Book Review: Fright edited by Charles M. Collins The cover makes this book look like a generic product, but that’s a little deceiving. It’s actually an anthology skewed towards the Gothic end of horror rather than the gory, emphasizing vocabulary-rich authors. Most of the stories were rarely reprinted before this collection in 1963. We open… Continue reading Book Review: Fright
Tag: cats
Manga Review: Rin-Ne Volume 18
Manga Review: Rin-Ne Volume 18 by Rumiko Takahashi Recap: Rinne Rokudo is a shinigami (“death spirit”) a psychopomp who helps ghosts and spirits move on to the afterlife. Because he’s part human, his powers are relatively weak, and he must rely on often expensive gadgets to do his job. That, and debts his deadbeat dad Sabato… Continue reading Manga Review: Rin-Ne Volume 18
Book Review: Slow Dancing Through Time
Book Review: Slow Dancing Through Time by Gardner Dozois in collaboration with Jack Dann, Michael Swanwick, Susan Casper and/or Jack C Haldeman II. The art of collaboration is an interesting one; two authors (rarely three) blending their skills to create a story neither could produce individually. Ideally, the reader should be able to see the… Continue reading Book Review: Slow Dancing Through Time
Book Review: Dark Waters
Book Review: Dark Waters by Michael Merriam Disclaimer: My copy is an uncorrected proof; there may be changes in the final product (I am hoping for many less spellchecker typos.) Many years ago, Richard Martz ran afoul of the law forbidding children who have both mage and fey blood from being born. His lover and… Continue reading Book Review: Dark Waters
Magazine Review: High Adventure #143: Planet Stories Issue
Magazine Review: High Adventure #143: Planet Stories Issue edited by John P. Gunnison Planet Stories was a science-fiction pulp magazine published between 1939 and 1955; it specialized in interplanetary action and daring-do. (See my review of Planet Comics, its sister magazine that started publishing about the same time. Covers tended to the formula of busty, scantily-clad… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #143: Planet Stories Issue
Book Review: Danger in the Dark
Book Review: Danger in the Dark by L. Ron Hubbard Yes, it’s another of those L. Ron Hubbard reprints; thanks, discount bin! This time, we have three fantasy stories, none of which have anything to do with the cover. (It’s actually illustrating “Returned from Hell” by Steve Fisher.) “Danger in the Dark” is set in… Continue reading Book Review: Danger in the Dark
Book Review: Bring Back Yesterday|The Trouble with Tycho
Book Review: Bring Back Yesterday | The Trouble with Tycho by A. Bertram Chandler and Clifford Simak, respectively. This is another Ace Double, two short novels printed upside down from each other. Very nostalgic. Bring Back Yesterday stars John Petersen, a merchant ship’s second mate. Or he was, until he decided to have a night of… Continue reading Book Review: Bring Back Yesterday|The Trouble with Tycho
Book Review: Creatures from Beyond
Book Review: Creatures from Beyond edited by Terry Carr This 1975 speculative fiction anthology has the theme of monsters from outside human experience. The question of what lies in the outer darkness has haunted humanity since we developed imaginations. These nine stories look at the possibilities, from implacable enemies, to beings a lot like us… Continue reading Book Review: Creatures from Beyond
Book Review: From Ghouls to Gangsters: The Career of Arthur B. Reeve Volume 1
Book Review: From Ghouls to Gangsters: The Career of Arthur B. Reeve Volume 1 edited by John Locke Arthur B. Reeve (1880-1936) was a newspaper reporter who decided to try his hand at writing fiction. As it happened, he turned out to be very good at it, making a huge hit with his most famous character,… Continue reading Book Review: From Ghouls to Gangsters: The Career of Arthur B. Reeve Volume 1
Manga Review: So Cute It Hurts!! #1
Manga Review: So Cute It Hurts!! #1 by Go Ikeyamada When the Kobayashi twins, Megumu and Mitsuru, were born, their parents named them after people important in the life of feudal warlord Date Masamune. It seems that their family was descended from retainers of that Warring States era general. When they grew to adolesence, Mitsuru became… Continue reading Manga Review: So Cute It Hurts!! #1