Book Review: Murder in Blue by Paul Petersen Eric Saveman, the man codenamed The Smuggler, has come a long way from his career bringing marijuana into California. Nowadays he works for ZED, a secret branch of the CIA that also works domestically. His current assignment is to infiltrate a Soviet computer facility and steal a… Continue reading Book Review: Murder in Blue
Tag: Los Angeles
Book Review: Ginger Rogers and the Riddle of the Scarlet Cloak
Book Review: Ginger Rogers and the Riddle of the Scarlet Cloak by Lela E. Rogers Ginger Rogers enjoys her work as a night shift switchboard operator at the Seaview Arms, a fancy hotel on the West Coast. She’s good at customer service, and the constant variety of guest requests keeps her on her toes. Some… Continue reading Book Review: Ginger Rogers and the Riddle of the Scarlet Cloak
Magazine Review: High Adventure #170: Best of Science Fiction Stories
Magazine Review: High Adventure #170: Best of Science Fiction Stories edited by John P. Gunnison This volume of the long-running pulp reprint magazine dips into the pages of Science Fiction and Science Fiction Stories, a magazine that ran from 1939 to 1943 with the last two issues being under the latter name. As so often… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #170: Best of Science Fiction Stories
Book Review: The Caballero
Book Review: The Caballero by Johnston McCulley Don Fernando Venagas is close to the top of the social pecking order in Spanish California, and he knows it. He is, after all, a wealthy caballero of the pure aristocratic blood, skilled with both horse and sword. As such, he thinks little of those below his status.… Continue reading Book Review: The Caballero
Book Review: Nova 2
Book Review: Nova 2 edited by Harry Harrison In the introduction to this 1972 anthology, Mr. Harrison talks some about the internationalization of science fiction beyond North America and Western Europe. In recognition of this growing trend, he’s included a Brazilian author’s story. “Oh, and we have one story by a woman.” In reality, there… Continue reading Book Review: Nova 2
Book Review: The Pocket Book of Science Fiction
Book Review: The Pocket Book of Science Fiction edited by Donald A. Wollheim In the introduction to this 1943 anthology, Donald A. Wollheim talks about “the theory of outrageous hypotheses” which helps science progress by asking, “this is not true but what if?” These ten stories are most assuredly fictional, but point to places to… Continue reading Book Review: The Pocket Book of Science Fiction
Book Review: Zorro and the Little Devil
Book Review: Zorro and the Little Devil by Peter David Don Alejandro de la Vega may not be the famed hero his son Diego (also known as Zorro) is, but when a petty robber accosts a woman in the sleepy village of Reina de Los Angeles in Spanish California, he steps up to do a… Continue reading Book Review: Zorro and the Little Devil
Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3
Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3 by Robert Bloch Robert Bloch (1917-1994) was a prolific author of horror, science fiction and mystery works. (You may have seen, read or at least heard of Psycho.) This volume, originally “Selected Stories” and by no means complete, features 39 stories published between 1960 and… Continue reading Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3
Book Review: Make My Day
Book Review: Make My Day by J. Hoberman Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) was the first president of the United States to have been a movie star. Motion pictures that he’d worked in and that he saw certainly affected his politics, and his politics affected the movies that came out during his time in office. This volume… Continue reading Book Review: Make My Day
Comic Book Review: Marvel Preview #16 & 21
Comic Book Review: Marvel Preview #16 & 21 by various creators Marvel Preview was a black & white comic book magazine distributed through newsstands starting in 1975 for 24 issues before being retitled Bizarre Adventures for another ten issues. It was an “umbrella title” like DC’s Showcase, with a different theme or major character in… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Marvel Preview #16 & 21