Book Review: Mary Poppins Opens the Door

Book Review: Mary Poppins Opens the Door by P.L. Travers It is the Fifth of November (remember, remember) and a foggy day in London town. The fog is particularly thick in the Banks household, where things have gone from Bad to Worse since Mary Poppins left the second time. Indeed, it’s so thick that chronically… Continue reading Book Review: Mary Poppins Opens the Door

Comic Book Review: Holmes: The Bento Cases

Cover by Myung Hee Kim

Comic Book Review: Holmes: The Bento Cases by various creators Bento Comics was an artist collective that allowed fans to select stories from their members to put together in bespoke anthologies. At conventions, they’d sell themed volumes to demonstrate the concept; I reviewed their Peter Pan anthology some years back. This collection is on the… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Holmes: The Bento Cases

Book Review: The Best of Analog

Cover art by Alex Schomburg.

Book Review: The Best of Analog edited by Ben Bova After the death of long-time editor John W. Campbell in 1971, Analog Science Fiction and Fact needed a new person at the helm. The winner of the selection process was Ben Bova (1932-2020), who intended to stay only a few years, those years winding up… Continue reading Book Review: The Best of Analog

Movie Review: The Adventures of Tartu

Jan Tartu presents his papers at the German Consulate.

Movie Review: The Adventures of Tartu (1943) directed by Harold S. Bucquet Dateline: London, 1940. The Blitz is on, and recovery crews are working on a damaged hospital. One of the German bombs failed to go off, and Captain Terence Stevenson (Robert Donat) is called on to disarm it. (I got Danger: UXB flashbacks.) This task is complicated… Continue reading Movie Review: The Adventures of Tartu

Movie Review: The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll

Paul Allen and Kitty Jekyll meet Edward Hyde.

Movie Review: The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960) directed by Terence Fisher Six years ago, Dr. Henry Jekyll (Paul Massie) was laughed out of the scientific community for his wild theories about the dual nature of human consciousness. Since then, he’s been a recluse spending the majority of his time on his experiments with lab… Continue reading Movie Review: The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll

Anime Review: Undead Girl Murder Farce

From left to right,: Tsugaru, Aya and Shizuku.

Anime Review: Undead Girl Murder Farce (also advertised as “Undead Murder Farce”) Aya Rindo was turned into an immortal being during the Heian Era of Japan, keeping the appearance of a young woman but gaining knowledge and perceptiveness according to her chronological age. About a year before the story begins during the Meiji Period (Victorian… Continue reading Anime Review: Undead Girl Murder Farce

Comic Book Review: Baltimore Omnibus Volume One

Comic Book Review: Baltimore Omnibus Volume One written by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden, art by Ben Stenbeck Lord Henry Baltimore was once a happily married man, wealthy enough and fairly privileged. But then World War One happened, and his country called. But this was not quite the WWI you may have read about in… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Baltimore Omnibus Volume One

Book Review: The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime

Book Review: The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime by Judith Flanders Great Britain in the Nineteenth Century underwent massive transformation in technology and culture, particularly during the reign of Queen Victoria, who lent her name to an entire era. This book looks specifically at murders… Continue reading Book Review: The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime

Manga Review: From the Red Fog 1

Manga Review: From the Red Fog 1 by Mosae Nohara The place is England, in the late Nineteenth Century. Ruwanda Bailey is twelve years old, and from his earliest memories, his mother has kept him locked in the cellar. Miranda Bailey is beautiful, often compared to a rose, but her “thorn” is her habit of… Continue reading Manga Review: From the Red Fog 1

Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries

Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries edited by Otto Penzler While stories that could be considered “mysteries” in some sense have existed as long as writing, and perhaps a bit before, the short story mystery came into its own during the lifetime of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). This volume collects forty-nine notable stories from… Continue reading Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries