The Thursday Murder Club on Netflix, directed by Chris Columbus, closely follows Richard Osman’s 2020 mystery novel of the same name. I know this because Diane read Osman’s book and plans to read the next four books in the series–the fifth volume will be published on September 25th.

The sleuths who make up The Thursday Murder Club–Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), Ibrahim Ari (Ben Kingsley), Ron Ritchie (Pierce Brosnan), and Joyce (Celia Imrie)–work out of a beautiful retirement home that is being threatened to be sold by one of its owners. David Tennant plays the greedy Ian Ventham who wants to oust the retirees and convert their retirement home into luxury condos.

As the number of murders increase, Elizabeth–the de facto leader of the TMC–discovers links to a cold case the club has been working on. The idyllic British village finds itself resembling Cabot Cove as the dead bodies mount up. If you’re in the mood for a clever puzzle with plenty of clues and red herrings, The Thursday Murder Club–both the book and the movie–will delight you. GRADE: A

When it’s in the 90s in Western NY, nothing refreshes me like some Cold Brewed Coffee. Last week B. J.’s Warehouse sent Diane and me a little pamphlet of coupons and one of them was for Stok Cold Brew Coffee. I chose the Un-Sweet Black variety, but there are plenty of flavored versions.

The Ads claims Stok Cold Brew Coffee is READY TO DRINK and is BOLD & SMOOTH COFFEE. I took a sip and the Ad is right. The Stok tasted smooth and delicious! I would certainly buy this again, even without the coupon. Are you a fan of Cold Brew Coffee? GRADE: A

The first episode of Season 2 of The Marlow Murder Club begins with Sir Peter Bailey found dead the day before his wedding. Bailey’s much younger nurse turned fiancée, his wayward combative son, his bitter daughter, and his ex-wife on the brink of losing her title are key suspects. A recently updated will (that goes missing) gives everyone a motive for murder.

 Samantha Bond (Downton Abbey, Home Fires) as Judith Potts joined by Jo Martin (Doctor Who, Back to Life) as Suzie Harris and Cara Horgan (The Sandman, Traitors) as Becks Starling are the Marlow Murder Club, a trio of true crime enthusiasts who investigate the rash of murders in their community.

The first season of The Marlow Murder Club had four episodes. This second season features six episodes. Diane and I enjoyed the first episode of this new season and will continue watching. GRADE: Incomplete, but trending towards a B+

Last week I posted about classic SF writers in SPACE SHIPS! RAY GUNS! MARTIAN OCTOPODS!: INTERVIEWS WITH SCIENCE FICTION LEGENDS Edited by Richard Wolinsky (you can read my review here). This week, I’m posting about a more current group of Science Fiction writers like John Crowley, Samuel R. Delany, Karen Joy Fowler, Elizabeth Hand, Nano Hopkinson, James Patrick Kelly (no relation), John Kissel, Joe R. Lansdale, Jonathan Lethem, Ursula K. Le Guin, Michael Moorcock, Norman Spinrad, and John Shirley.

The interviews with all these writers spark plenty of controversy and conversation. I was most interested in the revealing aspects of how many of these writers got started in their profession and what “propelled them on their artistic journeys.”

The Outspoken and the Incendiary also is a tribute to Terry Bisson, who died on January 10, 2024 (age 81 years) in  Berkeley, CA. Bisson’s years of interviews produced a living chronicle of where SF was headed. If you’re a Science Fiction fan, you’ll find The Outspoken and the Incendiary both enlightening and entertaining. I learned a lot from this book! GRADE: A

Table of Contents

Foreword: Nisi Shawl — xi
Introduction: Jonathan Lethem — 1
Eleanor Arnason “At the Edge of the Future” — 3
Terry Bisson (interviewed by T. B. Calhoun) “Fried Green Tomatoes” — 23
Michael Blumlein “A Babe in the Woods” — 35
John Crowley “I Did Crash a Few Parties” — 45
Samuel R. Delany “Discourse in an Older Sense” — 57
Cory Doctorow “Look For the Lake” — 67
Meg Elison “Sprawling into the Unknown” –77
Karen Joy Fowler “More Exuberant Than is Strictly Tasteful” — 85
Eileen Gunn “I Did, and I Didn’t, and I Won’t” — 95
Elizabeth Hand “Flying Squirrels in the Rafters” — 103
Cara Hoffman “My Favorite Amphibian” — 117
Nalo Hopkinson “Correcting the Balance” — 127
James Patrick Kelly “Encounter with a Gadget Guy” — 149
John Kessel “I Planned to Be an Astronomer” — 161
Paul Krassner “Reflections of A Realist” — 171
Joe R. Lansdale “That’s How You Clean a Squirrel” — 183

