Book Review: Nettle & Bone

Book Review: Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher We open in media res as Marra, age thirty, tries to make a dog from bones and wire in a cursed land inhabited by cannibals. Some of whom are quite nice, really–just don’t eat anything they offer you. It’s damaging her hands something fierce, but then impossible… Continue reading Book Review: Nettle & Bone

Magazine Review: The Drift Fall 2023

Cover by Ivy Sanders Schneider, inspired by Adolph Dehn's cover for "The Liberator" December 1921 issue.

Magazine Review: The Drift Fall 2023 edited by Kiara Barrow and Rebecca Panovka This one’s a relatively new literary magazine, having started during the pandemic. The editorial slant appears to be socialist and class-conscious. Let’s see what this issue has to offer us. The opening editorial is on “Corrupt Organizations”, talking about the use and… Continue reading Magazine Review: The Drift Fall 2023

The Continental Literary Magazine: Beast (2023)

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The Continental Literary Magazine: Beast (2023) edited by Sándor Jászberényi The Continental is a Hungarian literary magazine dedicated to widening recognition of Central European authors in the English-speaking world. It comes out quarterly, and I happened to notice a copy at the bookstore. The theme of this issue is “Beast”, both actual animals and the… Continue reading The Continental Literary Magazine: Beast (2023)

Movie Review: The Hunter

Ritchie and Papa discuss potential bounties.

Movie Review: The Hunter (1980) directed by Buzz Kulik Frank “Papa” Thorson (Steve McQueen) is an old-fashioned kind of guy. He collects antique tin toys, struggles to show his emotions, and is a bounty hunter, going after those who have jumped bail to bring them back–usually alive–for a reward. Right now, he seriously needs the money… Continue reading Movie Review: The Hunter

Movie Review: Pan’s Labyrinth

Ofelia descends into the heart of the labyrinth.

Movie Review: Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) directed by Guillermo del Toro (aka “El Labarinto del Fauno”} It is 1944, and elsewhere in Europe, the Allied troops recently landed in France on D-Day. But here in a remote mountainous region of Spain, Captain Vidal (Sergi López) and his men are hunting down the remnants of the Republicans who… Continue reading Movie Review: Pan’s Labyrinth

Comic Book Review: Castle Waiting Volume 1

Comic Book Review: Castle Waiting Volume 1 by Linda Medley Once upon a time there was a castle whose inhabitants had slept for a hundred years. You may have heard of it long ago. But the princess who woke went off with her prince, abandoning her people who in turn abandoned the kingdom. The castle… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Castle Waiting Volume 1

Comic Book Review: Seven Secrets Volume One

Comic Book Review: Seven Secrets Volume One written by Tom Taylor, illustrated by Danielle di Nicuolo On an alternate Earth, there are seven secrets that could allow a person to rule or destroy the world. Each of them is somehow contained in a relatively ordinary-looking briefcase. To protect these briefcases, the Order of the Seven… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Seven Secrets Volume One

Book Review: The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume 16

Book Review: The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume 16 edited by Stephen Jones Let’s go back to 2004 for what at least one editor considered excellent short horror fiction. As with the later volume I have reviewed, there’s a lot of ancillary material. It opens with an extended look at horror and horror-adjacent… Continue reading Book Review: The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume 16

Comic Book Review: An Inspector Calls: The Graphic Novel

Comic Book Review: An Inspector Calls: The Graphic Novel script by J.B. Priestley, adaptation by Jason Cobley, linework by Will Volley It is spring, 1912 in the English town of Brumley. Wealthy manufacturer Arthur Birling and his wife Sybil are having a small dinner party to celebrate the engagement of their daughter Sheila to Gerald… Continue reading Comic Book Review: An Inspector Calls: The Graphic Novel

Book Review: Beyond Asimios: Book One

Book Review: Beyond Asimios: Book One by Martin Fossum Dr. Martin Graf has come to think of Asimios Station as his home. The first extrasolar planet that Earthlings have found possible to terraform, Asimios is almost survivable by humans for short periods. A lot of scientific advancement has come out of the project, and Dr.… Continue reading Book Review: Beyond Asimios: Book One