Book Review: The Saracen Blade by Frank Yerby The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II was born in Jesi, Italy in 1194. But another child was born on that day in that place. Pietro, son of Donati the armorer and his lovely wife Maria, was delivered by one of the same midwives as she’d gone into… Continue reading Book Review: The Saracen Blade
Tag: Jerusalem
Magazine Review: Oriental Stories Winter 1932
Magazine Review: Oriental Stories Winter 1932 edited by Farnsworth Wright Oriental Stories was a mostly-quarterly pulp magazine published from 1930-1933, with a name change to The Treasure Chest Magazine for an additional year. Its remit, as you might have guessed from the title, was tales of the exotic, mysterious East, from Islamic North Africa through… Continue reading Magazine Review: Oriental Stories Winter 1932
Book Review: Mazes and Labyrinths
Book Review: Mazes and Labyrinths by W.H. Matthews Humans have long been fascinated by structures that pack the maximum amount of path in a small space, and those that create a puzzle to move through to find a center or exit. This 1922 book was the first major work in English to take a thorough… Continue reading Book Review: Mazes and Labyrinths
Book Review: World’s Best Science Fiction: Third Series
Book Review: World’s Best Science Fiction: Third Series edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr (also printed as “World’s Best Science Fiction 1967”) The introduction to this volume of science fiction stories from 1966 mentions that there was a tendency to longer stories in the field, perhaps because many of the ideas required more… Continue reading Book Review: World’s Best Science Fiction: Third Series
Comic Book Review: Essential Defenders Vol. 6
Comic Book Review: Essential Defenders Vol. 6 written (mostly) by J.M. DeMatteis, Pencils by Don Perlin The Defenders are one of Marvel Comics’ more oddball teams, beginning with a line-up of Doctor Strange, Hulk, Silver Surfer and the Sub-Mariner, four of Marvel’s most powerful characters who did not belong to other teams. After a couple… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Essential Defenders Vol. 6
Magazine Review: The Saturday Evening Post 6/10/61
Magazine Review: The Saturday Evening Post 6/10/61 edited by Ben Hibbs The Saturday Evening Post ran weekly from 1897-1963; after several format changes, it is now published six times a year. The Post was well known for its lavish illustrations and a combination of current event articles and short stories by popular writers. I got… Continue reading Magazine Review: The Saturday Evening Post 6/10/61
Book Review: Jewish Noir
Book Review: Jewish Noir edited by Kenneth Wishnia Many of the themes of noir fiction, alienation, hostile society, darkness and bitter endings, resonate with the experience of Jewish people. So it’s not surprising that it was easy to find submissions for an anthology of thirty-plus noir stories with Jewish themes. (Not all of the authors are… Continue reading Book Review: Jewish Noir
Book Review: From the Cross to the Church
Book Review: From the Cross to the Church by A.C. Graziano Disclaimer: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. The copy I received is the first edition, which has a number of typos I am told were fixed in the second edition. This book is a… Continue reading Book Review: From the Cross to the Church
Book Review: First Polish Reader (Volume 2)
Book Review: First Polish Reader (Volume 2) by Wiktor Kopernikas Disclaimer: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. This is a book of simple stories in both Polish and English, designed to help students learn to read Polish. It’s printed by Language Practice Publishing, and uses… Continue reading Book Review: First Polish Reader (Volume 2)
Book Review: A Story of Easter and All of Us
Book Review: A Story of Easter and All of Us by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett Disclaimer: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway, on the premise that I would review it. It is unlikely that a reader of this blog will be completely unfamiliar with the plot of this book. The Easter narrative… Continue reading Book Review: A Story of Easter and All of Us