Hillary Jordan

Red for Murder

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

July 24, 2026 by G.D. Giant Leave a Comment

When She Woke, by Hillary Jordan, is a work of speculative fiction, that I imagine feels far less speculative today than when it was published in 2011. The author doesn’t specify the year of our Lord in which this novel takes place, but it’s definitely in the future. Los Angeles has been nuked to filth. There are water wars in Northern Africa. There are “National Identity Cards” which allow the government to monitor and track citizenry. And there was a “superclap” pandemic which did nothing […]

Dystopia Now

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

April 7, 2019 by Jake 1 Comment

This is the ultimate 3 vs. 4 star test for me. In a rare instance of compromise, I decided to sleep on the review, rather than post right away as is my habit. I finished it late last night and didn’t want to stare at the computer before bed. When I went to bed, it was a 4. I woke up (heh), thinking it was a 3. And now, as I sit down, nearly 24 hours after finishing it…I’m giving it a 4. With major […]

The Book Was Better (but the film was still excellent)

November 27, 2018 by ElCicco Leave a Comment

cbr10bingo The Book Was Better The novel Mudbound was a Pen America Literary Award winner and was turned into an award winning film starring Mary J. Blige. It’s a powerful and tragic story about land, love, friendship and racism in post-WWII Mississippi, told from multiple points of view. Both the novel and the film are excellent, but I must give the nod to the original novel as being better. The novel (and film) open with brothers Henry and Jamie McAllen burying their Pap while Henry’s […]

Compelling Story – Now I Need to See the Film

February 2, 2018 by ASKReviews Leave a Comment

Best for: Those interested in fiction told from multiple viewpoints. In a nutshell: Post-WWII Mississippi. A white family takes over a farm that includes Black tenant farmers. Worth quoting: “I simply got up and went on. I bathed my sour body, combed my hair, put on a clean dress and took up my roles of wife and mother again, though without really inhabiting them. After a time I realized that inhabiting them wasn’t required. As long as I did what was expected of me — […]

Help Our Mission