Book Review: Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente Marya Morevna is not like the other girls in Saint Petersburg/Petrograd/Leningrad. She sees the husbands of her sisters while they are still birds. But times are changing in Russia, now the Union of Soviet Socialistic Republics. The People have no time for magic, and Marya… Continue reading Book Review: Deathless
Tag: romance
Anime for Speculative Fiction Fans
This last weekend at Minicon 49, I moderated a panel on “Anime for Speculative Fiction Fans.” As is common at this sort of thing, a lot of series and films were mentioned very briefly, and not everyone had the opportunity to write them all down. Therefore, I promised to put up a list. I… Continue reading Anime for Speculative Fiction Fans
Movie Review: Four Frightened People (1934)
Movie Review: Four Frightened People (1934) The last of the Cecil B. DeMille movies in the set I have, it’s very different from the others, being set in the present day, and having a relatively small cast. The story opens on a passenger ship that has become infested with bubonic plague. The crew is… Continue reading Movie Review: Four Frightened People (1934)
Movie Review: Union Pacific (1939)
Movie Review: Union Pacific (1939) The Civil War might still be going on, but the United States has to consider what will happen after the war. Government approval is given to build railways that will link the eastern half of the country with the western, The eastern end of the line is being… Continue reading Movie Review: Union Pacific (1939)
Movie Review: Cleopatra (1934)
Movie Review: Cleopatra (1934) It is 48 B.C., and Egypt is having a bit of a civil war. Cleopatra (Claudette Colbert) and her brother Ptolemy both want to be the ruler. The regent Pothinos (Leonard Mudie), who finds Ptolemy easier to control, exiles Cleopatra to the desert, then negotiates with Julius Caesar (Warren William), representative… Continue reading Movie Review: Cleopatra (1934)
Movie Review: The Crusades (1935)
Movie Review: The Crusades (1935) It is the 12th Century, and the Holy Land has been seized by the Saracens, under the command of Saladin (Ian Keith). Crosses, Bibles and other Christian symbols are burned, and the Christian inhabitants of Jerusalem taken into captivity. A hermit (C. Aubrey Smith) confronts Saladin and declares that he… Continue reading Movie Review: The Crusades (1935)
Movie Review: The Sign of the Cross (1932)
Movie Review: The Sign of the Cross (1932) In the year 64 A.D., Rome burns while Nero (Charles Laughton) composes poetry, accompanying himself on the lyre. Ambitious bodyguard Tigelinus (Ian Keith) warns that some parties are blaming the fires on Nero himself. Nero doesn’t actually deny the rumor, but doesn’t confirm it either. Tigelinus suggests… Continue reading Movie Review: The Sign of the Cross (1932)
Book Review: Limestone Gumption
Book Review: Limestone Gumption by Bryan E. Robinson Disclaimer: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. When Big Jake Nunn, former football star and big man around the sleepy town of Whitecross, Florida dies while diving the limestone caves of the Suwannee River, suspicion naturally falls on the… Continue reading Book Review: Limestone Gumption
Book Review: Strangers of Different Ink
Book Review: Strangers of Different Ink edited by Richard & Allen Okewole Disclaimer: I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. This anthology of short stories appears to be primarily by authors in the Philadelphia area. Other than that, there doesn’t seem to be a particular theme,… Continue reading Book Review: Strangers of Different Ink
Book Review: In the Wet
Book Review: In the Wet by Nevil Shute This is rather an odd book by the author of On the Beach and A Town Like Alice. It starts as the story of Roger Hargreaves, an aging Anglican priest in Northern Australia in the 1950s. In the course of his parish duties, Father Hargreaves meets a colorful local… Continue reading Book Review: In the Wet