Forty years after a devastating war between Old Earth’s Central Governance and its space colonies, the sisters of The Order of Saint Rita embark on an interstellar mission of mercy aboard a living starship called Our Lady of Impossible Constellations.

Lina Rather covers a lot of ground in 159 pages with Sisters of the Vast Black (2019). The nuns are unaware of the surprises that lurk aboard their starship. Their mission of mercy turns into something much more sinister. My favorite nun is Sister Faustina–maybe the most intelligent sister who solves the puzzles threatening her Order. I also liked Sister Gemma who has to make a life-changing decision.

Sisters of the Forsaken Stars (2022) picks up where Sisters of the Vast Black left off. The nuns are on the run from Old Earth’s Central Governance. Two women show up to “join” their Order, but both women come with secrets. This blend of politics, violence, betrayal, and religion produces a couple of engaging space operas. If you’re in the mood for some off-beat SF, Lina Rather’s nuns will surprise you! GRADE: B (for both)

John Jakes became a best selling writer with his Civil War trilogy, North and South, which has sold millions of copies worldwide. He is also the author of The Kent Family Chronicles. But, before all this success, John Jakes wrote Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Although best known for his Brak the Barbarian (a Conan clone) series, Jakes also wrote a couple of paperback originals for Lancer Books in the early 1970s. Master of the Dark Gate (1970) introduced a solider of fortune named Gavin Black who found himself in an adventure involving multiple Earths and a cabal that was about to invade our Earth and conquer it.

Witch of the Dark Gate (1972) picks up where Master of the Dark Gate left off. Gavin Black battles the High Kings of Shulkor (rulers of Earth Three) to stop them and their evil plans. Jakes provides plenty of fighting, battles, and lovely women. But, to be truthful, the best thing about Witch of the Dark Gate is Frank Frazetta’s classic artwork on the cover. GRADE: C

Last week we learned of the death of Teen Idol Bobby Rydell at the age of 79. My sisters loved Bobby Rydell and even joined his Fan Club in the early 1960s.

In 2006, Time Life issued an 8 CD set of Malt Shop Memories. I only have two of these compilations but Malt Shop Memories: Jukebox Gems includes two Bobby Rydell hits: “Wild One” and “Volare.”

I remember Bobby Rydell best for his role in Bye, Bye Birdie in 1963. In the 1980s, Rydell joined a trio called The Golden Boys with fellow former teen idols Frankie Avalon and Fabian Forte and he continued to tour up until his death.

1-1	Lesley Gore–	It’s My Party	2:16
1-2	Neil Sedaka–	Breaking Up Is Hard To Do	2:22
1-3	Tommy Edwards–	It’s All In The Game	2:39
1-4	Elvis Presley–	Are You Lonesome Tonight?	3:08
1-5	The Tokens–	The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)	2:43
1-6	Little Peggy March*–	I Will Follow Him	2:28
1-7	The Toys–	A Lover’s Concerto	2:41
1-8	Kathy Young & The Innocents (2)–	A Thousand Stars	3:14
1-9	Lesley Gore–	Judy’s Turn To Cry	2:12
1-10	Elvis Presley–	Don’t Be Cruel	2:04
1-11	Mickey & Sylvia–	Love Is Strange	2:55
1-12	Lloyd Price–	Personality	2:39
1-13	Jay & The Americans–	Come A Little Bit Closer	2:46
1-14	Ray Peterson–	Tell Laura I Love Her	2:56
1-15	The Shirelles–	Baby, It’s You	2:38
2-1	The Tymes–	So Much In Love	2:11
2-2	The Orlons–	Don’t Hang Up	2:19
2-3	Chubby Checker–	The Twist	2:35
2-4	The Dovells–	Bristol Stomp	2:21
2-5	The Orlons–	South Street	2:13
2-6	Dee Dee Sharp–	Ride!	2:26
2-7	The Dovells–	You Can’t Sit Down	2:20
2-8	Chubby Checker–	Limbo Rock	2:23
2-9	Dee Dee Sharp–	Mashed Potato Time	2:32
2-10	The Orlons–	The Wah-Watusi	2:31
2-11	Bobby Rydell–	Wild One	2:22
2-12	Charlie Gracie–	Butterfly	2:24
2-13	The Rays (2)–	Silhouettes	2:44
2-14	Bobby Rydell–	Volare	2:27
2-15	The Tymes–	Wonderful! Wonderful!	2:52

I’ve reviewed over a dozen Hank Davis anthologies and collections. You know you’re in good hands with Hank Davis whose ability to choose excellent stories and to provide insight into the author and the story is stellar!

At 463 pages, Time Troopers is one of Hank Davis’s longer anthologies. This happens because Davis includes two novellas: A. E. Van Vogt’s “Recruiting Station” (aka, Master of Time and Earth’s Last Fortress) and H. Beam Piper’s “Time Crime.” Both are about 100 pages long.

In addition to the long Van Vogt and Piper stories, Davis brings some classics like Robert A. Heinlein’s classic “All You Zombies…” I should have known this before, but Davis tells the story about Playboy reaching out to Heinlein to write a story for that magazine. Heinlein submitted “All You Zombies…” but the folks at Playboy didn’t know how to deal with it. So they returned it to Heinlein who sent it to The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The rest is History!

Davis likes to surprise the readers with uncommon stories like Keith Laumer’s “The Long Remembered Thunder” and Paul Anderson’s “Delenda Est.” Edmond Hamilton wrote many time travel stories and novels, but “Comrades in Time” is one of his best. Fritz Leiber, like Leinster, wrote some excellent time travel stories. One of his best, “The Oldest Soldier,” shows how versatile a writer he was.

If you’re a fan of time travel stories, you need to check out Hank Davis’s Time Troopers. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction: From Here to Eternity… and Back Again by Hank Davis — 3
“All You Zombies—” by Robert A. Heinlein (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 1959) — 17
“The Archaenaut” by Christopher Ruocchio (original to this volume) — 31
“The Long Remembered Thunder” by Keith Laumer (Worlds of Tomorrow, April 1963) — 55
“Delenda Est” by Poul Anderson (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, December 1955) — 91
“Evading History” by Hank Davis (original) — 133
“Recruiting Station” by A.E. Van Vogt (Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1942) — 139
“The Oldest Soldier” by Fritz Leiber (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, May 1960) — 221
“House of Bones” by Robert Silverberg (Terry’s Universe, 1988) — 239
“Free Time” by Sarah A. Hoyt & Robert A. Hoyt (original) — 261
“Choosers of the Slain” by John C. Wright (Clockwork Phoenix, 2008) — 281
“Against the Lafayette Escadrille” by Gene Wolfe (Again, Dangerous Visions, 1972) — 289
“Doctor Quiet” by Jacob Holo (original) — 293
“Remember the Alamo” by T.R. Fehrenbach (Analog Science Fact – Science Fiction, December 1961) — 313
“Comrades of Time” by Edmond Hamilton (Weird Tales, March 1939) — 325
“Time Crime” by H. Beam Piper (Astounding Science-Fiction, February and March 1955) — 359
About the Authors — 455

Metal Lords is full of surprises. You might think Metal Lords might be a School of Rock knock-off. But you would be wrong. Metal isn’t just music to high school student Hunter Sylvester (Adrian Greensmith). It’s an obsession. You have to live it and breathe it. Every day, all the time.

That kind of commitment is a little further than Hunter’s one and only friend, Kevin Schlieb (Jaeden Martell), is willing to go. But Kevin doesn’t have any other friends either, so he agrees to play drums, which he can’t really play, for Hunter’s band–Skullfucker–with no bass player.

Hunter and Kevin hope to find a bass player in time to compete the impending “Battle of the Bands”–which Hunter is convinced they can win–and thereby achieving schoolwide fame, victory over the bullies–and—most importantly—sex.

My favorite character is Emily Spector (Isis Hainsworth). Emily first appears in Metal Lords as a delicate-looking creature, screaming obscenities at the band director—who has offered some critical but not unkind advice about Emily’s role in the marching band—and then heaving her clarinet so it sticks like a javelin at about the 50 yard line. Clearly, she’s disturbed (later we learn Emily had stopped taking her meds before this incident).

Kevin uses one of the high school rehearsal rooms to work on his drumming, after hours. He hears music from another rehearsal room: a first-rate version of a Bach cello suite. Of course, it’s Emily.

But the story in Metal Lords doesn’t run as expected. Hunter hates the idea of a girl cellist in Skullfucker and rejects Emily. But, Kevin is drawn to the talented, troubled Emily. More problems ensue.

Metal Lords is a cut above most of the John Hughes teen comedies mostly because it offers surprise after surprise. You might think you know what’s going to happen…and then Metal Lords throws you a curveball. Check it out! GRADE: B+

I listen to music every day and according to neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin that is a Good Thing. Music affects the brain in many positive ways.

In The World in Six Songs uses a series of songs as platforms for Levitin to present research findings. In This is Your Brain on Music, Levitin takes a more technical approach to music showing how it works by analyzing pitch, timbre, rhythm, loudness, and harmony.

Humans evolved over time with increasing musical awareness. Levitin terms this a survival trait. My favorite chapter in This is Your Brain on Music is Chapter 8: “My Favorite Things: Why Do We Like the Music We Like?”

I learned a lot from both of Daniel J. Levitin’s books. If you love music as much as I do, you’ll enjoy all the knowledge in these two volumes. How often do you listen to music? What kind? GRADE: A (for both books)

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Taking It from the Top or “The Hills Are Alive . . .” — 1

Music and poetry. The two uniquely human components of the music brain.

Chapter 2: Friendship or “War (What Is It Good For)?” — 41

Social bonding, synchronous coordinated movement, the evolution of emotional bonding, protest music for group cohesion.

Chapter 3: Joy or “Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut” — 83

The first song. Neurochemical effects of music and music therapy.

Chapter 4: Comfort or “Before There Was Prozac, There Was You” — 111

Why we listen to sad music when we’re sad. Lullabyes and the blues. (And a short story about depressed restaurant workers pushed to the edge by a happy song.)

Chapter 5: Knowledge or “I Need to Know” — 137

Music as an information-bearing medium. Learning, memory, and oral histories.

Chapter 6: Religion or “People Get Ready” — 189

The role of music and ritual in creating order, reducing ambiguity, and commemorating important times and events.

Chapter 7: Love or “Bring ‘Em All In” — 229

The sense of hearing and the prefrontal cortex. Tools, musical instruments, and shaping the environment. The evolution of social structure.
Notes –291
Acknowledgments — 331
Index — 333

Table of Contents:

This Is Your Brain On Music

Introduction
I Love Music and I Love Science—Why Would I Want to Mix the Two? — 1

1. What Is Music?
From Pitch to Timbre — 13

2. Foot Tapping
Discerning Rhythm, Loudness, and Harmony — 55

3. Behind the Curtain
Music and the Mind Machine — 81

4. Anticipation
What We Expect from Liszt (and Ludacris) — 109

5. You Know My Name, Look Up the Number
How We Categorize Music — 129

6. After Dessert, Crick Was Still Four Seats Away from Me
Music, Emotion, and the Reptilian Brain — 165

7. What Makes a Musician?
Expertise Dissected — 189

8. My Favorite Things
Why Do We Like the Music We Like? — 217

9. The Music Instinct
Evolution’s #1 Hit. — 241

Appendices — 263
Bibliographic Notes — 271
Acknowledgments — 301
Index — 303

“How did America begin? What was its primordial element?

I think it was money.” (p. 1)

Lance Morrow traces the development of money and religion in American History. Early waves of settlers, the Puritans and other religious groups, found that life in the New World required resources. Later, those “resources” included slaves. Morrow believes these early immigrants needed to strive to be virtuous in the demanding sight of God. “They must justify America’s great fortune–and find some deeper purpose for it.” (p. 2)

The split between God and Mammon solidified early in American history. “In 1702, Cotton Mather preached that the Christian must row to heaven with two oars–the oar of his spiritual calling and the oar of his material calling. If he pulls on only one of them, the boat goes in circles and the Christian can never reach the safe harbor of salvation.” (p. 4)

As America developed, money infused its politics and its culture. Money–or the lack of it–determined social standing. As Morrow points out, the fact that Trump insisted he was a billionaire (he wasn’t) attracted more uneducated people to his Base.

The scandals of TV evangelists with sex and money mount up over the decades. As Alexis de Tocqueville noted: “One usually finds that love of money is either the chief or a secondary motive at the bottom of every thing the Americans do.” (p. 2)

What’s your take on money? Does it rule your Life, or do you have it under control? GRADE: B+

Based on Jake Adelstein’s book about his experience as an American working for a Japanese newspaper 20 years ago, Michael Mann’s Tokyo Vice shows a whole different view of a country where murder and crime details are suppressed by the Police. Jake Adelstein (played by Ansel Elgort) learns in the first episode that the Police determine whether a murder is a murder…and control the information the Press is allowed to report. Not quite the peaceful cherry-blossom society Japan likes to project.

This eight-episode series on HBO Max starts with a focus on Jake by using a kind of origin-story montage that shows his intensive study of Japanese language, economics and meteorology; taking an aikido class; teaching an ESL class; and eventually entering a racist newsroom—where the pejorative “gaijin” (outsider) is heard often enough. Jake is caught completely off guard by the harsh working environment and the strict guidelines on reporting “the truth.”

