Magazine Review: High Adventure #47: The Case of the Black Lotus

Magazine Review: High Adventure #47: The Case of the Black Lotus edited by John P. Gunnison The success of Sax Rohmer’s classic villain Fu Manchu led to other writers trying to create their own Yellow Peril master villains. A couple of them even got their own short-lived pulp magazines. This magazine reprints the stories from… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #47: The Case of the Black Lotus

Movie Review: An Affair to Remember

Nickie and Terry flirt aboard the ship.

Movie Review: An Affair to Remember (1957) directed by Leo McCarey International playboy Niccolo Ferrante (Cary Grant) is traveling back from Italy to marry his heiress fiancée Lois Clark (Neva Patterson). On the ship, Nickie discovers that his lost cigarette case is in the hands of nightclub singer Terry McKay (Deborah McKerr, singing voice by Marnie… Continue reading Movie Review: An Affair to Remember

Book Review: Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales

Book Review: Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales compiled by Stefan Dziemianowicz This hefty volume collects a variety of public domain stories concerning the supernatural. While the majority fall roughly into the category of horror, some are more what we’d call “dark fantasy” and a handful are just “well, that’s a weird thing that happened.”… Continue reading Book Review: Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales

Book Review: Girl with a Pearl Earring

Book Review: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier Griet is sixteen, and would ordinarily be living in her parents’ home for another few years, preparing for the day she would get married and join her husband’s family. But her father was blinded in an accident at his job as a tile painter, and… Continue reading Book Review: Girl with a Pearl Earring

Magazine Review: Strange Tales September 1931

Magazine Review: Strange Tales September 1931 edited by Harry Bates Strange Tales was published as a direct competitor to Weird Tales, the top fantastic/occult story pulp magazine of the time, starting with this issue in 1931. It had more of an action slant to its editorial policy as compared to the more idea-heavy stories of… Continue reading Magazine Review: Strange Tales September 1931

Book Review: Great Thrillers: 101 Suspenseful Tales

Book Review: Great Thrillers: 101 Suspenseful Tales compiled by Stefan Dziemianowicz The definition of “thriller” is a little loose in this fun anthology, though most of the stories do have at least some suspense.  It feels more like the compiler picked a bunch of the public domain stories he liked, but didn’t have a strong… Continue reading Book Review: Great Thrillers: 101 Suspenseful Tales

Comic Book Review: Batman Archives Volume 1

Comic Book Review: Batman Archives Volume 1 written by Bill Finger & Gardner Fox, art by Bob Kane & Sheldon Moldoff Batman was the second full-fledged superhero published by National Periodicals, soon to be better known as DC.  The kernel of the idea was proposed by artist Bob Kane, and fleshed out by writer Bill… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Batman Archives Volume 1

Book Review: Army Wives

Book Review: Army Wives by Midge Gillies Disclaimer:  I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of writing this review.  No other compensation was requested or offered. The life of a soldier is hard and often dangerous, but the life of a soldier’s spouse has its hardships and hazards… Continue reading Book Review: Army Wives

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Batman, Volume 6

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Batman, Volume 6 edited by Julius Schwartz By 1971, the Batman television show had been off the air long enough that its sales boost to the Batman and Detective Comics series had faded, and with it, the incentive to model the magazines on the show.  Bruce Wayne moved from stately Wayne Manor to… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Batman, Volume 6

Book Review: Twice Told Tales

Book Review: Twice Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) is one of the great American writers; his The Scarlet Letter is studied in many schools across this land.  But it took him quite a while to reach that status.  After crushingly disappointing sales for his first novel, Fanshawe, Hawthorne spent a dozen years in poverty,… Continue reading Book Review: Twice Told Tales