Book Review: Head of a Traveler by Nicholas Blake (pen name of Cecil Day-Lewis) Nigel Strangeways, a writer and literary scholar when he isn’t being distracted by his private investigation work, is thrilled to have a chance to meet Robert Seaton, one of Britain’s greatest living poets. Plash Meadow, Seaton’s house, is in Oxfordshire near… Continue reading Book Review: Head of a Traveler
Tag: farms
Movie Review: The Egg and I
Movie Review: The Egg and I (1947) directed by Chester Erskine The newlywed Mrs. Betty MacDonald (Claudette Corbert) is shocked to learn on her wedding night that her husband Bob (Fred MacMurray) has bought a chicken farm and they’re moving there tomorrow! But she was brought up to believe that a wife supports her husband, no… Continue reading Movie Review: The Egg and I
Book Review: Scarecrow
Book Review: Scarecrow edited by Rhonda Parrish This anthology is part of the “Magical Menageries” series, each volume focusing on a different type of critter. A previous volume, Corvidae, dealt with crows of various types. Thus it’s not surprising that there’s a collection featuring their archenemies. While the aesthetic of humanoid beings of straw lends… Continue reading Book Review: Scarecrow
Manga Review: The Promised Neverland
Manga Review: The Promised Neverland story by Shirai Kaiu, art by Demizu Posuka Note: While I will be speaking about the ending of the manga in only vague terms, spoiler-phobic people should be aware I will be speaking about the ending. Life is good for Emma, Norman and Ray. True, they’re orphans, but Grace Field… Continue reading Manga Review: The Promised Neverland
Book Review: Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales
Book Review: Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales compiled by Stefan Dziemianowicz This hefty volume collects a variety of public domain stories concerning the supernatural. While the majority fall roughly into the category of horror, some are more what we’d call “dark fantasy” and a handful are just “well, that’s a weird thing that happened.”… Continue reading Book Review: Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales
Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 9: What Prevails
Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 9: What Prevails edited by Mary Francois Rockcastle It is time again to look at Hamline University’s annual literary magazine. This issue is from 2006. It’s dedicated to Frederick Busch, author of Girls, who had visited the university shortly before his death the previous year. The subtitle, borrowed from one… Continue reading Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 9: What Prevails
Book Review: The Beast with Five Fingers
Book Review: The Beast with Five Fingers by W.F. Harvey W.F. Harvey (1885-1937) was born in Yorkshire, of Quaker family, and became a doctor. However, his health was poor and he was often unable to practice, so he wrote short stories on the side, many of them falling generally into the “weird” category. This volume… Continue reading Book Review: The Beast with Five Fingers
Comic Book Review: Action Presidents: George Washington
Comic Book Review: Action Presidents: George Washington by Fred van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey Our story begins with two modern tweens glued to their portal screen devices while Parson Weems bores them with the cherry tree legend. The day is salvaged when Noah the Historkey appears and reveals that George Washington’s father Augustine didn’t raise… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Action Presidents: George Washington
Book Review: An Unkindness of Ghosts
Book Review: An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon Something has gone drastically wrong aboard the generation ship Matilda . Centuries after it left the uninhabitable Earth, the ship seems no closer to its destination, if there is in fact a destination at all. Society has become stratified, with the darker-skinned humans confined to the lower… Continue reading Book Review: An Unkindness of Ghosts
Book Review: Oliver Twist
Book Review: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens An anonymous woman stumbles into a village about seventy-five miles from London, heavily pregnant and with her shoes in tatters. She collapses in the street, and is taken to the parochial workhouse. There, she gives birth to a boy and then perishes, seemingly leaving no clue to who… Continue reading Book Review: Oliver Twist