Book Review: The Hugo Winners Volume 5 1980-1982

Book Review: The Hugo Winners Volume 5 1980-1982 edited by Isaac Asimov The Hugo Awards are given out every year by the membership of the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon.)  This series of books from 1986 collected the winners in the three short fiction categories: Novella  (17,500-40,000 words), Novelette (7,500-17,500 words) and Short Story (less… Continue reading Book Review: The Hugo Winners Volume 5 1980-1982

Book Review: The Great Secret

Book Review: The Great Secret by L. Ron Hubbard This is another in the line of Galaxy Press reprints of L. Ron Hubbard’s pulp magazine stories.  As always, the physical presentation is excellent.  This time, we have four short science fiction stories.  The cover doesn’t actually apply to any of them. “The Great Secret” is… Continue reading Book Review: The Great Secret

Manga Review: Captain Ken 1 &2

Manga Review: Captain Ken 1 & 2 by Osamu Tezuka Mamoru Hoshino lives on his family ranch on Mars near the town of Hedes.  Life in a backwater frontier town can get a bit stale, so he’s excited when he learns a distant relative, Kenn Minakami, is coming from Earth to live with them.  … Continue reading Manga Review: Captain Ken 1 &2

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: DC Comics Presents Superman Team-Ups

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: DC Comics Presents Superman Team-Ups Volume 2 edited by Julius Schwartz The dedicated rotating team-up series was a huge boon for DC Comics and Marvel back in the day.  A top-selling character anchors the book (in this case Superman) and rotating guest stars got a chance to shine.  Some appearances… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: DC Comics Presents Superman Team-Ups

Book Review: Our Man in Charleston

Book Review: Our Man in Charleston by Christopher Dickey One of the great things about reading history books is learning about obscure people whose lives illuminate a corner of time.  In school history classes, the emphasis tends to be on larger stories, a few “great men” (possibly a woman or two) and lots of dates… Continue reading Book Review: Our Man in Charleston

Magazine Review: Argosy October 8, 1938

Magazine Review: Argosy October 8, 1938 Argosy began its life as The Golden Argosy, a children’s weekly, in 1882.  By 1889 publisher Fred Munsey had discovered that the readers aged out too fast to keep the magazine viable, so he switched to fiction aimed at adult readers and shortened the title.  It’s considered one of the… Continue reading Magazine Review: Argosy October 8, 1938

Book Review: Flying Colours

Book Review: Flying Colours by C.S. Forester This is the third book in the Horatio Hornblower series as they were originally written, but the eighth in internal chronology.   For those of you who somehow have not heard of these books or their media adaptations before, Hornblower is an officer in the British navy during the… Continue reading Book Review: Flying Colours

Book Review: Boy Scouts of the Air on the French Front

Book Review: Boy Scouts of the Air on the French Front by Gordon Stuart Tod Fulton’s father is an inventor who has developed a new airplane that can hover in place and has true VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) capabilities.  Up to now, he wasn’t able to sell it as there were no peacetime applications.… Continue reading Book Review: Boy Scouts of the Air on the French Front

Magazine Review: Analog Science Fiction and Fact June 2015

Magazine Review: Analog Science Fiction and Fact June 2015 edited by Trevor Quachri Since its debut issue as Astounding Stories of Super-Science in January 1930, what would become Analog was one of the most influential, and often the most influential, science fiction magazines on the racks.  After I reviewed Analog  1 (a collection of stories from when the… Continue reading Magazine Review: Analog Science Fiction and Fact June 2015

Comic Strip Review: The Complete Little Orphan Annie Volume Ten: The Junior Commandos

Comic Strip Review: The Complete Little Orphan Annie Volume Ten: The Junior Commandos by Harold Gray Little Orphan Annie was one of the all-time great comic strips, debuting in 1924.  The story centered on a plucky orphan girl with curly red hair (which was considered unattractive at the time) and her attempts to get by… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: The Complete Little Orphan Annie Volume Ten: The Junior Commandos