Book Review: Springboard to Tokyo

Book Review: Springboard to Tokyo by Canfield Cook Squadron Leader Robert “Lucky” Terrell has at last gotten his small group of RAF Stratohawk fighter-bombers to China.   There’s a small problem–the Japanese launched a major offensive while our heroes were enroute, and the airfields they were planning to use have been overrun.  Only one badly… Continue reading Book Review: Springboard to Tokyo

Book Review: Air Service Boys over the Rhine

Book Review: Air Service Boys Over the Rhine by Charles Amory Beach In 1916, America was still officially neutral in the matter of the Great War.  While many Americans didn’t much like the way Germany was attacking its neighbors, the government felt that it was really none of our business.   Still, some Americans felt… Continue reading Book Review: Air Service Boys over the Rhine

Book Review: Battling the Clouds

Book Review: Battling the Clouds by Captain Frank Cobb It is shortly after World War One, and two boys, both sons of majors, have come to be stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Frank Anderson’s father is in Aviation, while Bill Sherman’s stepfather is a teacher at the School of Fire (Artillery.)  Bill is new to… Continue reading Book Review: Battling the Clouds

Manga Review: UQ Holder! Vol. 1

Manga Review: UQ Holder! Vol. 1 by Ken Akamatsu It is a couple of generations into the future, and both reasonably-priced space travel and  techno-magic have come into existence.   Large swaths of Earth’s population has gone to space, with the remaining people either enjoying life in small country villages or struggling in the remaining big… Continue reading Manga Review: UQ Holder! Vol. 1

Book Review: War Wings

Book Review: War Wings by Eustace L. Adams Jimmy Deal and his squadron are Navy flyers assigned to Souilly-sur-Mer, near the Belgian border and some heavy fighting in World War One.  Ensign Deal was a Reservist before the Great War, and many regular officers resent him.  Good thing he’s one of the best seaplane aces… Continue reading Book Review: War Wings

Book Review: Red Randall on Active Duty

Book Review: Red Randall on Active Duty by R. Sidney Bowen Red Randall and his buddy Jimmy Joyce have completed their flight training and been assigned to a base in Darwin, Australia.  They’re looking forward to getting some revenge against the Japanese for Pearl Harbor, but there’s not much excitement at the moment.  Until suddenly… Continue reading Book Review: Red Randall on Active Duty

Book Review: Billy Smith Shanghaied Ace

Book Review: Billy Smith Shanghaied Ace by Noël Sainsbury, Jr. William “Billy” Smith, noted teen aviator, has been called to Australia by a wealthy banker, Mr. Clafflin whose daughter Janet was on the missing passenger liner GLORIA (sic).  The banker believes that the ship was not sunk, but is stranded off course somewhere in the… Continue reading Book Review: Billy Smith Shanghaied Ace

Manga Review: Shonen Jump Weekly (USA) 2014

Manga Review: Shonen Jump Weekly (USA) 2014 It’s the second anniversary of this blog, so it’s time for the annual look at the online edition of Shounen Jump Weekly, the best-selling manga anthology in Japan. The big news this year was the end of the long-running and popular Naruto series (see my previous post on the… Continue reading Manga Review: Shonen Jump Weekly (USA) 2014

Manga Review: Naruto

Manga Review: Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto After 700 chapters and fifteen years, an animated TV series, multiple short movies and video games and piles of merchandise, the popular manga series Naruto has ended. For those who somehow missed the last fifteen years of hype, the premise goes something like this.  Blond, blue-eyed orphan Naruto Uzumaki is hated and… Continue reading Manga Review: Naruto

Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump (USA)

Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump (USA) It’s the first anniversary of my blog!  To celebrate, I thought it would be nice to update the very first review that appeared here.  http://www.skjam.com/2012/12/09/manga-review-shonen-jump-alpha/ Shounen Jump is still Japan’s number one best-selling manga anthology title.  Although the primary market is still middle-school through high school boys, people of… Continue reading Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump (USA)