ORB April 2026
As the April showers fall abundantly, our core reviewers offer their insights into four recent books by Canadian authors, one of whom is now our prime minister. It's difficult to be more on the record than by writing a 464-page book on values, economics, and politics. This book is definitely a fact-checker for Canadian voters. We have also reviewed works by Brendan Kelly (sports history), Douglas Smith (fantasy) and JoAnn McCaig (general fiction). We hope you enjoy the issue!
Value(s): Building a Better World for All by Mark Carney
Reviewed by Ian Thomas Shaw Mark Carney has arrived in elected politics with remarkable speed, but not from obscurity. For decades, he has moved in the highest circles of power in Canada and internationally, serving as a senior federal official, Governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, and a prominent voice in global financial forums, where he helped shape markets, regulation and international economic strategy. While he was well known to political and corporat
Habs Nation by Brendan Kelly
Reviewed by Timothy Niedermann The subtitle to Habs Nation reads: “A People’s History of the Montreal Canadiens.” But while the book is indeed a history of sorts, it would be more accurate to describe it as a meditation on the relationship between the team (colloquially known in French as “ les Habitants ”, or simply “the Habs”) and the people of Quebec, particularly francophones. Author Brendan Kelly starts by describing the heyday of the Habs, the years roughly from 1950 t
Beneficiary, by JoAnn McCaig
Reviewed by Ann Cavlovic In one of his short stories, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote: "Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them..." This quote is often coupled, somewhat inaccurately, with Ernest Hemingway’s retort: “Yes, they have more money.” JoAnn McCaig’s novel Beneficiary introduces us to Seren, a daughter from a rich family. As an adolescent, Seren rebels against her privileged upbri
Borderlanz: Tales from the Edges by Douglas Smith
Reviewed by Robert Runté A four-time winner of the Aurora Award (for Canadian speculative fiction and fantasy) and shortlisted for the Sunburst Award (a more literary, juried Canadian Speculative Fiction Award), Douglas Smith is one of Canada’s most successful speculative fiction writers. I favourably reviewed his Dream Rider Saga in previous issues of ORB, and his stories have been widely reprinted, including internationally in dozens of other languages. Smith has literally
ORB's March 2026 Issue
Welcome to our end-of-winter issue. In it, our core reviewers explore romance, early feminism, racism and an intriguing memoir by one of Canada’s most prolific SF&F, crime, and historical writers. Once again, something for everyone to enjoy as the crocuses push through the melting snow.
Big of You by Elise Levine
Reviewed by Timothy Niedermann Elise Levine is an award-winning writer with two novels, a pair of novellas, and two previous short-story collections under her belt. Big of You is her third. The stories in this volume are quite diverse. A woman remembers a long-ago summer trip to Europe with a friend with whom she has lost contact. A trio of women—old friends—share a vacation in the US Southwest where they hike into a small box canyon to see ancient petroglyphs. A teacher lam
A Guy Just Passing Through by Matthew Hughes
Reviewed by Robert Runté As a critic, I’m often interested in the lives of writers. Understanding how writers' backgrounds shaped their worldview and inspired their characters can deepen one’s enjoyment of their work. Matthew Hughes is a prolific Canadian SF&F, crime, and historical author whose work I greatly enjoy. I was therefore inordinately happy when he made his personal memoir, A Guy Just Passing Through , available to the public. Much of the book focuses on his early
Eyes Have Seen by Fred Anderson
Reviewed by Timothy Niedermann The great strength of this memoir by Fred Anderson is that it shows the humanity behind the struggles he has experienced, both as a black person in the American Deep South and as an illegal immigrant in Montreal. Anderson was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in 1947 and grew up in conditions that are barely imaginable to most Canadians today: abusive segregation, pervasive racial injustice, an ever-present fear of violence, even death, at the h
Finding Flora by Elinor Florence
Reviewed by Wendy Hawkin Destined to become a Canadian literary classic, Finding Flora chronicles the bittersweet journey of twenty-four-year-old, red-haired, Scottish immigrant, Flora Craigie. Readers can’t help but root for this young, feisty hero whose first act of rebellion is to leap into the darkness from a moving train to escape her new, sick, predatory husband. Hoodwinked by Hector Mackle, an unscrupulous land agent with the CPR, Flora marries in Scotland, only to di
