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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 Club Dumas, by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
For reasons that I never quite understand, some books that I purchase end up sitting on my shelf, unread, for months or even years. Typically, when I come back to read them, I end up mentally kicking myself for avoiding … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
7 Comments
A. Merritt’s Seven Footprints to Satan
Abraham Grace Merritt (1884-1943) was an author with an vivid and bizarre imagination! Among his surreal fiction stories one can find a hive-like race of metal, electrically powered geometric shapes (The Metal Monster, 1920), a colossal stone face dripping tears … Continue reading
Posted in Mystery/thriller
11 Comments
Richard Marsh’s The Complete Adventures of Judith Lee
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the work of Richard Marsh (1857-1915), who was an incredibly successful author of mystery, horror, and generally weird fiction in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. Marsh was famous in his own … Continue reading
Posted in Mystery/thriller
5 Comments
“The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The War of the Worlds”, by Manly and Wade Wellman
These days, there are countless “mashups” in fiction, in which two or more disparate genres, characters or series are brought together or into conflict. We’ve seen werewolves versus vampires, such as in the Underworld series of films; we’ve also seen … Continue reading
Posted in Mystery/thriller, Science fiction
7 Comments
Marie Corelli’s Vendetta
Marie Corelli (1855-1924) is another of those curious set of authors whose work was stunningly successful during their lifetime but is virtually unknown today. This neglect is often independent of the quality of the writing: Richard Marsh, another Victorian/Edwardian era … Continue reading
Posted in Mystery/thriller
11 Comments
Richard Marsh’s The Goddess: A Demon (Valancourt edition)
With the release of the Valancourt edition of Richard Marsh’s The Goddess: A Demon, I thought I’d repost my earlier review of the book, with some modifications specific to this edition. I’ve read a lot of the books of Richard … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
1 Comment
Richard Marsh’s A Spoiler of Men
I have yet to be really disappointed by the works of Richard Marsh (1857-1915)! Over the Christmas holiday, I spent some time reading A Spoiler of Men (1905) , which has recently been reprinted by the always great Valancourt Books, … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
2 Comments
M.P. Shiel’s Prince Zaleski
Valancourt Books continues to release fascinating literary treasures that have been buried and forgotten for ages! The most recent of these is a collection of stories by M.P. Shiel about his character Prince Zaleski: We’ve encountered Matthew Phipps Shiel (1865-1947) … Continue reading
Posted in Mystery/thriller
1 Comment
The Beast with Five Fingers by W.F. Harvey
I’ve been trying to keep up with my weird fiction reading while I’ve been working on my physics textbook, though it’s been pretty hard to read a major work considering I spend most of my evenings doing research for the … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
3 Comments
Johnston McCulley’s The Bat Strikes Again and Again!
Name this scene: Yet he was one man working alone against the crooks and the corrupt politicians who went hand in glove with the evil forces of the underworld. For that reason he must become a figure of sinister import … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure fiction, Mystery/thriller
5 Comments
