I’m a big fan of Time Travel stories so this new BAEN BOOKS collection moved to the top of my reading list. Hank Davis makes some nice selections and provides interesting introductions to the stories. I liked “Gibraltar Falls” by Poul Anderson, one of his Time Patrol stories. And Robert F. Young’s “The Girl Who Made Time Stop.” There’s a nice blend of classic writers like Murray Leinster and more contemporary writers like Sarah A. Hoyt. If you enjoy Time Travel stories as much as I do, you’ll enjoy As Time Goes By.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Time Machine Built for Two by Hank Davis
Gibraltar Falls by Poul Anderson
Triceratops Summer by Michael Swanwick
The Chronoclasm by John Wyndham
The Girl Who Made Time Stop by Robert F. Young
The Other Now by Murray Leinster
A Dry, Quiet War by Tony Daniel
Six Months, Three Days by Charlie Jane Anders
The Day of the Green Velvet Cloak by Mildred Clingerman
A Wow Finish by James Van Pelt
Backtracked by Burt Filer
So Little and So Light by Sarah A. Hoyt
The Price of Oranges by Nancy Kress
The Secret Place by Richard M. McKenna
Palely Loitering by Christopher Priest

Michael Hofmann is a translator and a reader. This new book of essays shows Hofman’s focus on classic American poets like Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Lowell, and Robert Frost. I learned a lot about Weldon Kees, an obscure American poet, from Hofmann’s essay. But the strength of Where Have You Been? is Hofmann’s essays on European writers. Sure, I’ve read some Gunter Grass and Stefan Zweig , but Karen Solie and Max Beckmann are new to me. If you’re interested in the European literary scene and the problems of translation, Where Have You Been? reveals a lot about both subjects. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Preface
PART ONE
Bishop/Lowell Correspondence
Robert Frost and Edward Thomas
Weldon Kees
Ian Hamilton
James Schuyler
Elizabeth Bishop
Robert Lowell
Frederick Seidel
Ted Hughes
“Remembering Teheran”
Heaney’s Haiku
Basil Bunting
W. S. Graham
Zbigniew Herbert
Adam Iagajewski
Les Murray
Australian Poets
Karen Solie
PART TWO
“Sharp Biscuit”” Some Thoughts on Translating
Gottfried Benn
Hans Magnus Enzenberger
Max Beckmann
The Passenger
Kurt Schwitters
Arthur Schnitzler
Thomas Bernhard
Gunter Grass
Stefan Zweig
Robert Walser
Acknowledgments

I’ve been fond of Yolanda Kondonassis’ harp albums and Jason Vieaux’s wonderful guitar albums. So this joint project was a “must-buy” for me. This is very atmospheric music. I really liked “Fantasía for guitar & harp“ by Xavier Montsalvatge & Yolanda Kondonassis. “Hypnotized” lives up to its name with its quiet rhythms. If you’re looking for some delightful mood music, you might want to give Together a try. GRADE: B+

Stella Rimington used to be the former Director General of MI5, the British intelligence organization. I wondered what kind of spy novel a retired spy would write so I read Rimington’s first novel, At Risk (2004). Rimington’s 34-year-old spy is Liz Carlyle, an MI5 intelligence officer. Carlyle learns that a terrorist threat is imminent. The terrorist is assisted by an “invisible” young British woman who can easily blend into the background to aid his activities. I found At Risk a little tedious. Unless someone convinces me the later Liz Carlyle books are worth reading, this will be my last one. GRADE: C

I’ve been watching these new Justice League movies for a couple of years now. They seem to have fallen into a pattern of featuring one of the superheroes in each movie. This time it’s Aquaman. I always liked Aquaman adventures when I was a kid reading DC Comics. His adventures were different and like Tarzan, Aquaman had the power to communicate with animals (like dolphins and whales). I set the bar pretty low for this kind of entertainment so your enjoyment level might not be as high as mine. GRADE: B
EXTRAS:
Sneak peak at Batman vs. Robin
Villains of the Deep: Black Manta and Ocean Master
Scoring Atlantis: The Sound of the Deep: an informative feature about the music of these DC movies. Loved it!

