Back in the 1960s and 1970s, Playboy magazine bought Science Fiction stories to wrap around their popular nude photos. Playboy’s rates were much higher than Galaxy, Analog, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction could pay so SF writers would try selling their stories to Playboy first.

After these stories were published in Playboy magazine, Playboy Press would publish anthologies of those stories. From the “S” File, published in 1971, features 16 stories…all written by SF writers whose last names start with “S.” And, some of the “S” writers are included multiple times–a rarity in most SF anthologies.

My favorite stories are Robert Sheckley’s snarky “The Same to You Doubled” about the problem of making the wrong wish, and Henry Slesar’s classic “Examination Day” where passing a test can have dire consequences. Jack Sharkey takes a different view of making wishes in “Conversations With a Bug.” I enjoy these Playboy Press anthologies, and you would too! Were you a fan of Playboy back in the day? GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

PREFACE — 4

The Nail and the Oracle (1965) by Theodore Sturgeon –7

The World of Heart’s Desire (1959) by Robert Sheckley — 32

Can You Feel Anything When I Do This? (1969) by Robert Sheckley — 42

Triplication (1959) by Robert Sheckley — 55

The Same to You Doubled (1970) by Robert Sheckley — 63

Cordle to Onion to Carrot (1969) by Robert Sheckley — 77

Control Somnambule (1962) by William Sambrot — 97

The Man from Not-Yet (1968) by John Sladek — 115

Melodramine (1965) by Henry Slesar — 128

Victory Parade (1957) by Henry Slesar — 146

Examination Day (1958) by Henry Slesar — 152

The Jam (1958) by Henry Slesar — 158

After (1960) by Henry Slesar — 164

The Pool (1964) by Jack Sharkey — 171

Conversation with a Bug (1961) by Jack Sharkey — 179

Deathwatch (1965) by Norman Spinrad — 187

THE GOOD: It was fun seeing Beth Fedyn, Maggie Mason, Ted Hertel, Ted Fitzgerald, Thom Walls, and Steve Stilwell–all veterans of DAPA-EM.

My favorite panels were “Get Lost In the Plot: Short Stories,” “True North: A Vince Flynn Tribute,” “Small and Indie Press,” “Everybody Knows Your Name: Legacy Writing,” “Under the Sun or Below Zero,” and “The Modern Gumshoe.”

The most moving moment of BOUCHERCON 53 for me was hearing Alexander McCall Smith wax eloquent on what the death of the Queen meant to him.

THE BAD: Getting to BOUCHERCON 53 was hellish. When I first booked my flights on Delta Airlines to Minneapolis, they were direct flights from Buffalo to Minneapolis and returning from Minneapolis to Buffalo. Two weeks later, Delta sent an email saying my flights were no longer “direct.” Now, I was flying from Buffalo to Detroit, then Detroit to Minneapolis. The return flight would be from Minneapolis to Atlanta, then Atlanta to Buffalo.

No way was I going to fly to Altanta–a 1000 miles out of my way–to get to Buffalo. I managed to get that changed to Minneapolis to LaGuardia Airport in New York City–and then flying backwards to Buffalo.

When I landed in Detroit, I was at Gate 70. Then I found out my flight to Minneapolis was at Gate 23–a mile away. Even with the moving sidewalks, it took time and effort to travel that distance. When I landed in Minneapolis, I took a cab to the Hilton, checked in, and then had to begin my usual search for a store that sold distilled water for my CPAP. Fortunately, there was a Target store about three blocks away.

THE UGLY: The Hilton “Business Center” on the Second Floor consisted of one antique computer…with the sign OUT OF ORDER taped to the screen. So I had no access to the Internet and my blog while I was at BOUCHERCON 53 (I’m sure you all figured that out). I should have brought my iPad…Had I But Known!

The Dealers’ Room was a joke. I can remember the days (decades ago) when dozens of dealers showed up with great books and buyers crowded the aisles. This Dealers’ Room had four book sellers swallowed up in a large room. One dealer specialized in vintage paperbacks, the others mostly featured current hardcovers for the few BOUCHERCON attendees who wandered in. Very sad.

The flight from Minneapolis to LaGuardia Airport experienced “turbulence” which freaked some passengers out. Plus, the flight crew decided NOT to distribute the usual drinks or snacks even when the turbulence calmed down. The Friendly Skies aren’t that friendly anymore.

All in all, BOUCHERCON 53 was enjoyable and informative. Plenty of good, free books! GRADE: B+

Garrett Hongo, who teaches poetry at the University of Oregon, finds himself in a quest for the perfect audio system. Part of Hongo’s story goes back to his father who in the 1950s and 1960s built audio equipment from Heathkit, Allied Knight, Lafayette, and Eico. The tragedy was Hongo’s father was rapidly losing his hearing. The audio equipment he built provided the last sounds of music he would ever experience.

After his father died, Hongo pursued his teaching career, but felt unfulfilled. Hongo loved music and when his CD changer broke, he decided to buy something better. But the better CD player needed a more powerful amplifier. Then the system needed better speakers. And before long, Hongo had gone down the stereo Rabbit Hole to find the perfect sound system.

