Book Review: A Feast for Crows

Book Review: A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin Note:  This review will contain SPOILERS for the first three volumes in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series.  If you have not read those, you may want to consult my reviews of those books instead. While war still ravages the land of Westeros, for… Continue reading Book Review: A Feast for Crows

Manga Review: Dawn of the Arcana 1

Manga Review: Dawn of the Arcana 1 by Rei Toma Princess Nakaba has bright red hair.  This is not a rare hair color in her homeland of Senan; indeed it’s all too common.  Both in Senan and its southern neighbor Belquat, all the nobility and royalty have pure black hair.  Her flaming tresses suggest that… Continue reading Manga Review: Dawn of the Arcana 1

Book Review: Kings & Queens of Great Britain: A Very Peculiar History

Book Review: Kings & Queens of Great Britain: A Very Peculiar History by Antony Mason For about 12 centuries, the English have been ruled by monarchs, and eventually this form of government spread to all of the British Empire.  That’s a lot of history, and many kings and queens to take account of.  This small… Continue reading Book Review: Kings & Queens of Great Britain: A Very Peculiar History

Book Review: Classic American Short Stories

Book Review: Classic American Short Stories compiled by Michael Kelahan This book is more or less exactly what it says in the title, a compilation of short(ish) stories written by American authors, most of which are acknowledged as classics by American Lit professors.  The stories are arranged by author in roughly chronological order from the… Continue reading Book Review: Classic American Short Stories

Book Review: Out of the Dead City

Book Review: Out of the Dead City by Samuel R. Delany (originally published as “Captives of the Flame”) It has been about five hundred years since the Great Fire wiped out the old civilizations.  On the island of Toron, however, enough humans and records survived to begin again.  A settlement became a village became a… Continue reading Book Review: Out of the Dead City

Book Review: The Snow Queen

Book Review: The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen Kay and Gerda are best friends who live in adjacent garrets, and often visit each other across the roof, where their parents have installed flower boxes with rosebushes.  They are like brother and sister, and very happy together until one day Kay’s personality changes.  He has… Continue reading Book Review: The Snow Queen

Book Review: The Killing Moon

Book Review: The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin The city of Gujaareh worships Hananja, the goddess of dreams.  Their entire culture is centered around the power of narcomancy to draw magical power from dreams to heal and perform other wonders.  The most powerful of these “humors” is dreamblood, which is only produced by a person’s… Continue reading Book Review: The Killing Moon

Book Review: The Blue Fairy Book

Book Review: The Blue Fairy Book edited by Andrew Lang Once upon a time, (1889 to be specific), British children did not have access to collections of fairy tales.  Educators of the time thought fairy tales were too unrealistic and harmful to children, and beneath adults.  Mr. Lang felt differently; he had delighted in such… Continue reading Book Review: The Blue Fairy Book

Book Review: 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories

Book Review: 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories edited by Stefan Dziemianowicz, Robert Weinberg & Martin H. Greenberg This was my Halloween season read this year, an anthology commissioned for the Barnes & Noble stores in 1995.  There are indeed one hundred stories in this hefty tome, averaging about six pages.  They are not all about… Continue reading Book Review: 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories

Manga Review: The Twin Knights

Manga Review: The Twin Knights by Osamu Tezuka This is a sequel to the classic Osamu Tezuka work Princess Knight (“Ribon no Kishi” or “The Ribbon Knight” in Japanese), about Sapphire, a princess raised as a boy due to strange circumstances.  Queen Sapphire is now married and gives birth to twins, Prince Daisy and Princess Violetta.… Continue reading Manga Review: The Twin Knights