Manga Review: Ōoku Volumes 13 & 14

Manga Review: Ōoku Volumes 13 & 14 by Fumi Yoshinaga Note: This review may contain SPOILERS for earlier volumes; you may want to read previous reviews if you are unfamiliar with the series. Quick recap: In an alternate history, Shogunate Japan was struck by an epidemic of “red-faced pox”, also known as “bearpox.” For unclear… Continue reading Manga Review: Ōoku Volumes 13 & 14

Movie Review: Blood Brothers (1973)

Ma doesn't forget his friends, exactly...

Movie Review: Blood Brothers (1973) directed by Chang Cheh (original Chinese title “Ci Ma”, “The Blood Brothers” on the title card, aka “Dynasty of Blood.”) Ching (Qing) Dynasty government official Ma Hsin-yi (Lung Ti) has been assassinated. The assassin, Chang Wen-hsiang (David Chiang) has been arrested, but seems unusually calm and in good spirits. Hauled into… Continue reading Movie Review: Blood Brothers (1973)

Book Review: The Crystal Stopper

Book Review: The Crystal Stopper by Maurice Leblanc Arsène Lupin should probably have been more cautious when two members of his gang, Vaucheray and Gilbert, asked him to assist with the burglary of the Enghien country home of government deputy Daubrecq. But Vaucheray is experienced, and Lupin is impressed with Gilbert’s good character (for a… Continue reading Book Review: The Crystal Stopper

Manga Review: White Night Melody 1

Manga Review: White Night Melody by Selena Lin Colleen and Jing Ping don’t remember much of their lives before they were turned into living dolls, though they believe that she was a princess of some sort, and he was a government official. They’re also fuzzy on most of their years as dolls before coming into… Continue reading Manga Review: White Night Melody 1

Comic Book Review: Fleetway Picture Library Classics Presents: Rick Random

Comic Book Review: Fleetway Picture Library Classics Presents: Rick Random art by Ron Turner In the far future of the 2040s, Earth belongs to the Interplanetary Board, a coalition of worlds both in the Sol System and beyond. As it just so happens, it’s headquartered in what used to be the country of Great Britain.… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Fleetway Picture Library Classics Presents: Rick Random

Book Review: Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women Volume 2 (1953-1957)

Cover by Frank Kelly Freas--not illustrating any of the stories in this volume.

Book Review: Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women Volume 2 (1953-1957) edited by Gideon Marcus As the introduction by Janice L. Newman points out, women have written science fiction all along. The percentage of them getting published at any given time in the magazines and books waxed and waned, but they were always there. In the… Continue reading Book Review: Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women Volume 2 (1953-1957)

TV Review: Flash Gordon #TV1-A

Alien spy.

TV Review: Flash Gordon #TV1-A Digging through my pile of random DVDs, I have come across this set of three episodes of the 1950s German/American TV series of FLash Gordon starring Steve Holland. As previously mentioned, the three lead characters, Flash, Dale Arden, and Dr. Zarkov, were played by American actors while almost everyone else… Continue reading TV Review: Flash Gordon #TV1-A

Movie Review: Fort Apache

Miss Thursday, Lieutenant O'Rourke, and Captain York chat on the stairs.

Movie Review: Fort Apache (1948) directed by John Ford Lieutenant Colonel Owen Thursday (Henry Fonda) was a general during the American Civil War. He showed his brilliance in a particular battle, at the cost of his friend Sam Collingwood’s (George O’Brien) career (that man is now a captain.) After the war, Thursday lost his brevet rank… Continue reading Movie Review: Fort Apache

Book Review: The Last Victorians

Book Review: The Last Victorians by W. Sydney Robinson Much as we sometimes like to pretend otherwise, historical eras do not have clean breaks. Bits and pieces of the Roman Empire lasted well into the Middle Ages, most of us have met people who haven’t got the memo that it’s the Twenty-First Century now, and… Continue reading Book Review: The Last Victorians

Manga Review: Triton of the Sea 2

Manga Review: Triton of the Sea 2 by Osamu Tezuka WARNING: This review contains massive SPOILERS for Volume 1 of Triton of the Sea. Triton, last surviving male member of the Triton Clan of sea-dwellers, has managed to survive everything the Poseidon Clan has thrown at him, including the 33 children of King Poseidon himself.… Continue reading Manga Review: Triton of the Sea 2