As the reader follows Hongo on his quest, the history of modern audio becomes part of the story. The history of the vinyl record, the invention of the amplifier–with those glowing tubes!–and why speakers work they way they do. Plenty of detail and data across the decades!

As a bonus, Hongo goes into the music that he loves…and why. You’ll come away with a list of pop, jazz, and classical music you’ll be searching for. If you’re interested in music sound systems, The Perfect Sound will give you plenty of tips on the type of equipment you should be considering. If you’re just interested in obsession, Hongo’s search for the perfect sound system shows that starkly! What kind of stereo system do you listen to? GRADE: A

Table of Contents

Preludio — 1

Part One
The Perfect Sound — 11

Part Two
I Started Out on Stereo — 55

Part Three
Tubeworld, 1 — 127

Part Four
Tubeworld, 2 — 163

Part Five
It’s My Life — 209

Part Six
Wandering Rocks, 1 — 255

Part Seven
The First Amplifiers — 283

Part Eight
Talking Heads and Singing Platters — 345

Part Nine
Wandering Rocks, 2 — 401

Part Ten
Among the Bohemians — 433

Outro — 495

Acknowledgments — 519

Notes on Sources — 521

While I travel back to Buffalo on Delta Airlines, I’m sure you’ll be enjoying your favorite NFL team in action today. New seasons always open up with Hope. How will your team perform today?

I’ve read all eight novels in Genevieve Colman’s The Invisible Library series. With The Untold Story (2021), the series is going on hiatus. Genevieve Cogman writes in her Acknowledgements, “I do have more ideas concerning Irene, and about the Library and its other inhabitants, and at some point they may get written. My next project is in a completely different area (involving vampires and the Scarlet Pimpernel and a hapless maidservant who’d rather be doing embroidery)… ” (p. 384)

In The Untold Story, Librarian and spy Irene Winter tries to solve some of the major mysteries that have persisted over the story arc of this series. Who set up the Library (and inter dimensional force for stability in the Universe)? Why was the greatest traitor in the Library’s history now trying to make a deal with Irene? Was there a conspiracy at the heart of the Library?

Irene, her lover Kai (who shifts between human and dragon mode), and a Sherlock Holmes clone, Peregrine Vale, attempt to solve the puzzles that have bedeviled them in the preceding volumes of The Invisible Library series.

I’ve enjoyed this series with its quirky plots and characters. If you’re in the mood for mystery, adventure, and fantasy, this is the place to find it. Click on the previous titles to read my reviews. GRADE: B+

The Invisible Library novels:

• Book 1: The Invisible Library London: Pan Macmillan, 2015. ISBN 978-1-4472-5623-6
• Book 2: The Masked City London: Pan Macmillan, 2015. ISBN 978-1-4472-5625-0
• Book 3: The Burning Page London: Pan Macmillan, 2016. ISBN 978-1-4472-5627-4
• Book 4: The Lost Plot London: Pan Macmillan, 2017. ISBN 978-1-5098-3071-8
• Book 5: The Mortal Word London: Pan Macmillan, 2018. ISBN 978-1-5098-3072-5
• Book 6: The Secret Chapter London: Pan Macmillan, 2019. ISBN 978-1-5290-0057-3
• Book 7: The Dark Archive London: Pan Macmillan, 2020. ISBN 978-1-5290-0060-3
• Book 8: The Untold Story London: Pan Macmillan, 2021. ISBN 978-1-5290-0063-4

I’ve read all of John Creasey’s novels about Chief Inspector George Gideon of Scotland Yard (written under his “J. J. Marric” psuedonym). Although Creasey wrote hundreds of novels, Anthony Boucher called his Gideon’s Day Creasey’s best book. HFR Keating included Gideon’s Work in his 100 Best Crime and Mystery Books. The Mystery Writers of America awarded Creasey the Edgar for Best Novel for Gideon’s Fire.

Crippen & Landru surprised Creasey/Gideon fans with this new collection of Gideon short stories mostly published in the 1970s in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and uncollected until now. These short stories focus on Gideon’s ability to understand the crimes…and those committing the crimes. My favorite story in this collection is “Gideon and the Vintage Car Thefts.” Very clever!

Martin Edwards, fresh from finishing his monumental The Life of Crime (you can read my review here), provides an insightful “Introduction” to the George Gideon series. Francis M. Nevins’s “A Reflection on the Life of an Author” focuses on the man who wrote the Gideon series. Creasey’s son delivers some compelling insights about his father in his “Afterword.”

