Quarterback Nate Peterman (aka, “The Turnover Machine”) will be at the controls of the hapless Buffalo Bills offense today because the other two Bills QBs are hurt. The Bills opponent, the mighty Chicago Bears, is favored by 10 points. How will your favorite NFL fare today?

While we were in Boston visiting Katie (and seeing Hamilton) we also attended the Huntington Theatre Company’s play by Charles Marowitz, Sherlock’s Last Case. Maria Aitken directs a clever story where Sherlock is threatened by the son of Professor Moriarity. The staging alternates between Baker Street and a spooky cave. I enjoyed Rufus Collins as an arrogant Sherlock Holmes and Mark Zeisler as a frustrated Doctor Watson. Jane Ridley is a flighty Mrs. Hudson. Antoinette Robinson surprises as Liza Moriarity. And Malcolm Ingram presents a solid Inspector Lestrade. If you’re in the mood for a twisty Sherlock play, I recommend Sherlock’s Last Case. GRADE: B+

During the 1940s and 1950s, ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION magazine dominated the Science Fiction market. The best writers, the best stories, the best cover artwork found its way to the pages of the magazine edited by the legendary John W. Campbell. Alec Nevala-Lee’s well-written history, Astounding, shows how the key figures–Campbell, Asimov, Heinlein, and Hubbard–made that magazine the key factor in shaping the SF genre durning those decades.

I grew up reading Astounding as a kid. The Kelly Freas covers with the names of great Science Fiction writers inside were irresistible. I still treasure my July 1958 issue of Astounding Science Fiction featuring Jack Vance’s classic “The Miracle-Workers” on the cover. John W. Campbell was a “hands on” editor, frequently pitching ideas for stories to his stable of writers. Isaac Asimov gives credit to Campbell for assisting in the development of “The Three Laws of Robotics” and the “psychohistory” of the Foundation series.

Later, Campbell’s fascination with extrasensory perception and Dianetics caused Asimov and Heinlein to seek other markets. But for about 20 years, Astounding set the standard for the best Science Fiction could offer its loyal readers. If you want to know more about the history of SF, Astounding will enlighten and delight you! For another perspective on Astounding, James Wallace Harris offers an excellent review here. And Micheal Dirda’s fine review can be found here. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
PROLOGUE: ASIMOV’S SWORD 1
PART I: WHO GOES THERE? (1907-1937) 15
1. The Boy from Another World (1910-1931) 17
2. Three Against the Gods (1907-1935) 35
3. Two Lost Souls (1931-1937) 53
PART II: GOLDEN AGE (1937-1941) 71
4. Brass Tacks (1937-1939) 73
5. The Analytical Laboratory (1938-1940) 99
6. In Times to Come (1939-1941) 127
PART III: THE INVADERS (1941-1945) 149
7. A Cold Fury (1941-1944) 151
8. The War of Inventions (1942-1944) 175
9. From “Deadline” to Hiroshima (1944-1945) 191
PART IV.: THE DOUBLE MINDS (1945-1951) 215
10. Black Magic and the Bomb (1945-1949) 217
11. The Modern Science of Mental Health (1945-1950) 241
12. The Dianetics Epidemic (1950-1951) 267
PART V: THE LAST EVOLUTION (1951-1971) 297
13. A Fundamental attack on the Problem (1951-1960) 299
14. Strangers in a Strange Land (1951-1969) 327
15. Twilight (1960-1971) 353
EPILOGUE: BEYOND THIS HORIZON 381
Acknowledgements 409
Notes 413
Bibliography 499
Index 509

Tana French livens up the Halloween season with a stand-alone novel, The Witch Elm. Toby Hennessy, a marketing guy at a small art gallery, confronts two intruders in his apartment in the middle of the night and gets beaten badly. Toby wakes up in a hospital with a concussion, broken ribs, and PTSD. The reader who is not used to Tana French’s ways might conclude The Witch Elm will center around Toby’s beating: who were those thugs? What were they stealing? Did someone hire them?

But, no. The Witch Elm pivots to IVY HOUSE and dying Uncle Hugo. Toby travels to be with his beloved uncle to recover from his injuries and to help a relative with cancer. But that isn’t what The Witch Elm is about, either. A body is found in the wych elm tree on Uncle Hugo’s property. Who is the dead man? Was he murdered? Who murdered him? The Witch Elm juggles several plots until the Big Reveal in the last 40 pages. If you’re a Tana French fan, you’ll enjoy this twisty mystery. If you’re looking for an absorbing crime novel, The Witch Elm will keep you guessing for all of its 501 pages. GRADE: B+

The “Cloudy Affair” costume is on sale for $49.95. The official description: “Uh oh! We sense a political scandal! Disclose all your dirty little secrets in this exclusive Cloudy Affair costume featuring a red mini dress with a plunging cowl neck, halter straps, a form-fitting skirt, a low open back, and large, foam, fake breasts. (Wig and mushroom not included.)”

I hope Stormy Daniels gets some royalties from this outfit! Enjoy a wonderful Halloween!

Director Roger Mitchell (best known for Notting Hill) sets up some cameras while legendary actresses Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Eileen Atkins, Dame Judi Dench, and Dame Joan Plowright chat about their careers, their husbands (Plowright was married to Sir Lawrence Olivier), and their futures. All four women are in their 80s and suffer from a number of physical problems. But, despite the years, these wonderful actresses liven up the screen talking about roles won and lost. Eileen Atkins admits to turning down the role of Cleopatra FOUR TIMES because she didn’t think she was beautiful enough. Roger Mitchell includes footage from various movies and archival clips of these actresses in action over the decades. These four friends have been meeting together for years and their interaction shows us another softer and funnier side to these stars.

