Manga Review: Mao Vols. 21 & 22

Manga Review: Mao Vols. 21 & 22 by Rumiko Takahashi Note: This review will contain spoilers for previous volumes. If you’re new to the series, please consider reading older reviews on this blog. Quick recap: Nanoka Kiba lost her parents in a suspicious accident when she was young. Years later, she learns that the site… Continue reading Manga Review: Mao Vols. 21 & 22

Movie Review: Die! Die! My Darling!

Mrs. Trefoile packs heat.

Movie Review: Die! Die! My Darling! (1965) directed by Silvio Narizzano Patricia Carroll (Stefanie Powers) and her fiancé Alan Glentower (Maurice Kaufmann) are back in London after a couple of years in America. Alan has to take care of some business, so Patricia decides she needs to finally make a condolence visit to the mother of… Continue reading Movie Review: Die! Die! My Darling!

Movie Review: Isle of the Dead (1945)

Madame Kyra tries to warn General Pherides of the supernatural evil afoot.

Movie Review: Isle of the Dead (1945) directed by Mark Robson General Nikolas Pherides (Boris Karloff) is leading Greek forces in the first Balkan War of 1912. His troops have just won a hard-fought battle. But perhaps less of them would have died if one of his officers hadn’t arrived too late. The officer tries to… Continue reading Movie Review: Isle of the Dead (1945)

Comic Book Review: Botticelli’s Apprentice

Comic Book Review: Botticelli’s Apprentice by Ursula Murray Husted Sandro Botticelli actually has several apprentices, from senior apprentice Nino to rookie Datus. But the person we’re concerned with here is Mella, the chicken girl. Her duties include feeding and tending the chickens and collecting their eggs to make tempera paint with. She also cleans paintbrushes… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Botticelli’s Apprentice

Book Review: The Castle of Otranto

Book Review: The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole Today is a particularly bad day at the castle. Worst of all for Conrad, sickly son of Prince Manfred, who is crushed to death by a mysterious giant helmet. This is taken hard by his mother Princess Hippolita and sister Matilda. Prince Manfred is beside himself,… Continue reading Book Review: The Castle of Otranto

Book Review: Head of a Traveler

Book Review: Head of a Traveler by Nicholas Blake (pen name of Cecil Day-Lewis) Nigel Strangeways, a writer and literary scholar when he isn’t being distracted by his private investigation work, is thrilled to have a chance to meet Robert Seaton, one of Britain’s greatest living poets. Plash Meadow, Seaton’s house, is in Oxfordshire near… Continue reading Book Review: Head of a Traveler

Manga Review: The Rose of Versailles #1

Manga Review: The Rose of Versailles #1 by Ryoko Ikeda In 1755, three children of destiny were born. Hans Axel von Fersen of Sweden, Oscar Francois de Jarjayes of France, and Maria Antonia Josephe Jeanne de Lorraine D’Autriche of Austria. The latter would become famous under her transliterated name of Marie Antoinette, the Queen of… Continue reading Manga Review: The Rose of Versailles #1

Book Review: Land of Terror

Book Review: Land of Terror by Edgar Rice Burroughs The Pellucidar books were Edgar Rice Burrough’s third big book series after Tarzan and Barsoom. They use the Hollow Earth premise that our home planet is not solid inside, but has another land upside-down to the surface which can be accessed by holes at the poles… Continue reading Book Review: Land of Terror

Comic Strip Review: Digger Volume One

Comic Strip Review: Digger Volume One by Ursula Vernon Digger of Unnecessarily Convoluted Tunnels, “Digger” if you’re not being formal, is a wombat. In her world, wombats are an intelligent bipedal species which otherwise resemble Earth’s wombats. Digger’s primary job is being a tunneler, but when we meet her, she no longer remembers where her… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Digger Volume One

Book Review: The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime

Book Review: The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime by Judith Flanders Great Britain in the Nineteenth Century underwent massive transformation in technology and culture, particularly during the reign of Queen Victoria, who lent her name to an entire era. This book looks specifically at murders… Continue reading Book Review: The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime