Book Review: Fire-Tongue

Book Review: Fire-Tongue by Sax Rohmer If there’s one thing a detective hates, it’s when their client hems and haws about explaining basic details of why they need a detective, only to die just as they make up their minds with only a cryptic last utterance as a clue. But that’s the situation Paul Harley… Continue reading Book Review: Fire-Tongue

Book Review: Army Wives

Book Review: Army Wives by Midge Gillies Disclaimer:  I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of writing this review.  No other compensation was requested or offered. The life of a soldier is hard and often dangerous, but the life of a soldier’s spouse has its hardships and hazards… Continue reading Book Review: Army Wives

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Batman, Volume 6

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Batman, Volume 6 edited by Julius Schwartz By 1971, the Batman television show had been off the air long enough that its sales boost to the Batman and Detective Comics series had faded, and with it, the incentive to model the magazines on the show.  Bruce Wayne moved from stately Wayne Manor to… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Batman, Volume 6

Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, January 1977

Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, January 1977 edited by Ellery Queen Having enjoyed a recent issue of this magazine, I decided to root around for an older copy.  This one was published in December 1976, but the cover date was a month ahead.  Frederic Dannay (half of the “Ellery Queen” writing team) was still… Continue reading Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, January 1977

Open Thread: Top Posts of 2016!

Open Thread: Top Posts of 2016! I’m sure you all know how top ten lists work, so let’s get straight into it! Top Ten Posts of 2016 1. Book Review: The Financial Expert 2. Anime Review: Urusei Yatsura 3. Open Thread: Minicon 51 Report 4. Comic Book Review: Batman Deathblow After the Fire 5. Book… Continue reading Open Thread: Top Posts of 2016!

Book Review: Rad Women Worldwide

Book Review: Rad Women Worldwide by Kate Schatz Right up front, I have to say that the title is the most annoying thing about this book.   Did anyone ever use “rad” as an adjective unironically?  That said, “radical” is not an unfair term to apply to many of the women whose short biographies are… Continue reading Book Review: Rad Women Worldwide

Book Review: Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology

Book Review: Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology edited by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer As the subtitle of this volume indicates, it’s a collection of 29 short stories written from a feminist perspective. There are selections from the 1960s through the 2000s–SF, fantasy, horror and a couple of stories that seem to… Continue reading Book Review: Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology

Book Review: Behind the Forgotten Front, a WWII Novel

Book Review: Behind the Forgotten Front, a WWII Novel by Barbara Hawkins Like many red-blooded American men after Pearl Harbor, Lieutenant Harry Flynn joined the Army to fight the enemy directly.  But the Army has a lot of jobs to fill, and his excellent handwriting gets Harry posted as a supply officer in a backwater… Continue reading Book Review: Behind the Forgotten Front, a WWII Novel

Comic Book Review: Essential Tomb of Dracula, Volume 2

Comic Book Review: Essential Tomb of Dracula, Volume 2 mostly written by Marv Wolfman and art by Gene Colan. When the Comics Code restrictions on horror were loosened in the 1970s, DC primarily went in for horror anthology comics, while Marvel Comics based entire series around horrific heroes and villains.  One of these was the… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Essential Tomb of Dracula, Volume 2

Book Review: The Financial Expert

Book Review: The Financial Expert by R.K.  Narayan In the South Indian town of Malgudi, across from the Central Cooperative Land Mortgage Bank, there is a banyan tree under which sits Margayya, the financial expert.  Margayya (“the one who shows the way”) is an unofficial middleman who helps the unlettered villagers apply for small loans… Continue reading Book Review: The Financial Expert