Book Review: Blood Vengeance

Book Review: Blood Vengeance by Stuart Jason Today, we’re looking at another entry in the Seventies men’s adventure paperback series category, #13 (of 35) in “The Butcher” series. Bucher (who only has one name due to the orphanage administrator being drunk at the time) was a foundling who ran away from the orphanage, but was… Continue reading Book Review: Blood Vengeance

Book Review: Great Stories from the Saturday Evening Post

This cover is by Stevan Dohanos, who often did covers for the Post, and illustrates a conversation he had with a mailman. Note the two red stars on the sleeve for twenty years' service.

Book Review: Great Stories from the Saturday Evening Post edited by Ben Hibbs For many years, the Saturday Evening Post was one of America’s most popular magazines. Every week, it would show fascinating photographs, interesting non-fiction articles and a selection of short stories and serialized fiction. With more than 200 short stories being printed in… Continue reading Book Review: Great Stories from the Saturday Evening Post

Book Review: The Scarlet Pimpernel

Book Review: The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy It is the height of the Reign of Terror, after the fervor of the French Revolution turned from freedom to revenge. In an effort to unify the country both against outside enemies and counter-revolutionaries, the Committee of Public Safety holds trials of those suspected of acting… Continue reading Book Review: The Scarlet Pimpernel

Movie Review: The Last Tycoon (2012)

The student has become the master.

Movie Review: The Last Tycoon (2012) directed by Jing Wong Back in the 1910s, when Chen Daqi (Chow-Yun Fat) was just a grocer’s assistant, he fell in love with aspiring actress Ye Zhiqiu (Quan Yuan). After Daqi was framed for murder, he had to flee to Shanghai, while Zhiqiu went to Beijing to join the Opera.… Continue reading Movie Review: The Last Tycoon (2012)

Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3

Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3 by Robert Bloch Robert Bloch (1917-1994) was a prolific author of horror, science fiction and mystery works. (You may have seen, read or at least heard of Psycho.) This volume, originally “Selected Stories” and by no means complete, features 39 stories published between 1960 and… Continue reading Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3

Book Review: Great Black Kanba

Book Review: Great Black Kanba by Constance and Gwenyth Little A young woman wakes up on a train with no memory of who she is or how she got there. According to Mrs. Bunton, the lady tending her, the woman is Cleo Ballister, an American actress on the skids who’s come to see her Australian… Continue reading Book Review: Great Black Kanba

Book Review: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2014

Book Review: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2014 edited by Paula Guran Even the fastest, most dedicated readers can’t read everything that’s published each year.  Not even in relatively limited genres like fantasy or horror.  That’s where “Year’s Best” collections come in handy.  Someone or several someones has gone through the enormous pile… Continue reading Book Review: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2014

Magazine Review: Argosy October 8, 1938

Magazine Review: Argosy October 8, 1938 Argosy began its life as The Golden Argosy, a children’s weekly, in 1882.  By 1889 publisher Fred Munsey had discovered that the readers aged out too fast to keep the magazine viable, so he switched to fiction aimed at adult readers and shortened the title.  It’s considered one of the… Continue reading Magazine Review: Argosy October 8, 1938

Book Review: Headstrong

Book Review: Headstrong by Rachel Swaby This is a collection of short biographical sketches of women who made advancements in various scientific fields.  According to the introduction, it was inspired when the New York Times ran an obituary of Yvonne Brill that listed her home cooking as her most important accomplishment, followed by being a wife… Continue reading Book Review: Headstrong

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Superman Family Volume 4

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Superman Family Volume 4 edited by Mort Weisenger Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen are two of the most enduring characters in comic books, thanks to being attached to the one and only Superman.  Lois appeared in the first Superman story in Action Comics #1 (1938), a snarky but skilled reporter who… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Superman Family Volume 4