Book Review: The Diamond Cave Mystery

Book Review: The Diamond Cave Mystery by Troy Nesbit Chuck Bennett’s father runs the Trading Post near Carlsbad, New Mexico, home of the famous Carlsbad Caverns. Being out in the sticks, Chuck doesn’t normally have kids his own age (fifteen) to hang out with, but this summer he’s joined by Hal Cassidy, son of oil… Continue reading Book Review: The Diamond Cave Mystery

Movie Review: Princess Mononoke

Holy places can be dangerous.

Movie Review: Princess Mononoke (1997) directed by Hayao Miyazaki When Prince Ashitaka’s remote village is attacked by an accursed boar monster, he is forced to slay the creature. But this passes the curse along to him in the form of scarring on his right arm that gives him superhuman strength, but sometimes takes control of the… Continue reading Movie Review: Princess Mononoke

Book Review: Beyond Human Ken

Book Review: Beyond Human Ken edited by Judith Merril This 1954 paperback anthology is a partial reprint of the 1952 hardback of the same title, choosing twelve stories of the original twenty-one and skipping the prefaces that were in that edition. The theme is non-human beings of various kinds, pulled primarily from the science fiction… Continue reading Book Review: Beyond Human Ken

Manga Review: Fly Me to the Moon #1

Manga Review: Fly Me to the Moon #1 by Kenjiro Hata The Yuzakis named their son Nasa (“Starry Sky”) in hope of giving him a bright future. The constant teasing about it he got in his childhood gave Nasa the determination to excel in mind and body so that he could achieve greatness to the… Continue reading Manga Review: Fly Me to the Moon #1

Movie Review: Gaslight (1940)

Has Bella finally snapped?

Movie Review: Gaslight (1940) directed by Thorold Dickinson It has been twenty years since the shocking crime at 12 Pimlico Square. Alice Barlow was murdered by an intruder, the house ripped apart in a search, and the famous Barlow rubies disappeared. All this time, the house has lain empty. But now someone has been found that… Continue reading Movie Review: Gaslight (1940)

Magazine Review: The Phantom Detective September 1935

Magazine Review: The Phantom Detective September 1935 Quick recap: The Phantom is Richard Curtis Van Loan, a wealthy man-about-town. While he started fighting crime out of boredom and a chance to get thrills, he soon developed a burning hatred of crime and major criminals that allow him to carry on a crusade. A master of… Continue reading Magazine Review: The Phantom Detective September 1935

Anime Review: SSSS Gridman

And this isn't even his final form!

Anime Review: SSSS Gridman Yuta has amnesia, that’s true, yet somehow Tokyo doesn’t seem quite right to him. Was it always so foggy in the city? And why is he the only one who can see kaiju (giant monsters) just casually hanging out in the distance? And did old model computers have superheroes talking directly… Continue reading Anime Review: SSSS Gridman

Movie Review: A Bucket of Blood

Carla inspects Walter's creation.

A Bucket of Blood (1959) dir. Roger Corman In 1959, the cool place to be was the Yellow Door, a beatnik coffee house. (For our younger readers, beatniks were the predecessor to hippies, but more focused on artistic expression; both hipsters and goths are distant descendants.) You could listen to word salad poet Maxwell H. Brock… Continue reading Movie Review: A Bucket of Blood

Manga Review: Sayonara, Football #1

Manga Review: Sayonara, Football #1 by Naoshi Arakawa Fourteen year old Nozomi Onda has the best technical skills on her school’s soccer team. She trains harder than any of the other members, and has a true passion for the sport. But since her school doesn’t have a girls’ soccer team, Nozomi had to join the… Continue reading Manga Review: Sayonara, Football #1

Book Review: Ginger Rogers and the Riddle of the Scarlet Cloak

Book Review: Ginger Rogers and the Riddle of the Scarlet Cloak by Lela E. Rogers Ginger Rogers enjoys her work as a night shift switchboard operator at the Seaview Arms, a fancy hotel on the West Coast. She’s good at customer service, and the constant variety of guest requests keeps her on her toes. Some… Continue reading Book Review: Ginger Rogers and the Riddle of the Scarlet Cloak