Book Review: Nine Strange Stories edited by Betty N. Owen When I was a lad, one of the fun annual events I looked forward to was the Scholastic Book Fair. Scholastic Publishing would send boxes of books around the country to schools so that kids could get the thrill of picking out their own low-cost… Continue reading Book Review: Nine Strange Stories
Tag: anthology
Book Review: Stories from Everywhere
Book Review: Stories from Everywhere by various authors One of the joys of picking up random old books from Little Free Libraries, garage sales and discard bins is discovering rare volumes that have strayed far from their starting point. In this case, it’s a Developmental Reader from the California school system printed in 1954. A… Continue reading Book Review: Stories from Everywhere
Book Review: The Fourth Galaxy Reader
Book Review: The Fourth Galaxy Reader edited by H.L. Gold Galaxy Magazine had a decent run with a lot of good stories, so it’s not surprising that even this fourth collection of fifteen science fiction reprints from the 1950s has a strong selection. (I recognized almost all of these!) There’s an introduction which runs down inferior… Continue reading Book Review: The Fourth Galaxy Reader
Book Review: Great Thrillers: 101 Suspenseful Tales
Book Review: Great Thrillers: 101 Suspenseful Tales compiled by Stefan Dziemianowicz The definition of “thriller” is a little loose in this fun anthology, though most of the stories do have at least some suspense. It feels more like the compiler picked a bunch of the public domain stories he liked, but didn’t have a strong… Continue reading Book Review: Great Thrillers: 101 Suspenseful Tales
Book Review: The Avon Fantasy Reader
Book Review: The Avon Fantasy Reader edited by Donald A. Wollheim and George Ernsberger Avon Fantasy Reader was a pulp magazine that reprinted fantasy and science fiction stories for eighteen issues starting in 1946. It featured some doozies from authors who’d since become well-known, or were classics in their own right. In 1968, this paperback… Continue reading Book Review: The Avon Fantasy Reader
Book Review: Escape from Earth: New Adventures in Space
Book Review: Escape from Earth: New Adventures in Space edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois Per the introduction, in the Fifties and Sixties, many young science fiction fans’ introduction to the genre was “juveniles”, books aimed at an age above “children’s” but not quite “adult.” In the 1970s or so, this category was re-labled… Continue reading Book Review: Escape from Earth: New Adventures in Space
Book Review: The Best of Planet Stories #1
Book Review: The Best of Planet Stories #1 edited by Leigh Brackett Planet Stories was a pulp science fiction magazine that ran from 1939-1955. Its specialty was “space opera”, exciting tales of adventure set in the future and on other worlds, full of square-jawed heroes, scantily clad damsels and bug-eyed monsters. Not always the most… Continue reading Book Review: The Best of Planet Stories #1
Book Review: Writers of the Future, Volume 34
Book Review: Writers of the Future, Volume 34 edited by David Farland Disclaimer: I received a download of this book through a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of writing this review. No other compensation was offered or requested. Back before he became involved with…you know, L. Ron Hubbard was a prolific author of stories for… Continue reading Book Review: Writers of the Future, Volume 34
Book Review: Lambda I and Other Stories
Book Review: Lambda I and Other Stories edited by John Carnell New Worlds was a British science fiction magazine that started professional publication in 1946. Despite some financial hiccups, it was a reasonably good seller, and was still going in the early 1960s when the stories chosen for this anthology were published. The editor picked… Continue reading Book Review: Lambda I and Other Stories
Book Review: The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard
Book Review: The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard by Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (1925-2013) started his career as a professional writer by producing short Western stories for the pulp magazines. According to the introduction, Mr. Leonard’s first attempt was not very good and was rejected, whereupon he decided that next time he… Continue reading Book Review: The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard