Book Review: Season of Marvels: Viking Tales by Deb Houdek Rule This is a collection of four speculative fiction short stories on the general theme of “Vikings” from the small label press Variations On a Theme. “Viking -Trojan War” is an after-action report about 8th Century Viking raiders suddenly materializing on the USC campus due to… Continue reading Book Review: Season of Marvels: Viking Tales
Tag: aliens
Book Review: The Edge of Tomorrow
Book Review: The Edge of Tomorrow by Howard Fast There have been several books titled The Edge of Tomorrow, none of which have anything to do with the recent Tom Cruise movie, which borrowed most of its plot from the Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill. (I think you can see why there was a… Continue reading Book Review: The Edge of Tomorrow
Book Review: The Mystery Men of Mars
Book Review: The Mystery Men of Mars by Carl H. Claudy Dr. Isaac Lutyens, Professor of Physics and Higher Mathematics, has created what amounts to a gravitic engine. His first thought was to create a spaceship in his attic and orbit the moon. This being successful, Dr. Lutyens decides that the next step is to… Continue reading Book Review: The Mystery Men of Mars
Book Review: Seven Come Infinity
Book Review: Seven Come Infinity edited by Groff Conklin The title of this anthology refers to the phrase “seven come eleven” from craps, referring to the ways you can win. In the preface, it’s mentioned that there are a finite number of possibilities for the outcome of rolling two dice. But when you write a… Continue reading Book Review: Seven Come Infinity
Magazine Review: Saucy Romantic Adventures August 1936
Magazine Review: Saucy Romantic Adventures August 1936 by various This was one of the “spicy” pulp magazines, sold “under the counter” to readers wanting something more titillating than the standard action fare. By modern standards, this is pretty tame stuff, mostly consisting of descriptions of women’s naked bodies (minus genitalia) and strong hints that the… Continue reading Magazine Review: Saucy Romantic Adventures August 1936
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: 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
Book Review: The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg, Volume 9: The Millennium Express (1995-2009)
Book Review: The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg, Volume Nine: The Millennium Express (1995-2009) by Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg (1935-still alive as of this writing) is one of the longest-running science fiction authors, having made his first sale in 1953. Especially in his early years, Mr. Silverberg has been prolific, with his non-series short fiction… Continue reading Book Review: The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg, Volume 9: The Millennium Express (1995-2009)
Comic Book Review: 2000 AD #2020-24
Comic Book Review: 2000 AD #2020-24 Edited by Tharg As I’ve mentioned before, 2000 AD is a weekly comic paper with a speculative fiction bent that’s been published in Britain for over forty years. It keeps up the schedule by featuring several short stories in each issue, most of them serialized. A while back I c… Continue reading Comic Book Review: 2000 AD #2020-24