Reviews

On the surface, Locke writer-director Stephen Knight has given us a minimalist movie about a man, his car, and his mobile device. For 85 minutes we watch a man who pours concrete for a living, driving alone in his car and talking on the phone. On a deeper level, however, this is a movie about something subtle and important: The role of honor.

Do you enjoy learning from The Fountainhead? Now you can glean even more. In The Tao of Roark, Peter Saint-Andre explores key personal growth themes from Ayn Rand’s novel — themes immediately relevant to living the good life — with unusual insight and wisdom. This book honors, above all, the sacred fire of individuality. There's just one catch: The book uses unusual means to achieve its unusual effects.

We’ve long known the rock band Rush was influenced by Ayn Rand’s writings, including her sci-fi novelette Anthem. Now lyricist Neil Peart and co-author Kevin J. Anderson have written their own sci-fi/fantasy novel, itself inspired by a new Rush album. But how do the book — and the associated album — stand up to the legacy of Rush’s classic work?

Charlotte Bronte meets Ayn Rand in this 19th Century novel about a minister’s daughter who finds her independence and an industrialist who transforms from a despot to an enlightened capitalist. The author has an exciting way of presenting ideas, and her take on the Industrial Revolution is quite different from Dickens and other writers of the era. Is this a novel Ayn Rand fans could love?

Historical novels remain one of the few genres that capture the world-altering nature of big events, as well as the heroes (and villains) behind them. Set in the same time period as “War and Peace,” Jeffrey Perren’s new “Cossacks in Paris” is starkly different from Tolstoy’s classic, in characters and plot. So how does it measure up, by Randian standards?

With the release of “Man of Steel,” the Superman franchise has been given new life. For generations, he has been one of America’s most iconic heroes. But should he be? How does he stack up, as a role model and embodiment of what we should admire most?

Each year for the past decade, Open Court Publishing Company has released a new book in its “Ideas Explained” series. This year they are offering a volume on Ayn Rand, to sit right beside Sartre, Heidegger, and Rawls. Does the book do justice to its subject? Let’s take a closer look.

Today we’re bombarded with movies depicting comic book heroes and CGI action heroes. How often do we find a movie with a hero so authentic and believable that his character becomes an object of contemplation for its own sake? Ayn Rand thought this was the primary purpose of portraying moral ideals in fiction. And it’s just what we find in Rob Roy.

Robert Bidinotto's new novel has been accumulating rave reviews at Amazon.com. Does it live up to expectations for discerning enthusiasts of Ayn Rand's novels, as well? Fortunately, it does.

The short stories of O. Henry continue to entertain and delight readers. Of course, he was the master of the twist or surprise ending. But there's much more to O. Henry, which is why his work endures, almost a century and a half after his birth.