Book Review: Riot Most Uncouth

Book Review: Riot Most Uncouth by Daniel Friedman Disclaimer:  I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of this review.  No other compensation was offered or requested. When George Gordon, Lord Byron, was a lad, his father Mad Jack often told him tales of the vrykolakas, immortal beings who fed on the blood… Continue reading Book Review: Riot Most Uncouth

Book Review: The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories

Book Review: The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories edited by Otto Penzler I have a fondness for Sherlock Holmes, as I am sure the majority of my readers do.  Unsurprisingly, there has been a ton of Holmes fanfiction over the years.  Pastiches that try to capture the feel of Arthur Conan Doyle’s prose, parodies… Continue reading Book Review: The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories

Open Thread: Top Ten Lists 2015

Like many bloggers, I keep a close eye on the stats of which posts get traffic, and it’s time to reveal the winners for this year.  You all like list posts, right?  So here are the reviews you the readers felt were important in 2015. Top Ten Posts of 2015 Anime Review: Urusei Yatsura Book… Continue reading Open Thread: Top Ten Lists 2015

Book Review: The Art of Empathy: Celebrating Literature in Translation

Book Review: The Art of Empathy: Celebrating Literature in Translation edited by Don Ball This thick pamphlet is a collection of essays by literary translators on the art of translation.  It’s a product of the National Endowment for the Arts, and is available from them as a free download (or in paper form at NEA… Continue reading Book Review: The Art of Empathy: Celebrating Literature in Translation

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: The Curious Case of the Jeweled Alicorn

Book Review: The Curious Case of the Jeweled Alicorn by Michael Merriam. We open in media res, as Arkady Bloom’s assignation with Countess Moretti takes a dangerous turn.  It seems that in addition to being a minor court poet, Bloom is also an agent of the Crown’s Supernatural Intervention Agency, and the Countess has stolen the… Continue reading Book Review: The Curious Case of the Jeweled Alicorn

Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 15: Dark Matter

Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 15: Dark Matter edited by Mary François Rockcastle This literary journal is published by Hamline University in Minnesota.  The title comes from another name of the Philosopher’s Stone, the transformative agent which turned base metals into gold, in the search for true immortality, as literature turns ordinary words into art.… Continue reading Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 15: Dark Matter

Book Review: Trafficking in Magic, Magicking in Traffic

Book Review: Trafficking in Magic, Magicking in Traffic edited by David Sklar & Sarah Avery Disclaimer:  I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. This fantasy anthology has a dual theme, as indicated by its title; magic as transaction, and magic while traveling.  The former theme brings… Continue reading Book Review: Trafficking in Magic, Magicking in Traffic

Magazine Review: Thought Notebook June 2014

Magazine Review: Thought Notebook June 2014 edited by Kat Lahr Disclaimer:  I received this magazine as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. This is subtitled “Literary and Visual Art Journal”, which means that in addition to poetry, short fiction and essays, it has a lot of pictures.  The theme of… Continue reading Magazine Review: Thought Notebook June 2014