It’s rare that I win any contest I enter, but when the science fiction and fantasy web site BLACK GATE had a contest for a new copy of Michael Moorcock’s first Jerry Cornelious novel, I had to give it a try. John O’Neill, the Grand PooBa of BLACK GATE, was running the contest. You had to send him one line describing your favorite character of Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion series. So I sent: “Who doesn’t love Corum, the man with the Hand of Kwll and the Eye of Rhynn, who summons the undead from the underworld?” I was one of the three lucky winners. John O’Neill sent me a copy of the new Titan Books edition of The Final Proramme a week later. Titan Books is also publishing the other three books in the Jerry Cornelius series: A Cure for Cancer, The English Assassin, and The Condition of Muzak. Follow the adventures of a scientist-rock star-assassin in the mod world of surreal England.

Bill Crider recommended Hap & Leonard (based on Joe Landsdale’s characters) on the Sundance cable channel so I watched the three episodes available. Hap and Leonard are working at a rose farm (who knew such things existed) when their boss tells them to pack up. The Mexicans are coming and they’ll work cheaper. After losing their jobs, Hap and Leonard are approached by Hap’s former wife, Tracy, who is played to perfection by Christina Hendricks. Christina’s second husband was part of a bank robbery. The get-away car full of money sank in a river during the police chase. Christina’s husband goes to prison with the secret of where the money car is. Hap and Leonard are recruited to help find the car full of money. But, of course, nothing is that simple. Complications of the violent kind change the trajectory of the story. If you’re looking for a series with an Elmore Leonard flavor, I recommend Hap & Leonard.

Ed Boland, a successful non-profit organization executive, takes an $80,000 pay cut to become a teacher in a New York City school. Boland discovers on Day One that he has the Classroom from Hell. The students insult him. They ignore him. The students smoke weed in the back of the classroom. They fight. They have sex in the stairwells. The classroom is complete chaos. The Battle for Room 314 is Boland’s description of his year of teaching in a failing school. We learn about his sexually abused students. We discover many of the parents of his students are drug addicts. The bleakness of life in this school and the surrounding neighborhood unfolds as Boland tells his story. If you have any interest in our schools and learning, The Battle for Room 314 will be an eye-opener for you. Do you think our schools are failing? GRADE: B

This ninth book in the Saxon Tales series presents legendary warrior, Uhred of Bebbanburg, with the threat of invasion by a force from Ireland. Wessex, Mercia, and East Anglia are vulnerable. As in all the Saxon Tales, Uhred takes on a superior force. You’ll learn a lot about battlefield strategy and tactics from these books. You’ll also learn the war is Hell as the body counts mount and the injuries accumulate. The story arc of this series is trending toward Uhred reclaiming his rightful kingdom of Bebbanburg. That will be an epic battle! GRADE: B

Diane and I have love theater and have been subscribers to packages of plays for decades. Shea’s Broadway Series brings some wonderful musicals to Buffalo. The schedule for next season was announced this week. Diane and I will be buying our tickets soon! Do you see any plays in this list you’d like to see?
Oct. 11-16, 2016 FINDING NEVERLAND
Nov. 8-13, 2016 AN AMERICAN IN PARIS
Dec. 13-18, 2016 A CHRISTMAS STORY: THE MUSICAL
Feb. 16-22, 2017 A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER
Mar. 28-Apr. 2 2017 THE SOUND OF MUSIC
Apr. 25-30, 2017 CABARET

Bill Pronzini, in his excellent Introduction to this Stark House omnibus, argues that Fletcher Flora never achieved the fame and sales success he deserved. Flora wrote mostly paperback originals for publishers like Avon and Monarch. I liked Leaver Her to Hell (1958) best. A private eye is hired by a beautiful woman to find out why a couple disappeared. The detective finds himself embroiled in murders and double identities. The twisty plot kept me guessing until the end. Let Me Kill You, Sweetheart (1958) begins with a seduction that turns into an eventual murder. Three men are the prime suspects, they all had sex with murdered woman at various times. The crusty Sheriff figures out the crime, but the resolution is a surprise. The final book, Take Me Home (1959), is the weakest. A bisexual young woman escapes a possible murder attempt by her lesbian lover but then flirts with suicide. Very pulpy. But Leave Her to Hell and Let Me Kill You, Sweetheart are solid, enjoyable mysteries. You can’t go wrong with a Stark House omnibus!

