If you read Azam Ahmed’s Fear Is Just a Word, you will never go to Mexico. Ahmed tells the true story of Miriam Rodriguez who tries to get her kidnapped daughter, Karen, back from the local drug cartel, the Zetas, who demand ransom. The kidnapping took place in 2013 and Rodriguez pays several ransoms to the Zetas…but they don’t return Karen.

As Ahmed shows Rodriguez’s growing fear for her daughter, he weaves in the political history of Mexico, an authoritarian and corrupt Government. The Government used to be partners with the drug cartels until the cartels grew too rich and too powerful. Now the drug cartels in Mexico rule the country with violence, murder, kidnappings, torture, and mass execution events.

Miriam Rodriguez buys a gun and decides to hunt down the men who kidnapped her daughter. You would think that a 56-year-old woman wouldn’t present much of a threat to psychotic drug cartel thugs…but you would be wrong.

Fear Is Just a Word presents an accurate picture of a country ruled by vicious criminals. Miriam Rodriguez’s mission to bring justice and vengeance to the Zetas is an astonishing story. If you think things are bad in the U.S., you have to compare that with the incredible, malevolent horrors of Mexico. GRADE: A

I’ll be rooting for the Detroit Lions to win this Divisional Playoff game over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Lions are favored by 6 points, but they might just win by more.

The Buffalo Bills have been stymied the past couple of years at the Divisional Playoff level, losing to KC in 2022 on the infamous 13 second debacle and losing to the Cincinnati Bengals last year. Will this be the year the Bills get over the hump and make it to the AFC Championship Game? My stomach is in knots already! Who do you think will win these games?

The Houston Texans travel to Baltimore to play the Ravens. The Ravens are 9 1/2 point favorites. Weather might be factor in this game. And the San Francisco 49ers are 9 1/2 point favorites over the surprising Green Bay Packers. Who do you think will win these games?

From Greek myths to Ambrose Bierce’s tale of a chess-playing machine, to Karel Capek’s R.U.R. where the word “robot” first appeared, the stories in Robots Through the Ages (2023) present a chronological approach to showing how the concept of robots evolved over time. Robert Silverberg’s “Introduction” presents a clear delineation of the progression of robots in Science Fiction stories. The stories in Robots Through the Ages–other than the three newly published stories–appear in chronological order. Reading an early classic like Jack Williamson’s “With Folded Hands” from 1947 and comparing it to Silverberg’s “Good News From the Vatican” from 1971 shows the growth and enrichment of the idea of “robot.”

The original stories in this volume are Seanan McGuire’s “Perfection,” Ken Scholes’s “Of Homeward Dreams and Fallen Seeds and Melodies by Moonlight,” and Martin L. Shoemaker “Today I Know.”

Yes, Silverberg included some classics like “Good Night, Mr. James” from Clifford D. Simak’s City, “Second Variety” by Philip K. Dick, and Roger Zelanzy’s “For a Breath I Tarry.” But you’ll find some not so familiar stories like Connie Willis’s “Dilemma,” Brenda Cooper’s “The Robot’s Girl,” and “That Must Be Them Now” by Karen Haber.

I’ve always been fond of robot stories ever since I read Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot. If you share my enthusiasm for robot stories, you’ll really enjoy Robots Through the Ages! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION by Robert Silverberg — 1
PERFECTION by Seanan McGuire — 11
MOXON’S MASTER by Ambrose Bierce — 29
WITH FOLDED HANDS by Jack Williamson — 45
GOOD NIGHT, MR. JAMES by Clifford D. Simak — 109
INSTINCT by Lester del Rey — 139
A BAD DAY FOR SALES by Fritz Leiber — 161
SECOND VARIETY by Philip K. Dick — 175
THE GOLEM by Avram Davidson — 241
FOR A BREATH I TARRY by Roger Zelazny — 253
GOOD NEWS FROM THE VATICAN by Robert Silverberg — 303
DILEMMA by Connie Willis — 319
THE ROBOT’S GIRL by Brenda Cooper — 347
THAT MUST BE THEM NOW by Karen Haber — 287
R.U.R.-8? by Suzanne Palmer — 411
ROBINSON CALCULATOR by Paul Levinson — 449
OF HOMEWARD DREAMS AND FALLEN SEEDS AND MELODIES BY MOONLIGHT by Ken Scholes — 489
TODAY, I KNOW by Martin L. Shoemaker — 515
AFTERWARD & RECOMMENDED READING by Bryan Thomas Schmidt — 537
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS — 543

PUBLICATION CREDITS — 545

EDITOR BIOGRAPHIES — 549

CONTRIBUTOR BIOGRAPHIES — 551

You’re not going to see a CD like Rock Steady 1971 at a Starbucks today. You’d have to go back to 2006 when this CD was on sale at the cash register where you paid for your Venti. Starbucks celebrated their 35th Anniversary with this 15-song album that mixed familiar songs with some unfamiliar ones (unless you were listening to FM Rock stations).

In the familiar category, there’s The Doors with “Riders on the Storm,” Al Green’s “Tired of Being Alone,” and CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain.”

In the unfamiliar category, instead of “Bang a Gong” we get T. Rex’s “Planet Queen.” And Nick Drake’s “One of These Things First.” And, instead of “Black Magic Woman” we get Santana’s “No One to Depend On.”

