My Books
Nonfiction
Rooted in the Soil, Looking to the Stars: Essays on Culture
The essays in this collection cover a wide range of topics--education, culture, family, art, economics, homesteading, philosophy--but the topics are connected by recurring themes, such as the importance of wonder, the value of permanence and rootedness, the wisdom to be found in tradition, and the beauty of the ordinary and the everyday.
Many of the essays coalesce around the idea that cultural restoration begins with what we tend to call “ordinary” things: a well-ordered household, a great book read slowly, a piece of music that cuts to the core, a small herd of cattle lowing the field.
Included in this volume are essays on:
Why wonder forms the bedrock of philosophy and culture
What it’s like performing Shakespeare in a barn
The crisis of boys’ education and what to do about it
Whether or not artificial intelligence can really create art
Why we should think of home as a foreign land
The primordial power of a wood stove
How homesteading frustrations challenge and refine one’s worldview
The key ingredient our culture is missing
And many other sundry topics
“Rooted in the soil, looking to the stars” was one of the catchphrases for the Pearson Integrated Humanities Program at Kansas University, headed by Dennis Quinn, John Senior, and Franklyn Nelick. These words, “rooted in the soil, looking to the stars,” capture something crucial about the human condition that the essays in this collection seek to explore—our bodilyness, and the importance of remaining in touch with basic realities like dirt, trees, animals, crops, all the everyday and “mundane” things—alongside our spiritual nature that thirsts for the transcendent. In some mysterious way, these two sides of human nature go hand in hand.
A thought-provoking and entertaining volume for readers who still believe that beauty, truth, and goodness are worth defending and who want to think carefully about how to live well in a noisy age.
A Mirror Clear: Essays on Literature
The literary criticism of recent years has moved in an increasingly political direction, losing touch, as a result, with the fundamentals of why real people read books. People read primarily for delight and instruction, not so much for the sake of obstruse academic formulations, far less for the sake of political revolutions.
Here is a volume of literary essays that sets aside ideology and instead focuses on what matters to real readers, connecting classic literature to real life and the mystery of the human condition--not to political agendas or the prevailing academic theories of our day.
Here is a collection that approaches texts not with suspicion, but with celebration; not with attacks, but with admiration.
Most of the essays are written for the general reader who wants to better understand and more fully appreciate the treasures of Western literature—though they will offer some fresh avenues of thought for the scholar as well. This collection is well-suited to students from high school onward as well as adult readers who simply seek perspective and context related to works of literature or homeschoolers or teachers looking for supplemental course material or inspiration for lecture notes.
Included in this volume:
An overview of the history of literary theory and criticism
Defenses of both traditional methods of interpretation and the emerging movement of “postcritique”
Explorations of the nature of art as insight into reality
Topical essays on great writers and specific classic works of literature, including the epics of Homer and Virgil, the anonymous poems of Old and Middle English, the masterpieces of Dante, the lyrics and odes of the Romantic poets, the poems and plays of Shakespeare, and the novels of Austen, Dickens, Dostoevsky, Twain, Waugh, and many more authors.
This essay anthology will serve as a friendly and knowledgeable companion for those looking to dive more deeply into classic literature.
Reading Journal
Finally, a thoughtful reading journal for those who wish to deepen their reading experience, especially those seeking to enhance their appreciation of the classics or “Great Books.” Created by a professional writer and former literature teacher, this journal helps guide users toward a fruitful and rewarding reading process through several comprehensive tools. Features include:
50 book review pages that include rating system, a dozen thought-provoking reading questions, and space for key quotations and reflections.
A reading list that doubles as a wish list and allows you to keep track of when you finish each book.
A detailed reading log for tracking reading progress week by week.
A list of 100 great books to read before you die.
Quotations on literature from great authors, thinkers, and critics.
An essay on the value of great literature.
Perfect for students, teachers, homeschoolers, bookworms, and scholars. Grab your copy today to organize and enhance your reading experience!
Reprints
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
"The course of true love never did run smooth..."
One of Shakespeare's most well-loved and widely performed plays, A Midsummer Night's Dream tells the wondrous tale of lovers lost in the wood, a feud amongst the fairies, working men beguiled by magical beings, and the wedding of Duke Theseus and Hippolyta of the Amazons.
The trouble begins when old Egeus commands his daughter to marry Demetrius, a man she doesn't love. Instead of bend to his wishes, she runs away to the magic forest with her beloved, Lysander. She's pursued by Demetrius and their friend Helena, who's in love with Demetrius despite his rejection of her. When the fairies who haunt the wood decide to interfere in the lovers quarrel and the Queen of the fairies falls in love with donkey-headed working man from Athens, chaos ensues.
Weaving together several absorbing plot-lines and combining humor and romance with rich characterizations and profound observations about human nature, Shakespeare presents us with a work that is sheer magic--a profound delight to read.
This unabridged edition includes beautiful illustrations drawn from classic paintings and photographs, an introduction outlining key themes, a brief biography of Shakespeare, and a bibliography with further resources.
The Death of Ivan Ilyich
An intense, compressed vision of a life, viewed from the perspective of death.
A mysterious illness threatens to take Ivan Ilyich's comfortable life from him. Facing down his death, Ilyich must reckon with what he made--or failed to make--of his life.
