Book Review: Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures Volume 2

Book Review: Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures Volume 2 by Louis L’Amour with editorial material by Beau L’Amour Disclaimer: I received an Advance Uncorrected Proof of this book through a Goodreads giveaway to facilitate the writing of this review. No other compensation was requested or offered. As an uncorrected proof, there will be changes made in… Continue reading Book Review: Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures Volume 2

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

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Robin the Boy Wonder Vol. 1

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Robin the Boy Wonder Vol. 1 by various creators In 1940, a year after Batman debuted, he gained the first superhero kid sidekick in comic books.  Robin aka Dick Grayson served several functions.  Kid appeal, merchandising, lightening up the tone of the stories a bit, and giving Batman someone to have… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Robin the Boy Wonder Vol. 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: Old Celtic Romances

Book Review: Old Celtic Romances by P.W. Joyce The Gaelic-speaking people of ancient Ireland told tales of their mighty ancestors and great men, not unlike the people of every nation and tribe.  When writing came, they began to put these tales into manuscripts.  Out of the large body of remaining literature, in 1879 P.W. Joyce… Continue reading Book Review: Old Celtic Romances

Manga Review: Manga Classics: The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe

Manga Review: Manga Classics: The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe adapted by Stacy King When I was young, a half century or so ago, there was a line of educational comics called Classics Illustrated.  These presented classic public domain works of literature in a comic book format.  The art tended to be static and pedestrian, difficult… Continue reading Manga Review: Manga Classics: The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe

Book Review: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2014

Book Review: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2014 edited by Paula Guran Even the fastest, most dedicated readers can’t read everything that’s published each year.  Not even in relatively limited genres like fantasy or horror.  That’s where “Year’s Best” collections come in handy.  Someone or several someones has gone through the enormous pile… Continue reading Book Review: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2014

Magazine Review: Saucy Romantic Adventures August 1936

Magazine Review: Saucy Romantic Adventures August 1936 by various This was one of the “spicy” pulp magazines, sold “under the counter” to readers wanting something more titillating than the standard action fare.  By modern standards, this is pretty tame stuff, mostly consisting of descriptions of women’s naked bodies (minus genitalia) and strong hints that the… Continue reading Magazine Review: Saucy Romantic Adventures August 1936

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents the Flash, Volume 4

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents the Flash, Volume 4 edited by Julius Schwartz The Flash is Barry Allen, a police detective who was working during a thunderstorm one night when a bolt of lightning struck a shelf of chemicals, spilling the mixture on him.   Barry quickly realized that he’d been gifted with super-speed, making… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents the Flash, Volume 4

Book Review: King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

Book Review: King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Martin J. Dougherty The Arthurian mythos is a familiar one to just about everyone in some form or another.  But unless you’re a scholar of the subject, you might not know where all the pieces came from and how they got put together.… Continue reading Book Review: King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table