Book Review: Heart of the West

Book Review: Heart of the West by O. Henry William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), better known to most readers as O. Henry, moved to Texas from North Carolina for his health.  There, he worked on a ranch for a few years before feeling well enough to take up his primary occupation of pharmacist, and fell in… Continue reading Book Review: Heart of the West

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: Stone Mad

Book Review: Stone Mad by Elizabeth Bear This is the second in the “Karen Memory” series, and this review may have some spoilers for the first volume, also titled Karen Memory. Karen Memery and her boon companion Priya have bought a little ranch house outside of Rapid City in Washington Territory, and are moving in together. … Continue reading Book Review: Stone Mad

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

Book Review: Trip to Norway: Visiting the Fjords

Book Review: Trip to Norway: Visiting the Fjords by Matt Panta Disclaimer:  I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway to facilitate writing this review.  No other compensation was offered or requested. The traveler’s tale is one of the oldest forms of written storytelling.  “I went to a new place and saw new things and… Continue reading Book Review: Trip to Norway: Visiting the Fjords

Open Thread: Minicon 53

Open Thread: Minicon 53 As noted in my previous con reports, Minicon is a yearly science fiction convention set on Easter weekend.  While Minicon 50 was a few years ago, this year is the closest to the Fiftieth Anniversary of the first Minicon, so it had the subtitle of “The Pedantic One.”  This year the… Continue reading Open Thread: Minicon 53

Book Review: The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard

Book Review: The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard by Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (1925-2013) started his career as a professional writer by producing short Western stories for the pulp magazines.  According to the introduction, Mr. Leonard’s first attempt was not very good and was rejected, whereupon he decided that next time he… Continue reading Book Review: The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard

Book Review: The Book of Cthulhu

Book Review: The Book of Cthulhu edited by Ross E Lockhart Fantasy and horror author H.P. Lovecraft wasn’t a big seller during his lifetime, but the loose setting he created of the Cthulhu Mythos, where humans are only the most recent inhabitants of a cold and chaotic universe, and many of the previous inhabitants are… Continue reading Book Review: The Book of Cthulhu

Book Review: Classic American Short Stories

Book Review: Classic American Short Stories compiled by Michael Kelahan This book is more or less exactly what it says in the title, a compilation of short(ish) stories written by American authors, most of which are acknowledged as classics by American Lit professors.  The stories are arranged by author in roughly chronological order from the… Continue reading Book Review: Classic American Short Stories

Book Review: Japan Tuttle Travel Pack

Book Review: Japan Tuttle Travel Pack by Rob Goss Disclaimer:  I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of this review.  No other compensation was offered or requested. Tuttle Publishing was founded by Charles Tuttle, a Vermonter who came to Japan with Douglas MacArthur’s staff after World War Two.  His job was… Continue reading Book Review: Japan Tuttle Travel Pack