Though fantasy is one of my favorite genres, I haven’t read a lot of it, outside of Tolkien and Harry Potter. The City Stained Red is a 2015 epic fantasy novel by Sam Sykes (the pen name of Sam Watkins, son of Outlander author Diana Gabaldon.) As with most books of this type, it’s set […]
Lots of folks like to mix up literary styles, such as horror and comedy, or mystery and romance. You all know I’m partial to both sci-fi and westerns. For the longest time, the big-city critics called this combination the lowest of the low. Yet when a fellow named Joss Whedon dreamed up a show called […]
The “Other” Steampunk Band During the recent peak of the steampunk craze in the two-thousand aughts, a number of musical groups became known as steampunk bands. The best known seems to be a certain robotic cabaret act I reviewed a few weeks ago. Yet there are other groups that aren’t quite as theatrical but capture […]
I first heard of Lantern City at a Phoenix Comicon a few years ago. It was a project supported by actor Bruce Boxleitner that was slated to become a TV series. With all the new and interesting sci-fi shows on various cable and streaming services, I’d expected it would be well on its way, but […]
Reviewing Arizona’s Eateries Serra Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse 16160 N 83rd Ave, Peoria 2-14-18 First impression: 3 out of 5 croutons. There is a large bar area to the side, and the hostess station is right in front The ambiance: 1 out of 5 croutons. The many tables are so close together that you must inch […]
Our own Coin-Operated critic goes to the theater! 50 Shades of Felt Presented by All Puppet Players Performance held at Playhouse on the Park at Central Arts Plaza 1850 N. Central Ave. Who knew a puppet show would be so wrong and yet so right? Imagine “Raunchy” on steroids! This adults-only satirical adaption of […]
I had a bit of trepidation in going to see the new Black Panther movie because of all the hype surrounding it. Lately, it seems that the media picks a movie to champion for some political reason, and if the public doesn’t agree it’s because we’re stupid or bigoted. For example, I found Jordan Peele’s […]
