Author: despina durand

part-time goth, full-time critic

Yes, you have to use the same rules for everyone (Monsters vs Modernism)

Seriously, I'm both saddened and genuinely perturbed by people who feel capable and justified in casting out monsters, most especially Adam AKA Frankenstein's Creature. While the Creature's actions may be contemptible, his plea to be recognized as worthy of human compassion is so convincingly stated. We must register, here, the contradiction at the heart of … Continue reading Yes, you have to use the same rules for everyone (Monsters vs Modernism) →

No detours, a review of Cemetery Beach

Maybe Warren Ellis is in my head, or maybe what he and Jason Howard achieved with Cemetery Beach is just genius, wrapped in subtlety (a shocking claim, given the number of explosions it contains) wreathed and garlanded in weirdness. If you want to know what’s going on, if you need answers, if you enjoy carefully … Continue reading No detours, a review of Cemetery Beach →

Trials of Communication and Triumphs of Empathy, a review of Avi Silver’s Two Dark Moons

DISCLAIMER: I do have a personal connection with Avi Silver, the author of this work. We met in freshman year of college and roomed together the following year. It is up to the reader to decide if that kind of intimacy and co-habitation makes a critic more or less likely to extend unreasonable courtesy towards … Continue reading Trials of Communication and Triumphs of Empathy, a review of Avi Silver’s Two Dark Moons →