Recently, I was asked to come up with six book reviews that I could give verbally in 30 seconds or less. It's all part of a holiday bookstore event, wherein the reviewers have half a minute to give their review or get yanked off the stage like a failed contestant on the Gong Show . Here are my 30 second reviews. One of the books I came up with was a little hard cover edition of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express . The book was good; the review, short and sweet, but it came out to longer than 30 seconds. Timing myself, I ended with 37 seconds and some change. I'm still tempted to use it. Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express for Parents & Grandparents This book was written in 1934, but it remains timeless. It's main character is a private investigator who has two things going for him: One- he's brilliant at solving mysteries, two- his mustache. When there's a murder on this train crossing Europe, Her...
Three tales from H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, are adapted and illustrated by Manga artist, Gou TANABE, in this collection of stories published by Dark Horse Manga. Being a true fan of Lovecraft and a devotee of the Cthulhu Mythos, and following in my current trend of Japanese Horror, I dove into this book with no idea of what to expect. As I spoke previously of the "rules of Japanese horror stories," there are also rules when writing Lovecraftian horror. Lovecraft had his own style, back int he 20's. His horror came from his own fear of sickness, of foreigners, of women, and of actual darkness. It came from anything unknown to him and it created extreme anxiety, panic, and maybe even madness in the writer himself. His short stories were also written at a time when authors were paid by the word and to get paid well, he made sure there were plenty of words. This gave his work a long lingering feel; a slow, drawn out approach to the horror his c...