Book Review: Beyond Human Ken

Book Review: Beyond Human Ken edited by Judith Merril This 1954 paperback anthology is a partial reprint of the 1952 hardback of the same title, choosing twelve stories of the original twenty-one and skipping the prefaces that were in that edition. The theme is non-human beings of various kinds, pulled primarily from the science fiction… Continue reading Book Review: Beyond Human Ken

Comic Book Review: Comic Book History of Comics: Birth of a Medium

Comic Book Review: Comic Book History of Comics: Birth of a Medium written by Fred van Lente, art by Ryan Dunlavey As a long-time comic book fan, I’ve been reading books and articles about the history of comic books since the early 1970s. It was inevitable that at some point there would be a comic… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Comic Book History of Comics: Birth of a Medium

Book Review: The Inimitable Jeeves

Book Review: The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse Bertie Wooster may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, as he will sometimes admit.  But compared to some of his friends among the idle rich of England, Bertie’s a model of intellect and common sense.  For example, Bertie knows that keeping his valet Jeeves in… Continue reading Book Review: The Inimitable Jeeves

Book Review: Lambda I and Other Stories

Book Review: Lambda I and Other Stories edited by John Carnell New Worlds was a British science fiction magazine that started professional publication in 1946.  Despite some financial hiccups, it was a reasonably good seller, and was still going in the early 1960s when the stories chosen for this anthology were published.  The editor picked… Continue reading Book Review: Lambda I and Other Stories

Book Review: Seven Come Infinity

Book Review: Seven Come Infinity edited by Groff Conklin The title of this anthology refers to the phrase “seven come eleven” from craps, referring to the ways you can win.  In the preface, it’s mentioned that there are a finite number of possibilities for the outcome of rolling two dice.  But when you write a… Continue reading Book Review: Seven Come Infinity

Book Review: A Far Sunset

Book Review: A Far Sunset by Edmund Cooper Paul Marlowe is apparently the last survivor of the Gloria Mundi, a starship commissioned by the United States of Europe to explore the Altair star system. The fifth planet of Altair turned out to be inhabitable and inhabited by humanoid aliens, but the crew of the Gloria Mundi… Continue reading Book Review: A Far Sunset

Comic Book Review: Essential Tomb of Dracula, Volume 2

Comic Book Review: Essential Tomb of Dracula, Volume 2 mostly written by Marv Wolfman and art by Gene Colan. When the Comics Code restrictions on horror were loosened in the 1970s, DC primarily went in for horror anthology comics, while Marvel Comics based entire series around horrific heroes and villains.  One of these was the… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Essential Tomb of Dracula, Volume 2

Book Review: Jewish Noir

Book Review: Jewish Noir edited by Kenneth Wishnia Many of the themes of noir fiction, alienation, hostile society, darkness and bitter endings, resonate with the experience of Jewish people.  So it’s not surprising that it was easy to find submissions for an anthology of thirty-plus noir stories with Jewish themes.  (Not all of the authors are… Continue reading Book Review: Jewish Noir

Book Review: The Year’s Best S-F: 5th Annual Edition

Book Review: The Year’s Best S-F: 5th Annual Edition edited by Judith Merrill This 1960 book features a selection of speculative fiction short stories published during the 1958-60 time period.  Editor Judith Merrill provides an introduction about the concept of wonder, chatty introductions to each story (she doesn’t think much of Kingsley Amis as a… Continue reading Book Review: The Year’s Best S-F: 5th Annual Edition