Book Review: Respectable Horror by K.A. Laity Horror is a wide-ranging genre, which can be tailored to a variety of tastes. Some folks prefer their scary fiction with a maximum of gushing blood and sharp objects being plunged into soft flesh; others like a more genteel approach that emphasizes the subtle wrongnesses and growing atmospheric… Continue reading Book Review: Respectable Horror
Month: October 2017
Magazine Review: Fantastic Universe October 1955
Magazine Review: Fantastic Universe October 1955 edited by Leo Margulies Fantastic Universe was a digest-sized science fiction and fantasy magazine that ran from 1953 to 1960, originally coming out from King-Size Publications. Its quality is considered to have fallen off after 1956, with lesser stories and more emphasis on pseudo-science articles, but this particular issue… Continue reading Magazine Review: Fantastic Universe October 1955
Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Blackhawk Volume 1
Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Blackhawk Volume 1 art by Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidero In September 1939, Poland was invaded by Germany and the Soviet Union. The valiant Polish people battled bravely against the two-pronged attack, but it was to no avail. One aviator was shot down, as it happens, near his family’s farm,… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Blackhawk Volume 1
Book Review: All Quiet on the Western Front
Book Review: All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque We open on a good day for Paul Bäumer and the men of the Second Company. The sun is shining, there’s a light breeze to cool them, and they’re getting double rations. The reason the men are getting double rations is that half… Continue reading Book Review: All Quiet on the Western Front
Manga Review: Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 10
Manga Review: Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 10 by Hiromu Arakawa. In the country of Amestris, the highest form of science known is alchemy, the ability to transmute substances into another form. It seems limited only by the Law of Equivalent Exchange “to obtain an object, something of equal value must be lost.” Transmutation of humans is… Continue reading Manga Review: Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 10
Book Review: Taran Wanderer
Book Review: Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander With the Black Cauldron destroyed, Death-Lord Arawn has retreated to his own lands for the time being, and no other major threats beset the realm of Prydain. Long peaceful days at Caer Dallben have given Taran Assistant Pig-Keeper time to think. Taran has realized a number of things,… Continue reading Book Review: Taran Wanderer
Magazine Review: Detective Fiction Weekly April 8 1939
Magazine Review: Detective Fiction Weekly April 8 1939 (Formerly Flynn’s) by various Detective Fiction Weekly started publication in 1924 as “Flynn’s”, after its first editor, William J. Flynn, who had previously been director of the Bureau of Investigation before it became the FBI. It ran regularly under various titles until 1942, when it became a… Continue reading Magazine Review: Detective Fiction Weekly April 8 1939
Comic Book Review: Judge Anderson: Anderson, Psi-Division
Comic Book Review: Judge Anderson: Anderson, Psi-Division written by Alan Grant and John Wagner, art by various. The Judge Dredd series in 2000 AD has spawned quite a few interesting supporting characters in forty-plus years, several of whom have gone on to their own solo adventures. One of the most popular has been Judge Anderson. Full… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Judge Anderson: Anderson, Psi-Division
Magazine Review: Thrilling Mystery March 1936
Magazine Review: Thrilling Mystery March 1936 by various Thrilling Mystery was a pulp horror magazine created by Thrilling Publications; I’ve been unable to find publication history details in a quick search. It specialized in “weird menace” tales, which had supernatural trappings but were ultimately revealed as having non-supernatural (but not necessarily plausible) explanations. It did… Continue reading Magazine Review: Thrilling Mystery March 1936
Book Review: Tiger by the Tail
Book Review: Tiger by the Tail by Alan E. Nourse Alan E. Nourse (1928-1992) was a medical doctor and science fiction/fact author. His professional training often showed in his stories, perhaps best exemplified by the novel Star Surgeon. He also wrote The Bladerunner, about a dystopian future where medical care is rationed. Hollywood optioned the title and… Continue reading Book Review: Tiger by the Tail