Sandy Ferber | Fantasy Literature: Fantasy and Science Fiction Book and Audiobook Reviews

The Heads of Cerberus: Philadelphia freedom… NOT!

The Heads of Cerberus by Francis Stevens

Though little read and seldom discussed today, in the late teens and early 1920s, Minneapolis-born Francis Stevens was something of a cause célèbre among discriminating readers. “Francis Stevens” was the pen name of Gertrude Barrows Bennett, who published her first story in 1917 at the age of 33. Her career as a writer only lasted six years, during which time she produced six novels and three short stories, and she only took to writing in the first place after becoming a widow, as a means of supporting her young daughter and invalid mother.

THE TADUKI QUARTET: Four stories about Allan Quatermain

THE TADUKI QUARTET by H. Rider Haggard

The great adventure fantasist H. Rider Haggard, over the course of his 40+-year career, wrote 14 novels dealing with the adventures of perhaps his greatest character, English hunter Allan Quatermain. Four of these are loosely connected affairs that have sometimes been referred to as the “taduki quartet,” taduki being an inhaled drug with mystical properties that features in no less than three of those books. Here, for your one-stop taduki shopping, I present four mini-reviews of the books in this remarkable series, in their chronological order of publishing appearance:

Allan and the Holy Flower (1915) — This is one of the 14 books that H.

September 17th, 2015. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | H. Rider Haggard | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

The Invisible Man Returns: A must-see

The Invisible Man Returns directed by Joe May

Following the release of Dracula’s Daughter in May 1936, horror fans would have to wait almost three years before getting another fright picture from Universal Studios. With the opening of Son of Frankenstein in January 1939, however, the floodgates were opened for the second great wave of Universal horror. And in January 1940, still another sequel was released by the studio, The Invisible Man Returns. A fairly ingenious follow-up to The Invisible Man feature of 1933, which was itself based on H.G.

September 3rd, 2015. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | Film / TV, Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Fourth Mansions: Thanks, Jen!

Fourth Mansions by R.A. Lafferty

Despite it having been given pride of place in Scottish critic David Pringle’s Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels, and despite the fact that it has been sitting on my bookshelf for many years, it was only last week that I finally got around to reading R.A. Lafferty’s 1969 cult item Fourth Mansions. The author’s reputation for eccentricity, both in terms of subject matter as well as writing style, had long intimidated me,

Konga: A somnolent stroll around Big Ben

Konga directed by John Lemont

Released in 1961, the U.S./U.K. co-production of Konga marked the first time that theater goers were shown a giant ape going bonkers in the heart of a major city since King Kong itself, 28 years earlier. Of course, fans had been given the 1933 sequel Son of Kong, but in that one, Kong, Jr. is more of a good-natured, oversized pet, and one who never makes it off Skull Island and into civilization, as had the old man. And in Mighty Joe Young (1949),

August 27th, 2015. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 3 | Film / TV | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Now Wait for Last Year: A virtual compendium of Dick’s pet themes

Now Wait for Last Year by Philip K. Dick

A virtual compendium of many of Philip K. Dick‘s pet themes, tropes and obsessions, Now Wait for Last Year, the author’s 17th published sci-fi novel, originally appeared as a Doubleday hardcover in 1966. (As revealed in Lawrence Sutin’s biography on Dick, the novel was actually written as early as 1963 and rewritten two years later.) Phil was on some kind of a roll at this point in his career, having recently come out with the masterpieces The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch and Dr.

Film: Zotz!

Zotz! directed by William Castle

Today, the name “Tom Poston” might not resonate with anyone who happens to be younger than those in the baby boom generation. Boomers and their parents will surely remember Poston, however, from his numerous appearances on 1960s game shows such as To Tell the Truth and What’s My Line?, not to mention any number of sitcoms, including The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart. His film appearances, however, were scarce and infrequent, making his comedic turn in producer/director William Castle’s 1962 offering,

August 19th, 2015. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | Film / TV | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |

The Black Star Passes: For a very limited crew

The Black Star Passes by John W. Campbell, Jr.

Back in the late 1970s and early ‘80s, some of my favorite reading material, sci-fi-wise, was the wonderful series of 21 “Best of” anthologies put out by Ballantine. In an early indication of my future tastes, my favorites among those 21 collections were those by C.L. Moore, Henry Kuttner, Leigh Brackett, Edmond Hamilton and Philip K. Dick, although to be truthful, I thoroughly enjoyed them all… with one exception.

August 18th, 2015. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 2.5 | John W. Campbell | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |

Film: The War of the Gargantuas

The War of the Gargantuas: Battle of the Gargantuas Versions

Up until recently, I was probably the only baby-boomer fan of Japanese monster movies (“kaiju-eiga,” I believe they’re called) who had never seen the 1966 Ishiro Honda cult favorite The War of the Gargantuas. Though the film had been lauded by numerous friends and coworkers, and though I have read many good things about it over the years, it has taken me all these many decades to catch up with it. And now that I HAVE finally seen it,

August 12th, 2015. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 3.5 | Film / TV, Horror | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |

The New Adam: Of mice and mentation

The New Adam by Stanley G. Weinbaum

Stanley G. Weinbaum was one of the great “what if…” authors in sci-fi history. Perhaps no other writer before or since has been so influential, and shown so much early promise, only to have that budding career cut tragically short. The Kentucky-born author caused a sensation when his very first tale, “A Martian Odyssey,” appeared in the July 1934 issue of Wonder Stories, and its ostrichlike central alien, the unforgettable Tweel, was a true original of its kind. In a flurry of activity,

Author: Sandy Ferber

The Heads of Cerberus: Philadelphia freedom… NOT!

THE TADUKI QUARTET: Four stories about Allan Quatermain

The Invisible Man Returns: A must-see

Fourth Mansions: Thanks, Jen!

Konga: A somnolent stroll around Big Ben

Now Wait for Last Year: A virtual compendium of Dick’s pet themes

Film: Zotz!

The Black Star Passes: For a very limited crew

Film: The War of the Gargantuas

The New Adam: Of mice and mentation

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