Comic Book Review: Athena Voltaire and the Volcano Goddess

Comic Book Review: Athena Voltaire and the Volcano Goddess by Steve Bryant Our story opens in Malaysia, as premiere pilot and adventurer Athena Voltaire and British agent Desmond Forsyth deal with a recently hatched garuda (a gargoyle-like creature.)  Once that’s taken care of, Athena heads back to California for a debriefing by her secret patron, millionaire… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Athena Voltaire and the Volcano Goddess

Book Review: Great Thrillers: 101 Suspenseful Tales

Book Review: Great Thrillers: 101 Suspenseful Tales compiled by Stefan Dziemianowicz The definition of “thriller” is a little loose in this fun anthology, though most of the stories do have at least some suspense.  It feels more like the compiler picked a bunch of the public domain stories he liked, but didn’t have a strong… Continue reading Book Review: Great Thrillers: 101 Suspenseful Tales

Book Review: Time and Mr. Bass

Book Review: Time and Mr. Bass by Eleanor Cameron Long ago and long ago and even before that, came the Mycetians to Earth from Basidium, the Mushroom Planet.  Much of their history has been lost to Deep Time, but it is known that they were stranded on this planet, and eventually wound up settling in… Continue reading Book Review: Time and Mr. Bass

Book Review: Green Kills

Book Review: Green Kills by Avi Domoshevizki Disclaimer:  I received a download of this book through a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of this review.  No other compensation was offered or requested. Ronnie Saar knew venture capital was a cutthroat business when he agreed to become a partner in one of the top firms.  He… Continue reading Book Review: Green Kills

Movie Review: The Chinese Cat (1944)

Movie Review: The Chinese Cat (1944) directed by Phil Rosen Six months ago, Thomas P. Manning, businessman and chess expert, was shot to death in his study, the door locked from the inside.  The police have been unable to solve the case.  Daughter Leah Manning (Joan Woodbury) is dismayed to discover that a new book… Continue reading Movie Review: The Chinese Cat (1944)

Book Review: Season of Marvels: Viking Tales

Book Review: Season of Marvels: Viking Tales by Deb Houdek Rule This is a collection of four speculative fiction short stories on the general theme of “Vikings” from the small label press Variations On a Theme. “Viking -Trojan War” is an after-action report about 8th Century Viking raiders suddenly materializing on the USC campus due to… Continue reading Book Review: Season of Marvels: Viking Tales

Book Review: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2014

Book Review: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2014 edited by Paula Guran Even the fastest, most dedicated readers can’t read everything that’s published each year.  Not even in relatively limited genres like fantasy or horror.  That’s where “Year’s Best” collections come in handy.  Someone or several someones has gone through the enormous pile… Continue reading Book Review: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2014

Book Review: You Can’t Eat Peanuts in Church and Other Little-Known Laws

Book Review: You Can’t Eat Peanuts in Church and Other Little-Known Laws by Barbara Seuling Laws have a purpose.  It is not always a good purpose, but track them to their passage and you will usually see the reasoning behind them.  With the passage of time, that purpose is obscured, and many laws passed to… Continue reading Book Review: You Can’t Eat Peanuts in Church and Other Little-Known Laws

Book Review: The Edge of Tomorrow

Book Review: The Edge of Tomorrow by Howard Fast There have been several books titled The Edge of Tomorrow, none of which have anything to do with the recent Tom Cruise movie, which borrowed most of its plot from the Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill.  (I think you can see why there was a… Continue reading Book Review: The Edge of Tomorrow

Magazine Review: Saucy Romantic Adventures August 1936

Magazine Review: Saucy Romantic Adventures August 1936 by various This was one of the “spicy” pulp magazines, sold “under the counter” to readers wanting something more titillating than the standard action fare.  By modern standards, this is pretty tame stuff, mostly consisting of descriptions of women’s naked bodies (minus genitalia) and strong hints that the… Continue reading Magazine Review: Saucy Romantic Adventures August 1936