Book Review: The Wall

Book Review: The Wall by Mary Roberts Rinehart Marcia Lloyd is an upper-crust socialite who is not as wealthy as she used to be.  Not by any means broke, but when she comes to her summer home, Sunset, in New England, she can only afford to employ a handful of servants for a house that… Continue reading Book Review: The Wall

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

Magazine Review: Phantom Detective #2: Dealers in Death | The Yacht Club Murders

Magazine Review: Phantom Detective #2: Dealers in Death | The Yacht Club Murders edited by Anthony Tollin. The Phantom Detective was wealthy playboy Richard Curtis Van Loan, who became bored with his civilian life after serving in World War One.   His friend, publisher Frank Havens, suggested he put his brains and assortment of interesting… Continue reading Magazine Review: Phantom Detective #2: Dealers in Death | The Yacht Club Murders

Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 18: All We Cannot Alter

Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 18: All We Cannot Alter edited by Mary François Rockcastle. This is the latest volume of Hamline University’s annual literary magazine, which I picked up at the Rain Taxi Book Festival.  The subtitle comes from one of the poems in this issue, “Is This What Poets Do?” by Elizabeth Oness.… Continue reading Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 18: All We Cannot Alter

Book Review: Bug Jack Barron

Book Review: Bug Jack Barron by Norman Spinrad What’s bugging Jack Barron?  Jack used to be a young radical, waving signs and helping form the Social Justice Coalition.  But the SJC became a legitimate political party, and Jack wasn’t really interested in playing politics.  Plus, he’d gotten on television a lot, and the cameras and audiences… Continue reading Book Review: Bug Jack Barron

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: DC Comics Presents Superman Team-Ups

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: DC Comics Presents Superman Team-Ups Volume 2 edited by Julius Schwartz The dedicated rotating team-up series was a huge boon for DC Comics and Marvel back in the day.  A top-selling character anchors the book (in this case Superman) and rotating guest stars got a chance to shine.  Some appearances… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: DC Comics Presents Superman Team-Ups

Book Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Mad

Book Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Mad by E. Randall Floyd American history is full of offbeat people, some downright weird.  The author was (like many a lad) fascinated by their stories when he was young.  Then he got to interview Erich von Daeniken (Chariots of the Gods) and decided to make writing about… Continue reading Book Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Mad

Book Review: From Ghouls to Gangsters: The Career of Arthur B. Reeve Volume 1

Book Review: From Ghouls to Gangsters: The Career of Arthur B. Reeve Volume 1 edited by John Locke Arthur B. Reeve (1880-1936) was a newspaper reporter who decided to try his hand at writing fiction.  As it happened, he turned out to be very good at it, making a huge hit with his most famous character,… Continue reading Book Review: From Ghouls to Gangsters: The Career of Arthur B. Reeve Volume 1

Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: Spring 2015 Swindle & Fraud

Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: Spring 2015 Swindle & Fraud Edited by Lewis H. Lapham Mr. Lapham’s literary magazine is based on the principle that history has much to teach the present on many subjects, so presents excerpts from many famous (and not so famous) authors on a loose topic for the education and entertainment of… Continue reading Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: Spring 2015 Swindle & Fraud

Book Review: Boy Scouts of the Air on the French Front

Book Review: Boy Scouts of the Air on the French Front by Gordon Stuart Tod Fulton’s father is an inventor who has developed a new airplane that can hover in place and has true VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) capabilities.  Up to now, he wasn’t able to sell it as there were no peacetime applications.… Continue reading Book Review: Boy Scouts of the Air on the French Front