Book Review: Once Upon a Star: The Adventures of Manning Draco Volume 1

Book Review: Once Upon a Star: The Adventures of Manning Draco Volume 1 by Kendell Foster Crossen In the 35th Century, many things have changed.  Terrans have gone to the stars and discovered the many alien races living out there, fighting with some, cooperating with others.  Right now, the Milky Way Galaxy is at peace.… Continue reading Book Review: Once Upon a Star: The Adventures of Manning Draco Volume 1

Book Review: The Queen of Zamba

Book Review: The Queen of Zamba by L. Sprague de Camp (Also published as Cosmic Manhunt) It started out as a normal missing person case.  Victor Hasselborg was hired to find runaway heiress Julnar Batruni.  Her trail is easy to pick up, as she used her own name to buy tickets off-planet with her lover, one Anthony… Continue reading Book Review: The Queen of Zamba

Comic Book Review: Corpse on the Imjin! and Other Stories by Harvey Kurtzman

Comic Book Review: Corpse on the Imjin! and Other Stories by Harvey Kurtzman edited by Gary Groth In later years, Harvey Kurtzman was better known  for his humor work, among other things being the first editor of MAD.  But while he worked at EC Comics in the early Fifties, Mr. Kurtzman was also known for some… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Corpse on the Imjin! and Other Stories by Harvey Kurtzman

Comic Book Review: The Secret Society of Super-Villains Volume One

Comic Book Review: The Secret Society of Super-Villains Volume One edited by Ian Sattler DC Comics has produced many fine characters in its superhero books over the decades, including iconic super-villains.  It can be a lot of fun watching the bad guys do things when their specific hero isn’t around to stop them.  Thus, in… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Secret Society of Super-Villains Volume One

Book Review: Nick Carter Volume 2

Book Review: Nick Carter Volume 2 edited by Anthony Tollin As noted in my review of the first volume, Nick Carter, Master Detective, was a long-running character who had three distinct phases.  These reprint volumes primarily cover his pulp magazine career.  The stories were written under the house name “Nick Carter,” even though they weren’t… Continue reading Book Review: Nick Carter Volume 2

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

Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: Spring 2015 Swindle & Fraud

Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: Spring 2015 Swindle & Fraud Edited by Lewis H. Lapham Mr. Lapham’s literary magazine is based on the principle that history has much to teach the present on many subjects, so presents excerpts from many famous (and not so famous) authors on a loose topic for the education and entertainment of… Continue reading Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: Spring 2015 Swindle & Fraud

Magazine Review: Cosmic Crime Stories July 2012

Magazine Review: Cosmic Crime Stories July 2012 edited by Tyree Campbell If you want to stand out in the crowded field of speculative fiction, one of the ways is “genre-blending,” taking two different popular genres and splicing them together.  For example, horror and romance to create the vampire love stories so immensely popular in recent times.… Continue reading Magazine Review: Cosmic Crime Stories July 2012

Book Review: Republic of Thieves

Book Review: Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch Note:  This is the third book in the Locke Lamora series, and this review will contain spoilers for the first two.  If you haven’t already read them, you may want to check out my review of the first volume, The Lies of Locke Lamora. We return again to… Continue reading Book Review: Republic of Thieves

Movie Review: The Duke is Tops

Movie Review: The Duke is Tops (1938) Duke Davis (Ralph Cooper) is a show producer who has a star act, Ethel Andrews (Lena Horne), who is also his sweetheart.  Their current show, “Sepia Scandals” is doing very well in the small Southern cities it’s playing.  A big-time East Coast agent wants to put Ethel on… Continue reading Movie Review: The Duke is Tops