Ursula K. Le Guin “A Lovely Art” — 193

Jonathan Lethem “Rooms Full of Old Books Are Immortal Enough for Me” — 201

Ken Macleod “Working the Wet End” — 211
Nick Mamatas “Put Your Twist in the Middle” — 221
Michael Moorcock “Get the Music Right” — 229
Paul Park “Punctuality, Basic Hygiene, Gun Safety” — 251
Gary Phillips “But I’m Gonna Put A Cat On You” — 259
Marge Piercy “Living Off the Grid” — 271
Rachel Pollack “Radical, Sacred, Hopefully Magical” — 281

Kim Stanley Robinson “A Real Joy to Be Had” — 289

Rudy Rucker “Load On the Miracles and Keep a Straight Face” — 311

Carter Scholz “Gear. Food. Rocks.” — 327
Nisi Shawl “The Fly in the Sugar Bowl” — 335
John Shirley “Pro Is for Professional” — 345
Vandana Singh “A Source of Immense Richness” — 359
Norman Spinrad “No Regrets, No Retreat, No Surrender” — 367
Afterword: Nalo Hopkinson — 375
Elegy: Rudy Rucker — 379

Elegy: Peter Coyote — 383

About the Authors — 387

TRACK LIST:

No.	Title	Length
1.	“Thunder Road“	4:49
2.	“Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out“	3:11
3.	“Night“	3:00
4.	“Backstreets“	6:30

No.	Title	Length
1.	“Born to Run“	4:30
2.	“She’s the One“	4:30
3.	“Meeting Across the River“	3:18
4.	“Jungleland“	9:34
Total length:		39:23

Fifty years ago this week I bought a copy of Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run album. The album had been released on August 25, 1975 and was an immediate hit. “Born to Run,” the single, garnered heavy radio play. But what I did not know before reading Peter Ames Carlin’s new book, Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run, was that Columbia Records was about to drop Bruce Springsteen because his first two albums–Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, while critical successes, disappointed the executives at Columbia with their meager sales.

Springsteen’s career was at risk while he was working on Born to Run–he knew the stakes. It’s clear from Calin’s book, that Springsteen decided to take some risks with Born to Run. He brought in new band members like drummer Max Weinberg. Springsteen also brought in rock columnist Jon Landau to co-produce Born to Run. The risks brought Springsteen and the E Street Band the fame they craved.

Peter Ames Carlin presents the recording process of Born to Run and the twists and turns in Springsteen’s tweaking of the lyrics and the arrangements. Strings were added–then subtracted. Backup singers came and went. The low tech recording equipment of 1975 also caused problems. But the story of how all these problems were overcome to produce a classic album is compelling.

Are you a fan of Born to Run? GRADE: A (for the album and the book)

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. Prologue — 1
2. Chapter 1: Watch the World Explode — 3
3. Chapter 2: Nashville — 10
4. Chapter 3: Lost in the Flood — 23
5. Chapter 4: I Know Where You Live — 33
6. Chapter 5: Carnival Weekend — 43
7. Chapter 6: Rock ’n’ Roll Future — 52
8. Chapter 7: Growing Young with Rock and Roll — 59
9. Chapter 8: Walk with Me Out on the Wire — 67
10. Chapter 9: Welcome to E Street — 75
11. Chapter 10: The Poets Around Here Don’t Write Nothing at All — 87
12. Chapter 11: Wings for Wheels — 95
13. Chapter 12: The E Street Dance — 102
14. Chapter 13: Magic in the Night — 110
15. Chapter 14: Like a Vision — 116
16. Chapter 15: All the Wonder It Brings — 123
17. Chapter 16: Scooter and the Big Man — 129
18. Chapter 17: It’s Elephants, Baby! — 138
19. Chapter 18: And Then You Were the Psychopath — 147
20. Chapter 19: The Heist — 154
21. Chapter 20: Tonight in Jungleland — 165
22. Chapter 21: Kutztown — 176
23. Chapter 22: The Bottom Line — 187
24. Chapter 23: Flying by the Seat of My Pants — 199
25. Chapter 24: Backlash — 209
26. Chapter 25: The Other Thunder Road — 218
27. Epilogue — 229
28. Acknowledgments — 235
29. Bibliography — 249

Just by chance, I stumbled upon David Suart Davies’s monumental The Collector’s Book of Science Fiction (aka, Wordsworth Book of Science Fiction) presents over a 1000 pages of classic 19th and early 20th Century SF. I own a 100 SF anthologies, but The Collector’s Book of Science Fiction contains a massive amount of material unavailable elsewhere.

