Garrett Hongo, who teaches poetry at the University of Oregon, finds himself in a quest for the perfect audio system. Part of Hongo’s story goes back to his father who in the 1950s and 1960s built audio equipment from Heathkit, Allied Knight, Lafayette, and Eico. The tragedy was Hongo’s father was rapidly losing his hearing. The audio equipment he built provided the last sounds of music he would ever experience.

After his father died, Hongo pursued his teaching career, but felt unfulfilled. Hongo loved music and when his CD changer broke, he decided to buy something better. But the better CD player needed a more powerful amplifier. Then the system needed better speakers. And before long, Hongo had gone down the stereo Rabbit Hole to find the perfect sound system.

As the reader follows Hongo on his quest, the history of modern audio becomes part of the story. The history of the vinyl record, the invention of the amplifier–with those glowing tubes!–and why speakers work they way they do. Plenty of detail and data across the decades!

As a bonus, Hongo goes into the music that he loves…and why. You’ll come away with a list of pop, jazz, and classical music you’ll be searching for. If you’re interested in music sound systems, The Perfect Sound will give you plenty of tips on the type of equipment you should be considering. If you’re just interested in obsession, Hongo’s search for the perfect sound system shows that starkly! What kind of stereo system do you listen to? GRADE: A

Table of Contents

Preludio — 1

Part One
The Perfect Sound — 11

Part Two
I Started Out on Stereo — 55

Part Three
Tubeworld, 1 — 127

Part Four
Tubeworld, 2 — 163

Part Five
It’s My Life — 209

Part Six
Wandering Rocks, 1 — 255

Part Seven
The First Amplifiers — 283

Part Eight
Talking Heads and Singing Platters — 345

Part Nine
Wandering Rocks, 2 — 401

Part Ten
Among the Bohemians — 433

Outro — 495

Acknowledgments — 519

Notes on Sources — 521

While I travel back to Buffalo on Delta Airlines, I’m sure you’ll be enjoying your favorite NFL team in action today. New seasons always open up with Hope. How will your team perform today?

I’ve read all eight novels in Genevieve Colman’s The Invisible Library series. With The Untold Story (2021), the series is going on hiatus. Genevieve Cogman writes in her Acknowledgements, “I do have more ideas concerning Irene, and about the Library and its other inhabitants, and at some point they may get written. My next project is in a completely different area (involving vampires and the Scarlet Pimpernel and a hapless maidservant who’d rather be doing embroidery)… ” (p. 384)

In The Untold Story, Librarian and spy Irene Winter tries to solve some of the major mysteries that have persisted over the story arc of this series. Who set up the Library (and inter dimensional force for stability in the Universe)? Why was the greatest traitor in the Library’s history now trying to make a deal with Irene? Was there a conspiracy at the heart of the Library?

Irene, her lover Kai (who shifts between human and dragon mode), and a Sherlock Holmes clone, Peregrine Vale, attempt to solve the puzzles that have bedeviled them in the preceding volumes of The Invisible Library series.

I’ve enjoyed this series with its quirky plots and characters. If you’re in the mood for mystery, adventure, and fantasy, this is the place to find it. Click on the previous titles to read my reviews. GRADE: B+

The Invisible Library novels:

• Book 1: The Invisible Library London: Pan Macmillan, 2015. ISBN 978-1-4472-5623-6
• Book 2: The Masked City London: Pan Macmillan, 2015. ISBN 978-1-4472-5625-0
• Book 3: The Burning Page London: Pan Macmillan, 2016. ISBN 978-1-4472-5627-4
• Book 4: The Lost Plot London: Pan Macmillan, 2017. ISBN 978-1-5098-3071-8
• Book 5: The Mortal Word London: Pan Macmillan, 2018. ISBN 978-1-5098-3072-5
• Book 6: The Secret Chapter London: Pan Macmillan, 2019. ISBN 978-1-5290-0057-3
• Book 7: The Dark Archive London: Pan Macmillan, 2020. ISBN 978-1-5290-0060-3
• Book 8: The Untold Story London: Pan Macmillan, 2021. ISBN 978-1-5290-0063-4

