I started reading The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction back in the 1950s. It was classy and attracted some of the best writers of that era. Periodically, volumes of The Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction appeared collecting some of the better stories that appeared in that publication. I bought them, too. Now, Gordon Van Gelder, the current editor of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, has published two volumes of great stories from the 60+ year run of his periodical. This second volume just came out this summer and if you scan the Table of Contents, you’ll see some classics. Van Gelder made his choices in a chronological fashion. I think this collection is a bargain at $12.58 on AMAZON. The first volume, just as good, is still available, too. These two volumes give you great value for the money!
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
“The Third Level” by Jack Finney (1952)
“The Cosmic Charge Account” by C. M. Kornbluth (1956)
“The Country of the Kind” by Damon Knight (1956)
“The Anything Box” by Zenna Henderson (1956)
“The Prize of Peril” by Robert Sheckley (1958)
“ ‘—All You Zombies—’ ” by Robert A. Heinlein (1959)
“A Kind of Artistry” by Brian W. Aldiss (1962)
“Green Magic” by Jack Vance (1963)
“NarrowValley” by R. A. Lafferty (1966)
“Sundance” by Robert Silverberg (1969)
“Attack of the Giant Baby” by Kit Reed (1976)
“The Hundredth Dove” by Jane Yolen (1977)
“Jeffty Is Five” by Harlan Ellison (1977)
“Salvador” by Lucius Shepard (1984)
“The Aliens Who Knew, I Mean, Everything” by George Alec Effinger (1984)
“Rat” by James Patrick Kelly (1986)
“The Friendship Light” by Gene Wolfe (1989)
“The Bone Woman” by Charles de Lint (1993)
“The Lincoln Train” by Maureen F. McHugh (1995)
“Maneki Neko” by Bruce Sterling (1998)
“Winemaster” Robert Reed (1999)
“SuicideCoast” by M. John Harrison (1999)
“Have Not Have” by Geoff Ryman (2001)
“The People of Sand and Slag” by Paolo Bacigalupi (2004)
“Echo” by Elizabeth Hand (2005)
“The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates” by Stephen King (2008)
“The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu (2011)

A friend of mine, who enjoys Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files series as much as I do, recommended Kevin Hearne’s The Iron Druid Chronicles. Hearne’s series features Atticus O’Sullivan, the last Druid alive. He has an Irish wolfhound that talks to him. Atticus’ lawyers are a werewolf (during the day) and a vampire (for night court). There are witches and ghouls and demons. Yes, this is contemporary urban fantasy. I’m not a huge fan of this genre, but it’s a fun change of pace from spy novels and space operas. If you’re looking for some silly fluff with plenty of magical battles, Hounded and Hexed deliver. I’ll be reading the rest of The Iron Druid Chronicles soon. GRADE: B

Gerald de Villers wrote over 200 spy novels featuring Malko, a contract agent for the CIA. In Madmen of Benghazi, Malko’s mission is to keep a Libyan aspirant to the throne safe from the marauding militias and terrorists. Malko finds time to entertain a London supermodel and confuse Egyptian security forces. The descriptions of the chaos in Libya are harrowing. If you’re looking for a fast-paced, quirky spy novel, give Madmen of Benghazi a try. GRADE: B

Here I go again for the 35th year. I started teaching at this College back in 1980. Most of my classes back then consisted of male students with a few female students sprinkled in. Today, our student enrollment is 70% women, 30% men. We now offer over 100 online courses (I’m teaching three of them this semester). In fact, my College allows students to take their entire Business degree online if they choose. They never have to set foot on campus.

My Office Mate of 20 years has announced his retirement. He’ll finish out this academic year and will retire May 2015. Retirement is looming for me, too. But I’m going to enjoy the last few semesters of teaching before I hang up my laser pointer. I’m still excited by the First Day of Classes!

