Manga Review: Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto After 700 chapters and fifteen years, an animated TV series, multiple short movies and video games and piles of merchandise, the popular manga series Naruto has ended. For those who somehow missed the last fifteen years of hype, the premise goes something like this. Blond, blue-eyed orphan Naruto Uzumaki is hated and… Continue reading Manga Review: Naruto
Book Review: The Return of George Washington 1783-1789
Book Review: The Return of George Washington 1783-1789 by Edward J. Larson Disclaimer: I received this book through the Goodreads giveaway program on the premise that I would review it. My copy is an Advance Reader’s Edition, and changes will be made in the final version, including an index and more illustrations. George Washington,… Continue reading Book Review: The Return of George Washington 1783-1789
Book Review: Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin
Book Review: Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder The title is pretty self-explanatory; this book is about the location of the worst mass murders of the 1930s and 1940s; the part of Europe between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. Starting with the 1933 deliberate starvation of Ukrainians by the Soviet government, policies… Continue reading Book Review: Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin
Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Wonder Woman Volume 4
Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Wonder Woman Volume 4 Edited by Robert Kanigher Wonder Woman was not the first female superhero in comics, nor even the first not to be a male character’s sidekick. But she was the first to get her own ongoing solo series, and designed to be an equal to the male… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Wonder Woman Volume 4
Book Review: What We Won
Book Review: What We Won by Bruce Riedel Disclaimer: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. The Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan (1979-1989) was a turning point in history. It was often called the “Russian Vietnam” as the Soviet troops found themselves mired in battle with… Continue reading Book Review: What We Won
Book Review: 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories
Book Review: 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories edited by Stefan Dziemianowicz, Robert Weinberg & Martin H. Greenberg This was my Halloween season read this year, an anthology commissioned for the Barnes & Noble stores in 1995. There are indeed one hundred stories in this hefty tome, averaging about six pages. They are not all about… Continue reading Book Review: 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories
Movie Review: Private Buckaroo
Movie Review: Private Buckaroo When bandleader and trumpeter Harry James (playing himself) is drafted, his entire band enlists to accompany him. However, his main vocalist, Lon Prentice (Dick Foran) is initially classified 4-F due to a foot problem. One visit to the doctor later, Lon is cured and can enlist with the other fellows.… Continue reading Movie Review: Private Buckaroo
Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 15: Dark Matter
Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 15: Dark Matter edited by Mary François Rockcastle This literary journal is published by Hamline University in Minnesota. The title comes from another name of the Philosopher’s Stone, the transformative agent which turned base metals into gold, in the search for true immortality, as literature turns ordinary words into art.… Continue reading Magazine Review: Water~Stone Review Volume 15: Dark Matter
Movie Review: Trocadero (1944)
Movie Review: Trocadero (1944) Hollywood columnist Erskine Johnson (playing himself) needs a story for his Sunday slot, and goes to his favorite nightclub, the Trocadero. It’s hopping as usual, but headwaiter Sam (Ralph Morgan) finds a moment between celebrity cameos and musical numbers to talk to the columnist. He reveals that things were not always… Continue reading Movie Review: Trocadero (1944)
Book Review: Naked to the Stars
Book Review: Naked to the Stars by Gordon R. Dickson Section Leader Calvin Truant of the 91st Combat Engineers has not slept in two days, his unit is at less than half strength and their translator is dying, and all the officers have been killed, leaving Cal in command. The truce with the alien Lehaunan… Continue reading Book Review: Naked to the Stars