Cast your eyes down the Table of Contents and prepare to be amazed at the breath of writers represented. Yes, Jules Verne, A. Conan Doyle, and Jack London are here, but Milne, Stockton, Allen show up, too.

After reading The Collector’s Book of Science Fiction, I developed a whole different sense of what was happening in early SF with little known writers like Weinbaum, Mitchell, White, and Griffith making substantial progress in the genre.

If you’re a devotee of early Science Fiction The Collector’s Book of Science Fiction is a must-read. I bought my copy of The Collector’s Book of Science Fiction for less than $10–a bargain for a book of this size and importance! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• 7 • Introduction (The Wordsworth Collection of Science Fiction) • essay by David Stuart Davies
• 1 • From the Earth to the Moon • [Baltimore Gun Club • 1] • (2011) • novel by Jules Verne (trans. of De la Terre à la Lune 1865)
• 155 • Into the Sun • [Into the Sun • 1] • (1882) • short story by Robert Duncan Milne
• 171 • A Tale of Negative Gravity • (1884) • novelette by Frank R. Stockton
• 189 • To Whom This May Come • (1889) • short story by Edward Bellamy
• 203 • The Scarlet Plague • (1912) • novella by Jack London
• 245 • A Thousand Deaths • (1899) • short story by Jack London
• 255 • The Great Keinplatz Experiment • (1885) • short story by Arthur Conan Doyle
• 269 • The Thames Valley Catastrophe • (1897) • short story by Grant Allen
• 285 • A Martian Odyssey • [Tweel • 1] • (1934) • novelette by Stanley G. Weinbaum
• 307 • Valley of Dreams • [Tweel • 2] • (1934) • novelette by Stanley G. Weinbaum
• 329 • The Adaptive Ultimate • (1935) • novelette by Stanley G. Weinbaum
• 351 • Parasite Planet • [Ham Hammond] • (1935) • novelette by Stanley G. Weinbaum
• 377 • Pygmalion’s Spectacles • (1935) • short story by Stanley G. Weinbaum
• 395 • Shifting Seas • (1937) • novelette by Stanley G. Weinbaum
• 417 • The Worlds of If • [Professor Manderpootz] • (1935) • short story by Stanley G. Weinbaum
• 431 • The Mad Moon • (1935) • novelette by Stanley G. Weinbaum
• 451 • Redemption Cairn • (1936) • novelette by Stanley G. Weinbaum
• 479 • The Ideal • [Professor Manderpootz] • (1935) • short story by Stanley G. Weinbaum
• 497 • The Lotus Eaters • [Ham Hammond] • (1935) • novelette by Stanley G. Weinbaum
• 523 • Proteus Island • (1936) • novelette by Stanley G. Weinbaum
• 553 • The Purple Death • (1895) • short story by W. L. Alden
• 565 • Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions • [Flatland • 1] • (1884) • novel by Edwin A. Abbott
• 645 • The Last Stand of the Decapods • (1901) • short story by Frank T. Bullen
• 661 • Three Go Back • (1932) • novel by J. Leslie Mitchell
• 829 • The Crystal Man • (1881) • short story by Edward Page Mitchell
• 841 • The Balloon Tree • (1883) • short story by Edward Page Mitchell
• 849 • The Ablest Man in the World • (1879) • short story by Edward Page Mitchell
• 865 • The Tachypomp • (1874) • short story by Edward Page Mitchell
• 879 • The Man Without a Body • (1877) • short story by Edward Page Mitchell
• 887 • The Clock That Went Backward • (1881) • short story by Edward Page Mitchell
• 899 • The Senator’s Daughter • (1879) • short story by Edward Page Mitchell
• 915 • Old Squids and Little Speller • (1885) • short story by Edward Page Mitchell
• 927 • The Facts in the Ratcliff Case • (1879) • short story by Edward Page Mitchell
• 935 • The Story of the Deluge • (1875) • short story by Edward Page Mitchell
• 943 • The Professor’s Experiment • (1880) • short story by Edward Page Mitchell
• 955 • The Soul Spectroscope • (1875) • short story by Edward Page Mitchell
• 961 • The Inside of the Earth • (1876) • short story by Edward Page Mitchell
• 971 • A Visit to the Moon • [Stories of Other Worlds • 1] • (1900) • short story by George Griffith
• 989 • The World of the War God • [Stories of Other Worlds • 2] • (1900) • short story by George Griffith
• 1009 • A Glimpse of the Sinless Star • [Stories of Other Worlds • 3] • (1900) • short story by George Griffith
• 1027 • The World of the Crystal Cities • [Stories of Other Worlds • 4] • (1900) • short story by George Griffith
• 1045 • In Saturn’s Realm • [Stories of Other Worlds • 5] • (1900) • short story by George Griffith
• 1063 • Homeward Bound • [Stories of Other Worlds • 6] • (1900) • short story by George Griffith
• 1073 • The Dust of Death • [The Doom of London] • (1903) • short story by Fred M. White
• 1089 • The Four Days’ Night • [The Doom of London] • (1903) • short story by Fred M. White
• 1107 • The Invisible Force • [The Doom of London] • (1903) • short story by Fred M. White
• 1125 • The Purple Terror • (1899) • short story by Fred M. White
• 1139 • Around the Moon • [Baltimore Gun Club • 2] • (2011) • novel by Jules Verne (trans. of Autour de la Lune 1870)

