Books , Nonfiction , Reviews

The Queen’s Conjuror (a book review)

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The Queen’s Conjuror, subtitled “The Life and Magic of Dr. Dee” by Benjamin Woolley is a book about, well, Dr. John Dee. And it’s really true to the subtitle, as the whole volume tracks no only the life of the famous occultist and alchemyst, but we have also a chance to glimpse into the other spirit world through his adventures with skrying with the help of other famous person in this venture, Edward Kelley. Or do we? read more

Books , Nonfiction , Reviews

Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908 – 1990 (a book review)

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Although most of metalheads would class themselves as horror fans (and the gorier the better), myself – although I won’t refuse watching horror anytime – I am more of a general movie enthusiast. But I really like adventure movies, especially classic ones. So it was a no brainer to delve into so-called “peplum” movies (mostly produced in Italy) and to my surprise, there are not that many great reference books devoted to that genre. I’ve had a possibility to read Of Muscles and Men: Essays on the Sword and Sandal Film by Michael G. Cornelius and I’ve closed the book not even finishing the Introduction. Nope, if you are just a normal, movie loving person, stay clear of academic tomes. The other choice for my was this one I am gonna review for you today. read more

Fiction , Nonfiction , Reviews

Richard Kadrey – Covert Culture Sourcebook (book review)

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What’s the point of reviewing a book which is way outdated? Good question.

It all falls nicely into place(s). I’ve found this book mentioned in an old issue of Psychotronic Video magazine (which, in turn, I’ve found thanks to my before-unknown interest in not-so-mainstream movies) and because I am keen reader of catalogues, especially book catalogues, it goes without saying I’ve simply needed to check this book. read more

Books , Nonfiction , Reviews

Trash Cinema: A Celebration of Overlooked Masterpieces

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WHO? WHERE? WHAT? OF TRASH CINEMA

Today I want to talk about “Trash Cinema: A Celebration of Overlooked Masterpieces”, which is a compendium put together by editors Andrew J. Rausch and R. D. Riley. This book was published in 2015 both in hardcover and softcover editions (plus e-book, of course) by an US publisher BearManor Media. The book contains 55 articles/essays about various movies we can label “trash cinema”, from the Golden era of 1950s to the fairly new ones. read more