John Howard Reid's books just seem to get bigger and better and more informative. His new 2011 e-book release will fill a void for all who are interested in movies that deal with science fiction, fantasy, horror and the supernatural. Many books deal with these subjects, but most are just glossy picture books. JHR's book delves into all of the films' actors, directors, producers, release dates, opening nights, technical staff and much, much more. This book is a must. It opens up new areas for appreciating a film. Most books just give the critic's own comments, but JHR offers critical comments from other reviewers as well, so that the reader obtains a more balanced view of the film's qualities. For the Disney version of "10,000 Leagues under the Sea" for instance, in addition to relevant notes and comments about the film's production and its stars, Reid offers succinct quotes from a number of critics who either praised or damned the film. Fantasy cinema offers a greater variety of movies than most people realize. For example, Reid includes comedies and spoofs like the famous "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" and Bob Hope's "The Ghost Breakers" as well as fantasy cartoons like Disney's "Ichabod and Mr Toad". If you are a trivia buff that likes learning little tidbits about classic movies or like me are constantly asking "Isn't that the guy from such and such a movie?" then you'll enjoy "Science-Fiction & Fantasy Cinema: Classic Films of Horror, Sci-Fi & The Supernatural". This reference covers a wide variety of movies from the thirties to the seventies. These include epic movies like "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and "Star Wars", Abbott & Costello comedy flicks, and even a large selection of Disney movies. The movies are presented in alphabetical order. Each entry then notes the characters and the actors that played them as well as all the people behind the scenes such as the director, producer, writer, etc. From here we get into the details of copyright date, release dates, and length of the film. A short synopsis and an extensive comments section follow. Apart from the section where I could look up names of actors, the comments section was probably the section I most enjoyed. I found myself browsing these sections and finding out all sorts of interesting bits of information. (Reviewed by Ross Adams and Tami Brady).
