Scott Westerfeld now writes successful Young Adult fiction, but ten years ago he wrote a pair of dandy science fiction novels. The Risen Empire starts out with a hostage rescue. The sister of the Emperor has been captured by a commando team from the Rix Cult. The Rix believe they should plant powerful artificial intelligences everywhere. The novel alternates between a Rix commando who is hunted by the Imperial marines on the planet and the crew of the only Imperial warship orbiting the planet. The commander of the Lynx, Captain Laurent Zai, faces a battle with a much more powerful Rix spaceship. Other complications, like a mutiny, make The Risen Empire very suspenseful. The Killer of Worlds continues the story of Captain Zai and the Imperials when they encounter an alien artifact. At the same time, the Risen Empire is shattered when their Emperor’s “secret” gets revealed. If you’re in the mood for high quality story-telling and suspenseful space battles, The Risen Empire and The Killer of Worlds deliver. I hope Scott Westerfeld returns to write more galactic adventures of the Rix and the Empire!

I’ve read The Iliad and The Odyssey four times. But after reading Adam Nicholson’s brilliant Why Homer Matters I want to drop everything and reread Homer’s works again. Nicholson writes passionately about what Homer means to him. Some of this book is a tour of the various translations of Homer. Worked into Nicholson’s chapters is a history of how Homer’s works were discovered and how we ended up with them. Finally, Nicholson argues that true story-telling begins with The Iliad and The Odyssey. Have you read Homer? What do think of his masterpieces? GRADE: A

I don’t know about you but I find most contemporary pop music unlistenable. More and more I’m playing songs I grew up with long, long ago. Songs like “Baby It’s You” by The Shirelles and “Only Love Can Break a Heart” by the late, great Gene Pitney still sound great and resonate with me. The Very Best of Burt Bacharach should be retitled The Very Best of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Hal David wrote all those wonderful lyrics. What’s your favorite Burt Bacharach/Hal David song?
SET LIST:
1. Baby It’s You – The Shirelles
2. Only Love Can Break A Heart – Gene Pitney
3. Anyone Who Had A Heart – Dionne Warwick
4. (There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me – Sandie Shaw
5. Walk On By – Dionne Warwick
6. What The World Needs Now Is Love – Jackie DeShannon
7. Alfie – Dionne Warwick
8. What’s New Pussycat? – Tom Jones
9. I Say A Little Prayer – Dionne Warwick
10. The Look Of Love – Dusty Springfield
11. Do You Know The Way To San Jose – Dionne Warwick
12. Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head – B.J. Thomas
13. I’ll Never Fall In Love Again – Dionne Warwick
14. One Less Bell To Answer – The 5th Dimension
15. Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do) – Christopher Cross
16. That’s What Friends Are For – Dionne & Friends

One of the great enigmas of today’s Hollywood is how a serious actor like Liam Neeson has become transformed into a 62-year-old action hero. I liked TAKEN. The first movie in this series has Liam Neeson’s daughter, visiting Paris, “taken” by white slavers. Neeson, an ex-CIA operative, tracks down the kidnappers in a bloody confrontation. While the first movie broken no new ground, it was a suspenseful thriller. Since TAKEN made a lot of money, TAKEN 2 revisited the formula. This time Neeson and his ex-wife are “taken.” Big Mistake. Neeson finds ways to escape from the kidnappers and extracts retribution. TAKEN 2 made lots of money, too. So now we have TAKEN 3. It is true action movie. One chase leads to another chase which leads to another chase…you get the idea. This franchise has worn out its welcome. The slogan for TAKEN 3 is “It Ends Here.” I hope so. GRADE: D

The first National College Football Championship Game features an intriguing match-up. Ohio State shocked Alabama (and plenty of gamblers in Vegas) to reach this game. In my estimation, Urban Meyer is the best coach in college football. Many people believe Marcus Mariota is the best quarterback in the college ranks. Tonight, we’ll find out. College football fans have been demanding a National Championship game for decades. Now, we’ll see what happens. Oregon is favored by 7 points. I’m taking Ohio State and the points. This should be a close game. What do you think?

Aaron Rodgers has been hobbled by a calf injury (complicated by Ndamukong Suh standing on it). That makes this game tricky to call. How mobile will Aaron Rodgers be? The Packers are favored by 6 points. If Rodgers can move, the Packers can cover. If Rodgers can’t move, the Cowboys should win. In the second game, Peyton Manning and the Broncos are favored by 7 points. The Colts have Andrew Luck, but little else. I think Denver will win Big Time. What do you think?

The Ravens have had success against the Patriots in the Playoffs, but I don’t think that’s going to happen this year. Tom Brady has offensive weapons and a good defense this time around. I think the Patriots will cover the 7-point spread. In the second game, Panthers vs. Seahawks, the Seahawks are favored by an eye-popping 11 points! I actually think the Seahawks are good enough to cover the spread, too. What do you think?

Stark House has been publishing some great omnibus volumes during the past couple of years. Sax Rohmer’s Batwing/Fire-Tongue is a perfect example of this. Back in the 1960s, I read Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu novels published by Pyramid. Plenty of action and secret cults and criminal master minds. I had copies of Batwing and Fire-Tongue but never got around to reading them. When Stark House published this omnibus volume a few months ago, I bought it and finally got around to reading it. Batwing is the better book. Paul Harley, a “consultant,” is hired by a wealthy Cuban who fears he will be assassinated. Harley fails in preventing the assassination, but launches an investigation to find out who killed his client. The plot is twisty and clever. Fire-Tongue features Paul Harley investigating the murder of a friend who many have been killed by a secret cult. Fire-Tongue reminded me of those Fu Manchu adventures. Both books are fun reading if you’re in the mood for some mystery and adventure.

Starting off 2015, I went in to Quest Diagnostics for my yearly PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) blood test. Within a day, I had my results: 1.1. My urologist was delighted. Over the past 15 years or so my PSA has hovered around 1.0. Sometimes a little higher, sometimes a little lower. My secret: pizza. The lycopene in the pizza sauce protects the prostate. I also like ginger which recent studies say also is good for a healthy prostate. If you’re a guy 50 or older or you care about someone in that age range, I strongly recommend the PSA. Early detection of problems is a key factor. And, then there’s the relief when you find out you’ve scored well on the PSA test.

I’m a sucker for books like A Lifetime of Fiction: The 500 Recommended Books for Ages 2 to 102. William Patrick Martin used librarian book lists, book awards, best book reading lists, and book reviews to generated these lists. This is a great resource for parents looking for good books to have their children read. You’ll find plenty of familiar books here, but some surprise titles, too. Well worth a look! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction
1. Prescoolers (Ages 2-5)
2. Early Readers (Ages 4-8)
3. Middle Readers (Ages 9-12)
4. Young Adults (Ages 13-17)
5. Adults (Ages 18+)
6. Special Interests
7. 27 Writers You Should Know