// Category Archive for: Books

TV Review: Outlander S2 E02, “Not In Scotland Anymore”

By Laury Scarbro

With the second episode of season 2, it becomes evident that Jamie is not fully healed, neither mentally nor physically. Jamie, Claire, and even Murtagh come to the realization that things in France are quite different from what they’ve experienced in Scotland.

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TV Review: Outlander S2 E01, “Through A Glass Darkly”

By Laury Scarbro

After the way season one ended, delving into season two of Outlander could be a little disorienting for some. It follows much as the book did, but such is the way of a story involving time travel. Stick with it; you won’t be disappointed.

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Movie Review: High-Rise

By Less Lee Moore

Ben Wheatley adapting a 1975 JG Ballard novel into a film starring Tom Hiddleston, Sienna Miller, and Luke Evans? It sounded too good to be true. With three planned screenings at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival which were then reduced to two, and rumors of six hour lineups for the second screening’s rush line, it was not an exaggeration to suggest that High-Rise was one of the most hyped films of last year.

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Today In Pop Culture: Right On, Frankenstein!

By Tim Murr

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born to a philosopher father and a feminist author mother. She lost her mother just a month after her birth. Her father brought her up with a more intense education than most women of that time period. At 17, she began her relationship with her future husband, poet/philosopher/radical Percy Shelley. In 1818, came the fateful holiday near Geneva, Switzerland where Mary, her sister, and Percy stayed with Lord Byron. They amused themselves with German ghost stories and then challenged one another to write their own ghost stories.

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Book Review: Orphans

By Jeffery X Martin

Many people believe that horror fiction begins and ends with Stephen King. It’s easy to see why. King has sold 900 gabillion books, and they keep coming out. The man could publish a phone number scribbled on the back of a receipt and the New York Times would drool all over it.

That’s fine, but that means that a lot of readers aren’t taking full advantage of their resources. There are a plethora of small presses publishing quality horror. Self-published authors are also creating some fantastic work. It’s not all dinosaur erotica and woodworking books.

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Today In Pop Culture: The Black Dahlia Is Discovered In Leimert Park

By Jeffery X Martin

Trigger Warning: graphic descriptions of murder

Leimert Park is a funky little neighborhood in South Los Angeles. It was planned in the 1920s, and the architecture is mostly Spanish Colonial Revival. Now, it is known for its music, its food, and its embracing of African-American culture. But Leimert Park is known for something else, too: one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history.

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The Official Popshifter Podcast, Episode #05: Thomas S. Flowers Interview

Welcome to Episode #05 of The Official Popshifter Podcast.

X interviews horror writer Thomas S. Flowers III on the date of the release of his second novel, Dwelling. They discuss the nature of evil, the curious decisions of book marketing and why no one needs sweaters in Houston, Texas.

Find out more about Thomas S. Flowers III on his website. You can also purchase a copy of Dwelling on Amazon.com.

Book Review: Ray Wylie Hubbard, A Life… Well, Lived

By Melissa Bratcher

Nineteen pages into Ray Wylie Hubbard’s book, A LIfe… Well, Lived. I had teared up, laughed hard enough to snort, and planned on buying his back catalogue of music (which is extensive). Hubbard is a natural raconteur, and his memoir is loaded with witty, honest, closely observed stories that span his lifetime. A Life… Well, Lived is written in an non-linear fashion: there are straight-up autobiographical chapters, stream of consciousness stories written with a lack of respect for the constraints of “proper” punctuation and capitalization, plus his filmic song lyrics. Hubbard has a literate, biting style of writing, and it is incredibly enjoyable. Buckle up, it’s a hell of a ride.

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Graphic Novel Review: Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

By Jeffery X Martin

I’m just going to tell you flat-out, in the spirit of full disclosure, that Hunter S. Thompson is one of my favorite writers of all time. Hero status. When I first caught wind of this project, turning one of Thompson’s books into a comic book, I got The Fear. I was more than doubtful. I had some dread.

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The Official Popshifter Podcast, Episode #01: Styx and Stones

Welcome to The Official Popshifter Podcast, Episode #01, “Styx and Stones May Break My Bones, But Save Hannibal”

Featuring Managing Editor Less Lee Moore and Featured Contributor Jeffery X Martin! Enjoy and thanks for listening.

Reviews:

Ted Nugent, Free-For-All (Expanded Edition)

Goblin Rebirth, Goblin Rebirth

Pit Stop Blu-Ray

Veruca Salt at Lee’s Palace, Toronto ON

Links:

Satanic Panic: Pop Cultural Paranoia In the 1980s

The Black Room Manuscripts (all proceeds go to Blue Cross UK)