I’ve read all of John Creasey’s novels about Chief Inspector George Gideon of Scotland Yard (written under his “J. J. Marric” psuedonym). Although Creasey wrote hundreds of novels, Anthony Boucher called his Gideon’s Day Creasey’s best book. HFR Keating included Gideon’s Work in his 100 Best Crime and Mystery Books. The Mystery Writers of America awarded Creasey the Edgar for Best Novel for Gideon’s Fire.

Crippen & Landru surprised Creasey/Gideon fans with this new collection of Gideon short stories mostly published in the 1970s in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and uncollected until now. These short stories focus on Gideon’s ability to understand the crimes…and those committing the crimes. My favorite story in this collection is “Gideon and the Vintage Car Thefts.” Very clever!

Martin Edwards, fresh from finishing his monumental The Life of Crime (you can read my review here), provides an insightful “Introduction” to the George Gideon series. Francis M. Nevins’s “A Reflection on the Life of an Author” focuses on the man who wrote the Gideon series. Creasey’s son delivers some compelling insights about his father in his “Afterword.”

If you’re a John Creasey fan, don’t miss Gideon and the Young Toughs & Other Stories! GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction by Martin Edwards –3

Gideon and the Park Vandal –11

Gideon and the Drunken Sailor — 17

Gideon and the Teen-Age Hooligans — 23

Gideon and the Shoplifting Ring — 31

Gideon and the Pickpockets — 39

Gideon and the Young Toughs — 47

Gideon and the Pigeon — 55

Gideon and the Chestnut Vendor –63

Gideon and the Vintage Car Thefts — 71

Gideon and the Inside Job — 79

Gideon and the Flu Epidemic — 87

Gideon and the East End Gang — 93

Gideon and the Innocent Shoplifter –101

A Reflection on the Life of an Author By Francis M. Nevins –109

Afterword By Richard Creasey –119

Sources — 129

In a history extending all the way back to 1960, this is the first time the Buffalo Bills will play in a marquee game: opening the 2022 NFL Season against the Super Bowl Champion LA Rams. Hopes are high among the Bills Mafia, but disaster has dashed the hopes of Bills fans ever since 1960. I’ll be watching this game in Minneapolis surrounded by BOUCHERCON attendees. The Bills are 2 1/2 point favorites. Go Bills!

The Year’s Best Fantasy, Volume 1 is Paula Guran’s 50th edited anthology. If you’ve read any of Guran’s other anthologies, you know she tries to present quality writing with a diverse range. The old cliche, “Something here for every taste,” certainly applies.

My tastes in fantasy tend toward the unexpected. Take P. Dieli Clark’s “If the Martians Have Magic” for instance. The Martians have invaded Earth three times and a collective Martian mind wants to help Humans resist the next invasion. They offer Martian Magic as a possible protection…but at a price. I also enjoyed Richard Parks’s “The Fox’s Daughter.” A member of royalty must travel away from her kingdom for six months. She asks her friend, the ruler of a nearby kingdom, to take care of her difficult teenage daughter. Reluctantly, he agrees. The teenage daughter has the power–like her mother–to turn into a fox or a woman. Challenges appear.

While I wasn’t familiar with P. Dieli Clark or Richard Park (although I’m planning on finding their books), I am familiar with James Enge and his “Drunkard’s Walk” possesses the same high level story-telling qualities of Enge’s The Tournament of Shadows trilogy.

