Magazine Review: High Adventure #169: The Fort Terror Murders

This scene does not appear in the story.

Magazine Review: High Adventure #169: The Fort Terror Murders edited by John P. Gunnison The main feature in this pulp reprint originally appeared in Complete Detective Novel Magazine in December 1931, but the text comes from its reprint in Mystery Novels Magazine Quarterly in Summer 1932. Both magazines had relatively short runs, so it is… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #169: The Fort Terror Murders

Movie Review: Zebraman

Sometimes Zebraman is caught shorthanded and needs a little help from Zebranurse.

Movie Review: Zebraman (2009) directed by Takashi Miike Strange things are afoot in Yokohama, possibly involving aliens. Defense Agency workers Oikawa (Atsuro Watabe) and Segawa (Koen Kondo) are assigned to go undercover and investigate. But they aren’t the protagonists of this story. Instead, the focus is on third-grade teacher Shin’ichi Ichikawa (Sho Aikawa), who is not… Continue reading Movie Review: Zebraman

Magazine Review: High Adventure #73: Secret Agent “X”

Magazine Review: High Adventure #73: Secret Agent “X” Edited by John P. Gunnison Let’s take another look at this pulp reprint magazine, this time reprinting stories from Secret Agent “X” May 1934. “Ambassador of Doom” by Brent House: A secret meeting takes place in Washington, D.C.  The matter at hand–whether to preserve or destroy the prototype and… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #73: Secret Agent “X”

Book Review: The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Book Review: The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie World War One rages in Europe, but for Captain Arthur Hastings, the fighting is over.   Recovering from battle wounds, Hastings is at loose ends until invited to the country manor of his old acquaintance John Cavendish.  Styles Court has changed a bit since Hastings’ childhood… Continue reading Book Review: The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Magazine Review: Short Stories May 25th, 1939

Magazine Review: Short Stories May 25th, 1939 Edited by Dorothy McIlwrath Short Stories started life in 1890 as a literary magazine, but switched to being a “quality pulp” in 1910, featuring stories of adventure and crime a cut above many of its competitors.   Like many of the pulps, it lost sales badly after World War… Continue reading Magazine Review: Short Stories May 25th, 1939

Book Review: The Edge of Tomorrow

Book Review: The Edge of Tomorrow by Howard Fast There have been several books titled The Edge of Tomorrow, none of which have anything to do with the recent Tom Cruise movie, which borrowed most of its plot from the Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill.  (I think you can see why there was a… Continue reading Book Review: The Edge of Tomorrow

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

Manga Review: Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 1

Manga Review: Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 1 by Yasuo Ohtagaki The time is Universal Century year 0079.  The place is Thunderbolt Sector, formerly the orbital space colony Side 4 before it was destroyed in a battle between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation.  Now this sector is heavily littered with debris, and afflicted… Continue reading Manga Review: Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 1

Book Review: Behind a Mask: The Unknown Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott

Book Review: Behind a Mask: The Unknown Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott edited by Madaleine Stern Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) is best remembered for her Little Women series of books for girls, but had quite a few other works to her name.  And some that were written under a pen name.  The latter included several short… Continue reading Book Review: Behind a Mask: The Unknown Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott

TV Review: Blackadder Goes Forth

TV Review: Blackadder Goes Forth The year is 1917, the place, somewhere in France.  British troops are dug into trenches, not too far from the German troops in their trenches.  This particular part of the front line is the location of Captain Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson.)  Experience has taught him that the British strategy of… Continue reading TV Review: Blackadder Goes Forth