Anime Review: Urusei Yatsura

Anime Review: Urusei Yatsura Ataru Moroboshi is not precisely your average teenaged boy.  For one thing, he’s an incurable skirt-chaser, constantly hitting on any pretty lady who happens by.  Also, he’s incredibly unlucky.  So unlucky, that when alien invaders declare that a random person from Earth must compete against their champion in a game of… Continue reading Anime Review: Urusei Yatsura

Book Review: Deathless

Book Review: Deathless  by Catherynne M. Valente Marya Morevna is not like the other girls in Saint Petersburg/Petrograd/Leningrad.   She sees the husbands of her sisters while they are still birds.   But times are changing in Russia, now the Union of Soviet Socialistic Republics.   The People have no time for magic, and Marya… Continue reading Book Review: Deathless

Open Thread: Minicon 49

This past weekend, I went to Minicon 49 at the RadiShTree Hotel in Bloomington.   It’s a book-oriented science fiction convention with an older-skewing crowd, running around 500 people.  So it’s not overcrowded and a good place to talk to your once a year friends. This year’s theme was “Pirates and Airships” largely because the… Continue reading Open Thread: Minicon 49

Anime for Speculative Fiction Fans

Wolf Children

This last weekend at Minicon 49, I moderated a panel on “Anime for Speculative Fiction Fans.”   As is common at this sort of thing, a lot of series and films were mentioned very briefly, and not everyone had the opportunity to write them all down.  Therefore, I promised to put up a list.  I… Continue reading Anime for Speculative Fiction Fans

Open Post: Top Ten as of Right Now

I’ll be away from my computer for the next little while, so let’s have a Top Ten list post! These are the top ten content posts for the last year. Anime Review: Labyrinth of Magic Manga Review: Vagabond Volume 1 Book Review: Good Advice from Bad People (really rocketed up the charts!) Manga Review: Ayako… Continue reading Open Post: Top Ten as of Right Now

Manga Review: Magi #1

Manga Review: Magi #1 by Shinobu Ohtaka In a setting not unlike the Middle Eastern tales of the Arabian Nights, there is a boy named Aladdin.   He’s lived in isolation until now, so he doesn’t know much about the outside world, or how society works.  Soon, Aladdin meets a drifter named Alibaba, who’s a… Continue reading Manga Review: Magi #1

Book Review: Weird Golf: 18 Tales of Fantastic, Horrific, Scientifically Impossible, and Morally Reprehensible Golf

Book Review: Weird Golf: 18 Tales of Fantastic, Horrific, Scientifically Impossible, and Morally Reprehensible Golf by Dave Donelson Disclosure: I received this book through a Firstreads giveaway in the expectation that I would review it. To make where I’m coming from clearer, I’m not a sports fan, and in specific not a golf fan. I’ve played… Continue reading Book Review: Weird Golf: 18 Tales of Fantastic, Horrific, Scientifically Impossible, and Morally Reprehensible Golf

Book Review: Glitter & Mayhem

Book Review: Glitter & Mayhem edited by John Klima, Lynne M Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas Disclaimer:  I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. This volume is an anthology of speculative fiction short stories,  themed around dance clubs, loud parties, roller skates, sparkly light and glitter.… Continue reading Book Review: Glitter & Mayhem

Comic Book Review: Spartan & the Green Egg

Comic Book Review: Spartan & the Green Egg by Nabila Khashoggi and Manuel Cadag Disclaimer:  I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. Spartan, an adventurous boy, his three human friends, and his dog Grimm make contact with an alien that manifests itself in the shape of… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Spartan & the Green Egg

Book Review: The Stone Lions

The Stone Lions by Gwen Dandridge Disclaimer:  I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. Ara is the daughter of the Sultan of Granada in the early  15th Century.  She has lived all her life in the Alhambra, the Red Palace.  Frustrated by her cloistered existence,  Ara… Continue reading Book Review: The Stone Lions