Professor T. is a British crime drama television series starring Ben Miller as Professor Jasper Tempest, a genius University of Cambridge criminologist with obsessive compulsive disorder.

In the opening episode, “Carpe Diem,” of this new series of Professor T, Tempest is dealing with the shocking death that concluded Series 3. The professor retreats into his lectures at Cambridge and ignores attempts by the police to involve him in more crime solving. But Dr. Helena Goldberg (Juliet Stevenson), Jasper’s therapist, helps Tempest return to his police work in a baffling case where a young woman is missing on ship. Was she murdered? Did she accidentally fall overboard? Or did she commit suicide? Only Tempest sees the true situation. GRADE: Incomplete, but treading towards a B

Veteran political correspondant, Matt K. Lewis, has studied politicians and their use of political power to enrich themselves for decades. A recent article in The Atlantic estimated that President Trump has made over $3 billion while in office–mostly from his goofy, but lucrative, crypto business.

Filthy Rich Politicians shows how the political money games work, for both the Republicans and the Democrats. “Rich people get elected, and people, when elected, tend to get richer,” Lewis says. “Over time, it has gotten worse.”

Part of the problem is that the “guard-rails” of wealth acquisition in political office had been dismantled. Trump rid himself (and his political allies) of oversight by Inspector Generals…by firing them all.

And, it’s no surprise that Trump surrounded himself with billionaires by including them in his Cabinet. They have the opportunity to enrich themselves, too.

If you have an interest in political corruption–and what to do to fix it–Matt K. Lewis’ Filthy Rich Politicians provides a workable plan.

Do you have a “favorite” corrupt politician? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Foreword by Batya Unger-Sargon — ix

Introduction — 1

The ruling class — 11

A rich history: Pre$idents from Washington to Biden — 18

Why the rich get elected — 29

Why the elected get rich — 45

All in the family: How politicians spread the wealth — 70

The lifestyle: Living large — 91

Latte liberals: Rich and privileged with influence — 102

Ivy League populists: Rich and privileged networks — 125

You can take it with you: The revolving door — 142

Don’t eat the rich — 160

Appendix: The Richest Twenty-Five Members of Congress — 181

The Ten Richest US Presidents — 181

Acknowledgements — 193

Notes — 197

Index — 235

About the Author — 243

I’ve read a couple dozen Conan the Barbarian pastiches over the years. Last year, I enjoyed James Lovegrove’s Conan – Cult of the Obsidian Moon (you can read my review here). Titan Books has published a new pastiche by Tim Lebbon, Conan: Songs of the Slain. I really liked the illustrations by Juan Alberto Hernandez.

Tim Lebbon obviously loves Conan and by the many references to past Conan stories, he’s a serious fan as well as a talented writer. Conan: Songs of the Slain begins with the capture of Conan friend Baht Tann’s wife and two sons by the powerful warrior, Grake. Grace plans to kill Conan and ascend to greatness as a result.

But Conan faces more danger as two more enemies plan his demise. Krow Danaz, a wizard, who wants to avenge the death of his mentor, Tsotha-lanti, a sorcerer slain by Conan, links up with Grake and Mylera, a witch, whose father died saving Conan in one of the barbarian King’s wars. Mylera blames Conan for her father’s death and goes to Dark Magic for the means to kill Conan.

Sometimes less is more. Any one of these adversaries would have been challenging to the aging Conan of Conan: Songs of the Slain. Two would have the odds in their favor to kill the King. But three powerful enemies seems like overkill to me.

Much of Conan: Songs of the Slain features Conan in the wilds again, searching for the missing wife and sons of Baht Tann. Meanwhile, Conan’s enemies are preparing for a climatic showdown to bring Conan to his knees, and kill him. In the lead-up to the big battle, Conan takes a lot of punishment. No normal human could have survived the injuries Tim Lebbon inflicts on Conan.

If you’re a fan of Conan, you’ll enjoy Conan: Songs of the Slain. But, set the bar low. GRADE: C+