Book Review: Eleven Blue Men

Book Review: Eleven Blue Men by Berton Roueché September 25, 1944, New York City. An elderly man collapses on the sidewalk. When a police officer investigates, he discovers the man has turned blue. The blue man is rushed to the hospital where the doctors are baffled by his condition. Worse, he’s only the first of… Continue reading Book Review: Eleven Blue Men

Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 9: What Prevails

Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 9: What Prevails edited by Mary Francois Rockcastle It is time again to look at Hamline University’s annual literary magazine. This issue is from 2006. It’s dedicated to Frederick Busch, author of Girls, who had visited the university shortly before his death the previous year. The subtitle, borrowed from one… Continue reading Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 9: What Prevails

Book Review: Sex with Kings

Book Review: Sex with Kings by Eleanor Herman One of the advantages of being a king is that the rules don’t apply to you the same way as they do to commoners.  For centuries in Europe, this also extended to tolerance of extramarital affairs, to the point that many kings had maitresse-en-titre, the “official mistress.”  This… Continue reading Book Review: Sex with Kings

Book Review: Twice Told Tales

Book Review: Twice Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) is one of the great American writers; his The Scarlet Letter is studied in many schools across this land.  But it took him quite a while to reach that status.  After crushingly disappointing sales for his first novel, Fanshawe, Hawthorne spent a dozen years in poverty,… Continue reading Book Review: Twice Told Tales

Book Review: Danger in the Dark

Book Review: Danger in the Dark by L. Ron Hubbard Yes, it’s another of those L. Ron Hubbard reprints; thanks, discount bin! This time, we have three fantasy stories, none of which have anything to do with the cover.  (It’s actually illustrating “Returned from Hell” by Steve Fisher.) “Danger in the Dark” is set in… Continue reading Book Review: Danger in the Dark

Magazine Review: Pirate Stories November 1934

Magazine Review: Pirate Stories November 1934  Some of the pulp magazines went for very specialized subjects, so it’s not a surprise to find one dedicated entirely to stories about pirates.  As this was the first issue, there’s an publisher’s note indicating that there will be stories about pirate of the past, present and future (it… Continue reading Magazine Review: Pirate Stories November 1934