Book Review: Eleven Blue Men

Book Review: Eleven Blue Men by Berton Roueché September 25, 1944, New York City. An elderly man collapses on the sidewalk. When a police officer investigates, he discovers the man has turned blue. The blue man is rushed to the hospital where the doctors are baffled by his condition. Worse, he’s only the first of… Continue reading Book Review: Eleven Blue Men

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

Manga Review: The Apothecary Diaries Volume 2

Manga Review: The Apothecary Diaries Volume 2 Story by Natsu Hyuuga, art by Nekokurage Quick recap: Maomao is a talented apprentice apothecary who lives in a country that’s not quite Ancient China. She’s kidnapped and sold into indentured servitude to the rear palace (harem) of the Emperor. Despite attempting to keep her head low, her… Continue reading Manga Review: The Apothecary Diaries Volume 2

Book Review: Great Science Fiction About Doctors

Cover by Don Ivan Punchatz

Book Review: Great Science Fiction About Doctors edited by Groff Conklin and Noah D. Fabricant, M.D. While medical doctors are common and important in science fiction, stories directly about them or the field of medicine are a bit rarer. It was one magazine’s speculation that it would be difficult to fill an anthology with really… Continue reading Book Review: Great Science Fiction About Doctors

Movie Review: Moonlight Sword and Jade Lion

Miss Chu trades blows with another random restaurant patron.

Movie Review: Moonlight Sword and Jade Lion (1977) directed by Karl Liao (Chinese title Yin xiao yu jian cui yu shi) Chu Siew Yen (Angela Mao) is sent by her martial arts instructor to look up his brother, who he hasn’t heard from in a while. No one in the town he was living in knows where… Continue reading Movie Review: Moonlight Sword and Jade Lion

Anime Review: The Apothecary Diaries

Maomao hears about a terrifying rumor.

Anime Review: The Apothecary Diaries As with the manga volume previously reviewed, and the web and light novels the manga was based on, this anime is set in a country that is heavily based on ancient China. Maomao is a promising young apothecary who’s kidnapped and sold into servitude in the “rear palace”, the Emperor’s… Continue reading Anime Review: The Apothecary Diaries

Manga Review: Orochi the Perfect Edition Vol. 3

Manga Review: Orochi the Perfect Edition Vol. 3 by Kazuo Umezz Quick recap: Orochi is a mysterious, seemingly unageing woman with vaguely-defined supernatural abilities. She wanders around Japan observing bizarre occurrences in humans’ lives, and sometimes interfering in them. As of yet, we know nothing of her own past or why she does what she… Continue reading Manga Review: Orochi the Perfect Edition Vol. 3

Manga Review: Mao, Volumes 11-13

Manga Review: Mao, Volumes 11-13 by Rumiko Takashashi Quick recap: Nanoka Kiba is by this point not at all an ordinary Japanese schoolgirl. Years ago she was transported to the Taisho Era (the 1920s) and “cursed” by the cat spirit Byoki. When she reached puberty, Nanoka became able to pass between the 21st Century and… Continue reading Manga Review: Mao, Volumes 11-13

Manga Review: Case Closed Volumes 83-86

Manga Review: Case Closed Volumes 83-86 by Gosho Aoyama Quick recap: Teen detective Shinichi Kudou (Jimmy Kudo in the dub) is shrunk into a pre-teen by an experimental poison. Until he can find a way to reverse the effects, he assumes the identity of Conan Edogawa. He still solves crimes, but it’s harder to get… Continue reading Manga Review: Case Closed Volumes 83-86

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