I’ve read plenty of Larry McMurtry’s books, both fiction and non-fiction. This anthology from 2000 features a variety of stories, some famous, some not so much.
Let’s start with the famous stories. Annie Proulx’s “Brokeback Mountain” spawned a successful movie version. The story of two men who love one another raised a lot of eyebrows. Also famous is Jack Kerouac’s “The Mexican Girl” which was included in On the Road.
I had read a few of the stories before. William Hauptman’s “Good Rockin’ Tonight” and Richard Ford’s “Rock Springs” have been reprinted many times.
Of the lesser known stories, I liked Max Apple’s “Gas Stations” and Louise Erdrich’s “The Red Convertible.” Life in the West isn’t easy and these stories explore the struggles of people just trying to get by.
Don’t expect any shoot-outs or cattle rustling in these more modern stories of the West. What you can expect is some fine writing. GRADE: B+
Table of Contents:
Introduction — 11
Wallace Stegner, Buglesong — 17
Dave Hickey, The Closed Season — 26
Dao Strom, Chickens — 44
Dagoberto Gilb, Romero’s Shirt — 65
William Hauptman, Good Rockin’ Tonight — 73
Jack Kerouac, The Mexican Girl — 99
Ron Hansen, True Romance — 124
Diana Ossana, White Line Fever — 135
Robert Boswell, Glissando — 157
Tom McGuane, Dogs — 178
Louise Erdrich, The Red Convertible — 184
Max Apple, Gas Stations — 196
Mark Jude Poirier, Cul-de-sacs — 203
Rick Bass, Mahatma Joe — 203
Jon Billman, Indians — 254
Richard Ford, Rock Springs — 267
Raymond Carver, The Third Thing That Killed My Father Off –292
Creature Commandos is an American adult animated superhero television series based on the eponymous team from DC Comics. After the events of the first season of Peacemaker (2022), Amanda Waller assembles a black ops team of monsters led by General Rick Flag Sr. The team’s mission is protecting the princess of a fictional Eastern European nation from an attack by Circe and her army of thugs who call themselves the Sons of Themyscira.
Produced by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation, it is the first television series and the first installment in the DC Universe (DCU). All seven episodes of the first season were written by series creator James Gunn (director of the Guardians of the Galaxy series, but now head of DC).
The series of seven half-hour episodes feature an ensemble cast of voices including Indira Varma, Sean Gunn, Alan Tudyk, Zoë Chao, David Harbour, and Frank Grillo. The team includes The Bride, an immortal woman created by Victor Frankenstein to be a bride for his other creation, Eric Frankenstein, but who rejects her destiny to strike out on her own. There’s also Nina Mazursky, a woman who resembles the classic image of the Creature from the Black Lagoon, but who is far more gentle and may not be quite what she seems. Doctor Phosphorous’ powerful radiation can burn a hole through nearly anything. G.I. Robot enthusiastically blasts Nazis across the decades. Weasel alters expectations and adds mystery to his origin and identity.
What makes Creature Commandos different from most of the animated DC series is the level of violence–extreme with a high body count–and the addition of some sexual content. This James Gunn series does not disappoint. GRADE: B
I was a fan of both Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel and enjoyed their movie reviews for decades. I was amused when I heard Siskel bought the iconic suit from Saturday Night Fever. Until I read Siskel’s daughter’s poem about her father and his suit, I had no idea Siskel saw the movie 17 times.
Callie Siskel writes poems that involve her father, her family, and her life. Like her talented father, Callie weaves a unique picture of the subject she’s exploring. If you’re in the mood for some moving poems, I recommend Two Minds. GRADE: A
I have long been a fan of James Lovegrove’s Sherlock Holmes pastiches, especially the ones with Cthulhu. But as James Lovegrove admits in his Afterword, he has been a fan of Conan just as long as he’s been a fan of Sherlock Holmes. When the opportunity to write a Conan pastiche for Titian Books appeared, Lovegrove seized it.
Conan: Cult of the Obsidian Moon takes Conan to a region called the Rotlands infected by a mysterious forces. Conan and his allies, Hunwulf and Gudrun, pursue a menacing flying figure who kidnaps Hunwulf and Gudrun’s teenage son, Bjorn.
Conan learns that Bjorn isn’t the only young person kidnapped by the the flying figures. Clearly, there is a plot to use the youngsters to bring more Evil into the world.
