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Review of “Suckers” by Tim Boiteau

Plot: Jameel has just moved into a house in an unhappy neighborhood of northern Detroit. Half of the houses are habitable. The rest shelter crackheads. His wife Marta has recently passed away. Jameel waits, avoiding the sun, going out once a month for groceries, cleaning his pump-action shotgun. He watches new neighbors move in nextContinue reading “Review of “Suckers” by Tim Boiteau”

Review of “The Seven Billion Habits of Highly Effective Robots” by Aidan Doyle

Plot: There is no plot. This is a list of satiric inspirational sayings for robots. A coherent world view emerges, one that is (as it should be) a reflection of own. The list begins: Recharge your batteries. Keep a gratitude journal. I’m grateful this city is our home. I’m grateful The Supreme Council of RobotsContinue reading “Review of “The Seven Billion Habits of Highly Effective Robots” by Aidan Doyle”

Review of “The Man With Nine Lives” (1940)

Saturday night pizza and bad movie. The usual pepperoni, pineapple, and—on my side— jalapeno. And Svengooli. Plot: The opening title card scroll describes a new form of medical treatment: “frozen therapy.” Enter our hero, Dr. Tim Mason (Roger Pryor), detailing the technique to an audience of his learned colleagues. It’s still in the early phases,Continue reading “Review of “The Man With Nine Lives” (1940)”

Review of “Dark Father” by Mary E. Lowd

Plot: The narrator is the daughter of the warlord Erith Danaya. She, her mother, and her twin toddlers have been trying to escape him. They are functional captives on his starship as he travels from world to world. Shortly before the action of the story, the narrator has hidden her mother and her children inContinue reading “Review of “Dark Father” by Mary E. Lowd”

Review of “The Curse of the Werewolf” (1961)

A delayed Saturday night pizza and bad movie entry. The pizza was good. The movie was about as cheery as a sharing a bottle of absinthe with a French existentialist. (That is, the place is furnished in the style of the Second Empire, and the bell for the waiter doesn’t work. You just ‘fess upContinue reading “Review of “The Curse of the Werewolf” (1961)”

Review of “A Background Poorly Written” by William Mangieri

Plot: Hmmm…. Well, the narrator, who isn’t always sure he (?) speaks the words he hears, seems to be waking from a deep sleep. Or maybe’s coming into being. He’s with Debbie. He seems to know Debbie. There’s a scratching from outside, but neither he nor Debbie knows what it is. Thoughts: This reads likeContinue reading “Review of “A Background Poorly Written” by William Mangieri”

Review of “The Rest Stop” by Mike Sharlow

Plot: Mick can travel in time, but he doesn’t tell anyone. It’s the sort of thing that suggests mental illness. He doesn’t want to be studied, nor does he want to be locked up while others decide how his ability should be used. He keeps his secret and uses it when he decides to putContinue reading “Review of “The Rest Stop” by Mike Sharlow”

Review of “Intro to Intergalactic Conflicts 101: A Course Summary” by Robert Douglas Friedman

Plot: There is no plot to this story. There is merely an overview—in the form of a course outline— of a centuries-old conflict of uncertain origin. (“[W]e remain certain that our cause is just.”) The enemy “lacks common sense, courage, religion, and access to a decent dry cleaning service.” To make matters worse, the enemyContinue reading “Review of “Intro to Intergalactic Conflicts 101: A Course Summary” by Robert Douglas Friedman”

Review of “The Spiral Staircase” (1946)

Plot: In turn-of-the-century New England, a mute woman named Helen (Dorothy McGuire) attends a (silent) film shown at a local inn. While she’s there, an unnamed woman (Myrna Dell) who limps (“a cripple”), an inn resident, is strangled by a man who’d hidden in her closet. This follows the murder of another woman, a “simple-mindedContinue reading “Review of “The Spiral Staircase” (1946)”

Review of “Magical Delicacies for Birthday Girls” by Avra Margariti

Plot: For Holly’s twelfth birthday, her mother had taken her to the unicorn pen. Her mother went into the butcher shop to get Holly a delicacy. Bored with adult talk, Holly goes to look at the unicorn on display in a glass case outside the shop. For years, she’d been begging her parents for aContinue reading “Review of “Magical Delicacies for Birthday Girls” by Avra Margariti”