Book Review: The Black Lizard Big Book of Locked-Room Mysteries edited by Otto Penzler The title of this volume is slightly misleading; “locked room” stands in for the general idea of impossible crimes in mystery stories. A man is found stabbed in the back in a windowless room with the door locked from the inside.… Continue reading Book Review: The Black Lizard Big Book of Locked-Room Mysteries
Tag: London
Movie Review: Till the Clouds Roll By
Movie Review: Till the Clouds Roll By This 1946 musical, filmed in glorious Technicolor, is loosely based on the life of songwriter Jerome Kern (Robert Walker). It opens with the opening of Showboat, the famous Oscar Hammerstein play he wrote the music for. After several numbers, we skip to the end of the performance. Mr. Kern… Continue reading Movie Review: Till the Clouds Roll By
Book Review: Space Captain/The Mad Metropolis
Book Review: Space Captain by Murray Leinster/The Mad Metropolis by Philip E. High This is another of the Ace Doubles–two short science fiction books in one volume, printed upside down from one another. In general, these are a good deal. A readable copy won’t set you back more than a brand new paperback in most… Continue reading Book Review: Space Captain/The Mad Metropolis
Book Review: The Year of Three Kings 1483
Book Review: The Year of Three Kings 1483 by Giles St. Aubyn This history of the eventful year 1483 (and surrounding events) in England was written for the five hundredth anniversary in 1983. The three kings in question are Edward IV, Edward V and of course, Richard III, formerly the Duke of Gloucester. 1483… Continue reading Book Review: The Year of Three Kings 1483
Book Review: The Jail Gates Are Open
Book Review: The Jail Gates Are Open by David Hume Cardby and Son is a detective firm comprised of ex-Chief Inspector Cardby (late of Scotland Yard) and his son Mick. They’ve been engaged by a consortium of banks to discover where a recent flood of “slush”, counterfeit money, is coming from. Nick realizes that… Continue reading Book Review: The Jail Gates Are Open
Movie Review: The Sweeney (2012)
Movie Review: The Sweeney (2012) Note: This review contains SPOILERS for the end of the movie. Jack Regan (Ray Winstone) is the field leader of an elite police unit nicknamed “the Sweeney.” They’re a “Flying Squad” (mobile unit not tied to a specific location) of armed police, specializing in battling armed robbery gangs. Unlike most… Continue reading Movie Review: The Sweeney (2012)
Book Review: White August
Book Review: White August by John Boland It is one of the hottest Julys on record in Worchestershire. In a time before air conditioning became common in Britain, the people are roasting in the summer heat. So they are more bemused than frightened when it suddenly begins snowing. English weather, isn’t it funny? Except that… Continue reading Book Review: White August
Book Review: Sherlock Holmes: The Crossovers Casebook
Book Review: Sherlock Holmes: The Crossovers Casebook edited by Howard Hopkins One of the fun things about fan fiction is the “crossover.” That’s where two separate fictional worlds are combined in the same story, which is generally impossible in the source material. Having the Enterprise crew battle the Daleks, Sailor Moon teaming up with the Brady… Continue reading Book Review: Sherlock Holmes: The Crossovers Casebook
Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Super Friends
Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Super Friends by Various Back in the 1970s, there was a Saturday morning cartoon titled Superfriends. It featured several superheroes from DC Comics,, plus “Junior Super Friends” Wendy and Marvin, trainee superheroes with their pet Wonderdog. Each episode taught valuable life lessons to kids across America. While reruns of the… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Super Friends
Magazine Review: Conjunctions: 51 The Death Issue
Magazine Review: Conjunctions: 51 The Death Issue edited by David Shields and Bradford Morrow Conjunctions is a literary journal published twice a year by Bard College. Each issue contains essays, short fiction, poetry and less classifiable writing on a given subject, with this issue being about death. Literary journals tend to have a connotation of… Continue reading Magazine Review: Conjunctions: 51 The Death Issue