Book Review: Twin Cities Noir: The Expanded Edition edited by Julie Schaper & Steven Horwitz Like the previously reviewed USA Noir, this is a collection of grittier crime stories from Akashic Books with a regional focus. In this case, the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in Minnesota, and the surrounded metro area, plus one up… Continue reading Book Review: Twin Cities Noir: The Expanded Edition
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Manga Review: Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches #1
Manga Review: Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches #1 by Miki Yoshikawa Ryu Yamada is a delinquent. His time at Suzaku High School is marked by poor attendance, bad grades and getting into fights. His surly attitude is reflected by other students giving him a wide berth and teachers giving him hassle. One day, after being… Continue reading Manga Review: Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches #1
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
Manga Review: Fragments of Horror
Manga Review: Fragments of Horror by Junji Ito Junji Ito is one of Japan’s top horror manga creators, whose famous works include Uzumaki (spirals are scary!), Gyo (landshark!) and Tomie (the girl who just won’t die.) He’s slowed down some in recent years, so this collection of short stories has been brewing for a while. Mr. Ito does… Continue reading Manga Review: Fragments of Horror
Book Review: The Year’s Best S-F: 5th Annual Edition
Book Review: The Year’s Best S-F: 5th Annual Edition edited by Judith Merrill This 1960 book features a selection of speculative fiction short stories published during the 1958-60 time period. Editor Judith Merrill provides an introduction about the concept of wonder, chatty introductions to each story (she doesn’t think much of Kingsley Amis as a… Continue reading Book Review: The Year’s Best S-F: 5th Annual Edition
Manga Review: Chaika: The Coffin Princess #1
Manga Review: Chaika: the Coffin Princess #1 Original Story by Ichirou Sakaki, art by Shinta Sakayama It has been five years since the end of the war with the Gaz Empire, and up until now, there has been peace. Not everyone has adjusted well to the post-war era. In particular, Toru Acura based his entire… Continue reading Manga Review: Chaika: The Coffin Princess #1
Book Review: The Deaths of Tao
Book Review: The Deaths of Tao by Wesley Chu Note: This is the sequel to The Lives of Tao and this review may contain SPOILERS for the previous volume. Millions of years ago, the Quasing crashed on Earth. They could not survive in Earth’s atmosphere, and were forced to piggyback inside the native lifeforms. They managed… Continue reading Book Review: The Deaths of Tao
Book Review: Fresh Fear
Book Review: Fresh Fear edited by William Cook Horror anthologies are like a box of chocolates. One story might be crunchy frog, another spring surprise, while a more disappointing one is just maple cream. (Seriously, maple cream?) This is because horror tends to be a balancing act between what the writer finds scary and what… Continue reading Book Review: Fresh Fear
Book Review: From Ghouls to Gangsters: The Career of Arthur B. Reeve Volume 1
Book Review: From Ghouls to Gangsters: The Career of Arthur B. Reeve Volume 1 edited by John Locke Arthur B. Reeve (1880-1936) was a newspaper reporter who decided to try his hand at writing fiction. As it happened, he turned out to be very good at it, making a huge hit with his most famous character,… Continue reading Book Review: From Ghouls to Gangsters: The Career of Arthur B. Reeve Volume 1
Manga Review: So Cute It Hurts!! #1
Manga Review: So Cute It Hurts!! #1 by Go Ikeyamada When the Kobayashi twins, Megumu and Mitsuru, were born, their parents named them after people important in the life of feudal warlord Date Masamune. It seems that their family was descended from retainers of that Warring States era general. When they grew to adolesence, Mitsuru became… Continue reading Manga Review: So Cute It Hurts!! #1