Honey West meets The Matrix. That was my first thought while reading Thomas Pynchon’s loony new novel, Bleeding Edge. The story takes place in and around New York City in the year before the events of September 11. Maxine Tarnow operates a fraud investigation business and becomes involved in the possible terrorist conspiracy. Plenty of secret agents, drugs, computer hacking, and paranoia. For those of us who read Pynchon’s V. back in the Sixties, Bleeding Edge resembles a semi-sequel without the alligators in the sewers. I’m not sure who the audience for this book is. It’s too long–477 pages–for my students to bother with (and it doesn’t have any dwarfs or dragons). The rambling plot is sure to frustrate the casual reader who isn’t attuned to Pynchon’s tricks. Pynchon still displays his brilliance, but few and few readers are going to appreciate it. GRADE: B

Organizing Crime Classics is one of the wonderful books I found at BOUCHERCON in Albany. This handy little volume lists over 3900 titles in over 200 mystery series. The book starts with a listing of all of Edward S. Aarons’ Sam Durell spy novels (all 42 of them) and ends with L. R. Wright’s Karl Alberg series (all 9 books). Sure, you can use Wikipedia for this stuff, but here’s a neat little book of lists that you can carry in the pocket of your jacket or in your purse. The earliest listing is Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series and latest listing is the Dixie Hemingway series (2005-2012) by Blaize Clement. Organizing Crime Classics just makes the collecting life a little easier. Highly recommended!

Most of the new Fall TV programs look lame. But tonight’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. promises to deliver the action fix that I used to get with Nikita for before it got dopey. Josh Whedon was involved in the first few episodes of this series so that bodes well. Whedon says: “There’s always the struggle between spectacle and a TV budget. What attracted me to ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ were the gadgets. But after the gadgets was humanity: The idea that there is an underside, a darker side, a more human context. Phil Coulson always represented the everyman, the schlemiel in the world of the fabulous or the mighty, gods and billionaires and legends. And that’s what the show is for, it’s for those people who, as remarkable as they may be, are not the supers, are not A-list.” Sounds like my kind of Guilty Pleasure. Check out the trailer below.

THE GOOD: I liked the Albany Hilton a lot. My room was the nicest hotel room I’ve ever had at a BOUCHERCON. I marveled at the charming Dancing Girls sent up nightly to entertain me. I liked talking with Maggie Mason, the two Teds, Janet Rudolph, and Steve Steinbock. I loved all the free books! I had a great time chatting with Sue Grafton. I enjoyed frolicking in the Hilton pool with the bikini babes. I liked the cool Fall weather in Albany. I really liked the free parking at the Hilton.

THE BAD No Art Scott or Steve Stilwell. No Meyersons, Criders, Smiths, or Abbotts. No Beth Fedyn, Tina Karelson, Richard Moore, Marv Lachman or Diane Kelley. I missed all of you!

THE UGLY: No one liked the dispersal of the BOUCHERCON attendees over four hotels. No synergy. Just about everyone hated the shuttle buses. They were supposed to run every 20 minutes. But I waited a half hour for one. Other attendees told me they waited over an hour for a shuttle bus. And–here’s the deal breaker for folks with knee and joint problems (you know who you are)–the buses let you off 200 yards from the entrance to the Egg (that thing that looks like a crashed UFO) that takes you to the convention center where BOUCHERCON was held. I’d guess this is the last BOUCHERCON Albany will ever host.

The last second comeback of the Bills over the Carolina Panthers galvanized Bills fans this week. This week’s opponent, the New York Jets, poses a unique situation: rookie quarterback vs. rookie quarterback. Bills rookie QB E. J. Manuel faces Jets rookie QB Gino Smith in this 4:15 P.M. game. I’ll be driving from Albany back to North Tonawanda as you’re reading this after an awesome BOUCHERCON.

What’s going to happen to your favorite NFL team today?

I’m a big Alastair Reynolds fan. He writes space operas mostly. But this slim Subterranean Press volume (85 pages) from 2008 delivers a short, compact story. Reynolds presents a future society that has colonized planets. But the culture is Mongolian (I guess Genghis Khan ended up conquering the world). Movement among the star systems is possible by The Infrastructure, a mysterious structure that allows faster than light travel. But The Infrastructure is breaking down and incursions by other civilizations (some non-human) become more frequent. A government secret agent (codename Yellow Dog) investigates the alien incursions. I found Alastair Reynolds’ story entertaining and compelling. Recommended. GRADE: B+

