Book Review: One of Our Asteroids is Missing | The Twisted Men by Robert Silverberg (writing as Calvin M. Knox) and A. E. Van Vogt, respectively. This is another Ace Double, two books in one, upside down from each other. According to Larry Niven, during the 1960s Ace Books was known for being particularly skinflint… Continue reading Book Review: One of Our Asteroids is Missing | The Twisted Men
Book Review: The Art of the Dragon
Book Review: The Art of the Dragon edited by Patrick Wilshire & J. David Spurlock One of the most enduring symbols of the fantasy genre is the dragon. It evokes a primal response and is really fun to draw and paint, so it shows up all the time in fantasy art and sometimes manages to get… Continue reading Book Review: The Art of the Dragon
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
Book Review: The Pirate Princess
Book Review: The Pirate Princess by Tawn Krakowski Penelope Puffinstuff is the ninth child of the royal family of Pufftania, so everyone calls her “Princess Penny.” She’s a sweet, well-behaved girl, but is feeling slightly bored with the life of a princess. So when it turns out that a centuries-old prophecy requires her to acquire… Continue reading Book Review: The Pirate Princess
Book Review: Barry Blake of the Flying Fortress
Book Review: Barry Blake of the Flying Fortress by Gaylord Du Bois World War Two is raging, and the Army needs pilots desperately. Enter Barry Blake and his buddy Chick Enders, straight out of high school and patriotic volunteers. They’re to receive their preliminary flight training at Randolph Field in San Antonio. … Continue reading Book Review: Barry Blake of the Flying Fortress
Open Thread: Minicon 50 Report
Over the Easter weekend, I went to Minicon, the Minnesota Scientifiction Society’s yearly convention. This was the 50th convention, although not the fiftieth year, as a couple times early on it was held twice yearly. To mark the milestone, the convention ran four days instead of the usual three, and had a whole bunch of… Continue reading Open Thread: Minicon 50 Report
Anime for Speculative Fiction Fans (2015)
Once again this year I participated in the “Anime and Manga for Speculative Fiction Fans” panel at Minicon. As promised at the panel, here’s a list of the items mentioned–I make no representations regarding the quality of the ones I have not seen. .hack: A series of interlocking video games, anime, manga and light novels… Continue reading Anime for Speculative Fiction Fans (2015)
Book Review: The Blue Fairy Book
Book Review: The Blue Fairy Book edited by Andrew Lang Once upon a time, (1889 to be specific), British children did not have access to collections of fairy tales. Educators of the time thought fairy tales were too unrealistic and harmful to children, and beneath adults. Mr. Lang felt differently; he had delighted in such… Continue reading Book Review: The Blue Fairy Book
Comic Strip Review: Still Pumped from Using the Mouse
Comic Strip Review: Still Pumped from Using the Mouse by Scott Adams Dilbert is an engineer who works for a poorly-managed mid-size corporation. His co-workers are hostile, his boss is pointy-haired, and Dilbert himself is less than competent with anything other than engineering. Such as dating. The Dilbert gag-a-day comic strip has been running since 1989;… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Still Pumped from Using the Mouse
Manga Review: Master Keaton, Volume 1
Manga Review: Master Keaton, Volume 1 art by Naoki Urasawa, story by Hokusei Katsushika & Takashi Nagasaki Taichi Hiraga Keaton is a mild-looking fellow with a bumbling exterior personality. You’d never guess that he’s a brilliant archaeologist, ex-SAS soldier and freelance insurance investigator. He often takes leave of his day job as a poorly paid… Continue reading Manga Review: Master Keaton, Volume 1