Book Review: The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime

Book Review: The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime by Judith Flanders Great Britain in the Nineteenth Century underwent massive transformation in technology and culture, particularly during the reign of Queen Victoria, who lent her name to an entire era. This book looks specifically at murders… Continue reading Book Review: The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime

Movie Review: The Black Book (1949)

Robespierre and Fouche conspire.

Movie Review: The Black Book (1949) directed by Anthony Mann The French Revolution is eating its own. The corrupt monarchy was overthrown, yes, and many of the cruel aristocrats executed or exiled. But the temptations of power have turned the Citizens’ Committee against each other, and control of the mob requires ever-increasing sacrifices of the “enemies… Continue reading Movie Review: The Black Book (1949)

Manga Review: Vinland Saga Book Eleven

Manga Review: Vinland Saga Book Eleven by Makoto Yukimura Quick recap: It is the age of Vikings. Thorfinn Thorsson, once a warrior single-mindedly focused on vengeance, now pursues a path of peace. His trading expedition has been interrupted by war in the Baltic Sea between factions of the fierce Jomsviking raiders. Thorfinn wants nothing to… Continue reading Manga Review: Vinland Saga Book Eleven

Book Review: Hope of Ages Past

Book Review: Hope of Ages Past by Bruce Gardner In 1618, accountant’s son Peter Erhart and military advisor’s son Hans Mannheim witness an outrage in Prague, Bohemia. The two Catholic governors of this Holy Roman Empire province are tossed from a tower by their Lutheran colleagues. Hans has a moment of panic, and temporarily flees. Peter finds Hans and his kindness manages to… Continue reading Book Review: Hope of Ages Past

Book Review: Abraham Lincoln: Selected Speeches and Writings

Book Review: Abraham Lincoln: Selected Speeches and Writings by Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was the sixteenth president of the United States, shepherding the nation through the dark days of the American Civil War.  Though mostly self-educated, he had a gift for the English language, making memorable speeches and writing interest letters.  Because of his… Continue reading Book Review: Abraham Lincoln: Selected Speeches and Writings

Book Review: An Unkindness of Ghosts

Book Review: An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon Something has gone drastically wrong aboard the generation ship Matilda .  Centuries after it left the uninhabitable Earth, the ship seems no closer to its destination, if there is in fact a destination at all.  Society has become stratified, with the darker-skinned humans confined to the lower… Continue reading Book Review: An Unkindness of Ghosts

Book Review: Penny Dreadfuls: Sensational Tales of Terror

Book Review: Penny Dreadfuls: Sensational Tales of Terror edited by Stefan Dziemianowicz While the term “penny dreadfuls” proper belongs to a particular type of inexpensive newsprint periodical, as explained in the introduction to this volume, the twenty stories chosen here can all be described as lowbrow sensationalist literature written for those seeking thrills in their… Continue reading Book Review: Penny Dreadfuls: Sensational Tales of Terror

Book Review: The Play of Death

Book Review: The Play of Death by Oliver Pötzsch Disclaimer:  I received a Kindle download of this book through a Goodreads giveaway to facilitate this review.  No other compensation was offered or requested. The year is 1670, and the people of Oberammergau are preparing their every-ten-years Passion Play…though some of them think it might be… Continue reading Book Review: The Play of Death

Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 15: Dark Matter

Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 15: Dark Matter edited by Mary François Rockcastle This literary journal is published by Hamline University in Minnesota.  The title comes from another name of the Philosopher’s Stone, the transformative agent which turned base metals into gold, in the search for true immortality, as literature turns ordinary words into art.… Continue reading Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 15: Dark Matter

Magazine Review: Conjunctions: 51 The Death Issue

Magazine Review:  Conjunctions: 51 The Death Issue edited by David Shields and Bradford Morrow Conjunctions is a literary journal published twice a year by Bard College.  Each issue contains essays, short fiction, poetry and less classifiable writing on a given subject, with this issue being about death.  Literary journals tend to have a connotation of… Continue reading Magazine Review: Conjunctions: 51 The Death Issue