While you’re reading this, I’ll be living it up at the BOUCHERCON in Albany. In honor of Anthony Boucher, I thought I’d feature one of his best collections: The Compleat Boucher. Although Anthony Boucher was better known for his wonderful reviews, Boucher was also a talented writer. This collection brings together all of Boucher’s science fiction and fantasy stories. There are plenty of delights here. If you haven’t read these clever stories, copies of The Compleat Boucher can be had online for a pittance.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Editor’s Introduction (James A. Mann )
The Quest for Saint Aquin
The Compleat Werewolf
Elsewhen
The Pink Caterpillar
The Chronokinesis of Jonathan Hull
Gandolphus
Sriberdegibit
The Ambassadors
QUR
Robinc
Nine-Finger Jack
Barrier
Pelagic Spark
The Other Inauguration
One-Way Trip
Man’s Reach
Mr. Lupescu
Balaam
The Anomaly of the Empty Man
The Ghost of Me
Snulbug
Sanctuary
Transfer Point
Conquest
The First
The Greatest Tertian
Expedition
The Public Eye
The Secret of the House
The Scrawny One
Star Bride
The Way I Heard It
The Star Dummy
Review Copy
A Kind of Madness
Nellthu
Rappaccini’s Other Daughter
Khartoum
A Shape in Time
A Summer’s Cloud
The Tenderizers
They Bite
The Model of a Science Fiction Editor
We Print the Truth
Mary Celestial (co-authored by Miriam Allen De Ford)
Recipe for Curry De Luxe

Brett Martin’s Difficult Men: Behind the Scenes of a Creative Revolution from The Sopranos and The Wire to Mad Men and Breaking Bad provides an inside look into the history of television. Martin shows how key series like Hill Street Blues opened the door to more daring TV series. Martin explores the marketing of cable TV which opened up new markets and new audiences. HBO’s impact on the viewing habits of viewers cannot be overestimated. If I have a quibble with this fine history, it’s that Martin really doesn’t explore what might be ahead. Network and cable TV are facing mounting pressure from the Internet and Netflix. Audiences for anything other than live sporting events are eroding. But if you’re interested in the recent history of television dramas, Difficult Men delivers. GRADE: B+

Mark Kurlansky’s Ready for a Brand New Beat: How “Dancing in the Streets” Became the Anthem for a Changing America looks at America in the Sixties and Seventies through the lens of Motown music. A big chunk of this book deals with Berry Gordy’s starting Motown Records, developing the Motown sound, and recruiting singers to implement his musical vision. Kurlansky believes that Martha Reeves and the Vandellas’ “Dancing in the Streets” played in key role in the zeitgeist of the Sixties as the Civil Rights Act, the Vietnam War, and the Goldwater vs. Johnson election all played out. The minute I finished Ready for a Brand New Beat, I had to drop everything and listen to Martha Reeves belt out this classic song! Check out the video below. GRADE: B+
DISCOGRAPHY OF “DANCING IN THE STREET”
1964 Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
1965 Cilla Black
1965 Brenda Lee
1065 The Kinks
1965 Petula Clark
1965 The Everly Brothers
1965 The Rokes
1966 The Walker Brothers
1966 The Red Squares
1967 Ramsey Lewis
1971 Little Richard
1971 Laura Nyro and Labelle
1976 Michael Bolton
1976 The Royals
1976 Donald Byrd
1977 The Grateful Dead
1979 Teri DeSario and K.C.
1979 Nohelani Cypriano
1979 Neil Diamond
1981 Tim Curry
1982 Van Halen
1982 The Who
1985 Mick Jagger and David Bowie
1985 Kingfish
1993 Leningrad Cowboys & the Alexandrov Red Army Ensemble
1996 Gunther Neefs
1997 Kim Weston
1999 The BB Band
2000 Jimmy Barnes
2001 Atomic Kitten
2002 The Power Station
2003 Dynamo’s Rhythm Aces
2004 Sugar Beats
2004 The Charades
2005 Rene Froger & Maud
2006 Human Nature
2007 The Condors, featuring Miu Sakamoto
2009 Asian Sensation
2010 Sandrine

Twenty Feet From Stardom pays homage to some of the obscure, nearly invisible back-ground singers who provide so much to our popular music. This documentary features Darlene Love, who was the un-credited lead voice on some of Phil Spector’s most memorable productions of the 1960s; Merry Clayton, who is the iconic voice on the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter”; Lisa Fischer, whose voice can be heard on albums by Sting, Tina Turner, and Aretha Franklin; and the Waters Family, who sang with Michael Jackson on Thriller as well as singing on the soundtracks for The Lion King and Avatar. It’s great that these talented artists are finally getting the credit and recognition that they deserve. If you love popular music, you’ll love 20 Feet From Stardom. Check out the soundtrack, too! GRADE: A
TRACK LIST
1 Walk On the Wild Side – Lou Reed (4:13)
2 Slippery People – Talking Heads (4:02)
3 Nobody’s Fault But Mine – Judith Hill (3:07)
4 He’s a Rebel – The Crystals (2:31)
5 Space Captain – Joe Cocker (4:49)
6 Gimme Shelter – Merry Clayton (3:32)
7 Sure On This Shining Night – Lisa Fischer (1:58)
8 Let’s Make a Better World – Judith Hill (3:01)
9 Young Americans – David Bowie (5:13)
10 Southern Man – Merry Clayton (3:14)
11 Desperation – Judith Hill (3:49)
12 A Fine, Fine Boy – Darlene Love (4:20)
13 Lean On Me – Darlene Love (5:10)