Book Review: The Jewels of Aptor by Samuel R. Delaney This is the first novel by Samuel R. Delaney, published in 1967. He was one of the first successful African-American science fiction authors, as well as one of the first openly gay SF writers, and certainly the most successful person so far to be both.… Continue reading Book Review: The Jewels of Aptor
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Book Review: Murder for Revenge
Book Review: Murder for Revenge edited by Otto Penzler This is another themed anthology, this time around the concept of revenge. That’s a pretty loose theme as these things go. It’s got a big-name author list going for it though. “Like a Bone in the Throat” by Lawrence Block starts the book off strong with… Continue reading Book Review: Murder for Revenge
Book Review: The Spider #7
Book Review: The Spider #7 by Grant Stockbridge When the Shadow kickstarted the pulp hero magazines in the 1930s, it was no surprise that a similar character, the Spider, was featured at a rival publishing house. Written under house name Grant Stockbridge (usually Norvell Page), the Spider was wealthy socialite and amateur criminologist Richard Wentworth.… Continue reading Book Review: The Spider #7
Book Review: Who Died in Here?
Book Review: Who Died in Here? edited by Pat Dennis Themed short story anthologies are a perennial favorite for genre fiction. “Best of” collections tend to feature heavy overlap with other best ofs, while single-author collections have to rely on the reader being willing to pick up a particular author’s work. Themes allow the authors to… Continue reading Book Review: Who Died in Here?
Book Review: The Guns of Navarone
Book Review: The Guns of Navarone by Alistair MacLean There are more than a thousand British soldiers trapped on a small island off the Turkish coast, and the Germans are sending a huge force to smash them. The British Navy wants to pull them off, but the only route that can be taken goes right… Continue reading Book Review: The Guns of Navarone
Book Review: Masters of the Lamp | A Harvest of Hoodwinks
Book Review: Masters of the Lamp | A Harvest of Hoodwinks by Robert Lory This is another Ace Double, two small books combined into one upside-down from each other so they make a fair-sized paperback. In this case, a short novel and several short stories by former ad executive Robert Lory. Masters of the Lamp… Continue reading Book Review: Masters of the Lamp | A Harvest of Hoodwinks
Book Review: The 47 Ronin
The 47 Ronin by A.B. Mitford This is an abridged and dolled-up reprint of A.B. Mitford’s Tales of Old Japan with lots of color illustrations. Tales was originally published in 1871, as Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford, a member of the British legation in Tokyo, witnessed the rapid modernization of Japan. He decided to set down some traditional stories… Continue reading Book Review: The 47 Ronin
Book Review: Deadly Defiance
Book Review: Deadly Defiance by William Manchee Disclosure: I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway on the premise that I would review it. This is the tenth volume in a series about Stan Turner, a Dallas based attorney for the firm of Turner and Waters. It’s 1995, and the law firm is going through… Continue reading Book Review: Deadly Defiance
Book Review: The Boy Knight
Book Review: The Boy Knight by G. A. Henty G.A. Henty (1852-1902) was a writer of children’s historical fiction, who began his career as an author after a friend heard him telling bedtime stories to his kids. Like many Victorian authors, he’s out of favor these days, but my parents found this book at an… Continue reading Book Review: The Boy Knight
Book Review: America In So Many Words
Book Review: America In So Many Words by Allen Metcalf & David K. Barnhart American English is its own animal, with a vocabulary that marks it out from British English. This volume traces American history through the words that have been important to or invented by Americans. It’s set in roughly chronological order, from “canoe”… Continue reading Book Review: America In So Many Words