Back in April, when I learned Diane, Katie, and Patrick were going to see Noel Coward’s Fallen Angels during Diane’s trip to New York City for Mother’s Day, I grabbed a collection of Noel Coward plays and read Fallen Angels. Last week I watched the play on BroadwayHD.com for $19.95–much less than a Broadway ticket and just as good!

Fallen Angels was published in 1925 and was almost banned because of its licentious premise. Two friends, Julia (O’Hara) and Jane (Byrne), learn that that a handsome Frenchman whom both women had premarital affairs with is coming to town while their husbands are away golfing.

Both women have been married for seven years, but the prospect of an encounter with their former lover excites them. Of course, drinking is involved as the friends wait for the handsome Frenchman to arrive. And, the drinking sparks friction between the two friends. As both women get sloppy drunk, some of the play’s funniest moments occur including slow-motion tumbles down stairs, crawling over armchairs, and hilarious telephone cord tug-of-wars!

Although this play is a 100 years old, it’s still funny and entertaining. Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara bring plenty of feisty comedy to their roles. It doesn’t get much better than this! Are you a Noel Coward fan? GRADE: A

I bought this ACE Double back in 1965 and quickly read it. Monsters in Orbit is presented as a novel, but it is actually two novellas, both featuring the same protagonist. The novellas were published in Thrilling Wonder Stories in 1952, “Abercrombie Station” in the February issue, and “Cholwell’s Chickens” in the August issue.

According to Rich Horton of the excellent Strange at Ecbatan blog, the stories in The World Between and Other Stories are:

“The World Between” (10,600 words, from the May 1953 Future, wherein it was called “Ecological Onslaught”) — a team from the Blue Star, all names starting with “B”, finds a planet in between their home and the rival Kay system (yes, all names starting with “K”). They claim it and begin terraforming efforts, but the Kay people, including a beautiful spy, drop off pests to spoil all the terraforming. The “hero” (ambiguously so) finds a clever counter to this, and wins the love of the spy in the process. Minor but somewhat intriguing in its ecological themes.

“The Moon Moth” (13,900 words, from Galaxy, August 1961) — a classic story, about Edwer Thissell, newly come to Sirene, where everyone wears masks and abides by extremely fussy rules of manners. Edwer finally takes advantage of the rigidity of Sirenese society to gain extra status.

“Brain of the Galaxy” (9200 words, from Worlds Beyond, February 1951 — it has later been retitled “The New Prime”) — the “ruler” of the galaxy is chosen by a battle of virtual experiences in various environments. A pretty good story, actually — one of the best of Vance’s earliest pieces.

“The Devil on Salvation Bluff” (8300 words, from Fred Pohl’s pioneering original anthology series Star, #3, 1954) — colonists on a world with an eccentric orbit and multiple suns have a hard time adapting to the unpredictability.

“The Men Return” (3300 words, from the July 1957 Infinity) — far in the future reality is slippery and arbitrary. But with sufficient will and rationality … a neat, very different, story.

*Ballantine/Del Rey had put out a series of “Best Of” collections of authors such as Stanley Weinbaum, C. L. Moore, Lester Del Rey and many others, beginning in 1974. Pocket, apparently in response, started their own series, with entries from Vance and Poul Anderson among others.”

I consider “The Moon Moth” one of Jack Vance’s best stories. Rereading this ACE Double brought back a lot of fun memories. Are you a fan of ACE Doubles? GRADE: A

The great tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins died last week at the age of 95. And Peabo Bryson died last week from complications to stroke. Peabo was 75.

“Waiting On a Friend” by The Rolling Stones from Tattoo You is one of my favorite songs. Sonny Rollins plays the incredible sax solo, uncredited, but it’s him.

Love and Rapture: The Best of Peabo Bryson (2004) features Peabo’s biggest solo hits alongside his legendary duets like “A Whole New World” (with Regina Belle) and “Beauty and the Beast” (with Céline Dion). Peabo Bryson was a winner of two Grammy Awards, both attributed to his Disney duets.

I’m sad we’ve lost these two great artists. Are you a fan of Sonny Rollins or Peabo Bryson?

TRACK LIST:

TRACK LIST:

David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer’s The Space Opera Renaissance, a 941 page mammoth volume from 2006, is divided into six sections.  I’ve already reviewed Section 1 (you can read my review here) and you can read my reviews of Section 2 here and Section 3 here, Section 4 here, and Section 5 here. Finally, done!

Section 6 includes some of my favorite Space Opera writers. The best, in my opinion, is Alastair Reynolds whose first novel, Revelation Space (2000), launched a series of wonderful Space Opera books–I’ll be reviewing them in the months ahead.

While Charles Stross is best known for his Laundry series of fantasy thrillers with Lovecraftean overtones, he wrote some Space Opera in his early writing years like “Bear Trap.” I’m also a big fan of Scott Westerfeld’s Succession series–The Risen Empire (2003) and The Killing of Worlds (2003) (The two books were re-published in 2005 in one volume, also titled The Risen Empire). Westerfeld then shifted his writing to Young Adult novels which have been very successful.

While I enjoy John C. Wright’s Space Operas, I can understand why some readers might feel uncomfortable with Wright’s tendency to “Go Big.” As Wright wrote: “I am a space opera writer. I like large themes, thunder, fury, and wonder. Why blow up a city when you can blow up a world?” Do you see what I mean?

Although it took me a year to get through all 941 pages of The Space Opera Renaissance, it was worth it! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

VI. NEXT WAVE (TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY)

* 833 • Grist • (1998) • novella by Tony Daniel
* 873 • The Movements of Her Eyes • (2000) • novelette by Scott Westerfeld
* 892 • Spirey and the Queen • (1996) • shortfiction by Alastair Reynolds
* 914 • Bear Trap • (2000) • novelette by Charles Stross
* 929 • Guest Law • (1997) • novelette by John C. Wright

“The problem with war, Cukor told me, had always been the humans. ‘They’re materially corrupt, inefficient, and they get tired.’ And when they die it affects the campaign… He believed humans could do better with the help of machines, and that AI could pierce the Fog of War.” (p. 4)

“Nearly forty million people died in the First World War. An estimated eighty-five million people died in the Second World War. A Third World World War remained unthinkable.” (p. 351)

Watching what’s happening in the Ukraine War and the Iran War, it’s clear warfare will be fought by missiles and drones guided by Artificial Intelligence. Katrina Manson’s Project Maven tells how Colonel Drew Cukor first got the Defense Department involved in Artificial Intelligence a decade ago. Now, all the Big AI Players like Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet (Google), OpenAI, Anthropic, Palantir, and  Amazon are supplying the Defense Department new technology to fight wars.

Katrina Manson not only presents the growth of the relationship between AI and the military, she issues warnings about weapon systems that are autominous and can act without human oversight. Very dangerous! What do you think about Artificial Intelligence? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

A Note on Sources — vii

Prologue — 1

Introduction — 3

1. Old Wars — 13
2. Tilting at Windmills — 22
3. We Do What We Want — 29
4. They Call It Algorithmic Warfare — 43
5. The First Mavenites — 55
6. Relaxed About Fury — 65
7. The Colonel and the Math Whiz — 76
8. Somalia — 86
9. Moral Outrage — 100
10. The Algorithms Have No Clue — 119
11. Harbinger of Doom — 134
12. Arms Race — 145
13. Daddy Karp — 155
14. Palantir, Palantir, Palantir — 169
15. Palantir Splits the Team — 184
16. A Striking Operation — 194
17. Data Hell — 204
18. We’ll Find It and We’ll Strike It — 223
19. Nobody Knows Targeting Better Than Trey — 238
20. Kill Chain — 246
21. Ukraine Fights Back — 261
22. Tens of Thousands of Targets — 275
23. We’ve Drunk the Kool-Aid — 287
24. Machines Shouldn’t Kill People — 309
25. Trump’s Robots — 319
26. The Winchester House — 335

Epilogue — 351

Acknowledgments — 355

Notes — 357

Index –– 398

I was just 13 years old when I saw Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear in 1962. Yes, I was freaked out!

In 1991, I was much more under control when I watched Robert De Niro in Cape Fear. Still scary!

Cape Fear is based on John D. MacDonald’s The Executioners (1957) thriller where a convicted rapist, Max Cady, seeks revenge on the lawyer, Sam Bowden, who put him in prison. 

After his release, Cady systematically terrorizes Bowden’s family. Cady’s actions escalate from psychological torments to physical violence. Cody cannot be reasoned with. And as Cady’s intimidation becomes more threatening, it forces Sam Bowden, a law-abiding lawyer, to deal with the psychopath outside the bounds of the law to protect his family. 

