Book Review: A Storm of Swords

Book Review: A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin Note:  This review will contain SPOILERS for the first two volumes in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. The Battle of King’s Landing is over, and the forces loyal to King Joffrey are triumphant.  But the War of Five Kings rages on, with no… Continue reading Book Review: A Storm of Swords

Book Review: The Four False Weapons

Book Review: The Four False Weapons by John Dickson Carr Richard Curtis, junior partner at the law firm of Curtis, Hunt, D’Arcy & Curtis, is beginning to regret his career choice.  The office-bound life of a solicitor is dreadfully dull for a young man that longs for adventure and secret missions!   Just as he… Continue reading Book Review: The Four False Weapons

Book Review: The Sculthorpe Murder

Book Review: The Sculthorpe Murder by Karen Charlton Disclaimer:  I received a Kindle download of this book as a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of writing this review.  No other compensation was offered or requested. The year is 1810, and Bow Street Runner Detective Stephen Lavender has been called from his native London to Northamptonshire.… Continue reading Book Review: The Sculthorpe Murder

Book Review: Superheroes

Book Review: Superheroes edited by Rich Horton Superheroes as we know them more or less started in the comic books of the late 1930s, with the most obvious first “true” superhero being Superman.  And comic books have largely shaped our perceptions of costumed superheroes ever since.  But sometimes prose is a perfectly acceptable way of… Continue reading Book Review: Superheroes

Comic Book Review: The Best of Judge Dredd

Comic Book Review: The Best of Judge Dredd edited by Tharg It is the dark future of the 22nd Century.  Nuclear war and environmental devastation have made large portions of Earth’s surface barely inhabitable, and the majority of the remaining population is crowded into sprawling urban areas called Mega-Cities.  Overpopulation, high unemployment, and a general… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Best of Judge Dredd

Manga Review: Ooku 10 & 11

Manga Review: Ooku 10 & 11 by Fumi Yoshinaga Quick recap:  In an alternate Shogunate Japan, a plague wipes out 80% of the men, requiring women to take over most of the jobs previously held by males.  This includes being shogun (military leader, the day to day ruler of Japan, as opposed to the Emperor, who… Continue reading Manga Review: Ooku 10 & 11

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

Manga Review: Vinland Saga Book Six

Manga Review: Vinland Saga Book Six by Makoto Yukimura To recap if you haven’t read the previous reviews:  It is the age of Vikings.  After the murder of Thorfinn’s father, he dedicated his life to revenge on the man who did it.  That didn’t end as he had hoped, and Thorfinn is now a slave on… Continue reading Manga Review: Vinland Saga Book Six

Book Review: Demons of the Night and Other Early Tales

Book Review: Demons of the Night and Other Early Tales by Seabury Quinn Seabury Grandin Quinn (1889-1969) was a prolific pulp author, producing more than five hundred short stories.  He’s best remembered for his Jules de Grandin stories appearing in Weird Tales, featuring a French-accented occult detective.  This particular collection, however, is focused around his other early… Continue reading Book Review: Demons of the Night and Other Early Tales

Magazine Review: Argosy October 8, 1938

Magazine Review: Argosy October 8, 1938 Argosy began its life as The Golden Argosy, a children’s weekly, in 1882.  By 1889 publisher Fred Munsey had discovered that the readers aged out too fast to keep the magazine viable, so he switched to fiction aimed at adult readers and shortened the title.  It’s considered one of the… Continue reading Magazine Review: Argosy October 8, 1938