Greece has always been regarded as the birthplace of western civilization and a Mediterranean paradise. In The Iliad and The Odyssey Homer uses the magical epithet rosy-fingered dawn to describe the sunrise over a land of myth, fascination, and mystery. But when preconceptions and illusions are swept aside, what is Greece really like?John Walters has lived in Greece for over fifteen years. He has hitchhiked over many of its roads; traveled by camper; journeyed by plane, boat, bus, ...

From the author's introduction:Picture a book as a gateway to a new land and a book review as a tantalizing glimpse of it, a brief travel memoir of someone who has been there and come back. A large part of what makes life so thrilling is our appreciation of the interpretations of experiences that we find in books. So sit back in your favorite chair or couch or lie down on your bed or chaise lounge and dive in. Allow these reviews to assist you in your own literary explorations by g...

Escaping a death sentence on a starship, three refugees come across a stone city that has been mysteriously abandoned. With a torrential rainstorm fast approaching, they become aware of a horrific menace lurking in tunnels beneath the city streets.

From the author's introduction:Preparing the second volume of Reviews and Reflections on Books, Literature, and Writing has caused me to think about the role not only of reading books but also of writing book reviews in my life. To write about the thoughts and impressions brought about by a book is as valid as writing about a physical journey that I take to another location. The author of the book serves as my traveling companion.Because of the inevitably profound effect th...

In a world whose inhabitants routinely visit famous historical events, two jaded road-weary tourists take a holiday in an isolated retrograde enclave where time travel is forbidden.

An elderly homeless man suddenly discovers that his debit card, which is usually almost empty, has been filled with thousands of dollars, and whenever he spends money, by the next morning it has somehow reappeared. He uses this inexplicable bounty to get off the streets, clean himself up, and attain a measure of personal security. The source of the magical largesse is something he never would have imagined.

Aliens finally arrive, landing at many locations, wandering about as if tourists, ignoring humans. In the aftermath of their departure cults spring up of devotees awaiting their return. Years later an apostate re-enters one such commune to which his wife has returned, to persuade her to come away with him again. What he encounters is a bizarre, deteriorating culture of unrequited longing.

Aliens attack Earth, or so world governments believe. In the aftermath of global warfare brought on by the crash of an alien spacecraft, Adriana wakes up in a hospital-like facility with no memory of who she is or how she got there. The administrator tells her she has family on the outside that she needs to find. When she leaves, she begins to hear whispers in her mind that draw her to a disparate group of strangers that she instinctively feels are her brothers and sisters. After discoveri...

In the aftermath of the official cancellation of Medicare, Social Security, and other government welfare programs, a destitute senior is relegated to an internment camp for old folks. There he discovers that all is not as it seems, and the recalcitrant elders have some tricks up their sleeves that they can use to deal with the pitiless system that has banished them from its midst.

While captive with his mother and sister and a trainload of other passengers traveling towards an ominous destination, a boy enters an interior fantasy that seems every bit as genuine as his present dire circumstances. Which is imagined and which is real? Can he help his family escape their fate by journeying with them into the alternate landscape of his dreams?

When a hitchhiker returning from an extended trip abroad in the early 1970s crosses the United States, he plunges into a dark, surrealistic, frightening landscape from which there seems to be no escape.After a worldwide plague has decimated their city, four children searching for sustenance enter a seemingly deserted mansion, only to find out that its owner, a madman seeking the alchemical secret to immortality, has modeled it after an elaborate ancient torture chamber.In t...

Hannah and a colleague from the Telepathic Guild have been investigating environmental issues in the Arctic. After the crash of their small plane in a remote wilderness area, they encounter a renegade who has forsaken human society and become telepathically linked to a savage wolf pack.