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: Give Unto Others

Book Review: Give Unto Others by Donna Leon Disclaimer: I received an uncorrected proof of this book for the purpose of writing this review. No other compensation was offered or received. As an uncorrected proof, some details may be different in the final edition, such as removal of typos. Thanks to the folks at Once… Continue reading Book Review: Give Unto Others

Anime Review: The Human Crazy University

Kito picks an odd moment to be philosophical.

Anime Review: The Human Crazy University Hirofumi Satake is an ordinary, run-of-the-mill death row inmate, convicted of the murder and cremating of his fiancée Chie Negishi and the man she was supposedly cheating with. Before he became a criminal, Hirofumi worked for a trading company, traveling all over the world, and fluent in several languages.… Continue reading Anime Review: The Human Crazy University

Manga Review: The Haunted Bookstore Vol. 1

Manga Review: The Haunted Bookstore Vol. 1 story by Shinobumaru, art by Medamayaki Kaori Muramoto has lived in the spirit realm since she was very young. She feels at home there, even though she is a human being. Kaori loves helping her adoptive father Shinonome run his bookshop, which rents and sells books to various… Continue reading Manga Review: The Haunted Bookstore Vol. 1

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)

Book Review: Spitfire Pilot

Book Review: Spitfire Pilot by Canfield Cook Bob “Lucky” Terrell may be from Texas, in the currently neutral United States of America, but he knows the Nazis are bad news, so he enlisted via Canada for the Royal Air Force. He turns out to be a very good pilot, so has been trained on the… Continue reading Book Review: Spitfire Pilot

Movie Review: Princess Mononoke

Holy places can be dangerous.

Movie Review: Princess Mononoke (1997) directed by Hayao Miyazaki When Prince Ashitaka’s remote village is attacked by an accursed boar monster, he is forced to slay the creature. But this passes the curse along to him in the form of scarring on his right arm that gives him superhuman strength, but sometimes takes control of the… Continue reading Movie Review: Princess Mononoke

Anime Review: My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

The main cast takes a bow.

Anime Review: My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! “Monkey Girl” was an ordinary seventeen-year-old fan of otome computer games (basically choose your own adventure stories aimed at girls where you try to snare one of a set of romantic options by choosing the right actions and dialogue options.) That is,… Continue reading Anime Review: My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

Book Review: The Railway Children

Book Review: The Railway Children by E. Nesbit Life takes some odd turns. For example, one day you’re an adorable trio of children living a comfortable upper-middle class life in London. The next, your father is sent to prison for a crime he did not commit and you have to go live in a much less impressive house out in… Continue reading Book Review: The Railway Children

Book Review: The Beasts of Tarzan

Book Review: The Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, and his lovely wife Jane have settled down in London with their infant son Jack.  I guess this is the end of the adventures of Tarzan since everyone knows that marriage and children mean that you’re never going to be interesting again. … Continue reading Book Review: The Beasts of Tarzan