Tag Archives: books

Review: The Disciples of Cthulhu (1976)

Posted on September 16, 2018 by Brian Bixby

So let me describe to you the typical Cthulhu Mythos story formula. Adult male comes across hints of evil. He does research, uncovering various writings that point to an alien evil that could destroy Mankind. Finally, he confronts the alien … Continue reading →

Posted in Reading fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Books of wonder: reviewing Ice and Picnic at Hanging Rock

Posted on March 4, 2018 by Brian Bixby

There are stupid ideas. And I had one. Why not review two genre-bending works of fiction, both by female British Commonwealth authors, both published in 1967? Won’t the comparisons be fun and informative? And so I sat down to read … Continue reading →

Posted in Reading fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Review: Dawn Kurtagich, The Dead House

Posted on October 1, 2016 by Brian Bixby

It was the cover, and the tag line “the girl of nowhere,” that snagged me when I was looking for something light to read, because as we all know, Young Adult horror novels are light reading. Well, Dawn Kurtagich’s debut … Continue reading →

Posted in Reading fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Planet of the . . . absurd

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Brian Bixby

Who knew that the author of Planet of the Apes (1963) was a Frenchman who was also author of The Bridge Over the River Kwai (1952)? Pierre Boulle (1912-1994) had a sense of the absurd which led him to depict men and apes … Continue reading →

Posted in Reading fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Review: Rachel Urquhart, The Visionist

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Brian Bixby

Writing a novel about the Shakers forces a serious novelist to have to make several choices, some of which will shape the story, others of which can detrimentally affect the story. To her credit, most of Rachel Urquhart’s choices in The … Continue reading →

Posted in Reading fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Review: Violet Hunt, (More) Tales of the Uneasy (1911, 1925)

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Brian Bixby

Every year at Halloween, I dig up a “moldy oldy,” a generally forgotten book of supernatural fiction to read. This year, for a change, I tackled a pair of short stories collections: Tales of the Uneasy (1911) and More Tales … Continue reading →

Posted in Reading fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A Mary Wilkins-Freeman twofer

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Brian Bixby

Ever hear of Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman (1852 – 1930)? It’s not one of those names that has come ringing down the ages. She was one of those female New England regional writers circa 1900,[i] at a time when the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reading fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

How did the reading habits of your parents affect you?

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Brian Bixby

My parents were both firm advocates of education and voracious readers. My father liked the books he grew up with, and history books, while my mother was more inclined to British murder mysteries and American paperback novels. Initially, this affected … Continue reading →

Posted in Reading fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

New Additions to the Zombie Reading Shelf (TM)

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Brian Bixby

The Zombie Reading Shelf® is pleased to announce the following new titles for release in Spring, 2014: Obese Americans: Health Hazard or Hunting Opportunity? by Dr. Gwen Ross (deceased) — Zombies have found the increasing number of overweight Americans to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Traveling in imagination to Viking Iceland

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Brian Bixby

I’ve recently been reading books on medieval Iceland. It’s a fascinating period in a curious land. The island was settled by Vikings fleeing from the rule of the first major Norwegian king, Harald Finehair (c. 850 – c. 932), or … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments