Christian Kriticos

The Guardian • 22nd May 2023

Dante Ross: "the Forrest Gump of hip-hop"

“The Forrest Gump of hip-hop” sounds like an incongruous nickname. But Ross is thrilled with the title. “Gump is the connector,” he explains. “He’s connected to all these things. But you don’t really know who he is.”

Winter is Coming • 6th April 2023

Tolkien translation unearthed in new book

The Battle of Maldon may not have had a great influence on The Lord of the Rings, but it did inspire J.R.R. Tolkien to create one of his best works outside the Middle-earth legendarium.

Paste Magazine • 3rd March 2023

A Guide to the Music of De La Soul

Having spent decades in legal purgatory, De La Soul's music is finally coming to streaming services. But where is the best place to start with the hip-hop trio's diverse catalogue?

Quillette • 28th February 2023

Words Are the Only Victors

The appearance of Victory City in the aftermath of the attack on Salman Rushdie is a powerful celebration of his literary voice, as well as his fearless advocacy for free speech.

StarTrek.com • 22nd December 2022

A Q Carol: Star Trek's Christmas episode

With its humanist outlook, Star Trek has never produced a traditional Christmas episode. But one of its most popular instalments is based on Charles Dickens' classic tale A Christmas Carol.

Winter is Coming • 11th November 2022

The Fall of Númenor: a redundant but beautiful addition to Tolkien's canon

The reordering of previously published text fragments is now the driving creative act behind the Tolkien industry - as if moving the puzzle pieces of these unfinished writings will somehow reveal new insights.

The Guardian • 21st October 2022

Alis Lesley: the ‘female Elvis’ on Bob Dylan’s new book cover

Positioned between Little Richard and Eddie Cochran is a rock ’n’ roll star who had a short-lived music career. So why has Bob Dylan chosen this relative unknown to front his essay collection?

Winter is Coming • 1st September 2022

The Complete Guide to Middle-earth shows the scale of Tolkien's achievement

Foster describes his book as the culmination of “ten years of intermittent labour.” Whether fans have a previous edition or are coming to it for the first time with this reissue, they will agree that it was labour well spent.

Winter is Coming • 25th June 2022

Christopher Tolkien's legacy shines in The Great Tales Never End

Christopher’s approach always gave the sense of someone working faithfully in the background, out of the limelight. This new essay collection shines a light on his powerful impact on Middle-earth.

StarTrek.com • 29th April 2022

Captain Kirk's Favourite Poem

Kirk’s poetic reference highlights the tension that often comes with scientific progress – whether we belong to the age of seafarers or the age of starfarers.

Winter is Coming • 7th March 2022

Remembering Priscilla Tolkien

Priscilla Tolkien always spoke of her father’s work with pleasure and pride. Fans can honour her memory by continuing to preserve the fellowship they share in their passion for J.R.R. Tolkien’s works.

Winter is Coming • 3rd September 2021

The Nature of Middle-earth enhances Tolkien’s world

Even as The Nature of Middle-earth expands our knowledge of Tolkien’s world, it also shows us how unfinished it is. We can never fully catch up with the imaginings of a man who every day falls further into the past.

StarTrek.com • 23rd April 2021

Star Trek at the Oscars

Few franchises can rival the enduring success of Star Trek. With 13 films across some 40 years, it is no surprise that it has also been a consistent presence at the biggest event in filmmaking – the Oscars.

StarTrek.com • 25th February 2021

A Closer Look at Benny Russell's Library

In 1998, one episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine broke the mould in a radical way, shining a light on the great works of African American literature.

StarTrek.com • 23rd October 2020

How the United Nations Helped Shape the Federation

For 75 years, the UN has promoted peace, security, and human rights on Earth. But it has also had an intergalactic influence, inspiring the United Federation of Planets in the Star Trek universe.

The American Writers Museum • 20th September 2020

Another Side of George R.R. Martin

George R. R. Martin's earlier work seems to have been forgotten, or at least overshadowed by, his colossal success with A Song of Ice and Fire and its TV adaptation, Game of Thrones.

StarTrek.com • 30th April 2019

How W.B Yeats Captured the Essence of Star Trek a Century Before its Time

The final lines of Yeats' poem could describe the spirit of any starship captain, with their insatiable desire to find "The silver apples of the moon, / The golden apples of the sun."

The American Writers Museum • 19th October 2017

Stories Behind Classic Book Covers: The Great Gatsby

Francis Cugat’s painting is perhaps the most famous book cover in American literature. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s editor understood its significance immediately, declaring it “a masterpiece for this book”.

The Rumpus • 16th March 2017

J. M. Coetzee’s “Bread and Beans” Writing

Man shall not live by bread alone. But add some unsalted bean paste and you have all the nutrients needed for healthy, hard-working life. At least, that is, according to J. M. Coetzee's latest novel, The Schooldays of Jesus.

The Millions • 6th January 2017

James Joyce and the Yuletide Epiphany

For James Joyce, true epiphanies do not come during Christmas, amidst wine and tinsel, but after the celebrations have died down, when we find ourselves alone.