I enjoyed many of stories in The Year’s Best Fantasy, Volume 1. If you’re in the mood for an anthology with a variety of fantasy styles, this is the one to check out. Are you a fan of Fantasy stories? GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS (alphabetical):

• Marika Bailey, “The White Road; Or How a Crow Carried Death Over a River” (Fiyah #18) — 122
• Elizabeth Bear, “The Red Mother” (Tor.com) — 140
• Tobias Buckell, “Brickomancer (Shoggoths in Traffic and Other Stories) — 252
• P. Djèlí Clark, “If the Martians Have Magic” (Uncanny #42) — 314
• Roshani Chokshi, “Passing Fair and Young” (Sword Table Stone: Old Legend, New Voices) — 195
• Varsha Dinesh, “The Demon Sage’s Daughter” (Strange Horizons 2/8/21) — 260
• Andrew Dykstal, “Quintessence” (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #324) — 211
• James Enge, “Drunkard’s Walk (F&SF 5-6) — 297
• Karen Joy Fowler, “The Piper” (F&SF 1-2) — 379

Introduction: Mirrors by Paula Guran — xi
• Carlos Hernandez & C. S. E. Cooney, “A Minnow, or Perhaps a Colossal Squid (Mermaids Monthly, April) — 334
• Kathleen Jennings, “Gisla and the Three Favors” (Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #43) — 189
• Allison King, “Breath of the Dragon King” (Fantasy #72) — 376
• PH Lee, “Frost’s Boy” (Lightspeed #128) — 77
• Yukimi Ogawa, “Her Garden the Size of Her Palm (F&SF 7-8) — 174
• Tobi Ogundiran, “The Tale of Jaja and Canti” (Lightspeed #135) — 96
• Richard Parks. “The Fox’s Daughter (Beneath Ceaseless Skies #344) — 354
• Karen Russell, “The Cloud Lake Unicorn” (Conjunctions:76) — 103
• Sofia Samatar, “Three Tales from the Blue Library” (Conjunctions:76) — 368
• Catherynne Valente, “L’Esprit de Escalier” (Tor.com) — 50
• Fran Wilde, “Unseelie Bros, Ltd.” (Uncanny #40) — 1
• Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, “Gray Skies, Red Wings, Blue Lips, Black Hearts” (Apex #121) — 282
• Isabel Yap,“A Spell for Foolish Hearts” (Never Have I Ever) — 387
• E. Lily Yu, “Small Monsters” (Tor.com) — 26

About the Authors — 433

Acknowledgements — 440

About the Editor — 443

Maybe I’m getting super-heroed out but this newish iteration of the Batman story left me cold. I finally watched it on HBO Max but the Blu-ray/DVD is on sale for those who crave “Additional Content.”

It seems like each Batman movie tries to be darker than the film that preceded it. In The Batman, a sadistic serial killer murders key political figures in Gotham. Batman investigates the city’s hidden corruption. And, of course, questions about his family’s involvement arise.

Yes, there’s plenty of action. Yes, there’s plenty of violence. Explosions…check. Cool gadgets…check. Loud music..check. Even though The Batman checks all the boxes, I had that deja vu feeling that I’ve seen all this before. Are you a Batman fan? GRADE: C

A few days ago I reviewed The War on Music: Reclaiming the-Twentieth-Century By John Mauler and Ennio Morricone’s name was mentioned a few times in your comments. Just through serendipity I stumbled onto this performance of “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” theme by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. It really rocks! And, check out that dangling guy!

The National Buffalo Wing Festival returns to Highmark Stadium (where the Buffalo Bills play their games) on Sept. 3rd and 4th 2022. Now in its 21st year, celebrating its 20th festival, Wing Fest has over the past 10 years averaged 50,000+ attendees that have been tracked from all 50 states and 44 different countries, featuring 25 local, regional, national and international eateries serving more than 100 styles of chicken wings. About 10 tons of chicken wings will be consumed this weekend!

Other activities include live music, a baby wing pageant, amateur and XXXHot chicken wing eating competition, celebrity influencer sauce-off competition, bobbing for wings, and much more!

Are you a fan of chicken wings?