A series of strange events lure Sherlock Holmes and Watson into investigating mysterious deaths in London. The victims’s bodies are shredded and their bones are rearranged in bizarre patterns. And then, there is the gold and the spherical bones found at the crime scenes! Lois Gresh’s Sherlock Holmes vs. Cthulhu: The Adventure of the Deadly Dimensions (2017) features alien artifacts that mystify Holmes. These devices seem to be alive! Secret societies, dark cults, horrific rites, and eldritch events propel the plot of this faux-Sherlock Holmes novel. At 437 pages, Sherlock Holmes vs. Cthulhu is a little too long for my taste. This is the first book in a trilogy. The second book, Sherlock Holmes vs. Cthulhu: The Adventure of the Neural Psychoses , will be published on August 14, 2018. GRADE: B

A. Conan Doyle’s The Sign of the Four (aka, The Sign of Four (1890) was the second novel in the Sherlock Holmes canon. This 1987 adaptation starring Jeremy Brett as Holmes and Edward Hardwicke as Watson is considered by many as the best movie version of a Sherlock Holmes story. Of course, the story has a bit of everything: a hidden treasure, murders, sinister forces, a locked room, and an exciting chase. The movie version leaves out the romance of Dr. Watson and Mary Morstan (Jenny Seagrove in this production) and Sherlock shooting up with a 7% solution of cocaine. Do you have a favorite movie version of a Sherlock Holmes story? GRADE: A

Welcome to Sherlock Holmes Week! For the next seven days I’ll be posting about books and movies related to Sherlock Holmes. Some will be classic, some will be new but all should entertain you. I’m starting off with a new book by Theodora Goss, The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter. Mary Jekyll finds herself in dire straits when her mother dies and the pension that was supporting the London household dies with her. Mary learns some facts about Mr. Hyde who murdered a rich man. Mary knew Hyde as her father’s assistant. The murdered man’s family is offering a hundred pound reward for information about Hyde and Mary desperately needs the money. But, she decides to first contact Sherlock Holmes for advice and assistance.

As you can imagine, The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter is a mashup of Robert Louis Stevenson and A. Conan Doyle. But wait, there’s more! As Holmes and Watson and Mary Jekyll investigate a series of murders, more pieces of this complex puzzle change everything. Theodora Goss has written a surprising mystery by mixing classic characters and elements. Highly recommended! GRADE: A

I’ll be watching the Final Four tonight. This year’s March Madness games featured plenty of drama and upsets. In the first game, Michigan is favored by 5 1/2 points over Loyola. In the second game, Villanova is favored by 5 points over Kansas. Right now, I’m rooting for Michigan and Villanova to meet for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship on Monday night. Who are you rooting for? Who do you think will win the Championship?
FINAL FOUR:
6:09 p.m. ET — No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 11 Loyola (Chicago) | TBS
8:49 p.m. ET — No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 1 Kansas | TBS

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday, April 2 (San Antonio)
9:20 p.m. ET — Semifinal winners | TBS

Leah Bobet’s first novel, Above, was shortlisted for the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy. I had high expectations when I picked up Bobet’s second book, An Inheritance of Ashes, a Yong Adult fantasy novel. It’s the story of a pair of sisters trying to survive on a farm during a time of war. Most of the men of Lakelands are gone to fight a dark god. Hallie, a 16-year-old, finds dealing with her older sister, Marthe, more difficult. Marthe’s boyfriend has not returned from the war. Hallie hires a wandering war veteran named Heron to help keep the farm going. Strange birds called Twisted Things fly above the farm. They burn when touched. At 391 pages, I found An Inheritance of Ashes too long and tedious. A good editor could have cut this book in half and improved it. GRADE: C

A few weeks ago I reviewed The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1949 and enjoyed the experience. (You can read my review here.) So I decided to read the next volume in Bleier & Dikty’s classic series, The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1950. Once again, I was transported back to my childhood when I first read these great anthologies. My favorite story in this book is Henry Kuttner’s clever “Private Eye.” In a world of complete surveillance, how do you commit a murder and get away with it? Kuttner shows how.

One of my favorite SF stories of all time is Clifford Simak’s “The Big Front Yard.” “Eternity Lost” shows Simak’s concern for immortality and human foibles. Many YEAR’S BEST SF anthologies don’t include two stories by the same writer. Bleiler & Dikty break that rule for Ray Bradbury. I’m a big fan of John D. MacDonald’s work, but he didn’t write much SF. “Flow” demonstrates JDM could write SF very well.

