Book Review: Chronicles of Aragore Book 1: Naming

Book Review: Chronicles of Aragore Book 1: Naming by Tyler A. Mann The troll caravan guard that we meet at the beginning of the story has no name. The family he was born into did not have a tradition of naming children, and the circus that enslaved him only called him “the troll.” But his… Continue reading Book Review: Chronicles of Aragore Book 1: Naming

Manga Review: To Love Ru Vol. 1-2

Manga Review: To Love Ru Vol. 1-2 story by Saki Hasemi, art by Kentaro Yabuki Rito Yuuki is a typical Japanese high school boy who has a crush on his childhood friend and classmate Haruna Sairenji. And typically, he is so bashful about actually telling her about it that he just freezes up or boils… Continue reading Manga Review: To Love Ru Vol. 1-2

Manga Review: The Rose of Versailles #1

Manga Review: The Rose of Versailles #1 by Ryoko Ikeda In 1755, three children of destiny were born. Hans Axel von Fersen of Sweden, Oscar Francois de Jarjayes of France, and Maria Antonia Josephe Jeanne de Lorraine D’Autriche of Austria. The latter would become famous under her transliterated name of Marie Antoinette, the Queen of… Continue reading Manga Review: The Rose of Versailles #1

Anime Review: Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure

From left: Cure Wing, Cure Sky, Cure Prism and Cure Butterfly

Anime Review: Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure (Japanese title: “Hirogaru Sky! Precure”) Pretty Cure is a franchise series of anime shows aimed at preteen girls, which began in 2004 with Futari wa Pretty Cure (“We Two are Pretty Cure”). The recurring basic plot is that girls in their early teens are given magical items (usually by… Continue reading Anime Review: Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure

Manga Review: Blade of the Moon Princess 1

Manga Review: Blade of the Moon Princess 1 by Tatsuya Endo Mukashi, mukashi (a long, long time ago) the Moon was inhabited by scientifically advanced humans whose civilization happened to resemble aspects of ancient Japan and China. The Pure World was ruled by a line of Empresses who wielded the Three Sacred Treasures of the… Continue reading Manga Review: Blade of the Moon Princess 1

Book Review: Horn Crown

Book Review: Horn Crown by Andre Norton Elron has holes in his memory, as does every other member of his people that came through the Gate from High Halleck. They know they fled some great danger, and that they agreed to have their memories of that danger as well as some other subjects erased for… Continue reading Book Review: Horn Crown

Movie Review: Rio Bravo (1959)

Stumpy, Dude, Colorado and John T. bond with a little music.

Movie Review: Rio Bravo (1959) directed by Howard Hawks Rio Bravo is a small town in the West Texas county of Presidio, not too far from the Mexican border. The rancher with the biggest spread nearby is Nathan Burdette (John Russell). He also has something of a monopoly on guns for hire in the area, being… Continue reading Movie Review: Rio Bravo (1959)

Movie Review: Hang ‘Em High

Marshal Cooper contemplates the morality of state executions.

Movie Review: Hang ‘Em High (1968) directed by Ted Post Jed Cooper (Clint Eastwood) used to be a lawman in Saint Louis, Missouri, but got tired of that job. So in 1889 he moved to the Oklahoma and Indian Territory. He used money he’d saved up to purchase cattle from a Mr. Johansen. Unfortunately, that man… Continue reading Movie Review: Hang ‘Em High

Magazine Review: High Adventure #98: The Crimson Mask

Magazine Review: High Adventure #98: The Crimson Mask edited by John P. Gunnison When Robert Clarke was young, he watched his police officer father be gunned down by criminals. The image of his father’s blood-soaked face never left him. So after training himself in disguise, hand to hand combat, criminology, and becoming a PhG (Graduate… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #98: The Crimson Mask

Movie Review: The Amazing Transparent Man

The joke is that our title character isn't even in this shot!

Movie Review: The Amazing Transparent Man (1960) directed by Edgar G. Ulmer We open with the daring escape of notorious safecracker Joey Faust (Douglas Kennedy) from prison. We swiftly learn that his release has been sponsored by Major Paul Krenner (James Griffith), who received a medical discharge due to a shrapnel wound. (Joey snarks that it… Continue reading Movie Review: The Amazing Transparent Man