Book Review: The Last Quarry

Cover by Robert McGinnis

Book Review: The Last Quarry by Max Allan Collins Quarry is a professional killer, a hitman if you will. He was good at the job, too. He tried retiring once, only to have political enemies track him down and kill his wife. They’re very dead now. At loose ends, he accepted an old friend’s (from… Continue reading Book Review: The Last Quarry

Book Review: The Book of Heroic Failures

Book Review: The Book of Heroic Failures by Stephen Pile There have been many books about great achievements and successful people. This isn’t one of those. This is a book about people who failed, sometimes spectacularly. It was supposedly sponsored by the Not Terribly Good Club of Great Britain, a group composed of incompetent people… Continue reading Book Review: The Book of Heroic Failures

Book Review: The Second If Reader of Science Fiction

Cover by Jack Gaughan.

Book Review: The Second If Reader of Science Fiction edited by Frederik Pohl If was a science fiction magazine that ran from 1952-1974, with its most successful years being under editor Frederik Pohl, winning three consecutive Hugos for Best Professional Magazine 1966-1968. Mr. Pohl has considerately included some stories from before his tenure in his… Continue reading Book Review: The Second If Reader of Science Fiction

Book Review: Transgressive Horror Resurrected

Cover design by Hal Mangold.

Book Review: Transgressive Horror Resurrected edited by Prof. Christopher McGlothlin, M.Ed. Disclaimer: I backed the Kickstarter for this book and got a discounted copy. No other compensation was requested or offered. This is the fourth book in the “Everyone’s Gone to the Movies” series, featuring essays about interesting or unusual films. This volume returns to… Continue reading Book Review: Transgressive Horror Resurrected

Book Review: The Crossroads of Time | Mankind on the Run

Book Review: The Crossroads of Time | Mankind on the Run by Andre Norton | Gordon R. Dickson It’s time for another Ace Double, the classic paperback format of two novels printed upside down from each other. This time it’s two classic science fiction authors on tap. The Crossroads of Time by Andre Norton Blake… Continue reading Book Review: The Crossroads of Time | Mankind on the Run

Book Review: The Art of Prophecy

Cover by Hunter & River Inc.

Book Review: The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu Centuries ago, the Oracle of the Tiandi prophesied that a Destined Hero would arise to unite the Five States and defeat the Immortal Khan of the Katuia people. This prophecy has shaped the Five States’ culture and politics ever since. Relatively recently, the Destined Hero, a… Continue reading Book Review: The Art of Prophecy

Book Review: Way of a Buccaneer

Book Review: Way of a Buccaneer by Davenport Steward It is 1663, and young Wayne Thorp, late of Cambridge University, is assisting his father Captain Thomas Thorpe in a smuggling voyage to Spanish-controlled Panama. Unfortunately, their trading partner, Irish-Spanish minor government official Don Timóteo O’Bannion y Salazar, has decided he can make even more money… Continue reading Book Review: Way of a Buccaneer

Book Review: Science Fiction Adventures in Mutation

Book Review: Science Fiction Adventures in Mutation edited by Groff Conklin Mutation and the mutants resulting from it have long been a popular subject of science fiction stories, but really took off as a topic after World War II and the atomic bomb made exposure to radiation much more a public fear. This collection was… Continue reading Book Review: Science Fiction Adventures in Mutation

Book Review: Worst Hero Ever

Book Review: Worst Hero Ever by Archer Thorn Disclaimer: I received a download of this book through the Booksirens program for the purpose of writing this review. No other compensation was offered or requested. Jim Riven used to be a minor superhero along with his sister Summer. She was Lock, with computer powers, while he… Continue reading Book Review: Worst Hero Ever

Book Review: The Best of Shrdlu

Book Review: The Best of Shrdlu by Denys Parsons Denys Parsons put out a series of books reprinting not just fun typographical errors (which he attributed to the mischief of Gobfrey Shrdlu, a mysterious goblin-like creature) but also what might be called “news of the odd”, alternating pages between “Funny Ha-Ha” and “Funny Peculiar.” This… Continue reading Book Review: The Best of Shrdlu