Also included are dependable hits like David Bowie’s “Changes,” Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady,” and Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy Mercy Me.” How many of these songs from 1971 do you remember? Do you remember the first time you walked into a Starbucks? GRADE: B

TRACK LIST:

1	John Lennon–	Jealous Guy
2	The Kinks–	20th Century Man
3	Joni Mitchell–	All I Want
4	Al Green–	Tired Of Being Alone
5	The Doors–	Riders On The Storm
6	Creedence Clearwater Revival–	Have You Ever Seen The Rain
7	Marvin Gaye–	Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)
8	Stevie Wonder–	If You Really Love Me
9	Aretha Franklin–	Rock Steady
10	David Bowie–	Changes
11	T. Rex–	Planet Queen
12	Nick Drake–	One Of These Things First
13	Grateful Dead*–	Truckin’
14	Santana–	No One To Depend On
15	Janis Joplin–	Mercedes Benz

Barry N. Malzberg has published over 500 short stories from 1970 to 2022. Many have been assembled in several of Malzberg’s short story collections over the years. But some stories have been orphans until this new Stark House book, Collecting Myself: The uncollected Stories of Barry N. Malzberg. In his Introduction, Malzberg writes about how he shifted his writing focus from literary magazines to Science Fiction and Mystery magazines.

As Malzberg told a young Gardner Dozois: “Put a rocket or a robot into a quality lit story and You can get away with the damnedest stuff.” Take “Terminus Est” for example. A pilot near retirement has a run-in with a couple on the Moon. The incident turns violent and reveals a stark future.

Or take “Close-Up Photos Reveal JFK Skull on Moon!” which features one of Malzberg’s persistent preoccupations–the Kennedy Assassination–and, of course, the Moon. “Richard Nixon Saved From Drowning” and “The Terminal Villa” have J. G. Ballard vibes.

If you’re a fan of Barry N. Malzberg, Collecting Myself is a must-buy. If you’re curious about Malzberg’s writing, Collecting Myself would be a good place to start your investigation. GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction — 9

Terminus Est — 15

Making Titan –19

Exploration — 27

Conquest — 30

Two Odysseys into the Center — 35

Dreaming and Conversations: Two Rules by Which to Live — 44

Conversations at Lothar’s –51

Triptych — 54

The Wonderful, All-Purpose Transmogrifier –62

Revelation in Seven Stages — 69

There the Lovelies Bleeding — 72

1984 — 75

Johann Sebastian Brahms — 76

The Queen of Lower Saigon — 83

Ambition — 89

No Hearts, No Flowers — 92

Safety Zone — 100

One Ten Three — 106

Dumbarton Oaks — 111

Gotterdammerung — 115

Is This the Presidential Palace — 120

Of Dust and Fire and the Night — 123

It Came From Nothing — 128

Sinfonia Expansiva — 132

Close-Up Photos Reveal JFK’s Skull on Moon! — 136

Getting There — 141

The Third Part — 144

Crossing the Border — 150

These, the Inheritors — 153

The Passion of Azalea — 157

Why We Talk to Ourselves — 167

Richard Nixon Saved From Drowning — 172

Terminal Villa — 176

The Phantom Gentleman — 178

January 2018 — 180

Bibliography — 182

A woman at the Pool where I frolic in every day told me, “God sent Trump to save America.” Tim Alberta’s The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism (2023) explains why millions of evangelicals believe Trump is on a mission from God. And why Trump ran away with the Iowa Caucuses.

Tim Alberta, who is a journalist, a practicing Christian and the son of a Presbyterian pastor, tells how millions of Conservative Christians regard Trump as their defender against the Liberal Elites and the rising tide of multi-cultural diversity.

Other politicians have appealed to these evangelical voters. One of these is Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado who tormented Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. While addressing a congregation in the summer of 2022, Boebert said, “I tired of this ‘separation of church and state’ junk. The church is supposed to direct the government. The government is not supposed to direct the church.” (p. 253) This kind of message resonates with the evangelicals who hate the Government and its power.

The description of Jerry Falwell, Sr.’s strategy of training an army of evangelicals to battle Liberals and Democrats and Secular elites by founding Liberty University and shows how evangelicals have played the Long Game by entering into an unholy alliance between evangelical believers and right-wing nationalists to get into this position of power. They believe Trump was elected President in 2020 and they will go all out to make sure it happens for real in 2024. And, if this sounds like a religious crusade…you’d be right.

After winning the Iowa Caucuses, Trump looks like he’ll cruise to victory because 85% of the evangelicals will support him in the Primaries. GRADE: A

The Steelers vs. Bills game was moved to Monday due to a Lake Effect snowstorm that dumped three feet of snow on parts of Western NY. High winds whipped up the snow causing white-out conditions. The temperature at game-time is predicted to be 16 degrees–windchill temp 0 degrees.

The weather conditions will dictate a running game with just a few short passes. Punts, kickoffs, and field goals will be dicey. The Bills are favored by 10 points but the weather could change all of that.

The disappointing Philadelphia Eagles travel to Tampa Bay to face the surprising Buccaneers. The Eagles are favored by 3 points but Tampa Bay–given the upsets this Wild Card Weekend–might surprise them. Who do you think will win these games?

The Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Buffalo Bills game has been moved to Monday at 4 P.M on CBS because of the blizzard conditions in Western NY.

The Dallas Cowboys are undefeated at home for the past 15 games. I like Jordan Love and the Packers, but the Cowboys might hang 40+ points on them this afternoon. Dallas is favored by 7 points.

The surprising LA Rams arrive in Detroit to upset the Lions. The Lions haven’t played a Playoff game at home in 30 years. The Lions are favored by 3 points, but if the Rams QB, Matthew Stafford, is on his game then Lions QB Jared Goff will have to match him touchdown by touchdown.

Who do you think will win these Playoff games and advance to the next round?

I’ll be rooting for the Cleveland Browns over the Houston Texans. The Browns are 2 1/2 point favorites. In the late game, both the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins will be playing in frigid temperatures. The Chiefs are favorited by 4 1/2 points but the weather may change the Playoff conditions Big Time! Plus, Taylor Swift will be in attendance! Who do you think will win?