Book Review: The Fungus

Book Review: The Fungus by Harry Adam Knight Dr. Jane Wilson, brilliant mycologist, wants to feed the world with mushrooms. (Maybe she got the idea from Time and Mr. Bass?) To that end, she’s created a virus-like enzyme that causes the edible mushrooms she’s been working with to grow to enormous size at an accelerated… Continue reading Book Review: The Fungus

Book Review: God’s Little Acre

Book Review: God’s Little Acre by Erskine Caldwell Ty Ty Walden likes to think of himself as a good Christian. That’s why he has tithed the proceeds of an acre on his Georgia farm to the church. But he’s also got gold fever. Ty Ty is convinced that somewhere on his land is a rich… Continue reading Book Review: God’s Little Acre

Magazine Review: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction April 1978

Cover by David Hardy, riffing on the classic War of the Worlds scene where the Thunder Child battles the tripods.

Magazine Review: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction April 1978 edited by Edward L. Ferman This issue of the long-running speculative fiction magazine is “All-British”, which the editorial material notes was one of the easiest theme issues to do, since they already had a number of stories by British authors on hand. They dug… Continue reading Magazine Review: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction April 1978

Book Review: High Disaster

Book Review: High Disaster by Lionel Derrick Senator Harland Harrington used to be your typical Republican lawmaker. During his two terms in office, he stood for conservative family values, sensible government spending, and bringing home the bacon for his constituents in Oregon. But a man has needs. Two years ago, he hired Arlene Day to… Continue reading Book Review: High Disaster

Movie Review: The Enforcer (1976)

Inspectors Moore and Callahan share a rare quiet moment.

Movie Review: The Enforcer (1976) directed by James Fargo Two Pacific Gas & Electric employees violate company rules by picking up an attractive hitchhiker. Unfortunately for them, they’re not in a Seventies porno film, but a Seventies action film. Meanwhile, Inspector Harry “Dirty Harry” Callahan (Clint Eastwood) of the San Francisco Police Department is having a… Continue reading Movie Review: The Enforcer (1976)

Magazine Review: High Adventure #47: The Case of the Black Lotus

Magazine Review: High Adventure #47: The Case of the Black Lotus edited by John P. Gunnison The success of Sax Rohmer’s classic villain Fu Manchu led to other writers trying to create their own Yellow Peril master villains. A couple of them even got their own short-lived pulp magazines. This magazine reprints the stories from… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #47: The Case of the Black Lotus

Comic Book Review: Essential Luke Cage, Power Man Vol. 2

Comic Book Review: Essential Luke Cage, Power Man Vol. 2 by various creators. Carl Lucas, a juvenile delinquent, straightened himself out and was trying to become a respectable citizen when he was framed for heroin possession. An unruly prisoner, he eventually ended up at Seagate Prison, where he volunteered for medical experiments conducted by Dr.… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Essential Luke Cage, Power Man Vol. 2

Magazine Review: High Adventure #172: The Hell’s Angels Squad

Magazine Review: High Adventure #172: The Hell’s Angels Squad edited by John P. Gunnison This time around, the focus is on the French Foreign Legion stories of Warren Hastings Miller originally published in Blue Book magazine back in the late 1920s. As I’ve discussed before, tales of the Legion were a popular subgenre of pulp… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #172: The Hell’s Angels Squad

Comic Book Review: Superman Smashes the Klan #3

Comic Book Review: Superman Smashes the Klan #3 story by Gene Luen Yang, art by Gurihiru Note: This review contains SPOILERS for the first two issues. Previously: The Lee family moved from Chinatown to Metropolis when Dr. Lee got a job with the city health department. Tommy Lee, a young baseball player, soon found his… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Superman Smashes the Klan #3

Book Review: If This Goes On

Gotta love this cover "old man yells at rocket."

Book Review: If This Goes On edited by Charles Nuetzel The “if this goes on” story is a staple of short science fiction. Pick a current trend like “women not wearing hats anymore” or “cat videos” and extend it out to an exaggerated conclusion. For example, the Robert Heinlein story of that name, which posits… Continue reading Book Review: If This Goes On