Max Cody is a menacing role where Mitchum and De Niro got show their ominous sides. Javier Bardem brings his own fearsome presence to terrorize the Bowden family. Patrick Wilson plays a beleaguered Sam Bowden and Amy Adams plays Bowden’s unnerved wife. Are you a fan of Cape Fear? GRADE: B

I enjoyed the first series of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder on Netflix back in 2024 (you can read my review here). A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a mystery thriller series based on Holly Jackson’s bestselling Young Adult novels. The series follows high school student Pip Fitz-Amobi (Emma Myers) as she investigates a string of dark mysteries–think a modern Nancy Drew.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Season 2 with its 6 episodes covers the events of Holly Jackson’s second book, Good Girl, Bad Blood, which follows the mysterious disappearance of Jamie Reynolds right before a high-profile trial. 

If you’re a fan of Veronica Mars, you’ll like A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. GRADE: Incomplete but trending towards a B.

Somehow I missed Fully Dressed and In His Right Mind (1935) when Stark House published it back in 2022. The author, Michael Fessier (1905-1988), was best known as screenwriter, with credits including the Fred Astaire/Rita Hayworth musical You’ll Never Get Rich and even an episode of Gilligan’s Island. In the ’30s and ’40s Fessier worked in Hollywood, writing a couple of dozen produced screenplays, then he moved to New York and wrote for television, with his final contributions being six episodes for The High Chaparral, ending in 1969. He wrote screenplays for Bonanza, The Thin Man, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Fessier’s short story “That What Happened to Me,” has appeared in over 50 anthologies.

Jerry House–a reviewer seldom at a loss for words–admitted he didn’t know what to make of Fully Dressed and In HIs Right Mind and joined most of the book reviewers who found themselves with similar opinions (you can read Jerry’s brilliant review here).

Briefly, the short novel concerns a young man named Johnny Price who is drifting through Life because his father left him some bonds which makes work unnecessary. Price witnesses a little old man shoot publisher Albert E. Bagley to death. The little old man pops up several times in Fully Dressed and In His Right Mind with evil intent. Price also meets a nude woman named Trelia who swims in Golden Gate Park. Price is fascinated with her.

Other characters include Dorgan, a genius painter who destroys his paintings when he finishes them, George, a bartender who feels threatened simply because the old man looks at him with his green eyes, and Pete, the superintendent at Johnny’s apartment building.

Some critics have called Fully Dressed and In His Right Mind surreal. I can’t argue with that. It’s also a story about Good (Trelia) and Evil (little old man). Most critics don’t know what to make of Fully Dressed and In His Right Mind. I’m joining them. If you’re in the mood for a quirky, unusual story, this is it. GRADE: B (for baffling)

Michael Fessier wrote a second novel, Clovis (1948). Clovis is a parrot with human intelligence. Clovis can speak–and in fact knows several languages. But Clovis chooses his safe home–he claims he’s bored–and encounters a world where he’s constantly threatened.

Rick Horton of the wonderful blog STRANGE AT ECBATAN wrote this aboutClovis: “The book is out and out satire, though mostly somewhat gentle (except in the treatment of the evangelist.) And it is often very funny. The romance plot with Thad and the heiress, and the drinking cure, are almost Wodehousian. Clovis’ cynical utterances are quite amusing as well. The murder plot is very light-hearted, and doesn’t come off quite as amusing as the rest of the book. The book doesn’t outstay its welcome — though it probably reaches the limits of its welcome! Fun stuff on the whole, and I have to say I’m glad I read it.” So am I! You can read Horton’s entire review here. GRADE: B (for buffoonery)

“I’m glad you picked up on my telepathy” sings Gregory Abbott on his “Shake You Down.” If you’re looking for a mellow compilation music CD, you’d be hard pressed to find a more satisfying one than 1991’s After the Love.

Dave Mason recently died, but his “We Just Disagree” continues to be played regularly on our local Oldies radio station. Dan Hill and Vonda Shepard’s “Can’t We Try” doesn’t get enough airplay. Dave Loggins’ “Please Come to Boston” still strikes a chord. And who can resist “After the Love Has Gone” by Earth, Wind & Fire?

Yes, this music CD is only 39 minutes long, but it’s a satisfying half hour of Easy Listening songs. Do you remember these songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: B+