Charles Stross just won the Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction Novella of 2014 with “Equoid.” To celebrate Stross’ win, I want to recommend three novels in his Laundry series since “Equoid” is a “prequel” to these three novels. For those of you who haven’t read any of the Laundry series, think H. P. Lovecraft meets James Bond. The Laundry is a super-secret British spy agency that deals with X-File-type threats.

The Fuller Memorandum features Bob Howard, a rising spy, who discovers the Laundry has a mole. Plenty of black magic and intrigue in this book! A tele-evangelist attempts to awaken a powerful alien entity in The Apocalypse Codex. Much of the action takes place in Colorado. The Rhesus Chart, just published, involves a magic conspiracy that goes back to the being of the Laundry. Bob Howard has to do some clever detective work to figure this plot out. If you’re looking for some off-beat spy novels, don’t miss Charles Stross’ Laundry series. GRADE: B+ (for all three books)

I’ve read all of Bill Granger’s NOVEEMBER MAN series so I was intrigued by this movie version. Pierce Brosnan plays Peter Devereaux, a retired CIA agent. Devereaux is reactivated to bring an “asset” out of Moscow. That extraction goes wrong and Deveroux finds himself involved in a plot that involves a beautiful Russian assassin and an aspiring general who wants to be President of Russia. There’s plenty of explosions and gunplay. Brosnan’s character is much tougher than James Bond. The November Man is based on There are No Spies (1987), the seventh book in the series. Admittedly, some of the dialogue is clunky. But Director Roger Donaldson has a feel for this kind of movie. If they make another November Man movie, I’ll go see it. GRADE: B

Two of Karl Edward Wagner’s best stories, “In the Pines” and “Sticks,” are included in this Centipede Press collection. “In the Pines” is a terrific ghost story. “Sticks” is one of the best H. P. Lovecraft pastiche’s ever written. Stephen Jones’ “Foreward: My Friend Karl” is a moving tribute to this talented writer. Laird Barron’s “Afterword” celebrates Wagner’s life. Where the Summer Ends: The Best Horror Stories of Karl Edward Wagner, Volume 1 should give this talented, forgotten writer a new audience.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Foreword: My Friend Karl By Stephen Jones
Introduction: Unthreatened by the Morning Light By Karl Edward Wagner
In the Pines
Sticks
The Fourth Seal
Where the Summer Ends
.220 Swift
The River of Night’s Dreaming
Beyond Any Measure
Neither Brute Nor Human
Blue Lady, Come Back
Afterward: In the Shadows of the Pines By Laird Barron

While rooting around in my basement looking for a book, I ran across this CD from the 1990s. I’m a big fan of Daryl Hall and John Oates and their unique version of “Blue-Eyed Soul.” “Sara Smile” was a big hit for them as was “Everytime You Go Away.” I like the cover of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.” My favorite song on this CD is “Possession Obsession.” Check out the live version from The Liberty Concert (1985) below. What’s your favorite Hall & Oates song?
TRACK LIST:
1 Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid 5:28
2 Do What You Want, Be What You Are 4:37
3 Someone Like You 5:32
4 Melody for a Memory 4:55
5 Everytime You Go Away 5:09
6 Have I Been Away Too Long 4:23
7 You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ 4:38
8 Go Solo 4:36
9 Sara Smile 3:09
10 Bigger Than Both of Us 4:30
11 August Day 3:07
12 Open All Night 4:35
13 Possession Obsession 4:38
14 One on One 5:31

I’ve read over a dozen Daniel Silva spy novels. Silva’s spy, Gabriel Allon, is an art restorer and spies for Israel. In The Heist, Allon searches for a stolen masterpiece by Caravaggio. But, sometimes the best way to find a stolen masterpiece is to steal another one to tempt the secret owner to come forward. There are plenty of red herrings and plot twists so typical of Silva’s previous spy novels. My only quibble is Daniel Silva sometimes makes things a little too easy for Gabriel Allon. I would have enjoyed this book more if Allon had to stretch a bit. If you’re looking for a competent, engaging spy novel, The Heist delivers. GRADE: B