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Back to the Wells, Part 5: The First Men in the Moon by Matthew R. Bradley Both Jules Verne and H.G. Wells are sometimes known as “the father of science fiction,” and authored early depictions of lunar travel. Verne got off the ground first, so to speak, with De la Terre à la Lune […]
MAXWELL GRANT – The Living Shadow. The Shadow #1. Written by Walter Gibson. Bantam, paperback; 1st printing, June 1969. First published in The Shadow, a Detective Magazine. April-June 1931. If this book were to be rated on its literary qualities, there would not be a great deal to talk about — except for the desire […]
BILL PRONZINI “A Cold Foggy Day.” First published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine April 1978. Collected in Small Felonies (St. Martin’s, hardcover, 1988). The story begins as two men arrive in San Francisco from Boston, with the younger noticeably having trouble with the cold. He is a native of Boston; his companion is from San […]
P. M. CARLSON – Murder Unrenovated, Maggie Ryan #4. Bantam, paperback original; 1st printing, January 1988. This novel takes Maggie Ryan back to 1972, and her fourth mystery adventure. She and her actor-husband Nick O’Connor are searching for a brownstone to buy and renovate in Brooklyn, but the one they find has both a rent-control […]
GALAXY SCIENCE FICTION – December 1967. EditorL Frederik Pohl. Cover artist: Gray Morrow. Overall rating: **½. POUL ANDERSON “Out[pst of Empire.” Dominic Flandry. Novella. John Ridenour is sent as a troubleshooter to find out why the natives of Freehold seem to be rising up against the planet’s colonists, The situation is complicated by the was […]
TUCKER HALLERAN – A Cool Clear Death. Cam MacCardle #1. St. Martin’s, hardcover, 1984; paperback, May 1986. Cam MacCardle, once a famous professional football star, turns private investigator in this, his first case, in which the wife of a quiet, unassuming stockbroker, is murdered. With no evidence against him except that he has no alibi, […]
ROBERT SILVERBERG – When the Myths Went Home. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November 1969. Reprinted in World’s Best Science Fiction: 1970, edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr (Ace, paperback, 1970). Collected in Moonferns and Starsongs (Ballantine, paperback, 1971). This particular tale, and a nifty one it is, takes place in […]
A 1001 MIDNIGHTS Review by Bill Pronzini JOE GORES – Dead Skip. DKA Files #1. Random House, hardcover, 1972. Ballantine. paperback, August 1974. Mysterious Press, paperback, 1992. While holding down a variety of jobs, one of them a stint as a San Francisco private investigator, Joe Gores published numerous (and generally hard-boiled) short stories […]
TERROR BY NIGHT. Universal Pictures, 1946. Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Alan Mowbray, Dennis Hoey, Renee Godfrey. Screenplay: Frank Gruber, based on characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle. Director: Roy William Neill. Sherlock Holmes is hired to guard the fabulous “Star of Rhodesia” diamond, being taken back to Scotland by train, but murder is committed under […]
JOHN BRUNNER – Double, Double. Ballantine, paperback original; 1st printing; January 1969. Although possibly based on a monster movie script that Brunner couldn’t peddle elsewhere (or hasn’t yet), this does have the benefit of that author’s deft characterization of stock situations and players. A rock group for the modern class spots the monster (see above) […]
