Book Review: The Year’s Greatest Science-Fiction and Fantasy Second Annual Volume

Book Review: The Year’s Greatest Science-Fiction and Fantasy Second Annual Volume edited by Judith Merril This 1957 volume contains speculative fiction stories from magazines published in roughly the previous year, hand-picked by the editor to represent the best the field had to offer at the time.  (I’ve previously reviewed the fifth annual, which switched the… Continue reading Book Review: The Year’s Greatest Science-Fiction and Fantasy Second Annual Volume

Book Review: Creatures from Beyond

Book Review: Creatures from Beyond edited by Terry Carr This 1975 speculative fiction anthology has the theme of monsters from outside human experience.  The question of what lies in the outer darkness has haunted humanity since we developed imaginations.  These nine stories look at the possibilities, from implacable enemies, to beings a lot like us… Continue reading Book Review: Creatures from Beyond

Book Review: Twin Cities Noir: The Expanded Edition

Book Review: Twin Cities Noir: The Expanded Edition edited by Julie Schaper & Steven Horwitz Like the previously reviewed USA Noir, this is a collection of grittier crime stories from Akashic Books with a regional focus.  In this case, the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in Minnesota, and the surrounded metro area, plus one up… Continue reading Book Review: Twin Cities Noir: The Expanded Edition

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

Book Review: The Deaths of Tao

Book Review: The Deaths of Tao by Wesley Chu Note: This is the sequel to The Lives of Tao and this review may contain SPOILERS for the previous volume. Millions of years ago, the Quasing crashed on Earth.  They could not survive in Earth’s atmosphere, and were forced to piggyback inside the native lifeforms.  They managed… Continue reading Book Review: The Deaths of Tao

Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: Spring 2015 Swindle & Fraud

Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: Spring 2015 Swindle & Fraud Edited by Lewis H. Lapham Mr. Lapham’s literary magazine is based on the principle that history has much to teach the present on many subjects, so presents excerpts from many famous (and not so famous) authors on a loose topic for the education and entertainment of… Continue reading Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: Spring 2015 Swindle & Fraud

Magazine Review: Argosy October 8, 1938

Magazine Review: Argosy October 8, 1938 Argosy began its life as The Golden Argosy, a children’s weekly, in 1882.  By 1889 publisher Fred Munsey had discovered that the readers aged out too fast to keep the magazine viable, so he switched to fiction aimed at adult readers and shortened the title.  It’s considered one of the… Continue reading Magazine Review: Argosy October 8, 1938

Manga Review: UQ Holder! Vol. 1

Manga Review: UQ Holder! Vol. 1 by Ken Akamatsu It is a couple of generations into the future, and both reasonably-priced space travel and  techno-magic have come into existence.   Large swaths of Earth’s population has gone to space, with the remaining people either enjoying life in small country villages or struggling in the remaining big… Continue reading Manga Review: UQ Holder! Vol. 1

Comic Book Review: Oddly Normal Book 1

Comic Book Review: Oddly Normal Book 1 by Otis Frampton Life is not good for Oddly Normal (who was named after her great-aunt.)  As the product of a human/witch marriage, her green hair and pointed ears make her stand out in her small town elementary school.  She’s constantly bullied and treated as a freak.  Worse,… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Oddly Normal Book 1

Anime Review: Silver Spoon

Ooezo Agricultural High School is the best agricultural vocational/technical school in Hokkaido, and farm kids from all over the territory come there to pursue an education.  But there’s a different student this year.  Yuugo Hachiken is from the big city of Sapporo, and for…reasons…has decided to join the dairy science program at Ooezo in lieu… Continue reading Anime Review: Silver Spoon