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

Book Review: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Strange Tales

Book Review: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Strange Tales by Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) wrote several “weird” stories as well as adventure tales like Treasure Island. This volume collects five of them. “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” starts us off with the adventures of Mr. Utterson,… Continue reading Book Review: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Strange Tales

Book Review: World’s Best Science Fiction: Third Series

Book Review: World’s Best Science Fiction: Third Series edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr (also printed as “World’s Best Science Fiction 1967”) The introduction to this volume of science fiction stories from 1966 mentions that there was a tendency to longer stories in the field, perhaps because many of the ideas required more… Continue reading Book Review: World’s Best Science Fiction: Third Series

Book Review: The Butchering Art

Book Review: The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris It was not that long ago that surgeons and surgery were to be feared. Without anesthetics, the pain and shock of having your body cut into would often kill the patient. And if they survived that, the chances were good that infection would set in. A combination… Continue reading Book Review: The Butchering Art

Movie Review: Braveheart

William Wallace surveys the enemy before his first victory.

Movie Review: Braveheart (1995) directed by Mel Gibson It is late 13th Century Scotland, and the land is without a king. King Edward I of England (Patrick McGoohan), known as “Longshanks”, claims ownership and has sent his armies to occupy the land. After a peace negotiation with Scots lords ends in a war crime by Longshanks,… Continue reading Movie Review: Braveheart

Anime Review: Baki (2018)

From left to right: Retsu Kaioh, Kaoru Hanayama, Mitsunari Tokugawa, Baki Hanma, Doppo Orochi and Gouki Shibukawa. Or as Kaoru likes to call them, "Idiots from Planet Strong."

Anime Review: Baki (2018) Baki Hanma is not your average high school student. He may look normal if a teensy bulky and with a dull expression on his face with his school uniform on, but once he doffs his outer clothing, it’s clear that he’s possessed of superior musculature and covered in scars. For in… Continue reading Anime Review: Baki (2018)

Movie Review: Terror By Night

Watson and Holmes discuss the case with their client sitting opposite them.

Movie Review: Terror by Night (1946) directed by Roy William Neill The Star of Rhodesia, a large diamond, has long been associated with blood and death, bringing woe to its owners and those around them ever since it was dug up. The current owner is Lady Margaret Carstairs (Mary Forbes), a formidable dowager. Her son Roland… Continue reading Movie Review: Terror By Night

Book Review: Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales

Book Review: Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales compiled by Stefan Dziemianowicz This hefty volume collects a variety of public domain stories concerning the supernatural. While the majority fall roughly into the category of horror, some are more what we’d call “dark fantasy” and a handful are just “well, that’s a weird thing that happened.”… Continue reading Book Review: Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales

Book Review: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Book Review: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice edited by Jack Zipes Most likely, when you saw this title, you immediately thought of the Fantasia sequence with Mickey Mouse, or perhaps the more recent Disney film with Nicolas Cage. But the multiplying of brooms is only one aspect of the tales gathered under the general title of “The… Continue reading Book Review: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Book Review: Under a Wild Sky: John James Audubon and the Making of THE BIRDS OF AMERICA

Book Review: Under a Wild Sky: John James Audubon and the Making of THE BIRDS OF AMERICA by William Souder When John James Audubon arrived in Philadelphia in 1824, he carried with him a portfolio of beautiful bird paintings he hoped to turn into a book, and a backstory of childhood in Louisiana, being the… Continue reading Book Review: Under a Wild Sky: John James Audubon and the Making of THE BIRDS OF AMERICA