Andy Martin, huge fan-boy of Lee Child, talks the author into allowing him to play Boswell to Lee Child’s Samuel Johnson. Martin sits in the room and watches Lee Child write Make Me which I reviewed yesterday. What do we learn from Andy Martin’s documentation of Child writing this 20th Jack Reacher novel? First of all, Lee Child makes up his novels as he goes along. No outlines, no clear picture of where the novel is going. This is the opposite of the Mickey Spillane method where Spillane would write the Last Chapter of his novels first. “That way, you always know where you’re going,” The Mick said. We also find out Lee Child drinks 20 cups of coffee a day. And he smokes like a chimney, both tobacco and marijuana. Andy Martin gives the reader a good sense of Lee Child’s worK methods and charm. I enjoyed this breezy, funny narration of the making of a novel. I’m always curious about the creative process. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
E-Face
1. The End
2. Chapter 1
3. That John Lennon Moment
4. Chapter 1 Continued
5. Finally Chapter 1
6. Exit Keever
7. Enter Reacher
8. Fuck You Lee Child
9. The Song of Reacher
10. The Launch Barnes Noble Union Square September
11. Then Reacher Stepped Off the Train
12. Mothers Rest
13. The Good the Bad and the Ugly
14. On the Money
15. The Quixotic Matador
16. An Objective Report Concerning the Relative Standing of Dr Lee Child and Dr Andy Martin
17. A Child Is Born
18. The Story of the Blind Woman
19. Long Beach
20. Underworld
21. The Stony Limit
22. No X No
23. At Last the Whole Point of Reacher
24. The Great Coffee Contest
25. One Thousand Words
26. Christmas Goodwill
27. Lee Childs New Years Resolution
28. Half a Bottle of Bourbon
29. The StitchUp
30. Never Go Back
31. My Life of Crime
32. Shane A Footnote
33. The Thaw
34. Only a Matter of Time
35. Reacher in Translation
36. A Theory of Everything
37. Morpheus
38. Biographeme
39. Metamorphosis
40. The Big Reveal
41. The Naming of Names
42. The Quiller Memorandum
43. On the Couch
44. On the Couch II
45. Why the Works of Lee Child Are Really Quite Useful
46. A Deals a Deal
47. End of the Third Movement
48. Quoth He
49. The Old Cemetery
50. Home Invasion
51. Knowledge by Description
52. They Think Its All Over
53. Also Sprach Lee Child
54. Two for the Price of One
55. Allegory
56. Reacher Visits a Bookstore
57. Thursday, March 26, 2015
58. Has Lee Child Done His Research?
59. Maigret et Moi
60. Napoleonic
61. Gardening Tips
62. Wittgenstein on Sixth Avenue
63. The Proposal of a Romantic Novelist
64. Where is the Pipe?
65. Stairway to Heaven
66. Risen Again
67. The Baldacci Program
68. On the Sofa
69. The End is Nigh
70. What’s It all About, Then?
71. No Exit
72. The Opposite of the Cern Large Hadron Collider Approach
73. Time-Lapse Photography of the Penultimate Chapter
74. Bombshell
75. Cliffhanger
E-log

Lee Child begins Make Me with Jack Reacher getting off a train in the middle of nowhere, a place called Mother’s Rest. Reacher stops there on a whim but soon finds himself being followed. Reacher meets Michele Chang, a former FBI agent who now is a private detective. Her partner has disappeared. Reacher is drawn into the search which leads to some very dark places. Make Me is the 20th Jack Reacher novel, but you don’t have to read the other novels in the series to enjoy this book. Lee Child has created a compelling character over the past 20 years. I’ve enjoyed the action and cleverness in this series. I found the conclusion disturbing and memorable. If you’re looking for a fast-moving suspense novel, Make Me is first-rate. It’s the best book I’ve read in 2016 so far. GRADE: A

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is neither fish nor fowl. Its pace is too slow for an action movie. Tina Fey and Martin Freeman (who plays a Scottish photo-journalist) have great on-screen chemistry, but that romantic comedy potential is never realized. The movie veers from comic moments to serious war footage. Tina Fey plays a reporter in Afghanistan from 2004-2006. Billy Bob Thorton plays a Marine General; he’s not given enough to do. Alfred Molina plays an Afghanistan politician. There’s plenty of Star Power in the cast, but the rambling story doesn’t take advantage of their talents. Tina Fey proves she is more than a comedic actress. This is her best movie, but she should have chosen a better movie to star in. GREADE: B-