I’m a big fan of Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories. After Lancer published the Conan stories in paperback with those great Frazetta covers, there was a huge demand for more Conan stories. Many writers turned their talents to producing Conan stories: L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter, Andy Offutt, and plenty of others. One of my favorite writers of Conan pastiches is Karl Edward Wagner. Wagner’s Conan is clever as well as powerful. In Conan: The Road of Kings Conan is about to be hanged. He escapes that fate, but finds himself involved in a civil war. When a sorcerer shows up to tip the balance of power to the rebels, Conan argues against using dark sorcery to win the kingdom. Conan’s advice is ignored and an even more malignant force than the dictator is unleashed. If you’re a fan of sword & sorcery novels, you’l find a lot to like in Conan: The Road to Kings.

I read this Winston Science Fiction juvenile novel back in the 1950s. Danger: Dinosaurs! was published in 1953 and when I reread it, I was struck by Ed McBain/Evan Hunter’s progressive characterizations. One of the major characters is an African-American who plays a key role in the plot. I read most of the Winston SF series and I can’t recall another African-American character in any of them. Danger: Dinosaurs! also introduces a notion unique in time-travel stories: that events in the past can forgotten when the time-travelers return to the future. This story of a group who encounters problems during their visit over a 100 million years ago was thrilling when I was a kid. Even in this early novel, the strengths of Ed McBain/Evan Hunter’s story-telling were obvious. Ed McBain turned to writing crime fiction, but this science fiction novel has plenty of suspense and action.

Buffalo is hosting Rounds Two and Three of the NCAA Tournament. All the hotels are sold out and estimates predict a $14 million infusion of cash into our local economy from hosting the Tournament. The match-ups are Syracuse vs. Western Michigan, Ohio State vs. Dayton, Villanova vs. Milwaukee, and Connecticut vs. St. Joseph’s. Clearly, this is Syracuse country so if you’re watching the games on your HDTV, you’re going to see a lot of orange in the crowd. I think Florida will win the NCAA Championship. What teams are you rooting for?

I read Kem Nunn’s brilliant Tapping the Source back in 1984 when it was first published. The years went by and I haven’t read a Kem Nunn book until I happened on Chance. Dr. Chance is a neuropsychologist whose life is crumbling. He’s going through a bitter divorce. The IRS is auditing him (and he owes Big Bucks!) and Chance is selling his prized furniture to generate some money while he struggles with his problems. Chance goes from the frying pan into the fire when he engages in an intimate relationship with a patient with multiple personalities. Her abusive husband is a Homicide Detective with psychopathic tendencies. I kept turning the pages as Dr. Chance fell deeper and deeper into Big Trouble. It’s been a long time since I read a novel this suspenseful. GRADE: A-

The Venture Bros.: The Fifth Season is an animated series that appeared last year on the Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim.” These episodes continue the fun and frolic and action of the previous seasons. The Venture Bros. series is a pastiche of the old Johnny Quest adventures. Imagine that Johnny Quest grew up to be super-scientist Dr. Thaddeus Venture. His teenage sons, Hank and Dean, resemble the Hardy Boys. The series makes fun (in an affectionate way) of Johnny Quest and other action-adventure series. The cover on this Blu-ray box looks like the artwork that used to be on Grosset & Dunlap’s Tom Swift books. I love the giant pterodactyl on the Venture jet! If you’re in the mood for some animated action blended with some humor, check out The Venture Bros. GRADE: A

Fans of the Pop-Country group Sugarland probably own this CD by now. Jennifer Nettles’ unique voice on her first solo album runs the gamut from ballads to power pop songs. The sidemen–Matt Sweeney, Smokey Hormel, Jason Lader, ex-Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith, Alex Acuña, and Lenny Castro–are top-notch. Some of the songs include wind instruments, string instruments, and horns that give the songs a very different sound from the average C&W album. My favorite song is “Good Time to Cry.” GRADE: B+
TRACK LIST
1 Falling (3:22)
2 Me Without You (3:37)
3 Moneyball (3:13)
4 That Girl (4:00)
5 This Angel (3:31)
6 Jealousy (3:51)
7 This One’s For You (3:44)
8 Know You Wanna Know (3:05)
9 Thank You (4:11)
10 Good Time To Cry (4:26)
11 Like A Rock (4:23)

I’ve never been a big fan of Porgy & Bess so factor that in while you read this review. This controversial new touring version of the Gershwin classic features a great cast. It has the classic songs I really like: “Summertime,” “I Got Plenty of Nothin’,” and “That Ain’t Necessary So.” But this story of doomed love was tough for Diane and me to watch. Even though this new version has “compressed” the original work, it still felt long. Porgy & Bess broke plenty of barriers when it first appeared in 1935. But in the 21st Century, it’s a bit of an odd duckling. GRADE: C+

Keith Roberts is best known for his alternative-history SF novel, Pavane (1968), where the Spanish Armada arrives safely and invades England. Gateway SF is publishing a series of omnibus volumes of classic SF works. This Keith Roberts omnibus collects The Chalk Giants (1974), Kiteworld (1985), and The Grain Kings (1976). The Chalk Giants is a series of linked short stories with a patented British catastrophe theme. Kiteworld is a post-nuclear holocaust novel. The Grain Kings explores a future where food is becoming a scarce commodity. I’ve ordered about a dozen more of these Gateway SF omnibuses. If you’re interested in this excellent series, just click here to see their forthcoming books.

I’m fascinated by probability so Paul J. Nahin’s Will You Be Alive 10 Years From Now? And Numerous Other Curious Questions in Probability was a must-buy. Nahin taught probability courses to engineering students for 30 years at the University of New Hampshire and the University of Virginia. In addition to calculating life expectancy, Nahin explores gambling with a number of dice problems. I was also captivated by Nahin’s use of examples from mathematical history. He provides stories about Pascal and Francis Bacon and other probability luminaries. For the more math-savvy readers, Nahin provides MATLAB computer programs to solve the more complex problems. But, if you’re rather not wade through a lot of math, you can see if you’ll be alive 10 years from now by using the Life Expectancy Calculator here. According to the Calculator, I’m going to see 84!