The Graveyard Apartment (1993) – Mariko Koike

Don’t delve into this book looking for answers and explanations. There are horrible things at work in and around the apartment building that is so central to the story, but no explanations will be offered and that can make things scarier for some, letting their imagination run wild, or disappointing for those who need everything…

Quantum Leap: Too Close For Comfort (1993) – Ashley McConnell

McConnell’s second Quantum Leap book, Too Close For Comfort, feels closer to the spirit of the show than the first one. The characters of time traveller Sam Beckett, and his holographic connection with the present, Al, seem more in line with their established selves, and gone is the suggestion of what happens to Sam between…

Tombstone (1993) – George P. Cosmatos

Kurt Russell leads a star studded cast that completely wows in this retelling of the Wyatt Earp story. Joining the always superb Russell is Bil Paxton, Sam Elliott, Val Kilmer, Dana Delaney, Michael Biehn, Powers Boothe, Jason Priestley, Stephen Lang, Thomas Haden Church, Billy Bob Thornton, Micheal Rooker, John Corbett, Joanna Pacula, Terry O’Quinn, Dana…

Groundhog Day (1993) – Harold Ramis

Bill Murray headlines in one of my favourite comedies, Groundhog Day, which sees Murray as Phil Connors, a smarmy weatherman who thinks he’s better than his yearly assignment to head to Punxsutawney, for Phil the Groundhog’s yearly prediction on winter. He’s joined by his new producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell), and cameraman, Larry (Chris Elliott). Following…

The Last Action Hero (1993) – John McTiernan

When it was first released The Last Action Hero, which saw Arnold Schwarzenegger reteamed with Predator director John McTiernan, and featuring a script that Shane Black was involved in, the film flopped, failed to find an audience, and marked Arnold’s first failure at the box office. Time has been kind to the film, and rewatching…

Parable of the Sower (1993) – Octavia E. Butler

Octavia E. Butler’s science fiction tale, that follows a young woman of colour on her quest to understand herself, the ideas of god, and the destiny of humanity. Within pages of this novel, I was completely swept up in Butler’s storytelling style, her characters, and the world she created. And here’s the thing, the world…

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993) – Adam Marcus

New Line Cinema takes over the reins of the Voorhees series for the next three films, and for their first film, the creator of the original film, Sean Cunningham insisted on something different. Adam Marcus, who served as the film’s director, and one of the film’s writers definitely did that, and delivered one of the…

Demolition Man (1993) – Marco Brambilla

Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes go head to head in this sci-fi actioner from the early 90s. It also features Sandra Bullock, Benjamin Bratt, Denis Leary, Nigel Hawthorne, Bob Gunton and, sigh, Rob Schneider. Stallone plays a supercop, John Spartan, who has been tracking a psychotic maniac, Simon Phoenix (Snipes) and their confrontation at the…

Never Send Flowers (1993) – John Gardner

James Bond is back, and while I’ve enjoyed Gardner’s efforts with Ian Fleming’s 007, with the minor exception of The Man From Barbarossa, this entry, his thirteenth (of sixteen) feels like a real stumble. It seems to want to be more in line with the cinematic 007, but without a solid story, or set pieces…

Star Wars: The Truce at Bakura (1993) – Kathy Tyers

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… Kathy Tyers pens the first stand alone novel in the Expanded Universe, following on the tail of Timothy Zahn’s trilogy. The events in this story take place right after the events depicted in The Return of the Jedi, Han Solo and Leia Organa know they…