Book Review: Unfinished Business: Tales of the Dark Fantastic

Book Review: Unfinished Business: Tales of the Dark Fantastic by Catherine Lundoff Per the author’s introduction, the style of stories in this volume were inspired by her love for the artwork of Edward Gorey and Victorian ghost stories. And so we have a dozen short stories of horror and dark fantasy. “The Mask and the… Continue reading Book Review: Unfinished Business: Tales of the Dark Fantastic

Book Review: Planets for Sale

Book Review: Planets for Sale by A.E. van Vogt and E. Mayne Hull Evana Travis was supposed to be traveling to live with her sister on Doridora III. But there was a reason this spaceflight was so inexpensive. After Earth had finally gotten its act together and improved working conditions to be actually comfortable, the… Continue reading Book Review: Planets for Sale

Movie Review: White Zombie

Zombie Madeleine attacks!

Movie Review: White Zombie (1932) directed by Victor Halperin Madeleine Short has come to Haiti to join her fiance Neil Parker. On the ship over, she met plantation owner Charles Beaumont, who shortly became her very good friend. Mr. Beaumont offers his fancy mansion as the site of the young couple’s wedding, and is so taken… Continue reading Movie Review: White Zombie

Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3

Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3 by Robert Bloch Robert Bloch (1917-1994) was a prolific author of horror, science fiction and mystery works. (You may have seen, read or at least heard of Psycho.) This volume, originally “Selected Stories” and by no means complete, features 39 stories published between 1960 and… Continue reading Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3

Manga Review: Case Closed Vol. 42

Manga Review: Case Closed Vol. 42 by Gosho Aoyama Y’know, I’m not even going to bother with the recap this time. If this is your first time hearing about this series (known as Detective Conan in fan circles because it’s closer to the original Japanese title), check some of my earlier reviews. The first story… Continue reading Manga Review: Case Closed Vol. 42

Book Review: The Leavenworth Case

Note that this cover is from a 1920s reprint, and Eleanore's hair and outfit are anachronistic.

Book Review: The Leavenworth Case by Anna K. Green Everett Raymond is alone in his law office because the senior partners are elsewhere when a man comes in and tells him that their client, wealthy importer Horatio Leavenworth, is dead. Murdered! In the absence of Mr. Leavenworth’s usual attorney, Mr. Veeley, Mr. Raymond is deputed… Continue reading Book Review: The Leavenworth Case

Movie Review: Twice-Told Tales

Time for your neck massage!

Movie Review: Twice-Told Tales (1963) dir. Sidney Salkow  The book version of Twice-Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne was full of ghosts and supernatural occurrences, so it’s not surprising that a star vehicle for noted horror actor Vincent Price would dip into that well. It’s not a very deep dip, though, with only one story from that anthology, one… Continue reading Movie Review: Twice-Told Tales

Book Review: People of the Book: A Decade of Jewish Science Fiction & Fantasy

Book Review: People of the Book: A Decade of Jewish Science Fiction & Fantasy edited by Rachel Swirsky & Sean Wallace One of the perils of reading a lot of anthologies is that you see a fair amount of overlap in stories, particularly in themed anthologies. (I include “Best of the Year” in that as… Continue reading Book Review: People of the Book: A Decade of Jewish Science Fiction & Fantasy

Book Review: The Mystery of the Timber Giant

Book Review: The Mystery of the Timber Giant by Fran Striker Tom Quest, teen adventurer, and his newspaper columnist friend Whiz Walton are at the San Francisco airport to see Tom’s scientist father Dr. Hamilton Quest off on a vacation to Hawaii. Once done with that, they’ll be off on their own flight to Texas.… Continue reading Book Review: The Mystery of the Timber Giant

Book Review: The Storm Lord

Book Review: The Storm Lord by Tanith Lee Raldnor has long known he was different from the other children in his Southlands village. They are fair-skinned, he has dark skin. They can speak mind-to-mind to supplement their words, he appears to be mind-deaf and mute. They seem unruled by their loins, while Raldnor has entire… Continue reading Book Review: The Storm Lord