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

Note: this is the third and final companion post to my upcoming podcast episode about children’s sci-fi. I should also note that these results are based specifically on Amazon listings, and I don’t know if they are truly reflective of … Continue reading →

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Reading Levels and the Surprisingly Recent Stratification of Children’s Books

Posted on March 2, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

Note: this is the second of two three companion posts to Episode 44 of my podcast, Children’s Science Fiction. (I told you, this episode took a lot of research.) For the first post, click here. Today, children’s books—especially fiction books—are … Continue reading →

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Where Did School Book Fairs Come From?

Posted on February 26, 2022 by Alex R. Howe

Note: in preparing the next episode of my podcast, I had a surprising amount of supplemental material that was kind of off-topic and that I didn’t have time to talk about, so I decided to save it for the blog. … Continue reading →

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The Handmaid’s Tale as a Different Kind of Dystopia

Posted on September 29, 2019 by Alex R. Howe

The Handmaid’s Tale is the famous dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood in which a radical theocratic regime has taken over America, brutally oppressing everyone who isn’t a Reconstructionist “Christian,” but particularly focusing on women. Since the book was released, and … Continue reading →

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Essay: Harry Potter Theory: What Was Dumbledore’s Actual Plan?

Posted on July 31, 2019 by Alex R. Howe

The Harry Potter series is one of the most beloved stories of this generation, but it’s not without its flaws. J. K. Rowling is a very good storyteller, but not a very good world-builder, and the closer you look at … Continue reading →

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Dystopia as an Inverted Hero’s Journey: Act III

Posted on July 16, 2019 by Alex R. Howe

Act II Generally, in the traditional hero’s journey, The Ultimate Boon (or its equivalent), will be the climax of the story. What’s left is simply the denouement, and it will be covered very quickly if it is written out at … Continue reading →

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Dystopia as an Inverted Hero’s Journey: Act II

Posted on July 13, 2019 by Alex R. Howe

Act I — Act III The second act of the traditional hero’s journey is usually (though not always) the adventure proper, from the time the hero leaves the ordinary world to go on his quest, to his victory over the … Continue reading →

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Dystopia as an Inverted Hero’s Journey: Act I

Posted on July 9, 2019 by Alex R. Howe

Introduction — Act II This is the second post in my series analyzing dystopian literature as an inversion of the famous hero’s journey. If you want to know more about what I’m talking about, look at the previous post, but … Continue reading →

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Dystopia as an Inverted Hero’s Journey: Introduction

Posted on July 6, 2019 by Alex R. Howe

Act I I’m starting a short series of posts where I analyze dystopian literature in a way that I haven’t seen anywhere else before. Dystopia is a catch-all category for fiction featuring tyrannical governments, post-apocalyptic worlds, or the general break-down … Continue reading →

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