Book Review: Creature from the Black Lagoon

Book Review: Creature from the Black Lagoon by Vargo Statten When marine paleontologist Dr. Carl Maia’s expedition into the Amazon rain forest discovers a unique fossil, which looks like a webbed hand, he asks for a full expedition to the area by his colleagues at the Morajo Institute of Marine Biology.  He is joined by… Continue reading Book Review: Creature from the Black Lagoon

Book Review: The Time Machine

Book Review: The Time Machine by H.G. Wells H.G Wells (1866-1946) was not the first science fiction author, nor even the first one to write about time travel.  But he was the first writer in English to produce multiple important works in what would become the science fiction genre.  The Time Machine was published in… Continue reading Book Review: The Time Machine

Book Review: Life Learned Abroad: Lessons on Humanity from China

Book Review: Life Learned Abroad: Lessons on Humanity from China by Brandon Ferdig Disclaimer:  I received a copy of this book free from the author in the expectation that I would write a review.  No other compensation is involved. The traveler’s tale is one of the oldest forms of narrative; going to a faraway place… Continue reading Book Review: Life Learned Abroad: Lessons on Humanity from China

Book Review: The Silence of the Loons

Book Review: The Silence of the Loons edited by The Minnesota Crime Wave The long-time reader may by now have realized that I have something of a weakness for anthologies.  Collections of short fiction are an excellent use of limited lunch reading time.  And I am also a faithful son of Minnesota.  So this book… Continue reading Book Review: The Silence of the Loons

Book Review: The Players of Null-A

Book Review: The Players of Null-A by A.E. van Vogt (Also published as The Pawns of Null-A) Note:  This book is a direct sequel to The World of Null-A and this review will spoil elements of that first novel.  Like, immediately after this paragraph. With the death of the mighty Thorson, the plans of the Greatest Empire… Continue reading Book Review: The Players of Null-A

Book Review: The Dead Riders

Book Review: The Dead Riders by Elliott O’Donnell Burke Blake is at loose ends in China when he hears of an expedition to the Gobi desert, reputedly near the site of Genghis Khan’s tomb.  He invites himself along on the journey to try to steer it into treasure hunting.  Several misadventures later, Burke and several… Continue reading Book Review: The Dead Riders

Book Review: The Jungle

Book Review: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair Jurgis Rudkos is a Lithuanian immigrant who has come to America with his fiancee Ona and their families to seek the good jobs advertised in his poverty-stricken homeland.  It’s tricky for people who don’t know English or the local customs to get around, but finally they make it… Continue reading Book Review: The Jungle

Book Review: Death on a Warm Wind

Book Review: Death on a Warm Wind by Douglas Warner (also published as The Final Death of Robert Colston) When newspaper editor Michael Curtis witnesses a man being gunned down in front of the Evening Telegram office, he’s startled to realize that it’s Robert Colston, a man who’s already been declared dead twice.  Robert Colston, who has… Continue reading Book Review: Death on a Warm Wind

Book Review: Conquest of Earth

Book Review: Conquest of Earth by Manly Banister Note:  This review will contain SPOILERS for some major plot twists beyond a certain point. Today Kor Danay is a Man.  It is the distant future, when Sol has become a red star, and Kor has completed nineteen years of intense mental and physical training to become… Continue reading Book Review: Conquest of Earth

Book Review: Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

Book Review: Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner Economics can be a deadly dull subject, at least when dominated by stuffed shirts talking about trade deficits, returns on annuities or fiat currency.  But the basics of economic theory can be used to learn… Continue reading Book Review: Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything