The most famous story in The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction, 20th Series is Harlan Ellison’s “The Deathbird.” It won the 1974 Hugo Award for Best Novelette. The story follows the format of a test (although some of the questions don’t make sense). Now, the world is coming to an end and Nathan Stack, the latest incarnation of a long line of humans going back to Lilith’s husband, is revived by Snake (aka Dira) after spending 250 thousand years in an underground crypt to make the journey to the mountain where God lives. Stack is the only human capable of confronting God and putting the Earth out of its misery through the summoning of what is referred to as the Deathbird. 

My favorite story in this anthology is Phyllis Eisenstein’s “Born to Exile,” one of her Tales of Alaric the Minstrell series. Alaric lives in a violent, feudal world. However, Alaric does have the power to teleport himself over short distances. After reading “Born to Exile,” I immediately ordered Eisenstein’s Born to Exile (1977) and In the Red Lord’s Reach (1989) which collect the stories of Alaric the Minstrell.

I’m also fond of Frederik Pohl’s “Shaffery Among the Immortals,” which has a certain special impact after Covid-19. Another solid Ferman anthology. GRADE: B

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

•  Cartoons • interior artwork by Gahan Wilson
• 1 • Shaffery Among the Immortals • (1972) • short story by Frederik Pohl
• 21 • A Different Drummer • (1971) • short story by Raylyn Moore
• 40 • The Deathbird • (1973) • novelette by Harlan Ellison
• 75 • Born to Exile • [Tales of Alaric the Minstrel] • (1971) • novelette by Phyllis Eisenstein
• 112 • Thus Love Betrays Us • (1972) • short story by Phyllis MacLennan
• 133 • The Animal Fair • (1972) • novelette by Alfred Bester
• 179 • Is It the End of the World? • (1972) • short story by Wilma Shore
• 191 • The Bear with the Knot on His Tail • [Stardust (Stephen Tall)] • (1971) • novelette by Stephen Tall
• 231 • Birdlime • (1971) • short story by B. L. Keller
• 241 • The Problem of Pain • [Avalon (Technic Civilization)] • (1973) • novelette by Poul Anderson
• 265 • Sooner or Later or Never Never • [Reverend Crispin Mobey] • (1972) • novelette by Gary Jennings

I was a fan of the Allman Brothers Band. But, when I’m No Angel came out in 1987, my focus turned to Gregg Allman and his guitar playing gifts. “I’m No Angel” peaked at Number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100, but reached Number 1 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Tracks.  I remember this song getting a lot of airplay on local radio stations at the time. Ironically, “I’m No Angel” was covered by Cher, Allman’s former wife.

A couple of years later, I bought a copy of Joe Cocker’s One Night of Sin (1989). It contains the hit single “When The Night Comes” (US #11), which was Cocker’s last US Top 40 hit and played at the end credits of Tom Selleck‘s crime drama An Innocent Man of that same year. I’m also fond of “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination.” “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination” is a song first recorded by Gladys Knight & the Pips. Released from the hit album, Imagination, which was their debut album with Buddah Records, the song was a success on the soul and pop charts. It spent a week at number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart in early 1974 and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming one of their highest charting songs. The song eventually sold more than one million copies. I like Joe Cocker’s version a lot, too.

I don’t know why I gravitate to music from this era. Perhaps it’s the quality of the music–pre-synthesizers and drum machines–and the wonderful sound. Are you a fan of Gregg Allman and Joe Cocker? GRADE: A (for both)

TRACK LIST:

1		I’m No Angel	3:42
2		Anything Goes	4:12
3		Evidence Of Love	4:34
4		Yours For The Asking	3:16
5		Things That Might Have Been	4:26
6		Can’t Keep Running	4:02
7		Faces Without Names	3:36
8		Lead Me On	4:44
9		Don’t Want You No More	2:31
10		It’s Not My Cross To Bear	5:37

TRACK LIST:

1		When The Night Comes Written-By – Adams*, Warren*, Vallance
2		I Will Live For You Written-By – Stephen Allen Davis
3		I’ve Got To Use My Imagination Written-By – B. Goldberg*, G. Goffin
4		Letting Go Written-By – C. Midnight*, J. Scott
5		Just To Keep From Drowning Written-By – M. Chapman*, S. A. Davis
6		Unforgiven (Bonus Track) Written-By – K. Lauber*, T. Hardin
7		Another Mind Gone Written-By – Stainton*, J. Levine*, Cocker
8		FeverWritten-By – E. Cooley*, J. Davenport
9		You Know We’re Gonna Hurt Written-By – N. Gilder*, R. Boston
10		Bad Bad Sing Written-By – C. Midnight*, D. Hartman
11		I’m Your Man Written-By – Leonard Cohen
12		One Night Of Sin Written-By – D. Bartholomew*, P. King

Back in the 1960s, I discovered Groff Conklin’s Science Fiction anthologies. Conklin wrote excellent introductions to the stories he selected. And I pretty much enjoyed all the stories Conklin included in his various anthologies.

Groff Conklin’s Minds Unleashed, 1970 (aka, Giants Unleashed, 1965) is a good example of a Groff Conklin SF anthology: Big Name writers rub shoulders with lesser known writers. Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov, Clarke, and Anderson are well represented by quality stories. Lesser known writers like Richard Ashby, Edward Grendon, and Laurence Manning provide thought-provoking stories.

My favorite story in this anthology is Murray Leinster’s “The Ethical Equations.” Leinster specialized in First Contact stories and “The Ethical Equations” is one of his best. An alien spaceship enters our Solar System. The Space Patrol debates whether they should destroy the ship. After a young Patrol officer investigates the alien space ship, he finds the alien crew in suspended animation. And the young officer comes up with a clever, counter-intuitive solution.

I also liked J. T. McIntosh’s “Machine Made.” This story was published in 1951 and explores the idea of Artificial Intelligence. Very prophetic!

I’ve read over a dozen Groff Conklin SF anthologies and enjoyed them all. I suspect you would, too! GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

“Microcosmic God” by Theodore Sturgeon (Astounding Science-Fiction, April 1941) — 3
“Commencement Night” by Richard Ashby (Astounding Science Fiction, August 1953) — 33
“The Deep Range” by Arthur C. Clarke (Argosy (UK), April 1954) — 59
“Machine Made” by J. T. McIntosh (New Worlds #10 Summer 1951) — 69
“Trip One” by Edward Grendon (Astounding Science Fiction, July 1949) — 83
“Venus Is a Man’s World” by William Tenn (Galaxy Science Fiction, July 1951) — 91
“Good-Bye, Ilha!” by Laurence Manning (Beyond Human Ken, 1952) — 115
“Misbegotten Missionary” by Isaac Asimov (Galaxy Science Fiction, November 1950) — 125
“The Ethical Equations” by Murray Leinster (Astounding Science Fiction, June 1945) — 143
“Misfit” by Robert A. Heinlein (Astounding Science-Fiction, November 1939) — 161
“Genius” by Poul Anderson (Astounding Science Fiction, December 1948) — 185
“Basic Right” by Eric Frank Russell (Astounding Science Fiction, April 1958) — 217

Yes, that’s a young George Locus bent over the table above. Light & Magic, a six episode documentary, chronicles the birth and development of Industrial Light & Magic, the iconic special effects company Lucas established…and named.

When George Lucas was working on Star Wars he realized he needed special effects that were not technologically possible at that time. So Lucas hired John Dykstra who assembled a team of unusual but talented people who help him invent the cameras and the models necessary for George Lucas’s movie.

Director Lawrence Kasdan, who cowrote The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Return of the Jedi before launching his own career as a movie director, was on the periphery of Industrial Light & Magic’s birth, watching from the sidelines as the company brought to life the things he and Lucas wrote on the page. This is a documentary made by an insider who witnessed the development of this special effects company that would revolutionize film-making.

If you’re interested in movie making and movie history, Light & Magic shows how the special effects were developed and used. The transition from film to digital, painful and fatal to some of the artists at ILM, changes everything. GRADE: A

A CIA drone strike last week took out Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who had been living for months in the heart of Kabul, a short walk from the now-closed British embassy, just as I was reading Degrade and Destroy by Michael R. Gordon. The U.S. world relations with Russia and China, filled with tension and saber-rattling, also include the continuing war against terrorism.

Gordon describes the U.S. actions against Al Qaeda and ISIS this way: “What emerged by fits and starts was a strategy that relied principally on the use of proxy forces in Iraq; the recruitment of new forces in Syria, where none existed; the careful placements of American advisors; and the prodigious use of American and allied firepower in both countries: artillery, surface-to-surface missiles, attack helicopters, AC-130 gunships, and an armada of warplanes, ranging from tanking-killing A-10s, stealthy F-22s, and Predator drones to lumbering B-52s.” (p. 4)

Much of Degrade and Destroy chronicles the disappointments in the Middle East. Time and time again American forces would gain ground and political corruption would lose it again. As the assassination of Ayman al-Zawahiri shows, the U.S. still has a presence in that part of the world. But as Gordon documents, it’s limited and only occasionally effective. GRADE: A

Table of Contents:

Maps viii

Introduction 3

1 Impala Rider 7

2 Plan B 18

3 An Appeal from Baghdad 32

4 Make or Break 49

5 All Fall Down 63

6 Back to the Future 78

7 Iraq First 97

8 Talon Anvil 117

9 The Darkest Hour 136

10 Combat 152

11 Dweller 168

12 The War Room 188

13 The Next Ten Plays 210

14 Objective Fish 225

15 Eagle Strike 241

16 The Tactical Directive 258

17 Council of War 276

18 The Final Days 294

19 Wrath of the Euphrates 314

20 Eclipse 333

21 Jazeera Storm 346

22 Continuing Resolve 366

Epilogue 387

Dramatis Personae 399

Notes 405

Acknowledgments 455

Index 459

Egg nog waffles. That’s the hook that drew me to Melba’s American Comfort. Diane watched the interview with Melba Wilson on CBS Saturday Morning (check out the interview below). Of course, Melba’s brand of comfort food goes well beyond Egg Nog Waffles (p. 4-6). How about Eggy French Toast? (p. 18-19) And Classic Corn Bread? (p. 156).

If you’re into comfort food, Melba’s book is the right one for you! What’s your favorite comfort food? GRADE: A

Table of Contents:

Introduction viii

1 Breakfast & Brunch 3

2 Comfortizers 23

3 Main Contentment: Fish, Poultry & Meat 49

4 Fried Chicken: A World of its Own 125

5 Some Joy on the Side 145

6 Sweet Surrender 181

7 A Little Liquid Comfort 207

Acknowledgements 223

Index 227

In a deep Red State, Tuesday’s surprising victory for abortion rights supporters in Kansas offered some of the most compelling evidence so far that the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has transformed the political landscape. The “NO” victory in Kansas–a 59-41 margin in a Republican stronghold–suggests that the Religious Right and their GOP allies may have miscalculated in their strategy to ban abortion in the United States.

The Kansas vote infers that around 65% of voters nationwide would reject a similar initiative to roll back abortion rights. That translates into about 40 of the 50 states being hostile to attempts to ban all abortions. If abortion rights wins 59% support in a state like Kansas, abortion rights groups could do even better than that in Purple and Blue States.

I also think this result in Kansas shows that GOP’s hostility to Women’s Rights will backfire on them when it comes to taking back rights and mandating women give birth even when rape and/or incest is involved. Stripping women of medical protections and violating their rights represents a political leap into the Dark Ages. What do you think?

Back in the 1970s, a new Science Fiction writer appeared with wickedly innovative concepts like switching genders and bodies, and Invaders ousting humanity from the Earth. John Varley, with stories like “Overdrawn at the Memory Bank,” “Press Enter,” “The Barbie Murders,” “The Persistence of Vision,” “In the Hall of the Martian Kings,” and “Air Raid,” broke new ground in SF and for a time was my favorite Science Fiction Writer. You can find these excellent stories in The Persistence of Vision (1978) and The Barbie Murders (1980).

Then Varley went to Hollywood and stopped publishing his incredible stories. Here’s what Varley said about his major Hollywood project, Millennium:

“We had the first meeting on Millennium in 1979. I ended up writing it six times. There were four different directors, and each time a new director came in I went over the whole thing with him and rewrote it. Each new director had his own ideas, and sometimes you’d gain something from that, but each time something’s always lost in the process, so that by the time it went in front of the cameras, a lot of the vision was lost.”

When Varley returned to SF writing and publishing in the 1980s, something had changed. The dash and dazzle of Varley’s writing style from the previous decade was gone.

I dutifully read Varley’s 1980s novels, Millennium (1983) and Demon (1984)…but the magic was gone. Over the years, I tried a couple of Varley’s works: Red Thunder (2003) and Red Lightning (2006). Ho-hum.

Irontown Blues (2018) introduces Christopher Bach, a former policeman in one of the largest Lunar cities when the A.I. Lunar Central Computer had a major breakdown. Known as the Big Glitch, the problem turned out to be a larger war than anyone imagined. When order was finally restored, Chris’s life was upended. Now Chris works as a private detective, assisted by his genetically altered dog Sherlock. Varley’s Irontown revisits the hardboiled private eye world with many references to noir books and movies and style.

Chris takes the case of a woman involuntarily infected with an engineered virus. The hunt to track down the biohackers leads Chris to the infamous, dangerous district of Irontown.

All the elements for an entertaining and suspenseful SF novel show up in Irontown, but it all just doesn’t hang together. Something vital is missing. Perhaps this excerpt from LOCUS explains partly what has happened to John Varley:

…So I’m back home now. My final diagnosis, like a slap on the butt as I went out the door, was C.O.P.D. (That’s #5.) It stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. My guess is that it has something to do (ya think?) with over fifty years of a pack-and-a-half per day smoking habit, only recently terminated. Used to be, it was easy to find me at SF conventions. Just look for the very tall guy whose head was obscured by the smoke that encircled his head like a wreath. That was in the early days. More recently I could usually be found outside the hotel, huddled against the rain, the cold, and the howling gale with a couple other hopeless addicts.

I was sent home with a couple bottles of oxygen and an oxygen concentrator, but it’s possible I won’t need them after a while. Lee and I were enrolled in classes at something called the Transitional Care Clinic, TCC, a really smart and nice service of the Clinic where you record all your vital signs and come in weekly for consultation. I hate trailing the coiled tubing for the O2 all around the house, but so be it. I am able to do most things I always did, and get around in the car. I still tire quickly, but I don’t pant like an overheated hound dog.

Thanks again to all who sent money after my heart attack at the beginning of the year. I can’t tell you how much those dollars have helped take a heavy load off both our minds….

It’s hard to believe these songs are almost 20 years old. It seems like almost yesterday when I first heard Pink’s “Get The Party Started” that became an anthem for celebration and having fun. Norah Jones’s “Don’t Know Why” gained an audience for her sultry style…which she has since changed. The Dixie Chicks had a hit with their version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landside,” then faced a radio ban of their music when they criticized President Bush.

John Mayer struck gold with “Your Body Is A Wonderland,” but later got bounced by Taylor Swift. Sherry Crow’s Summer hit, “Soak Up The Sun,” got a lot of airplay on the radio. So did Nelly’s sexy “Hot In Here.”

Do you remember these songs from 2003? Any favorites here? GRADE: B+

TRACK LIST:

1	Vanessa Carlton–	A Thousand Miles	3:58
2	Norah Jones–	Don’t Know Why	3:05
3	Nickelback–	How You Remind Me	3:43
4	Dixie Chicks–	Landslide	3:48
5	Eminem–	Without Me	4:23
6	Nelly–	Hot In Herre	3:49
7	Ashanti–	Foolish	3:47
8	Michelle Branch–	All You Wanted	3:36
9	Avril Lavigne–	Complicated	4:04
10	John Mayer–	Your Body Is A Wonderland	4:06
11	Sheryl Crow–	Soak Up The Sun	3:18
12	P!NK–	Get The Party Started	3:11
13	Britney Spears–	Overprotected	3:19
14	Craig David–	7 Days	3:55
15	Sting–	Fragile	4:21
16	James Taylor (2)–	October Road	3:56
17	Bowling For Soup–	Girl All The Bad Guys Want	3:17
18	Dave Matthews Band–	Where Are You Going	3:51
19	*NSYNC–	Girlfriend	3:59

“More than anyone, you’ll see Hemingway’s influence in Elmore’s early prose. When my father was just staring he told me he would put a blank piece of paper of the page of a Hemingway story and rewrite the scene his way. It how he learned to write.” (p. vii).

Peter Leonard, Elmore Leonard’s son, relates stories about his father’s work ethic as he struggled to become a writer: “While my father was writing the stories in this volume he worked at Campbell-Ewald, an advertising agency, writing Chevrolet ads. For almost a decade he got up at 5:00 A.M. and wrote two pages of fiction before he went to work. His rule: he couldn’t turn the water on for coffee, until he wrote a page.” (p. viii)

Elmore Leonard died in 2013 and this collection of Leonard’s unpublished stories, published in 2015, includes both crime stories and western stories–the two genres Leonard excelled in. The title story, “Charlie Martz,” features a showdown between Martz, an overworked sheriff, and a gunman from his past who wants to kill him. “Siesta in Paloverde” concerns another Martz confrontation with another unsavory character who wants to shoot Martz dead. My favorite story in Charlie Martz and Other Stories is “Evenings Away From Home” from 1959. The narrator is an ad executive assigned to work with a flamboyant photographer. The photographer attracts a beautiful airline stewardess and talks her into modeling for him on this assignment. Of course, the atmosphere is sexually charged and Leonard navigates the crisis moments with flare…and a couple of surprises.

Sure, these unpublished stories don’t have the polish Elmore Leonard gained later in his career. But even a mediocre Leonard story is better than many writers’ best stories. Are you an Elmore Leonard fan? Do you have a favorite novel or story of his? GRADE: B

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Elmore Leonard; foreword by Peter Leonard — vii

One, horizontal — 1
Charlie Martz — 19
Siesta in Paloverde — 33
Time of terror — 47
A happy, lighthearted people — 67
Arma virumque cano — 81
Confession — 91
Evenings away from home — 109
For something to do — 125
The Italian cut — 141
The only good Syrian foot soldier is a dead one — 155
The line rider — 171
The trespassers — 183
The bull ring at Blisston — 203
Rebel on the run — 219