Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture

The Nice House on the Lake by James Tynion IV (art by Álvaro Martínez Bueno) – Graphic Novel Review

The creepy covers of this comic book series suggest something dark, macabre and scary — perfect for spooky season. However, what we have is a Lost style mystery box where a group of 12 individuals are invited by their mutual friend, Walter, to a luxuriously nice house by the lake. It doesn’t take long before…

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury – Book Review

This classic autumn tale of a spooky carnival that torments a small American town was written a lot more beautifully and lyrically than I had expected. When two young boys, Will and Jim, stumble upon a mysterious carnival setting up outside their town in the middle of the night, things don’t seem quite right, but…

What Moves the Dead (Sworn Soldier, Book 1) by T. Kingfisher – Book Review

One of T. Kingfisher’s “scarier” Gothic horror stories (a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of User) is not too scary — even for my delicate nerves — but unfortunately I didn’t find it very engaging or compelling either. I had not expected to read another T. Kingfisher story so soon,…

Plunge by Joe Hill (art by Stuart Immonen) – Graphic Novel Review

I’ve been having a fun spooky season so far this year, and wanted to continue with a sci-fi graphic novel series with some Lovecraftian cosmic horror mixed in. However, I was a bit nervous about this one because it is the brainchild of famous horror scion Joe Hill. I had previously tried out his classic…

A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher – Book Review

My third venture into the works of popular author T. Kingfisher could be considered cozy horror, or suburban gothic (if that isn’t a thing I just made up). It starts out in a pretty classic way: Sam, a 30-something archeoentomologist, comes to stay at her mother’s suburban North Carolina home for a while and, of…

The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar – Book Review

I was surprised to love this story much more than I expected. It’s one of the best stories I’ve read this year. However, I’m learning that I have a much harder time talking about why I love a book than criticizing what I dislike about it. In essence, this is a very classic faerie tale…

Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries, Book 2) by Martha Wells – Book Review

I enjoyed the first book in this popular series (along with the first season of the Apple TV+ show). So I was excited to follow Murderbot on more sardonic adventures. This time around they get unintentionally partnered with a ship’s AI system which Murderbot humorously nicknames “ART” (for “Asshole Research Transport”) and takes a quest…

The Fisherman by John Langan – Book Review

Even though this book came highly recommended as a modern take on the Lovecraftian horror story, from the start, I didn’t really know how we’d get from an upstate New York fish story to a tale of eldritch horror. This story is written with deceptively straightforward language, about some down-to-earth characters. The narrator, Abe is…

The Stone Man (Book 1) by Luke Smitherd – Book Review

When a gigantic stone behemoth appears in the middle of Millennium Square in Coventry, UK, it’s a photo op. When the stone man starts to move and walk relentlessly on its own, leaving a path of destruction in its wake, you’ve got an exciting sci-fi mystery. We follow reporter Andy Pointer, himself a witness at…

Alvin's Adventures in Pop Culture

The Empress of Salt and Fortune (Singing Hills Cycle, Book 1) by Nghi Vo — Book Review

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers – Book Review

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle – Book Review

Murder at Spindle Manor (Lamplight Murder Mysteries, Book 1) by Morgan Stang — Book Review

The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea by Axie Oh — Book Review

The Grace of Kings (Dandelion Dynasty, Book 1) by Ken Liu — Book Review