If you’re a John Creasey fan, don’t miss Gideon and the Young Toughs & Other Stories! GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction by Martin Edwards –3

Gideon and the Park Vandal –11

Gideon and the Drunken Sailor — 17

Gideon and the Teen-Age Hooligans — 23

Gideon and the Shoplifting Ring — 31

Gideon and the Pickpockets — 39

Gideon and the Young Toughs — 47

Gideon and the Pigeon — 55

Gideon and the Chestnut Vendor –63

Gideon and the Vintage Car Thefts — 71

Gideon and the Inside Job — 79

Gideon and the Flu Epidemic — 87

Gideon and the East End Gang — 93

Gideon and the Innocent Shoplifter –101

A Reflection on the Life of an Author By Francis M. Nevins –109

Afterword By Richard Creasey –119

Sources — 129

In a history extending all the way back to 1960, this is the first time the Buffalo Bills will play in a marquee game: opening the 2022 NFL Season against the Super Bowl Champion LA Rams. Hopes are high among the Bills Mafia, but disaster has dashed the hopes of Bills fans ever since 1960. I’ll be watching this game in Minneapolis surrounded by BOUCHERCON attendees. The Bills are 2 1/2 point favorites. Go Bills!

The Year’s Best Fantasy, Volume 1 is Paula Guran’s 50th edited anthology. If you’ve read any of Guran’s other anthologies, you know she tries to present quality writing with a diverse range. The old cliche, “Something here for every taste,” certainly applies.

My tastes in fantasy tend toward the unexpected. Take P. Dieli Clark’s “If the Martians Have Magic” for instance. The Martians have invaded Earth three times and a collective Martian mind wants to help Humans resist the next invasion. They offer Martian Magic as a possible protection…but at a price. I also enjoyed Richard Parks’s “The Fox’s Daughter.” A member of royalty must travel away from her kingdom for six months. She asks her friend, the ruler of a nearby kingdom, to take care of her difficult teenage daughter. Reluctantly, he agrees. The teenage daughter has the power–like her mother–to turn into a fox or a woman. Challenges appear.

While I wasn’t familiar with P. Dieli Clark or Richard Park (although I’m planning on finding their books), I am familiar with James Enge and his “Drunkard’s Walk” possesses the same high level story-telling qualities of Enge’s The Tournament of Shadows trilogy.

I enjoyed many of stories in The Year’s Best Fantasy, Volume 1. If you’re in the mood for an anthology with a variety of fantasy styles, this is the one to check out. Are you a fan of Fantasy stories? GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS (alphabetical):

• Marika Bailey, “The White Road; Or How a Crow Carried Death Over a River” (Fiyah #18) — 122
• Elizabeth Bear, “The Red Mother” (Tor.com) — 140
• Tobias Buckell, “Brickomancer (Shoggoths in Traffic and Other Stories) — 252
• P. Djèlí Clark, “If the Martians Have Magic” (Uncanny #42) — 314
• Roshani Chokshi, “Passing Fair and Young” (Sword Table Stone: Old Legend, New Voices) — 195
• Varsha Dinesh, “The Demon Sage’s Daughter” (Strange Horizons 2/8/21) — 260
• Andrew Dykstal, “Quintessence” (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #324) — 211
• James Enge, “Drunkard’s Walk (F&SF 5-6) — 297
• Karen Joy Fowler, “The Piper” (F&SF 1-2) — 379

Introduction: Mirrors by Paula Guran — xi
• Carlos Hernandez & C. S. E. Cooney, “A Minnow, or Perhaps a Colossal Squid (Mermaids Monthly, April) — 334
• Kathleen Jennings, “Gisla and the Three Favors” (Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #43) — 189
• Allison King, “Breath of the Dragon King” (Fantasy #72) — 376
• PH Lee, “Frost’s Boy” (Lightspeed #128) — 77
• Yukimi Ogawa, “Her Garden the Size of Her Palm (F&SF 7-8) — 174
• Tobi Ogundiran, “The Tale of Jaja and Canti” (Lightspeed #135) — 96
• Richard Parks. “The Fox’s Daughter (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #344) — 354
• Karen Russell, “The Cloud Lake Unicorn” (Conjunctions:76) — 103
• Sofia Samatar, “Three Tales from the Blue Library” (Conjunctions:76) — 368
• Catherynne Valente, “L’Esprit de Escalier” (Tor.com) — 50
• Fran Wilde, “Unseelie Bros, Ltd.” (Uncanny #40) — 1
• Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, “Gray Skies, Red Wings, Blue Lips, Black Hearts” (Apex #121) — 282
• Isabel Yap,“A Spell for Foolish Hearts” (Never Have I Ever) — 387
• E. Lily Yu, “Small Monsters” (Tor.com) — 26

About the Authors — 433

Acknowledgements — 440

About the Editor — 443

Maybe I’m getting super-heroed out but this newish iteration of the Batman story left me cold. I finally watched it on HBO Max but the Blu-ray/DVD is on sale for those who crave “Additional Content.”

It seems like each Batman movie tries to be darker than the film that preceded it. In The Batman, a sadistic serial killer murders key political figures in Gotham. Batman investigates the city’s hidden corruption. And, of course, questions about his family’s involvement arise.

Yes, there’s plenty of action. Yes, there’s plenty of violence. Explosions…check. Cool gadgets…check. Loud music..check. Even though The Batman checks all the boxes, I had that deja vu feeling that I’ve seen all this before. Are you a Batman fan? GRADE: C