Movie Review: Horror Hotel (1960)

Nan gets ready for light jazz dancing.

Movie Review: Horror Hotel (1960) directed by John Llewellyn Moxey In 1672 Massachusetts, the tiny town of Whitewood has supposedly been plagued by witches. The townsfolk have chosen Elizabeth Selwyn (Patricia Jessel) as their scapegoat and burn her at the stake. Elizabeth curses the villagers as she is consumed by the flames. Cut to Professor Driscoll… Continue reading Movie Review: Horror Hotel (1960)

Magazine Review: Oh Reader, Issue 001

Magazine Review: Oh Reader, Issue 001 edited by Gemma Peckham So it turns out publishers are still starting new print magazines in this calamitous year of 2020. Fittingly, it’s a magazine for and about people who like to read. The primary focus, at least in this issue, is essays on various aspects of reading. The… Continue reading Magazine Review: Oh Reader, Issue 001

Comic Book Review: From Beyond the Unknown Giant #1

Comic Book Review: From Beyond the Unknown Giant #1 by Various When I was a lad in the 1970s, comic books had become thin. In an effort to save costs and keep prices within the allowance of kids, the major publishers had shaved off page count, and thus story content. I didn’t fully understand the… Continue reading Comic Book Review: From Beyond the Unknown Giant #1

Book Review: Great Stories from the Saturday Evening Post

This cover is by Stevan Dohanos, who often did covers for the Post, and illustrates a conversation he had with a mailman. Note the two red stars on the sleeve for twenty years' service.

Book Review: Great Stories from the Saturday Evening Post edited by Ben Hibbs For many years, the Saturday Evening Post was one of America’s most popular magazines. Every week, it would show fascinating photographs, interesting non-fiction articles and a selection of short stories and serialized fiction. With more than 200 short stories being printed in… Continue reading Book Review: Great Stories from the Saturday Evening Post

Book Review: Girl with a Pearl Earring

Book Review: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier Griet is sixteen, and would ordinarily be living in her parents’ home for another few years, preparing for the day she would get married and join her husband’s family. But her father was blinded in an accident at his job as a tile painter, and… Continue reading Book Review: Girl with a Pearl Earring

Book Review: Web of Everywhere

Book Review: Web of Everywhere by John Brunner Hans Dykstra is a criminal. Along with the blind poet Mustapha Sharif, he uses illegally obtained location codes to visit abandoned teleport stations and photograph their surroundings. This time they’ve found a surprisingly intact house in Sweden, the former owners dead of personal violence rather than war… Continue reading Book Review: Web of Everywhere

Book Review: Nova 2

Book Review: Nova 2 edited by Harry Harrison In the introduction to this 1972 anthology, Mr. Harrison talks some about the internationalization of science fiction beyond North America and Western Europe. In recognition of this growing trend, he’s included a Brazilian author’s story. “Oh, and we have one story by a woman.” In reality, there… Continue reading Book Review: Nova 2

Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3

Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3 by Robert Bloch Robert Bloch (1917-1994) was a prolific author of horror, science fiction and mystery works. (You may have seen, read or at least heard of Psycho.) This volume, originally “Selected Stories” and by no means complete, features 39 stories published between 1960 and… Continue reading Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3

Anime Review: Dororo (2019)

"Dororo" in Japanese.

Anime Review: Dororo (2019) Lord Daigo has a problem. The lands under his control suffer from floods when it rains and droughts when it doesn’t, the crops wither, the people are afflicted with disease, and bandits and enemy soldiers roam freely. As a result, Daigo’s province is poverty-stricken and low-status. In desperation, Daigo turns to… Continue reading Anime Review: Dororo (2019)

Book Review: The Beast with Five Fingers

Book Review: The Beast with Five Fingers by W.F. Harvey W.F. Harvey (1885-1937) was born in Yorkshire, of Quaker family, and became a doctor. However, his health was poor and he was often unable to practice, so he wrote short stories on the side, many of them falling generally into the “weird” category. This volume… Continue reading Book Review: The Beast with Five Fingers