After reading The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1950 you’ll conclude 1950 was a very good year for SF. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
A Sort of Introduction, by Vincent Starrett 9
Preface, by Everett F. Bleiler & T. E. Dikty 17
“Private Eye”, by Henry Kuttner 29
“Doomsday Deferred”, by Will F. Jenkins 66
“The Hurkle Is a Happy Beast”, by Theodore Sturgeon 85
“Eternity Lost”, by Clifford Simak 96
“Easter Eggs”, by Robert Spencer Carr 132
“Opening Doors”, by Wilmar H. Shiras 173
“Five Years in the Marmalade”, by Robert W. Krepps 218
“Dwellers in Silence”, by Ray Bradbury 237
“Mouse”, by Fredric Brown 253
“Refuge for Tonight”, by Robert Moore Williams 266
“The Life-Work of Professor Muntz”, by Murray Leinster 300
“Flaw”, by John D. MacDonald 316
“The Man”, by Ray Bradbury 326
About the Authors 343

Back in the 1980s, Boy Bands ruled the BILLBOARD music charts. Backstreet Boys, N’Sync, and a dozen more groups toured and performed relentlessly. One of these groups, BBmak, came from Britain. They achieved modest success with their hit “Back Here.” They featured a clean sound and rugged good looks (a must for successful videos). Do you have a favorite Boy Band? GRADE: B+
TRACK LIST:
TITLE WRITERS PRODUCERS
1. “Back Here” Mark Barry, Christian Burns, Stephen McNally, Phil Thornalley Oliver Leiber, John Shanks 3:35
2. “I’m Not in Love” Leiber, Jon Lind Leiber 4:14
3. “Next Time” Leiber, Paul Peterson, Shanks Leiber 3:51
4. “Unpredictable” Leiber, Peterson, Anthony Kavanaugh Leiber, Rob Cavallo 4:24
5. “Ghost of You and Me” Lind, Richard Page Cavallo, Lind 4:46
6. “I Can Tell” James Gass, Robin Thicke Thicke, Pro-Jay 3:39
7. “Love Is Leaving” Barry, Burns, McNally Cavallo, Lind 4:18
8. “Love on the Outside” Barry, Burns, McNally Cavallo, Lind, BBMak 2:47
9. “Still on Your Side” Bridget Benenate, Bob Thiele, Dillon O’Brian, Barry, Burns, McNally O’Brian, Thiele, Cavallo, Lind 3:52
10. “Always” Barry, Burns, McNally Cavallo, Lind, BBMak 1:06
11. “Can’t Say” Barry, Burns, McNally, Thornalley, David Munday Lieber 3:38
12. “Again” Burns, Barry, McNally Mark Jolley, Richard Cardwell, Milton McDonald, BBMak, Cavallo 3:35

When Diane retired 14 years ago, she bought a Toshiba TV as a retirement gift to herself. Diane liked the built-in DVD and VHS players as well as the crisp color on the screen (state of the art back then!). We connected the Toshiba to the Time Warner Cable and everything was copasetic until TWC morphed into SPECTRUM. SPECTRUM sent us a letter declaring they were going 100% digital TV. All of our TVs would require their digital cable boxes. I called SPECTRUM and ordered the digital boxes. When they arrived, we found out that the digital box connected to the TVs with a HDMI cable. The Toshiba TV was too old to have a HDMI port.

So Diane and I went to BJ’s Warehouse where we found the SAMSUNG 28″ HDTV for $199. We didn’t need a big screen HDTV (we already have a 65″ SONY 4K HDTV in our living room). The new Samsung, like the old Toshiba, sits on a dresser in the computer room (aka, Patrick’s room) and is used basically to check THE WEATHER CHANNEL or scores during football season. Setup of the digital boxes was easy. “Activation” over the phone by SPECTRUM took longer than I wished. But, everything is set up and working fine. This is our second SAMSUNG HDTV. Costumer Reports ranks SAMSUNG at the top of their HDTV recommendations. If you’re a SPECTRUM subscriber, be prepared to transition to 100% digital HDTV. Do you like your TVs or do you want to upgrade like we did?

When I was a kid in the 1950s, I’d rush home from school so I could watch The Cisco Kid on TV. From 1950 to 1956 Cisco and his wacky sidekick Pancho rode across the Wild West righting wrongs and stirring up trouble with Bad Guys. Based on O. Henry’s fabulous “Robin Hood of the Old West,” The Cisco Kid featured characters that were very different from the dozens of Westerns on television at that time. This box set presents 10 hours and 45 minutes of action and adventure. Were you a fan of the Cisco Kid and Pancho? GRADE: B+
DISC 1
Ball Bar Jellies
Big Switch
Buried Treasure
Cattle Rustling
Chain Lightning
DISC 2
Freightline Feud
Dog Story
Counterfeit Money
Convict Story
Confession for Money
DISC 3
Ghost Town
Heaven for Heavies
Jewelry Holdup
Lynching Story
Medicine Flats
DISC 4
Quick Silver Murder
Protective Association
Poncho Hostage
Oil Land
Newspaper Crusade
DISC 5
Railroad Landrush
Solen Bonds
Uncle Disinherits Niece
Water Rights
Well