Bernard Cornwell’s The Empty Throne continues the story of Uhtred, a warrior, in the history of the forming of England. It’s the 10th Century and political forces are unleashed when the King dies. Uhtred has to battle against his enemies who want to destroy the unity he has fought so hard to build. The Empty Throne is the 8th book in the Warrior Chronicles series, but it stands alone. If you’re in the mood for a book of battle and politics, The Empty Throne blends both into a satisfying mix. GRADE: B+

Viv Albertine was a guitarist for the punk rock group, The Slits. This new memoir starts out with a lot of fun and snarky writing but as Albertine tells her stories about her life with Mick Jones, Sid Vicious, the Sex Pistols and the Clash and other 1980s British punk rock artists the book becomes darker. Viv Albertine’s abortion, her struggles with drugs, her marital problems, and her health problems make Clothes Clothes Clothes music Music Music Boys Boys Boys a long journey into sadness. A cautionary tale… GRADE: B+

Writing about the Lovecraft Mythos has become a cottage industry. Last year, over a dozen Lovecraftean collections were published. I’ve enjoyed the two earlier collections–Shadows Over Innsmouth and Weird Shadows Over Innsmouth. In this new anthology, Stephen Jones brings together a variety of Lovecraftean pastiches. I especially liked “Innsmouth Bane” by John Glasby and “The Long Last Night” by Brian Lumley. In these type of anthologies, quality is uneven. There’s an entertaining Nick Nightmare story, “You Don’t Want to Know,” by Adrian Cole. And then there are some duds like “The Archbiship’s Well” by Reggie Oliver. If you’re a fan of H. P. Lovecraft’s fiction, you’ll want a copy of Weirder Shadows Over Innsmouth. GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION: WEIRDER SHADOWS . . .Stephen Jones
THE PORT By H.P. Lovecraft
INNSMOUTH BANE By John Glasby
RICHARD RIDDLE, BOY DETECTIVE IN “THE CASE OF THE FRENCH SPY” By Kim Newman
INNSMOUTH CLAY By H.P. Lovecraft and August Derleth
THE ARCHBISHOP’S WELL By Reggie Oliver
YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW By Adrian Cole
FISH BRIDE By Caitlín R. Kiernan
THE HAG STONE By Conrad Williams
ON THE REEF By Caitlín R. Kiernan
THE SONG OF SIGHS By Angela Slatter
THE SAME DEEP WATERS AS YOU By Brian Hodge
THE WINNER By Ramsey Campbell
THE TRANSITION OF ELIZABETH HASKINGS By Caitlín R. Kiernan
THE CHAIN By Michael Marshall Smith
INTO THE WATER By Simon Kurt Unsworth
RISING, NOT DREAMING By Angela Slatter
THE LONG LAST NIGHT By Brian Lumley

It sucks. GRADE: D

I started reading Frederick Pohl back in the 1950s. The first Pohl book I read was Drunkard’s Walk. Then I started reading the Pohl and Kornbluth collections like The Wonder Effect. Those stories just bowled me over. Later, I read several of Pohl’s novels like Gateway. But I still kept up with Pohl’s short fiction over the past 50 years, too. For those of you who haven’t read much of Frederick Pohl’s short fiction, you’re in for much delight. Platinum Pohl collects most of the best work between two affordable covers. Frederick Pohl was a clever writer and these wonderful stories display his wit, too. Highly recommended!
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction James Frenkel p. 9
The Merchants of Venus p. 13
The Things That Happen p. 59
The High Test p. 74
My Lady Green Sleeves p. 83
The Kindly Isle p. 108
The Middle of Nowhere p. 124
I Remember a Winter p. 136
The Greening of Bed-Stuy p. 141
To See Another Mountain p. 180
The Mapmakers p. 193
Spending a Day at the Lottery Fair p. 216
The Celebrated No-Hit Inning p. 223
Some Joys Under the Star p. 233
Servant of the People p. 242
Waiting for the Olympians p. 255
Criticality p. 284
Shaffery Among the Immortals p. 294
The Day the Icicle Works Closed p. 304
Saucery p. 327
The Gold at the Starbow’s End p. 336
Growing Up in Edge City p. 372
The Knights of Arthur p. 380
Creation Myths of the Recently Extinct p. 407
The Meeting (with C. M. Kornbluth) p. 409
Let the Ants Try p. 417
Speed Trap p. 425
The Day the Martians Came p. 433
Day Million p. 438
The Mayor of Mare Tranq p. 442
Fermi and Frost p. 448
Afterword: Fifty Years and Counting p. 459