Book Review: The Vessel of Ra

Book Review: The Vessel of Ra by Catherine Schaff-Stump It is October 1837, and the acqua alta, the fall flooding, has come to Venice. Lucy Klareon has also come to Venice, as part of her Grand Tour, but she doesn’t plan to leave in the usual way. For on her sixteenth birthday, October 31st, All Hallows Eve, Lucy must do battle… Continue reading Book Review: The Vessel of Ra

Book Review: Toughest in the Legion: The Complete Adventures of Thibault Corday and the Foreign Legion Volume 2

Book Review: Toughest in the Legion: The Complete Adventures of Thibault Corday and the Foreign Legion Volume 2 by Theodore Roscoe Thibault Corday is in his eighties now, and enjoying his retirement in Northern Africa, but his beard is still cinnamon-colored, and his memory is sharp. If you come to the cafe and he likes you, Monsieur Corday will spin you a tale of his days in the French Foreign Legion. This volume… Continue reading Book Review: Toughest in the Legion: The Complete Adventures of Thibault Corday and the Foreign Legion Volume 2

Comic Book Review: Queen & Country: Definitive Edition Volume 01

Comic Book Review: Queen & Country: Definitive Edition Volume 01 written by Greg Rucka, art by various Tara Felicity Chace is a field agent for the Special Operations Section of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS.)  She’s one of three operatives known as Minders who are assigned to the most dangerous tasks, and is code-named… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Queen & Country: Definitive Edition Volume 01

Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: A History of Fake News

Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: A History of Fake News edited by Lewis H. Lapham This is a “special issue” in addition to the four that this magazine normally puts out in a year.  The subject matter is topical as there has been an avalanche of “news” that is in fact not truthful, while certain politicians and… Continue reading Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: A History of Fake News

Manga Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1: Phantom Blood Volume 02

Manga Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1: Phantom Blood Volume 02 by Hirohiko Araki Quick recap: In 19th Century England, orphan Dio Brando comes to live with the wealthy and noble Joestar family.  In retrospective, they probably should have asked more questions about how he became an orphan.  Dio planned to supplant the heir, Jonathan… Continue reading Manga Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1: Phantom Blood Volume 02

Book Review: The History of Opera for Beginners

Book Review: The History of Opera for Beginners by Ron David Opera is one of the great art forms, blending theater and music into a powerful emotional experience.  But it also has a stereotype of being incomprehensible melodrama that boring rich people drag their unwilling spouses to.  And many of the books about opera are written… Continue reading Book Review: The History of Opera for Beginners

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Rip Hunter…Time Master

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Rip Hunter…Time Master written by Jack Miller After the success of Jack Kirby creations The Challengers of the Unknown in 1959, DC Comics took a chance on two other quartets of non-powered adventurers in the pages of Showcase, their try-out comic.  The more successful of these was Rip Hunter’s team of time… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Rip Hunter…Time Master

Anime Review: Lupin the Third: The Italian Adventure

Anime Review: Lupin the Third: The Italian Adventure Arsène Lupin III, alleged French-Japanese descendant of the famous 19th Century criminal Arsène Lupin, is a master thief.  If he says he’ll steal something, Lupin the 3rd most certainly will.  A master of disguise, able to open any lock, and possessed of great cunning, he steals treasures… Continue reading Anime Review: Lupin the Third: The Italian Adventure

Book Review: The Transplanted

Book Review: The Transplanted by John Bodnar This volume, written in the 1980s, is a survey of patterns of immigration into urban areas of the United States between 1830-1930 (approximately.)    It covers those who came to stay, those who just came to get a nest egg to improve life in their home country, and… Continue reading Book Review: The Transplanted

Book Review: Rad Women Worldwide

Book Review: Rad Women Worldwide by Kate Schatz Right up front, I have to say that the title is the most annoying thing about this book.   Did anyone ever use “rad” as an adjective unironically?  That said, “radical” is not an unfair term to apply to many of the women whose short biographies are… Continue reading Book Review: Rad Women Worldwide