Magazine Review: Out of the Gutter #7

Magazine Review: Out of the Gutter #7 (Winter 2010) Back in the day, the low-cost entertainment option of choice was the pulp magazine.  It contained fast, exciting stories on cruddy paper–a lowbrow art form that is still fondly remembered by some.  “Out of the Gutter” tries to be somewhat in that tradition. This is the… Continue reading Magazine Review: Out of the Gutter #7

Book Review: The Complete Knifepoint Horror

Book Review: The Complete Knifepoint Horror by Soren Narnia Disclosure: I received this book as part of a Firstreads giveaway on the premise that I would read and review it. One of the interesting aspects of writing is the self-imposed challenge. Poems in a rigid format, an exact number of words, not using gendered words–it can… Continue reading Book Review: The Complete Knifepoint Horror

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents The House of Secrets Volume One

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents The House of Secrets Volume One edited by Joe Orlando House of Secrets started its publication history in 1956 as a “weird menace” title.  You couldn’t really do horror comics as such under the Comics Code, but  short tales tinged with the supernatural where evil was punished and good rewarded?  Sure.… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents The House of Secrets Volume One

Book Review: Murder for Revenge

Book Review: Murder for Revenge edited by Otto Penzler This is another themed anthology, this time around the concept of revenge.  That’s a pretty loose theme as these things go.  It’s got a big-name author list going for it though. “Like a Bone in the Throat” by Lawrence Block starts the book off strong with… Continue reading Book Review: Murder for Revenge

Book Review: Who Died in Here?

Book Review: Who Died in Here? edited by Pat Dennis Themed short story anthologies are a perennial favorite for genre fiction.  “Best of” collections tend to feature heavy overlap with other best ofs, while single-author collections have to rely on the reader being willing to pick up a particular author’s work.  Themes allow the authors to… Continue reading Book Review: Who Died in Here?

Book Review: Masters of the Lamp | A Harvest of Hoodwinks

Book Review: Masters of the Lamp | A Harvest of Hoodwinks by Robert Lory This is another Ace Double, two small books combined into one upside-down from each other so they make a fair-sized paperback.  In this case, a short novel and several short stories by former ad executive Robert Lory. Masters of the Lamp… Continue reading Book Review: Masters of the Lamp | A Harvest of Hoodwinks

Book Review: The Weird Ones

Book Review: The Weird Ones by Frederik Pohl, Poul Anderson, Milton Lesser, Eando Binder, Mack Reynolds, Sam Sackett & L. Sprague de Camp This is an anthology of 1950s science fiction published in 1962.  In the Fifties, SF became more “thinky” than in the pulp era, with an emphasis on the soft sciences like psychology… Continue reading Book Review: The Weird Ones