Category Archives: Reviews

Acts of War

Posted on August 28, 2025 by smellincoffee

The King is dead. God save the Queen! When the RAF accidentally killed Hitler during a night-bombing and Himmler negotiated an armistice, many thought that was the war done. Tough luck for the Poles, but worse things happen at sea, … Continue reading →

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Operation Underworld

Posted on August 25, 2025 by smellincoffee

In New York harbor,  one of the largest and fastest passenger ships ever built lies on its side, a victim of fire. French-built, the United States seized the Normandie after France fell to Hitler and renamed it the Lafayette, intending … Continue reading →

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Havana Nocturne

Posted on August 22, 2025 by smellincoffee

I used to be obsessed with la cosa nostra, but its Cuban ambitions never popped on my radar until I watched The Godfather II. I’ve long been curious about the Mafia’s role in developing Cuba and inadvertently feeding the revolution … Continue reading →

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Gandolfini

Posted on August 19, 2025 by smellincoffee

Like many, I was awed by James Gandolfini’s performance throughout The Sopranos,  which made him an actor whose presence guarantees I’ll watch any movie he’s in. Gandolfini is a professional biography of an actor whose charisma and commitment to his … Continue reading →

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Husk

Posted on August 16, 2025 by smellincoffee

A plague has destroyed much of human civilization, but in Texas, at least, there is a remainder. Before the plague and subsequent collapse, pioneering scientists had created a way for human consciousness to be transferred to a digital world — … Continue reading →

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The Henchman’s Book Club

Posted on August 14, 2025 by smellincoffee

Mark is a henchman who has served the Agency for several years, surviving numerous bosses’ demises at the hands of talented superspies. The overwhelming majority of the time, he and his fellow minions are sitting bored, waiting for something to … Continue reading →

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Of Ben Franklin and Andy Jackson’s America

Posted on August 14, 2025 by smellincoffee

For whatever reason I’ve been struggling to find inspiration or motivation to review two history books I’ve read in the last month or so, and since they’re similar — early American history — I’m going to regretfully short-round them. Most … Continue reading →

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Cancelled: The Shape of Things to Come

Posted on August 12, 2025 by smellincoffee

Sienna Clay has a secret: she’s an Auditor.  Her job is to investigate her fellow Britons who are accused of thoughtcrime, or whose ancestors may have committed horrors like eating meat.  New Britanna’s  status as an island of tolerance set … Continue reading →

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Roswell High, 7 – 10: Converging Villains!

Posted on August 7, 2025 by smellincoffee

At the end of The Stowaway, the gang formed a psychic link with one another, and then with the alien collective consciousness, in order to create a wormhole to send the villain back home for justice. Unfortunately, at the same … Continue reading →

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Roswell High, 4-6: Boy, that Escalated Quickly

Posted on August 6, 2025 by smellincoffee

Continuing in my Roswell reread. The Watcher begins pleasantly enough, with relationship drama between the six teens more or less stabilizing. Liz is no longer angry at Max for shying away from a formal relationship on the grounds that it … Continue reading →

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