Magazine Review: SFX Special Edition - Vampires the Ultimate Undead Celebration

SFX Vampires - Front

“Any money left after buying this magazine?” Well, considering that this tasty offering will set you back almost £8, it’s a fair question. It’s asked on a page of this magazine which gives examples of the sort of vampire merchandise you may be interested in. A vampire Willow figure, perhaps? Or what about a Bela Lugosi Dracula figure? I believe the price of the usual monthly SFX magazine is £3.99.  Perhaps the doubled price for this special is because of the plethora of free gifts that accompany this publication.

SFX Vampires - Back

SFX Vampires Magazine

Being Human Coasters

Classic Vampire Tales

Vampire Lovers Poster

In all fairness, this is an attractive package. The sturdy card envelope contains the magazine, a book and some poster art - all good. The stuff that I could have done without are four rather cheap-looking coasters featuring portrait art of the characters from Being Human, and a coffin which you can assemble from pop-out cardboard, “If one of your Star Wars figures is looking a bit worse for wear why not put him or her in their very own little coffin?” the magazine asks. But, really, why would you? The free book is a collection of short stories about vampires and is a little over 100 pages in length. Amongst the writers in this collection are HP Lovecraft, Rudyard Kipling, Edgar Allan Poe and Bram Stoker. As I mentioned earlier, there is also some poster art. It’s double-sided, too. One side features artwork from Hammer’s Vampire Lovers which I like very much. The other side has artwork for True Blood.

Book Review: Doctor Who - The King's Dragon by Una McCormack

Doctor Who - The King's Dragon by Una McCormack (Rating: 4/5)


The pre-industrial city of Geath comes as something of a surprise to Amy. Her preconception about alien planets is that they come complete with flying cars and rockets. The Doctor is surprised for another reason. Geath is famed for its hospitality towards strangers, but when they arrive at the city’s gated entrance, the Doctor, Amy and Rory find it locked. However, our heroic trio gain access thanks to the always handy psychic paper.

Inside the city, the Doctor receives another bolt from the blue. Geath’s fiercely democratic traditions have been usurped by the arrival of a king. And with the king comes a golden statue of a dragon. It soon becomes apparent that this dragon is the cause of Geath’s new introspection. The dragon emits an illicit substance called Enamour: a spangly material that induces feelings of wealth and well-being in its owners.

Magazine Review: DVD & Blu-Ray World (issue 86)

DVD & Blu-Ray World Magazine issue#86

DVD & Blu-Ray World is my favourite magazine, and, although I don’t have a subscription with it, I rarely miss an issue. It’s a magazine that mostly focuses on horror, exploitation and adult films. Reviews of anime DVDs, games and martial arts films can also be found regularly within its pages. I suppose it’s fair to say that the subject matter usually leans towards films that would appeal more to men than women. DVD & Blu-Ray World usually has a free DVD with the magazine although it has been published on a number of occasions as a magazine only. Last year, for example, a couple of issues came out at a lower price without a DVD. However, this proved to be an unpopular move and the DVD was reinstated with issue 77 and each subsequent issue has had a DVD with the magazine.

Recent Book and Magazine Buys

I admit it: I’m addicted to buying books and DVDs. One of this blog’s uses will be as a kind of shopping diary. This entry is for some of my recent book and magazine buys. Buying these books and magazines doesn’t necessarily mean they will get read anytime soon. Like most book buying addicts, I have a mountain of a “to be read” pile.

DOCTOR WHO - THE KING’S DRAGON by Una McCormack

I have read this novel and I thought it was pretty good. A review is imminent. The Doctor, Amy and Rory visit Geath, a town and pre-industrial society on an alien planet. Geath is known for its hospitality, so the Doctor is surprised to find the town locked. Furthermore, the inhabitants' fabled hospitality seem to have been replaced by materialism.

DOCTOR WHO - NUCLEAR TIME by Oli Smith

A tale of androids, nuclear attack and weird timelines. The reviews I’ve read have been favourable, but I have to confess that on first reading I didn’t enjoy this novel very much. However, this maybe my fault because I read it in very small chunks over several evenings. I think this is a story that needs more concentration than I have given it, so I am currently re-reading this book.

DOCTOR WHO - THE GLAMOUR CHASE by Gary Russell

I haven’t read this yet, but Gary Russell usually delivers the goods with his Doctor Who novels. The plot involves an archaeological dig in 1936 that unearths relics from another planet. But why has Rory never heard of this momentous event? And why does Amy suddenly think the Doctor comes from Mars? Sounds intriguing and I’m looking forward to reading this.

STEPHEN ROMANO’S SHOCK FESTIVAL

“One hundred and one of the strangest, sleaziest, most outrageous movies you’ve never seen.” The reason you’ve never seen them is that they don’t exist! Full of fabulous poster art and text for a ton of non-existant exploitation films, this is a big (too big to fit properly in my bookcase), heavy tome. A DVD set featuring mock trailers for these gems is also available. Some examples of the titles found within this book’s pages are: They Made Me - “Sweet Cindy was an innocent teenage runaway. She was about to learn the facts of life the hard way from the Sisterhood of the Scar!” Then there’s Inferno of the Nazi Witch Hunters - “The hell of the Third Reich is about to get a lot hotter.” And who wouldn’t want to see a film called Berserk Joe and Unfriendly Flo?