Conan: Cult of the Obsidian Moon, full of fighting and struggle, takes the reader deep into forbidden lands and dangerous lands. I found Lovegrove’s tribute to Conan a worthy addition to the many very good Conan pastiches written over the years. Are you fan of Conan? GRADE: B+
Reacher, Season 3 arrived on AMAZON Prime Video this week with three new episodes. The other five episodes of the series will be released on Thursdays from February 27 to March 27.
This new series is based on Lee Child’s seventh book about Reacher, Persuader (you can read my review here). So far, the current episodes follow the book fairly closely.
Reacher sees a sinister figure from his Past in the Army days…a man who is supposed to be dead. The plot becomes tangled as Reacher joins forces with a Federal operation in order to find the mysterious man who may be at the heart of a criminal scheme…and a lot more.
Are you a Reacher fan? GRADE: Incomplete but trending towards a B+
Barry N. Malzberg died in a hospice in New Jersey on Thursday, December 19, 2024 at the age of 85. I’ve read Malzberg’s Science Fiction, mysteries, and horror stories since the 1960s. Malzberg wrote some of the most stunning novels and short stories in Science Fiction history!
From 1967 to 1976, Malzberg wrote at least 68 novels and seven story collections along with scores of still uncollected stories published in many magazines and anthologies.
What impressed me about Malzberg was his ability to write successfully in a variety of genres beyond SF including mystery, psychological thrillers, erotica, and Men’s action/adventure fiction. The Lone Wolf series written under the pseudonym of “Mike Barry” took readers on a 14 book thrill ride into the drug-infested world of a character on a vengeance rampage after the murder of his lover.
Malzberg wrote his last SF novel in 1983, but he continued to be a prolific writer of short stories about political assassinations, paranoia, astronauts going insane, political corruption, and horse racing for years afterward.
Stark House’s latest omnibus edition, The Last Translation/Scop is a fitting tribute to a great writer by bringing together two of Malzberg’s prime concerns: the Kennedy Assassination and the death of political trust in America.
SCOP (1976): Scop is a time traveler from 2040 on a mission to prevent the Kennedy assassination. Malzberg mixes in Abraham Zapruder who films the assassination from the Grassy Knoll in Dealey Plaza, Dallas along with Jack Ruby murdering Oswald. In addition, Scop seeks to prevent the James Earl Ray assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.. and Robert F. Kennedy being assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan.
Scop’s plans to change the Past in order to alter his Future have ominous consequences. GRADE: B
In his Introduction to The Last Transaction in this new Stark House edition, Malzberg tells the story of how the editor-in-chief of Chilton Press (publishers of Dune) was told, “Get rid of this. Presidents don’t talk or write this way…. Let him keep the advance and dump this.” Roger Elwood managed to get Pinnacle Books to publish The Last Transaction.
The Last Transaction (1977) captures the desperation of an ex-president of the United States who is attempting to complete the memoirs of his complicated life. Unfortunately, his failing physical and mental health affects his grip on reality as his ability to think clearly and act rationally diminish. The story of his presidency lurches from incident to incident: the failure of his first marriage, the death of his son, his second marriage to a far younger woman, and a national crisis). His failed reelection campaign of 1984 accelerates his decline. President William Eric Springer tries to make sense of his life which has turned into a nightmare. GRADE: B
If you’re looking for a book to engage with one of the most unique SF writers, The Last Translation/Scop is the perfect place to start.
I’m always fascinated by how music groups come together, make their own special brand of music, and handle the success and fame that comes with it. The Name of This Band is R.E.M.: A Biography (2024) presents the history of a band who stayed together for 30+ years. Peter Ames Carlin interviews many key figures around R.E.M. and shares the stories of the band’s successes…and mistakes.
Four college friends – Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry – banded together in the Spring of 1980 to play their very first performance at a college party in Athens, Georgia. That led to a record contract with a small record company, I.R.S. Records, and five albums later, R.E.M. was one of the top bands in the U.S. In 1988, R.E.M. then signed with Warner Records and their album sales soared!
Although the 1990s was a transition period for the band, R.E.M. managed to continue to build their audience, to tour internationally, and to increase sales. Are you a fan of R.E.M.? Do you have a favorite R.E.M. song? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction: The Things They Wouldn’t Do — 1
Part I The Music of Dissent
1 Super Fucking Famous — 13
2 Birdland — 16
3 Bad Habits — 27
4 An Oasis for Artists and Misfits — 33
5 Dance This Mess Around — 39
6 Let’s Make a Band — 44
7 Don’t Rock ‘n’ Roll, No! — 49
8 A Party in the Church — 60
Part II “We’re Still Laughing. It’s a Real Shock.”
