Book Review: Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix Back in the 1970s and 1980s, there was a big boom in paperback horror books, which was helped along by some truly lurid cover art that told the potential reader right up front that this was a book about, say, flesh-eating rabbits. Horror writer and vintage paperback… Continue reading Book Review: Paperbacks from Hell
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Magazine Review: Asimov’s Science Fiction May/June 2021
Magazine Review: Asimov’s Science Fiction May/June 2021 edited by Sheila Williams Back in 1977, Isaac Asimov was one of the top three or so science fiction writers in the world, and had a very strong personal brand. So when Davis Publications wanted to create a “name brand magazine” for science fiction like Ellery Queen Mystery… Continue reading Magazine Review: Asimov’s Science Fiction May/June 2021
Magazine Review: Science Fiction Adventures May 1954
Magazine Review: Science Fiction Adventures May 1954 edited by Harry Harrison This is the final issue of the magazine, one of the Lester del Rey-edited issues of which I reviewed earlier. We open the issue with “The Science in Science Fiction”, an editorial by Harry Harrison. He’s thrilled about the expansion of types of science… Continue reading Magazine Review: Science Fiction Adventures May 1954
TV Review: Lupin: Dans l’Ombre d’Arsene Part 1
TV Review: Lupin: Dans l’Ombre d’Arsene Part 1 Twenty-five years ago, Babakar Diop (Fargass Assande), Senegalese immigrant and chauffeur to the wealthy Pellegrini family, was convicted of stealing the fabulous “Queen’s Necklace”, a crime he almost certainly did not commit. In prison, he allegedly hanged himself. Now the jewel has reappeared, once more in the… Continue reading TV Review: Lupin: Dans l’Ombre d’Arsene Part 1
Open Thread: Top Tens for 2020!
Open Thread: Top Tens for 2020! I sincerely hope most of you who were readers of my blog in 2019 survived 2020! And welcome to any new readers who have joined us! As is my custom, it’s time to look at the year’s Top Ten lists! Top Ten Posts for 2020 Book Review: King Arthur… Continue reading Open Thread: Top Tens for 2020!
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
Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine August 1949
Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine August 1949 edited by Ellery Queen It’s time for another issue of this venerable mystery magazine. The cover this time is uncredited, and does not directly match any of the stories in the issue. “Double Exposure” by Ben Hecht opens the issue with a tale of a psychiatrist who… Continue reading Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine August 1949
Book Review: Lovecraft Country
Book Review: Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff Atticus Turner knows about dangerous people. They’re everywhere, though some locations have more concentration of danger than others. If you go traveling, you have to bring a special map to show the safest places to eat and sleep. Of course, between those places the dangerous people could ambush… Continue reading Book Review: Lovecraft Country
Book Review: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Book Review: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice edited by Jack Zipes Most likely, when you saw this title, you immediately thought of the Fantasia sequence with Mickey Mouse, or perhaps the more recent Disney film with Nicolas Cage. But the multiplying of brooms is only one aspect of the tales gathered under the general title of “The… Continue reading Book Review: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Book Review: The Mad Visions of Al-Hazred
Book Review: The Mad Visions of Al-Hazred edited by H. David Blalock The Cthulhu Mythos is littered with the names of mysterious books and manuscripts containing forbidden knowledge. The most commonly used one is the Kitab al-Azif, the “Book of Night Insects Buzzing” (among the possible meanings), usually referred to by the Latin translation’s name,… Continue reading Book Review: The Mad Visions of Al-Hazred