Book Review: Nick Carter Volume 1

Book Review: Nick Carter Volume 1 Nick Carter, master detective, is a character with a long history, in three distinct phases.  He started in 1886 in stories most associated with the dime novels, was reinvented in 1933 for the pulps, and then again in 1964 as “Nick Carter Killmaster” for a long running series of… Continue reading Book Review: Nick Carter Volume 1

Open Thread: Site Stats

I now have the Jetpack enabled so I can see my site stats.  Yesterday was the biggest visiting day ever, with quadruple the number of hits of the next highest day.  About three-quarters were my “Ghosts in the Yew” review, apparently because someone posted the link on their Facebook.  Thanks!  The next highest number was… Continue reading Open Thread: Site Stats

Movie Review: Hissatsu (Sure Death)

Movie Review: Hissatsu (Sure Death) A group of seemingly ordinary Edo citizens, mostly of the merchant class, are in fact a loose team of assassins.  But fear not, they’re good guy assassins who only take money to kill people who really deserve it.  Problem!  There’s a new assassin in town, who’s exclusively targeting the local… Continue reading Movie Review: Hissatsu (Sure Death)

Book Review: Some Kind of Peace

Book Review: Some Kind of Peace by Camilla Grebe & Asa Traff Disclosure:  I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it.   Siri Bergman is a Stockholm psychologist who is suffering from the loss of her husband, their unborn child and a crippling fear of darkness.  So… Continue reading Book Review: Some Kind of Peace

Book Review: Every Hill and Mountain

Book Review: Every Hill and Mountain by Deborah Heal Disclaimer:  I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway in the expectation that I would review it.  This review will contain heavy spoilers. This is the third in a trilogy about Abby Thomas, a denominational college student on a summer service project to be a tutor to… Continue reading Book Review: Every Hill and Mountain

Anime Review: Magi – Labyrinth of Magic

Anime Review: Magi – Labyrinth of Magic Based on the manga by Shinobu Ohtaka, Magi is a 24-episode anime series currently streaming subtitled on the Crunchyroll website.  It’s set in an Arabian Nights-influenced world with djinn and other trappings of the genre.  Young Aladdin was raised in an isolated temple with no human contact for… Continue reading Anime Review: Magi – Labyrinth of Magic

Book Review: There Are Doors

Book Review: There Are Doors by Gene Wolfe Mr. Green has hooked up with Lara, a woman he knows almost nothing about.  After a week, she disappears, leaving only a note explaining that “there are doors” and that he must not go through them.  Mr. Green promptly manages to stumble through such a door and… Continue reading Book Review: There Are Doors

Movie Review: Santa Fe Trail

Movie Review: Santa Fe Trail This 1940 production stars Errol Flynn as J.E.B. Stuart, Ronald Reagan as George Armstrong Custer, Raymond Massey as John Brown and Olivia de Havilland as Kit Carson Holliday. Stuart and Custer, newly graduated from West Point, are assigned to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.  There they battle the rogue abolitionists under… Continue reading Movie Review: Santa Fe Trail

Book Review: Zorro

Book Review: Zorro by Isabel Allende Johnston McCulley wrote the first Zorro story, “The Curse of Capistrano” way back in 1919.  Set in Spanish California, it told the tale of Don Diego (de la) Vega, a foppish young nobleman who in secret was Zorro, the fox, masked protector of justice.  It was a modest success,… Continue reading Book Review: Zorro