In this classic novella, the Russian literary titan Leo Tolstoy set for himself a fascinating question: What happens to a man who has lived a life guided entirely by the precepts of high society, done everything quite correctly—by the book—achieved every worldly success and comfort, only to discover that he’s dying and that his life has been meaningless?
Tolstoy’s novella is an intense, compressed vision of a life, viewed from the perspective of death. Through lucid prose, concentrated emotion, and the brevity of the work, Tolstoy uncompromisingly forces readers’ attentions on the ultimate realities of life and death, of what it means to live well and to die well—the exact questions that Ilyich has ignored all his life, to his own great loss.
In The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Tolstoy reminds us that the greatest dramas of life do not center around achieving fame or wealth, around pleasures and public opinions, but instead play out in a man or woman’s soul.
This new edition includes a critical introduction by Walker Larson, featuring a biographical sketch of Tolstoy and an analysis of the text’s major themes.
Fiction
Song of Spheres
Sometimes the world isn't ready for the truth...
After a mysterious summons, ex-Air Force pilot Will Leonhardt travels to an obscure observatory in Hawaii. A shadowy group of rogue scientists have chosen him to pilot a flight more dangerous than any he’s flown before. And this one has the potential to change humanity’s understanding of itself and the planet forever.
Is the Terra Program, as it’s called, onto a secret of cosmic significance? Or are they merely deluded?
Will’s a skeptic. He accepts the mission to pilot a craft to the moon just so he can escape his own past and future. Yet during the months of intense training, he gets to know the program’s personnel. The old chess-playing astrophysicist, Dr. Whitfield. The erratic billionaire, Anthony Forrest. The beautiful young botanist, Sage Galloway.
And he experiences what he’s never known before: friendship…and even love.
But something’s rotten at the core of the program. A hidden enemy lurks, threatening the mission and the lives of everyone involved. The rocket launches—just a few miles up, everything goes wrong.
Can Will utilize all his training and stoic courage to save the lives of the people he has come to care for and uncover the secret at the heart of the Terra Program...and at the heart of the universe itself?
Grab your copy of this literary thriller to find out!
"Blending lyrical prose with thrilling adventure, Larson offers a unique tale of. . .grit and hope. He takes a historical experiment, adds a colorful cast of characters, and invites readers to explore whether humanity truly knows its place in the universe. Settle in for a read that is as contemplative as it is daring!"
–Cadence McManimon, author of Name Unspoken andcontributor at Intellectual Takeout
Hologram
"Hologram will keep you at the edge of your seat from start to finish. . ."
-Midwest Book Review
Knowing what’s real is a matter of life and death.
No one can see through the holograms used by militaries and governments for deception, destruction, and control. No one, that is, except 18-year-old Aaron.
With only this unique gift of sight and a dogged determination to rescue his family, Aaron is adrift in a barren world after the Voturan Vanguards obliterate his village in fire and smoke and take his loved ones captive.
But Aaron’s ability makes him valuable to the Voturans, especially the ambitious General Druxa. Druxa hunts Aaron down and enlists him as an officer in his army, submerging him in the luxurious world of the Voturan upper classes and demanding that he help Druxa see through the holographic deceptions of Votura’s enemies.
Amidst the glittering illusions that fill the capital, Aaron lives a double life, consoled only by his growing friendship with Druxa’s daughter, Antonia, and the slaves assigned to him. To stay alive, he conceals his anger and desire for vengeance, feigning loyalty to Votura and aiding them in their endless wars—even against his own nation.
His success brings him ever greater power and influence among the Voturans, while in secret he searches for his lost family so he can rescue them from a fate worse than death. But power corrupts, and if Aaron can’t control his flaming anger and burning desire for revenge, the people he loves most will pay the price…
Beautiful and deadly illusions flicker through the skies, insurgents plot under a fiery moon, and the drums of the Temple are beating for the Offering. Will Aaron save his loved ones and himself…and will it cost him his humanity? Get your copy of this dystopian young adult adventure today to find out.
“A triumph of dystopian fiction, blending thrilling action, nuanced characterization, and thought-provoking themes. . .Walker Larson has announced himself as a formidable new voice in the genre.” --A Look Inside
“A beautiful and captivating read. . . A tale that slowly and expertly builds up to a fantastic and satisfying end, Hologram by Walker Larson is a welcome treat for science fiction and fantasy enthusiasts.” –The Feathered Quill
"Larson blends a detailed dystopian world with a classic rags-to-riches hero, liberally sprinkles in action scenes, and offers an exciting story built on a modern ethical challenge. . .This book was practically written for fans of Brown's Red Rising and Scott Card's Ender's Game!"
-Cadence McManimon, author of Name Unspoken and contributor at Intellectual Takeout
“Masterfully written with engaging and relatable characters, thrilling plotline, and suspense with each page. I highly recommend this book both to young adults and adults alike.”
-Amazon Reviewer
The Underlings: A Hologram Short Story
Can a leap in the dark save him?
Deep under the city of Chrysoberyl lies a mine.
Sealed off. Run by slaves. Ruled by warring gangs. A dark, chaotic realm, where "accidents" are frequent.
But one miner hasn't given up hope of seeing the sun again.
And when a mysterious woman appears, claiming to have a rare knowledge of the tunnels, his chance has come--if he'll take a leap in the dark...
Grab your copy of this dystopian sci-fi short story with action and intrigue, a prequel to the Hologram trilogy. A 10,000 word story.