Book Review: In Winter’s Kitchen by Beth Dooley When Beth Dooley first moved to Minneapolis from New Jersey in 1979, she was dismayed by the poor selection of fresh food in the commercial supermarket. She’d heard that Minnesota was a farm state, yet the wilted vegetables and sallow fruit seemed to come from somewhere else… Continue reading Book Review: In Winter’s Kitchen
Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump (2017)
Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump (2017) by various This is my blog’s fifth anniversary! And thus this is my sixth annual review of the state of Weekly Shonen Jump, the online version of the popular manga anthology Weekly Shounen Jump. The online edition, being aimed at the North American audience, is substantially different from the… Continue reading Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump (2017)
Book Review: An Unkindness of Ghosts
Book Review: An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon Something has gone drastically wrong aboard the generation ship Matilda . Centuries after it left the uninhabitable Earth, the ship seems no closer to its destination, if there is in fact a destination at all. Society has become stratified, with the darker-skinned humans confined to the lower… Continue reading Book Review: An Unkindness of Ghosts
Manga Review: Bleach Volume 10
Manga Review: Bleach Volume 10 by Tite Kubo Ichigo Kurosaki is not your typical Japanese sixteen-year-old. For one thing, he has naturally orange hair which makes him look like a delinquent. But more importantly, he can see ghosts. For some reason, his home city of Karakura Town is particularly inhabited by ghosts, and he can… Continue reading Manga Review: Bleach Volume 10
Book Review: Season of Marvels: Viking Tales
Book Review: Season of Marvels: Viking Tales by Deb Houdek Rule This is a collection of four speculative fiction short stories on the general theme of “Vikings” from the small label press Variations On a Theme. “Viking -Trojan War” is an after-action report about 8th Century Viking raiders suddenly materializing on the USC campus due to… Continue reading Book Review: Season of Marvels: Viking Tales
Manga Review: Platinum End Volume 3
Manga Review: Platinum End Volume 3 Story by Tsugumi Ohba, Art by Takeshi Obata Quick recap: Mirai Kakehashi has had a miserable life as an abused orphan, but when he attempts suicide, he is rescued by an angel. Nasse, the Angel of Purity, informs Mirai that he’s been chosen to join a contest to determine… Continue reading Manga Review: Platinum End Volume 3
Book Review: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2014
Book Review: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2014 edited by Paula Guran Even the fastest, most dedicated readers can’t read everything that’s published each year. Not even in relatively limited genres like fantasy or horror. That’s where “Year’s Best” collections come in handy. Someone or several someones has gone through the enormous pile… Continue reading Book Review: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2014
Comic Book Review: The Superman Chronicles Volume One
Comic Book Review: The Superman Chronicles Volume One by Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster While there were several precursors to Superman, he’s generally agreed to be the first full-fledged comic book superhero. Superhuman abilities, a distinctive costume, and a dual identity, he had them all. When Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938, the… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Superman Chronicles Volume One
Book Review: You Can’t Eat Peanuts in Church and Other Little-Known Laws
Book Review: You Can’t Eat Peanuts in Church and Other Little-Known Laws by Barbara Seuling Laws have a purpose. It is not always a good purpose, but track them to their passage and you will usually see the reasoning behind them. With the passage of time, that purpose is obscured, and many laws passed to… Continue reading Book Review: You Can’t Eat Peanuts in Church and Other Little-Known Laws
Manga Review: The Ancient Magus’ Bride Vol. 1
Manga Review: The Ancient Magus’ Bride Vol. 1 by Kore Yamazaki Chise Hatori has had a rough life. Her father ran off with her little brother, her mother committed suicide (probably), and her ability to see magical creatures got her bullied and abandoned. She was on the verge of suicide when Chise was approached by… Continue reading Manga Review: The Ancient Magus’ Bride Vol. 1