Book Review: Twin Cities Noir: The Expanded Edition

Book Review: Twin Cities Noir: The Expanded Edition edited by Julie Schaper & Steven Horwitz Like the previously reviewed USA Noir, this is a collection of grittier crime stories from Akashic Books with a regional focus.  In this case, the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in Minnesota, and the surrounded metro area, plus one up… Continue reading Book Review: Twin Cities Noir: The Expanded Edition

Book Review: Fresh Fear

Book Review: Fresh Fear edited by William Cook Horror anthologies are like a box of chocolates.  One story might be crunchy frog, another spring surprise, while a more disappointing one is just maple cream.  (Seriously, maple cream?)  This is because horror tends to be a balancing act between what the writer finds scary and what… Continue reading Book Review: Fresh Fear

Comic Book Review: Uptown Girl Imitation of Life

Comic Book Review: Uptown Girl Imitation of Life by Bob Lipski This is another collection of the Uptown Girl comic book stories, filled in with short newer pieces.  The main stories feature Rocketman’s never before mentioned career as a pinball champion (and the forgotten rival who wants revenge), and a zoo-related saga that combines an… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Uptown Girl Imitation of Life

Book Review: Temporary Walls

Book Review: Temporary Walls edited by Greg Ketter and Robert T. Garcia This short book of fantasy stories was inspired by John Gardner’s On Moral Fiction, in which the author argued that writing fiction is an inherently moral endeavor and that writers, especially those in the fantasy genre, should instruct their readers about “the morality that tends… Continue reading Book Review: Temporary Walls

Book Review: The Silence of the Loons

Book Review: The Silence of the Loons edited by The Minnesota Crime Wave The long-time reader may by now have realized that I have something of a weakness for anthologies.  Collections of short fiction are an excellent use of limited lunch reading time.  And I am also a faithful son of Minnesota.  So this book… Continue reading Book Review: The Silence of the Loons

Comic Book Review: Uptown Girl: A Long Forgotten Fairytale

Comic Book Review: Uptown Girl: A Long Forgotten Fairytale by Bob Lipski Once upon a time, in a land far away (possibly Maine), there was a cursed village.  No one could leave the village, because it was ruled by the King of Birds.  The villagers did not know much about their king, save that he hated… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Uptown Girl: A Long Forgotten Fairytale

Comic Book Review: Uptown Girl – All This Time

Comic Book Review: Uptown Girl – All This Time by Brian Bastian & Bob Lipski Uptown Girl was a Minneapolis-produced minicomic first published in 2003 and running for 75 monthly issues.  This is a “best hits” collection with the creators’ favorite single issue stories. Uptown Girl is a reporter for a Minneapolis newspaper who has… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Uptown Girl – All This Time