Manga Review: Ōoku Volumes 13 & 14

Manga Review: Ōoku Volumes 13 & 14 by Fumi Yoshinaga Note: This review may contain SPOILERS for earlier volumes; you may want to read previous reviews if you are unfamiliar with the series. Quick recap: In an alternate history, Shogunate Japan was struck by an epidemic of “red-faced pox”, also known as “bearpox.” For unclear… Continue reading Manga Review: Ōoku Volumes 13 & 14

Movie Review: Universal Squadrons

Deakin confronts Peacemaker.

Movie Review: Universal Squadrons (2011) directed by Mark Millhone (also released as “Minuteman.”) Captain Lance Deakin (Riley Smith) has returned to his Texas ranch after a second hitch in Iraq as a quartermaster at an isolated supply depot. During his absence, his lover Becca (Willa Ford) and hired hand Corky (David Born) have been trying to… Continue reading Movie Review: Universal Squadrons

Book Review: Tom Swift and His Ocean Airport

Book Review: Tom Swift and His Ocean Airport by Victor Appleton The Tom Swift series of books are about a young inventor who gets into various adventures involving the technology he works with. They started out relatively realistic, with him as a teenager who tinkers with motorcycles and motorboats that he comes into possession of,… Continue reading Book Review: Tom Swift and His Ocean Airport

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Two Doctors

Two and Six are going to have to put their heads together to get out of this fix!

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Two Doctors directed by Peter Moffat One of the fun things you can do in a long-running series about time travel that regularly replaces the main character’s actor is have “crossover” episodes where more than one version of that main character team up. Doctor Who had already done this with… Continue reading TV Review: Doctor Who: The Two Doctors

Movie Review: Knowing (2009)

John Koestler sees his first disaster.

Movie Review: Knowing (2009) directed by Alex Proyas The time is 2009. MIT astrophysics professor John Koestler (Nicolas Cage) is trying to raise his son Caleb (Chandler Canterbury), who has an auditory processing disorder that his hearing aid helps with, after the tragic death of his wife the previous year. As a result of his grief,… Continue reading Movie Review: Knowing (2009)

Anime Review: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

Lilique knows you can't pilot giant robots properly if you don't have good nutrition!

Anime Review: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury The year is 122 Ad Stella, presumably counting from the establishment of the first permanent space colony. Various corporations were quick to expand their presence, and with the discovery of the miracle substance Permet, the various space nations became more powerful than Earth. The Benerit Group… Continue reading Anime Review: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

Book Review: Iron Widow

Book Review: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao Huaxia is a future society that has modeled itself somewhat on medieval China, for both good and ill. As far as Zetian is concerned, it’s definitely for ill. The way Huaxia society is set up seems to be designed to oppress women and crush their wills. From… Continue reading Book Review: Iron Widow

Book Review: The Empire of the Ants

Book Review: The Empire of the Ants by H.G. Wells In addition to his famous longer works like The War of the Worlds, Herbert George Wells also wrote a number of speculative fiction short stories. What I’m reviewing today is a collection published by Scholastic Book Services (and mostly sold at school book fairs) which… Continue reading Book Review: The Empire of the Ants

Comic Book Review: The Ultimate 7: Trilogy Volume 2

Comic Book Review: The Ultimate 7: Trilogy Volume 2 written by Robert Wawrzyniak, pencils by Shawn Surface, inks by Scott Shoemaker In an indefinite future, known space is being taken over by the evil Overlord and his oppressive army led by General Reen. A being of the mysterious Homoagint species has prophesized that a team… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Ultimate 7: Trilogy Volume 2

Book Review: The Invaders: Alien Missile Threat

Book Review: The Invaders: Alien Missile Threat by Paul S. Newman The Invaders was a Quinn Martin production that ran on American television from 1967-1968. Architect David Vincent (Roy Thinnes) discovers that aliens from a dying planet are infiltrating Earth (particularly America) in human disguises for the purpose of making our planet their planet. Since… Continue reading Book Review: The Invaders: Alien Missile Threat