Recent Book Reviews
SciFi and Beyond: A Librarian's Log
A bold adventure into realms unknown
Summer Vacation in the British Isles: Curfew (1993) by Philip Rickman, Ash (2012) by James Herbert, Colony (2013) by F.G. Cottam
Summer is the time when readers often seek out books that will take them to a location they may never have been before. This summer, why not book a package tour with three horror novels that will take you off the beaten path of the regular tourist sights of the United Kingdom (London is […]
Posted in Horror
Las Vegas in Speculative Fiction
In just a few days’ time thousands of librarians will descend on Las Vegas for the 2014 America Library Association (ALA) Conference. The last time ALA was there was 1973 and Vegas was a much different place. From a suite of rooms atop the Desert Inn, reclusive mogul Howard Hughes was attempting to take over […]
Code V for Viral: Vampirism and Viruses
This week our column takes a look at a recent trend in vampire horror and science fiction where vampirism is not so much a supernatural condition or curse, but a science based disease. The works discussed here represent attempt to ground the vampire in a more naturalistic way, explore new societies in post-apocalyptic settings, and […]
Posted in Book Review, Horror, Movies, Science Fiction
New Movies: Only Lovers Left Alive, APP, Jodoroswky’s Dune
It used to be that tracking the latest in cutting edge horror, fantasy, and science fiction films required traveling to film festivals, tracking down second hand videotapes, of staking out the local art house or revival cinema to catch a limited engagement. And living in a non-major film market (or really anywhere outside of Los Angeles […]
Posted in Documentaries, Horror, Movie Reviews, Science Fiction
The Horrors of Domesticity: The Works of Ira Levin
Facing the complications and stresses of pregnancy as a couple attempts bring new life into the world. Striving and fighting to raise a child that can function in society as a compassionate, successful adult. Staring out the window at your suburban neighborhood and watching your identity stamped into conformity minute by passing minute. These are […]
Posted in Franchises, Horror, Science Fiction
What an Excellent Day for an Exorcism: The Work of William Peter Blatty
“Ah. Well… I attended Juilliard… I’m a graduate of the Harvard business school. I travel quite extensively. I lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that. I’ve seen the Exorcist about a hundred and sixty-seven times, and it keeps getting funnier every single time I see it.” -Beetlejuice (1988) While […]
Posted in Franchises, Genre, Horror
Shirley Jackson, Weird Fiction, and The Haunted House
Shirley Jackson, born in 1914, was part of a group of writers who worked in the genre of Weird Fiction writers that arose out of the early to mid-20th century. Weird fiction stories feature elements of science, the supernatural, and the fantastic all mixed together, and the genre itself arose in the time period before […]
Posted in Horror
Horror and Speculative Fiction
Fredric Brown, an American Science Fiction author, is credited with one of the shortest horror stories ever written, titled “Knock:” “The last man on Earth sat alone in his room. There is a knock at the door.” Those two simple sentences convey much about why we as readers and writers pursue horror as a genre. […]
