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The author of Skulls in the Stars is a professor of physics, specializing in optical science, at UNC Charlotte. The blog covers topics in physics and optics, the history of science, classic pulp fantasy and horror fiction, and the surprising intersections between these areas. -
Category Archives: Mystery/thriller
The Dead Come to Stay, by Brandy Schillace
Book 24 for my 2025 goal of 30 books for the year! As is now default for me, my link to the book is through my bookshop dot org affiliate account. I’ve been online friends with Brandy Schillace for a number of years … Continue reading
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The White Worm, by Sam Siciliano
Book 21 for my 2025 goal of 30 books for the year! As is now default for me, my link to the book is through my bookshop dot org affiliate account. Some books look intriguing to me when I first get them, but … Continue reading
Posted in Mystery/thriller
Tagged book review, books, Fiction, mystery, sherlock-holmes
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Twice as Dead, by Harry Turtledove
Book 14 for my 2025 goal of 30 books for the year! Hard-boiled detective stories often start in a similar manner: a gritty private investigator has a gorgeous dame walk through his office door with a case — but that … Continue reading
Posted in Mystery/thriller, Weird fiction
Tagged book review, book-reviews, books, mystery, reviews
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The Night of the Ripper, by Robert Bloch
Book 4 for 2025! My goal is 30 this year. My friends at Valancourt Books have recently been reprinting the works of horror master Robert Bloch, most famous for penning Psycho (1959) but also an award winning author of many … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
Tagged book review, Fiction, History, Horror, review
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Twelve Tales of Suspense and the Supernatural, by Davis Grubb
Book 21 of 26 books for 2024! I should be able to reach 22, maybe 23, because I can read a book every 2 days, roughly… I was browsing my shelves for books to read that wouldn’t take that much time, … Continue reading
Posted in Mystery/thriller, Weird fiction
Tagged book review, books, Fiction, Horror, review
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The Dark Host, by Archie Roy
Let’s take a look at one of the most obscure books I’ve ever read! So, I’ve written about the work of Archie Roy before, in particular his novel Devil in the Darkness (1978), a remarkably good haunted house story. In … Continue reading
Posted in Mystery/thriller
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Perseus Had a Helmet, by Richard Sale
Fate has led me to another invisibility story while looking for something completely different! This gives me one more opportunity to remind people that my book on invisibility is available while I blog about this story. One of the very … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Mystery/thriller
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Beneath the Rising, by Premee Mohamed
Still catching up on all the reading I’ve not been able to focus on for ages, and I finally got to read a book by one of my Twitter friends, Premee Mohamed, Beneath the Rising (2020)! Part thriller, part horror, … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure fiction, Horror, Mystery/thriller
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Lake of the Dead, by Andre Bjerke
It’s time for me to get back into blogging about weird fiction! I really fell off in my reading over the past few years, due to the stress of political turmoil, the pandemic, and life in general. Fortunately, I’ve been … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
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The Radiant Shell, by Paul Ernst
Another invisibility story! The number and variety of stories continues to amaze me. You know what we haven’t really seen yet? A good invisible spy story! “Raiders Invisible” came close, but its invisible spies were the bad guys; we need … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Mystery/thriller
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Skulls in the Stars 