John Anderson, the excellent TV reviewer for the Wall Street Journal provides some casting insight into the choices made in Tokyo Vice. I’m quoting a key paragraph below:

“A film adaptation of Mr. Adelstein’s 2009 book, “Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan,” was reportedly going to star Daniel Radcliffe back in 2013. The dynamics between that version and this would have been strikingly different. The role of Tony in “West Side Story” is one that eats careers, and Mr. Elgort was nearly consumed by it in his recent run-in with the Steven Spielberg adaptation. But what didn’t work there works here—his exceptional good looks and his height (he towers over most Japanese) make believable in Jake a sense of privilege: He is utterly plausible as a young man who takes on a seemingly impossible task—penetrating Japanese journalism—with the full expectation of making it happen, of being able, if nothing else, to charm his way to success. Likewise, his bold approach to the Tokyo underworld and the stories no one else wants to tell. Mr. Radcliffe, by comparison, would have blended into the densely packed Tokyo street traffic.”

New episodes are released on Thursdays. I’ve only watched the first episode, but I’m impressed by the story of the disconnect between the projected image of Japanese life and the dark side hidden by the Police and the newspapers. I found Tokyo Vice fascinating and can’t wait for more episodes! Don’t miss this one! GRADE: (a provisional A)

The latest Stark House Al Wheeler omnibus features The Wanton (1959), The Dame (1960), and The Desired (1960). They are volumes 16, 17, and 18 in the Wheeler series.

I read these books back in the early 1960s. Rereading them this week showed that these mysteries hold up well after 60 years! The Wanton begins with the discovery of a young girl hung from the limb of a tree and branded with a W on her back. The girl’s wealthy family wants the crime resolved quickly to preserve its social status. Al Wheeler has to use some trickery to solve the murder and capture the killer. GRADE: B+

The Dame opens with a report that a famous actress has been murdered. But when Al Wheeler arrives at the crime scene, he finds a corpse…but not the corpse of the actress. The secretary to the actress has been stabbed to death. Wheeler has to investigate the past in order to determine the motive for the murder and to cut through the wall of lies the suspects build around the crime. GRADE: B

When Al Wheeler is almost hit when a car careens off the road and crashes things get worse. Wheeler finds a body in the trunk of the crashed car. It’s the treasurer of a large labor union…shot in the back of his head. The driver of the crumpled car is Bella Woods, sexy daughter of the President of the labor union, Tom Woods. Woods is scheduled for a hearing before a Government panel and Wheeler suspects that meeting triggered the murder. As Wheeler’s investigation progresses, more bodies pile up. Once again, Wheeler has to use a clever ruse to flush out the killer. GRADE: B+

Brian Greene’s Introduction provides some new insights into Carter Brown and Al Wheeler. This volume includes a comprehensive Alan Geoffrey Yates (aka, “Carter Brown”) Bibliography. The Al Wheeler mystery series is one of the best projects of its kind!

I was in the mood to listen to the music of The Band so I started with their third album, Stage Fright. Stage Fright peaked at number 5 on the Billboard albums chart, surpassing the group’s first two albums, which reached numbers 30 and 9, respectively. It was one of three albums by the group, including The Band and Rock of Ages, to be certified gold (more than 500,000 albums sold).

But many critics didn’t like Stage Fright much. One reason why is that at least three of The Band’s members were using heroin during the recording of this album.

Listening to The Best of the Band brought back a lot of memories of the late 1960s and early 1970s. While The Band was linked with Bob Dylan, they managed to create their own sound and style. Are you a fan of The Band? Any favorites on Stage Fright or The Best of the Band?

01		Strawberry WineWritten-By – Robertson*, Helm*Written-By – Robertson*, Helm*	2:36
02		SleepingWritten-By – Robertson*, Manuel*Written-By – Robertson*, Manuel*	3:17
03		Time To Kill	3:28
04		Just Another Whistle StopWritten-By – Robertson*, Manuel*Written-By – Robertson*, Manuel*	3:55
05		All La Glory	3:35
06		The Shape I’m In	4:01
07		The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show	3:00
08		Daniel And The Sacred Harp	4:14
09		Stage Fright	3:44
10		The Rumor	4:16
		Bonus Tracks:
11		Daniel And The Sacred Harp (Alternate Take)	5:02
12		Time To Kill (Alternate Mix)	3:26
13		The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show (Alternate Mix)	3:05
14		Radio Commercial	1:05

		Up On Cripple Creek	4:29
		The Shape I’m In	3:58
		The Weight	4:40
		It Makes No Difference	6:30
		Life Is A Carnival	3:55
		Twilight	3:15
		Don’t Do It	4:20
		Tears Of Rage	5:16
		Stage Fright	3:40
		Ophelia	3:29
		The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down	3:30