My favorite line in Tea With the Dames comes from Judi Dench’s then husband, Michael Williams. Dench took the role of James Bond’s boss, M, when Williams told her, “I long to live with a Bond woman.” GRADE: A-

It’s been 10 years since the Buffalo Bills hosted a Monday Night Football game. ESPN executives must be pulling out their collective hair wondering why they’re broadcasting this potentially lopsided game. The New England Patriots have a 9-1 record playing the Bills in Buffalo over the past 10 seasons. The Patriots are averaging 31 points a game, the Bills score a meager 12 points a game. The Patriots are favorited by 14 points. Not good. The Bills’s best player, running back LeSean McCoy, is in Concussion Protocol. Looks bad for the home team tonight.

The Buffalo Bills (thankfully!) don’t play today. How will your favorite NFL do today?

Just in time for Halloween, Haunted Nights edited by Ellen Datlow and Lisa Morton presents an anthology of scary stories. My favorite stories are “Witch-Hazel” by Jeffery Ford and “Lost in the Dark” by John Langan. Datlow and Morton’s anthology provides a wide variety of stories so there’s something here for almost any reader’s taste. If you want to get into the Halloween spirit, these stories will take you there. GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION By Lisa Morton ix
With Graveyard Weeds and Wolfbane Seeds /by Seanan McGuire 3
Dirtmouth /by Stephen Graham Jones 23
A Small Taste of the Old Country /by Jonathan Maberry 45
Wick’s End /by Joanna Parypinski 70
The Seventeen Year Itch / by Garth Nix 83
A Flicker of Light on Devil’s Night / by Kate Jonez 100
Witch-Hazel /by Jeffrey Ford 114
Nos Galen Gaeaf /by Kelley Armstrong 129
We’re Never Inviting Amber Again / by S. P. Miskowski 149
Sisters /by Brian Evenson 169
All Through the Night / by Elise Forier Edie 182
A Kingdom of Sugar Skulls and Marigolds / by Eric J. Guignard 201
The Turn / by Paul Kane 226
Jack / by Pat Cadigan 244
Lost in the Dark / by John Langan 269
The First Lunar Halloween /by John R. Little 325
About the Authors 341
About the Editors 349
Permissions 351

It’s hard to believe I have written 500 Friday’s Forgotten Books reviews! Patti Abbott invited me to join the group and Bill Crider encouraged me as well. So on January 9, 2009 I posted my first Forgotten Book review of THE DREAMING JEWELS (aka THE SYNTHETIC MAN) By Theodore Sturgeon. Over almost 10 years, I’ve tried to alternate Science Fiction with Mysteries each Friday. I reviewed some Fantasy titles, too. To celebrate this milestone today, I chose The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin. The Library of America has done some great volumes of Science Fiction especially the Philip K. Dick sets, but this new volume includes some of the best SF writing of the 20th Century. I read C. L. Moore’s “The Black God’s Kiss” in the early 1960s and was blown away. I quickly searched my local used bookstores for more of C.L. Moore’s work.

I was also a huge fan of “Andre Norton” in the 1960s. Later, I learned both “Andre Norton” and “Andrew North” were actually Alice Mary Norton. Her “All Cats Are Gray” thrilled me as a kid. I read a lot of Leigh Brackett’s work, too. A born story-teller! I recently reread “In Hiding” by Wilmar H. Shiras about mutant children featured in one of the Bleiler and Dikty YEAR’S BEST volumes. Still powerful after almost 70 years! James Tiptree, Jr. (aka, Alice Bradley Sheldon) was one of my favorite writers and “The Last Flight of Dr. Ain” shows why. Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness shocked the SF world and made Le Guin one of the genre’s Major Stars.

This volume includes a variety of stories and some of them were new to me. I hadn’t encountered Leslie F. Stone’s “The Conquest of Gola” and Leslie Perri’s “Space Episode” before reading this book. If you’re interested in the evolution of Science Fiction, the impact of women writers on the genre, and reading some wonderful stories, I highly recommend The Future is Female! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction by Lisa Yaszek
CLARE WINGER HARRIS: The Miracle of the Lily | 1928
LESLIE F. STONE: The Conquest of Gola | 1931
C. L. MOORE: The Black God’s Kiss | 1934
LESLIE PERRI: Space Episode | 1941
JUDITH MERRIL: That Only a Mother | 1948
WILMAR H. SHIRAS: In Hiding | 1948
KATHERINE MACLEAN: Contagion | 1950
MARGARET ST. CLAIR: The Inhabited Men | 1951
ZENNA HENDERSON: Ararat | 1952
ANDREW NORTH: All Cats Are Gray | 1953
ALICE ELEANOR JONES: Created He Them | 1955
MILDRED CLINGERMAN: Mr. Sakrison’s Halt | 1956
LEIGH BRACKETT: All the Colors of the Rainbow | 1957
CAROL EMSHWILLER: Pelt | 1958
ROSEL GEORGE BROWN: Car Pool | 1959
ELIZABETH MANN BORGESE: For Sale, Reasonable | 1959
DORIS PITKIN BUCK: Birth of a Gardener | 1961
ALICE GLASER: The Tunnel Ahead | 1961
KIT REED: The New You | 1962
JOHN JAY WELLS & MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY: Another Rib | 1963
SONYA DORMAN: When I Was Miss Dow | 1966
KATE WILHELM: Baby, You Were Great | 1967
JOANNA RUSS: The Barbarian | 1968
JAMES TIPTREE, JR.: The Last Flight of Dr. Ain | 1969
URSULA K. LE GUIN: Nine Lives | 1969
Biographical Notes