Book Review: Penny Dreadfuls: Sensational Tales of Terror

Book Review: Penny Dreadfuls: Sensational Tales of Terror edited by Stefan Dziemianowicz While the term “penny dreadfuls” proper belongs to a particular type of inexpensive newsprint periodical, as explained in the introduction to this volume, the twenty stories chosen here can all be described as lowbrow sensationalist literature written for those seeking thrills in their… Continue reading Book Review: Penny Dreadfuls: Sensational Tales of Terror

Magazine Review: The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Nov/Dec 2016

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Nov/Dec 2016 edited by C.C. Finlay The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction started publication in 1949.  According to Wikipedia, it was supposed to be a fantasy story version of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine as it was at the time, classic reprints mixed with new material of a higher literary… Continue reading Magazine Review: The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Nov/Dec 2016

Comic Book Review: Joe Kubert Presents

Comic Book Review: Joe Kubert Presents by Joe Kubert and others Joe Kubert (1926-2012) was one of the all-time great comic book artists.  The bulk of his work was done for DC Comics, including many Hawkman and Sergeant Rock stories. Joe Kubert Presents was his final series, a tribute to him by the company he’d done… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Joe Kubert Presents

Book Review: Outlaws of the Atlantic: Sailors, Pirates and Motley Crews in the Age of Sail

Book Review: Outlaws of the Atlantic: Sailors, Pirates and Motley Crews in the Age of Sail by Marcus Rediker Disclaimer:  I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway for the purposes of this review.  No other compensation was offered or requested. During the Age of Sail, the deep ocean sailing ship was one of the… Continue reading Book Review: Outlaws of the Atlantic: Sailors, Pirates and Motley Crews in the Age of Sail

Book Review: First Contact

Book Review: First Contact by Michael R. Hicks The scout ship Aurora is searching for new worlds, especially inhabitable ones for the citizens of Earth and the various worlds their descendants have colonized.   What at first seems like a bonus of two viable worlds in the same star system turns into a deadly encounter.  Those… Continue reading Book Review: First Contact

Book Review: Kaiju: Lords of the Earth

Book Review: Kaiju: Lords of the Earth edited by Essel Pratt Kaiju (“strange beast”) is primarily a subgenre of the monster movie that became codified in Japan.  They’re mostly gigantic monsters that are nigh-unstoppable by conventional armaments, and run around destroying cities or fighting other giant monsters.  The seeds of the story type were sown… Continue reading Book Review: Kaiju: Lords of the Earth

Book Review: The Infinite Arena

Book Review: The Infinite Arena edited by Terry Carr Science fiction, in a way, is a very broad genre, that can easily contain stories of other genres within itself.  Thus space westerns, fantastic romance, star war novels and so forth.   In this case, we have a sample of sports stories set in science fiction… Continue reading Book Review: The Infinite Arena

Book Review: Snuff

Book Review: Snuff by Terry Pratchett Commander Samuel Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, Duke of Ankh-Morpork and Blackboard Monitor, has been aware in a general way that his wife Sybil owns some property in the countryside.  But now that their son Young Sam is six, Sybil has decided that it’s high time that the… Continue reading Book Review: Snuff

Comic Book Review: The Secret Society of Super-Villains Volume One

Comic Book Review: The Secret Society of Super-Villains Volume One edited by Ian Sattler DC Comics has produced many fine characters in its superhero books over the decades, including iconic super-villains.  It can be a lot of fun watching the bad guys do things when their specific hero isn’t around to stop them.  Thus, in… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Secret Society of Super-Villains Volume One

Book Review: The Wrath of Brotherhood

Book Review: The Wrath of Brotherhood by Ozgur K. Sahin Captain Roy Toppings had planned to live a relatively peaceful life plying a small shipping route  between England and the Continent, but the murder of his sister by pirates set him  on a different course, and now he’s a privateer  operating out of Port Royal.… Continue reading Book Review: The Wrath of Brotherhood