9 Picture James Brown Fronting the Dave Clark Five — 69
10 We Weren’t Really Close in a Lot of Ways — 77
11 Hey, He Really Knows His Shit! — 87
12 A Certain Amount of Chaos — 93
13 Sit and Try for the Big Kill — 101
14 Lots of Impressive First-Time Songs — 108
15 Wolves Out the Door — 115
16 Chronic Town, Poster Torn — 124
17 Murmuring — 129
18 R.E.M. Submits — 136
19 A Collective Fist — 144
Part III This One Goes Out
20 Here We Are — 155
21 My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord — 162
22 Shadowfax — 167
23 So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star — 172
24 Gravity Pulling Me Around — 178
25 A Magic Kingdom, Open-Armed — 187
26 What If We Give It Away? — 196
27 Life’s Rich Demand — 206
28 Things We Never Thought Would Happen Have Happened — 212
29 Conquest — 222
Part IV The Monster
30 Hi, Hi, Hi, Hi — 235
31 Are You Ready to Rock ‘n’ Roll? — 241
32 The Fever — 251
33 A Breath, This Song — 257
34 Near Wild Heaven — 262
35 Shiny Happy — 270
36 The Most Improbably Successful Group in Music Today — 277
37 These Are Days — 284
38 Does Everyone Still Want to Do This? — 295
39 Enter the Monster — 308
40 Did Someone Put a Curse on Us? — 319
Part V The Name of This Band Is R.E.M. and This Is What We Do
Back in 1965, a new Science Fiction award, The Nebula, showed up to give the Hugo Award some competition. The stories that won the Nebula Award and some of the nominees were collected in an anthology each year. Nebula Award Stories Number Two (1967) includes an Introduction and Afterword that puts the year of publishing into perspective.
Back in the 1960s, there were NOT a dozen different categories for stories (and later media). Things were pretty simple. Nebulas for BEST NOVEL went to Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes and Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany. Yes, it was a tie!
The Nebula for BEST NOVELLA went to Jack Vance’s classic “The Last Castle.” The Nebula for BEST NOVELETTE went to “Call Him Lord” by Gordon R. Dickson. The Nebula for BEST SHORT STORY went to Richard McKenna’s “The Secret Place.”
That’s it. Sweet and simple. Today the Award environment is messy and convoluted. And, I would argue, less effective at celebrating great SF stories. If you can find early Nebula Award anthologies, maybe the first dozen or so, they hold plenty of great stories for your enjoyment. GRADE: A
Director Scott Derrickson and screenwriter Zach Dean have a complex premise at the heart of The Gorge so the setup takes about a half hour of movie time. Sure, The Gorge starts slowly but if you hang in there, there’s action and romance and scintillating stunts to entertain you.
Levi (Miles Teller) and Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy) are elite snipers from different world powers who have been assigned to guard a secret location, a massive gorge in an undisclosed country. Sigourney Weaver hires Levi and the KGB hires Drasa. They are not supposed to communicate during their year stint at The Gorge.
The Gorge is referred to as the Door to Hell, and Levi and Drasca’s job is to keep watch over it, gunning down the creepy creatures known as “Hollow Men” that attempt to kill them. Despite the numerous weapons and bombs protecting the watchtowers from the Hollow Men assaults, Levi and Drasa learn they have to work together in order to survive.
If HALLMARK made a horror movie, it would be similar to The Gorge with romance, scary creatures, and a clever plot. I really liked the score from Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor. Check out the list of songs in The Gorge below. If you’re in the mood for horror, action, sci-fi, and romance mixed together, The Gorge delivers. GRADE: B+
So, here are all the songs in The Gorge.
“Suite No. 1 in G Major, BMV 1007: Prelude” performed by Jeff Taylor
“Suite No. 1 in G Major, BMV 1007: Prelude” performed by Martynas Levickis
“Ilgiausių Metų (Traditional)”
“Spitting Off the Edge of the World (ft. Perfume Genius)” by Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs
“Blitzkrieg Bop” by Ramones
“Silent Night (Traditional)” performed by Anya Taylor-Joy
“(All Along The) Watchtower” performed by Devlin
“O Come All Ye Faithful” performed by Twisted Sister
“I Feel Love (Every Million Miles)” by The Dead Weather
