Manga Review: Blade of the Immortal Omnibus 1 by Hiroaki Samura Manji used to be the samurai retainer of Lord Horii, and served faithfully until the day he discovered that the people he’d just killed on orders from Horii were in fact not criminals, but innocent peasants who were going to the government with evidence… Continue reading Manga Review: Blade of the Immortal Omnibus 1
Tag: buddhism
Book Review: Japan Tuttle Travel Pack
Book Review: Japan Tuttle Travel Pack by Rob Goss Disclaimer: I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was offered or requested. Tuttle Publishing was founded by Charles Tuttle, a Vermonter who came to Japan with Douglas MacArthur’s staff after World War Two. His job was… Continue reading Book Review: Japan Tuttle Travel Pack
Manga Review: Lone Wolf & Cub Omnibus 1
Manga Review: Lone Wolf & Cub Omnibus 1 written by Kazuo Koike, art by Goseki Kojima Ogami Itto was once a samurai warrior of high rank, the official executioner for the shogunate. He had a lovely wife and new son; life was good. But another clan was ambitious, and framed Ogami for treason. Under sentence of… Continue reading Manga Review: Lone Wolf & Cub Omnibus 1
Book Review: Nexus
Book Review: Nexus by Ramez Naam In the not so distant future, technologies for human alteration and augmentation have advanced rapidly, so that many people are considered “transhuman” and there are a few that are possibly “post-human.” One of the new developments is Nexus, a “nanodrug” that allows humans to communicate mind-to-mind to some degree.… Continue reading Book Review: Nexus
Magazine Review: High Adventure #126 Adventure Fiction Spectacular
Magazine Review: High Adventure #126 Adventure Fiction Spectacular This issue of the pulp reprint magazine concentrates on stories of adventure around the world. Three of the stories are by “Major” George Fielding Eliot, who was born in Brooklyn, raised in Australia, fought at Gallipoli and was a Canadian Mountie before settling down in the U.S.… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #126 Adventure Fiction Spectacular
Movie Review: The Sorcerer and the White Snake (2012)
Movie Review: The Sorcerer and the White Snake (2012) Fahai (Jet Li) is a Buddhist monk and abbot of a monastery who goes about the countryside with his bumbling apprentice Neng Ren (Wen Zhang) defeating demons who harm humans and imprisoning them until they reform. (Effectively forever for most of them.) Meanwhile, white snake demon… Continue reading Movie Review: The Sorcerer and the White Snake (2012)
Manga Review: Ooku
Manga Review: Ooku by Fumi Yoshinaga In an alternate history version of Japan, disaster strikes during the reign of Shogun Iemitsu (circa 1630). A plague that becomes known as the “red-face pox” sweeps the islands, with a fatality rate of 80% among boys and young men. Within a couple of years, the gender imbalance among… Continue reading Manga Review: Ooku
Magazine Review: Conjunctions: 51 The Death Issue
Magazine Review: Conjunctions: 51 The Death Issue edited by David Shields and Bradford Morrow Conjunctions is a literary journal published twice a year by Bard College. Each issue contains essays, short fiction, poetry and less classifiable writing on a given subject, with this issue being about death. Literary journals tend to have a connotation of… Continue reading Magazine Review: Conjunctions: 51 The Death Issue
Book Review: The Avenger: Roaring Heart of the Crucible
Book Review: The Avenger: Roaring Heart of the Crucible edited by Nancy Holder & Joe Gentile Moonstone Books is a publisher that specializes in new material about pulp magazine characters. This is their third anthology of stories about Richard Henry Benson, the Avenger, and his organization, Justice, Inc. For those who have not heard of the… Continue reading Book Review: The Avenger: Roaring Heart of the Crucible
Manga Review: The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service
Manga Review: The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service by Eiji Otsuka & Housui Yamazaki. Five students at a Buddhist college discover that each of them has a talent or skill relating to death. The corpse that brings about this revelation is restless, and they help it find peace. In exchange it wills them just enough money… Continue reading Manga Review: The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service