Book Review: First Polish Reader (Volume 2) by Wiktor Kopernikas Disclaimer: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. This is a book of simple stories in both Polish and English, designed to help students learn to read Polish. It’s printed by Language Practice Publishing, and uses… Continue reading Book Review: First Polish Reader (Volume 2)
Tag: romance
Magazine Review: Conjunctions: 51 The Death Issue
Magazine Review: Conjunctions: 51 The Death Issue edited by David Shields and Bradford Morrow Conjunctions is a literary journal published twice a year by Bard College. Each issue contains essays, short fiction, poetry and less classifiable writing on a given subject, with this issue being about death. Literary journals tend to have a connotation of… Continue reading Magazine Review: Conjunctions: 51 The Death Issue
Manga Review: Sword Art Online: Aincrad
Manga Review: Sword Art Online: Aincrad original story by Reki Kawahara, art by Tamako Nakamura Disclaimer: I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. It is the year 2022, and commercially viable virtual reality equipment is now on the market. Of course, one of the first… Continue reading Manga Review: Sword Art Online: Aincrad
Manga Review: Rin-ne
Manga Review: Rin-ne by Rumiko Takahashi Sakura Mamiya is not quite your normal high school girl. Due to a near-death experience as a child, Sakura can see spirits. One day, she meets the new boy in her class, Rinne Rokudo. She mistakes him for a spirit at first, but the truth is a bit more… Continue reading Manga Review: Rin-ne
Anime Review: Elfen Lied
Anime Review: Elfen Lied There is a secret laboratory off the coast of Kamakura, Japan. There a naked woman wearing an eyeless helmet, codenamed “Lucy”, is undergoing experimentation. When the helmet is damaged, allowing Lucy to see, she sets about freeing herself, slaughtering many of the lab’s personnel in the process. Yes, even the… Continue reading Anime Review: Elfen Lied
Open Thread: She’s Back!
Back in the early 1990s, Naoko Takeuchi created a character named “Sailor V.” While mahou shoujo (magical girls) had been around for decades in manga and anime, ever since Bewitched was imported from America, Sailor V was a unique blend of stereotypical girly interests and action heroine. This attracted the notice of Toei Animation, who… Continue reading Open Thread: She’s Back!
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
Movie Review: South Pacific
It is World War Two, somewhere in the South Pacific. Marine Lieutenant Joe Cable (John Kerr) has been assigned to infiltrate a Japanese-held island and report on their military movements in preparation for an American offensive. He wants to recruit French plantation owner Emile de Becque (Rossano Brazzi), who is very familiar with the island… Continue reading Movie Review: South Pacific
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
Anime for Speculative Fiction Fans
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