The Seaboard Review of Books: June 2, 2025
Volume 2, Issue 22
Hello and Happy June! This week’s issue has a little of the new and a little of the “old”. A couple of new releases, a look back at the early poems of A.F. Moritz, novels by Hilary Mantel and Josephine Tey, an interview with Emma Donoghue, a critical look at the dangerous and exploitative world of U.S. College football, and our popular “Hot Takes” round out this early June edition of The Seaboard Review of Books.
Review of the Week
The Beltane Massacre by Ray Critch
The Beltane Massacre, a first novel by Ray Critch, is a fast, pleasurable read that has the smooth style of an experienced writer. The massacre of the title is a terrorist attack on an Edinburgh-based pagan celebration by a rabid Christian, which kills or injures over a hundred people. The central character, Rowan McRae, is a Canadian doctoral student…
Other Reviews
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Under Italian Skies by Bill Massey
I haven’t forgotten that hallowed spot Where one of our comrades lies, While a mother weeps for the one who sleeps Under Italian skies. (M. Massey)
The End of College Football & Author Interview
The 2025 College Football Season is set to begin August 23rd. I won’t be watching. I didn’t watch the 2024 season either. Nor the NFL or the CFL (despite the success of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Toronto Argonauts). The primary reason I stopped watching professional football can be traced back to a book entitled
Poetry
A. F. Moritz's Early Poems
A. F. Moritz recently won the Al and Eurithe Purdy Poetry Prize for his 2024 release Great Silent Ballad, but I don’t have that book, so I’m going to look at his Early Poems. My copy is a Whitehorse Public Library discard, which—I mean, come on, Whitehorse Public Library, I love you, but you barely have any poetry as it is—what were you thinking?
Michael Greenstein Reviews:
Interview
The Emma Donoghue Interview
Editor’s note: this interview by Ronan O’Driscoll originally appeared on his “Nova Sociable” Substack, and is reproduced here by his kind permission.
Hot Takes: Brief Notes on Books Present & Past
(Note: clicking on the underlined link takes you to the book’s publisher page or Amazon.ca for more information or for purchasing purposes)
Shapers of Worlds (Volume 5) is a comprehensive collection covering various themes in science fiction and fantasy. Edited by Edward Willett and illustrated by Wendi Nordell, it presents a marvellous cross-section of the genre, exploring many worlds—magical realms, civilizations on other planets, our world past, our world future, mythological worlds, worlds of fantastic creatures, and worlds that could be anywhere, anytime. The key factor is that each setting is well-drawn and follows the rules implicit in its existence.
It is an effective book lover’s guide, a sampling of various sub-genres and writing styles of different authors. To review each would take many pages and would also perhaps dilute the experience for the reader. It is a collection to be savoured, perhaps choosing a title that appeals, then selecting another. . . It is also a set that encourages the reader to sit down and read from cover to cover, finding links in the organization while wandering new worlds, never bored. We move from The Grove (with its Stephen King’s The Raft mood) to the sinister presence in Forest Dark, to a virtual marriage-counsellor stripper app in Pole Dancer. Each story, in some way, draws us to reflect on the reality of the human condition, its purpose and its destiny, while providing diverse settings and plots to entertain and feed the imagination. (contributed by Anne Smith-Nochasek)
The Queen of the South, by Arturo Pérez Reverte
This is a cracking good story, both of the trade in illegal drugs in Mexico and across the Mediterranean, and of a resilient woman who builds her own empire within that trade. Pérez-Reverte writes highly literate, suspenseful stories, and I recommend any of his books, the historical Captain Alatriste series or the contemporary dramas. The Queen of the South (made into a TV series, but not quite as good as the novel) tells the story of Teresa, a once-naive girl from Sinaloa, whose first boyfriend flies small planes for the cartel. When is executed for double-dealing, her own life is threatened. She flees to Spain, and there becomes involved with a Gallican who runs speed boats from Morocco to Spain. I won't give away more of the plot, but this is great summer reading, with great twists and turns and a strong female protagonist. (Contributed by John Oughton)
Book News
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Lori Green: “Breathe, My Darling” by Lori Green — The March 2025 Silver Medal Winner, Blank Spaces Magazine! Read more here. Congratulations, Lori!
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Thanks for reading this issue of The Seaboard Review of Books!
James M. Fisher, editor-in-chief
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