Book Review: The Vessel of Ra

Book Review: The Vessel of Ra by Catherine Schaff-Stump It is October 1837, and the acqua alta, the fall flooding, has come to Venice. Lucy Klareon has also come to Venice, as part of her Grand Tour, but she doesn’t plan to leave in the usual way. For on her sixteenth birthday, October 31st, All Hallows Eve, Lucy must do battle… Continue reading Book Review: The Vessel of Ra

Book Review: The Railway Children

Book Review: The Railway Children by E. Nesbit Life takes some odd turns. For example, one day you’re an adorable trio of children living a comfortable upper-middle class life in London. The next, your father is sent to prison for a crime he did not commit and you have to go live in a much less impressive house out in… Continue reading Book Review: The Railway Children

Comic Book Review: Peter Pan and the Language of the Dead

Comic Book Review: Peter Pan and the Language of the Dead by various creators Bento Comics is a collective of comics creators who do print-on-demand and ebook sales, and have made several themed anthologies. This is their 2012 offering, based on the theme of, well, Peter Pan. “An Awfully Big Adventure” written by Fehed Said and drawn by Svetlana Chmakova is a dialogueless tale of a man in… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Peter Pan and the Language of the Dead

Book Review: Under a Wild Sky: John James Audubon and the Making of THE BIRDS OF AMERICA

Book Review: Under a Wild Sky: John James Audubon and the Making of THE BIRDS OF AMERICA by William Souder When John James Audubon arrived in Philadelphia in 1824, he carried with him a portfolio of beautiful bird paintings he hoped to turn into a book, and a backstory of childhood in Louisiana, being the… Continue reading Book Review: Under a Wild Sky: John James Audubon and the Making of THE BIRDS OF AMERICA

Book Review: London Falling

Book Review: London Falling by Paul Cornell It’s New Year’s Eve, and Operation Goodfellow is  about to end.  The years spent infiltrating Rob Toshack’s organized crime network, the money spent, it’s all produced nothing they can use to pin a charge on the kingpin.  So at midnight, the Metropolitan Police are pulling the plug.  But… Continue reading Book Review: London Falling

Book Review: Code Name Verity

Book Review: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein In a Gestapo cell somewhere in Vichy France, a captured spy has been broken.  She writes a story telling of her secret mission, but in order to do that, she must first tell of the friendship between ATA pilot Maddie and SOE wireless operator Queenie.   The years… Continue reading Book Review: Code Name Verity

Book Review: The Inimitable Jeeves

Book Review: The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse Bertie Wooster may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, as he will sometimes admit.  But compared to some of his friends among the idle rich of England, Bertie’s a model of intellect and common sense.  For example, Bertie knows that keeping his valet Jeeves in… Continue reading Book Review: The Inimitable Jeeves

Book Review: Nine Strange Stories

Book Review: Nine Strange Stories edited by Betty N. Owen When I was a lad, one of the fun annual events I looked forward to was the Scholastic Book Fair.  Scholastic Publishing would send boxes of books around the country to schools so that kids could get the thrill of picking out their own low-cost… Continue reading Book Review: Nine Strange Stories

Comic Book Review: Action Presidents: George Washington

Comic Book Review: Action Presidents: George Washington by Fred van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey Our story begins with two modern tweens glued to their portal screen devices while Parson Weems bores them with the cherry tree legend.  The day is salvaged when Noah the Historkey appears and reveals that George Washington’s father Augustine didn’t raise… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Action Presidents: George Washington

Comic Strip Review: Meet Andy Capp

Comic Strip Review: Meet Andy Capp by Reg Smythe Andrew Capp is a working class chap from Hartlepool in Northeast England.  Despite his “class”, Andy’s hardly ever in work, roundly despising all forms of paid labor.  It’s up to his long-suffering wife Florrie to support them with charwoman jobs.  Andy enjoys sleeping, gambling, flirting with… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Meet Andy Capp