Manga Review: Mao Volumes 8-10

Manga Review: Mao Volumes 8-10 by Rumiko Takahashi Note: The following review has SPOILERS for previous volumes. Check out my earlier posts. Quick recap: Nanoka Kiba’s parents were killed in a bizarre car crash when she was little. When she’s a teenager, Nanoka learns that a local shopping arcade functions as a portal between the… Continue reading Manga Review: Mao Volumes 8-10

Book Review: Golden Lightning

Book Review: Golden Lightning by Max Brand (Also Published as Lightning of Gold) “Lefty” Bill Ranger is an honest man. When his partner in an Alaskan gold prospecting claim dies before Ranger can deliver the partner’s share, he refuses to take the lot and donates it to charity. This attracts the attention of Menneval, a… Continue reading Book Review: Golden Lightning

Book Review: The Last Séance

Book Review: The Last Séance by Agatha Christie Agatha Christie is best remembered for her tales of mystery and detection, but she didn’t confine herself to that field. She also wrote stories with elements of the supernatural, and this new volume collects twenty of them in one place, rather than in scattered anthologies. The title… Continue reading Book Review: The Last Séance

Magazine Review: Strange Fantasy Spring 1970

The stories illustrated on the cover are, from left, "The Shrine of Temptation", "Sword of Flowers" and "Planet of Change".

Magazine Review: Strange Fantasy Spring 1970 “Strange Fantasy” was a short-lived reprint digest-sized magazine from Ultimate Publishing. This issue’s stories were originally published between 1959 and 1964, which somewhat belies the cover text. “The Shrine of Temptation” by Judith Merril starts us off with an anthropologist’s tale of a mysterious shrine on an isolated island.… Continue reading Magazine Review: Strange Fantasy Spring 1970

Book Review: Lovecraft Country

Book Review: Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff Atticus Turner knows about dangerous people. They’re everywhere, though some locations have more concentration of danger than others. If you go traveling, you have to bring a special map to show the safest places to eat and sleep. Of course, between those places the dangerous people could ambush… Continue reading Book Review: Lovecraft Country

Movie Review: Hanna (2011)

Movie Review: Hanna (2011) directed by Joe Wright Hanna (Saoirse Ronan)has been raised since infancy in an isolated cabin in the Finnish wilderness by her father Erik Heller (Eric Bana). He’s taught her survival, hunting and combat, a bunch of encyclopedia entries, and a cover story to give anyone who asks. Hanna’s grown into a strong… Continue reading Movie Review: Hanna (2011)

Book Review: Roar at the Universe

Book Review: Roar at the Universe by Danith McPherson In her introduction, the author states that bad stuff happens, and people can deal with it in different ways. This anthology, then, is eleven stories and poems about characters who struggle with the bad stuff in their lives, not always successfully. “Folds of Blue Silk” starts… Continue reading Book Review: Roar at the Universe

Book Review: Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures Volume 2

Book Review: Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures Volume 2 by Louis L’Amour with editorial material by Beau L’Amour Disclaimer: I received an Advance Uncorrected Proof of this book through a Goodreads giveaway to facilitate the writing of this review. No other compensation was requested or offered. As an uncorrected proof, there will be changes made in… Continue reading Book Review: Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures Volume 2

Magazine Review: Galaxy Science Fiction November 1973

For reasons unknown to me, this issue had two different covers. There was a standard painting cover, and the one on the copy I have, which shows the contents with a few of the interior illustrations.

Magazine Review: Galaxy Science Fiction November 1973 edited by Ejler Jakobsson The last issue of this magazine I reviewed was from the 1950s, so there’s a considerable time gap, and we can see some definite changes in the science fiction field. “Think Only This of Me” by Michael Kurland opens the issue. Humanity has gone… Continue reading Magazine Review: Galaxy Science Fiction November 1973

Book Review: We Have Always Lived In the Castle

Book Review: We Have Always Lived In the Castle by Shirley Jackson No one except Merrikat goes up the back path to the Blackwood house any more. Not since the murders. And that’s just the way Mary Katherine Blackwood likes it. And even she would not go through the gate except that someone has to shop for groceries once a week. Uncle Julian is… Continue reading Book Review: We Have Always Lived In the Castle