Harry Dresden is Chicago’s only wizard who works as a private investigator. I’ve enjoyed the first four books in this series (you can read my reviews here). Death Masks is the fifth book in the series and Jim Butcher jams it with action. A dangerous vampire from the Red Court challenges Dresden to a duel. Then group of hit men target Dresden and his VW Blue Beetle.

But the key plot line in Death Masks concerns Dresden being hired to find the stolen Shroud of Turin. The Shroud becomes a key element in a devastating spell of evil.

And, on top of all this, Dresden’s ex-girl friend, Susan (part vampire) , shows up and complicates his life. The pages fly by when I read a Harry Dresden novel. I read Death Masks in a day. Great fun! If you enjoy Urban Fantasy action novels, you’ll get a kick out of Death Masks. Are you a fan of Urban Fantasy? GRADE: B+

A few weeks ago I posted about Women & Songs: Beginnings (you can read my review here) and now I’ve listened to the sequel: Women & Songs: Beginnings 2. Like the first collection of songs, the choices include several musical eras. It’s not often that I hear “Johnny Angel” by Shelly Fabares (who I had a crush on back in 1961). I want to get up and dance whenever I hear “The Loco-Motion” by Little Eva. And who can resist “Your Precious Love” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell!

Women & Songs: Beginnings 2 presents several hit songs like Carly Simon’s “Anticipation” which was the theme song for Heinz Ketchup commercials from the 1970s to the 1980s. “You Made Me Feel Like a Natural Woman” was one of Aretha Franklin’s biggest hits. And Dionne Warwick’s version of “Walk On By” has always been one of my favorites.

On the minus side, I was never an Edith Piaf fan. Do you remember these songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: B+

TRACK LIST:

Disc 1

1. You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman
   • (performed by Aretha Franklin)
2. Walk On By
   • (performed by Dionne Warwick)
3. You’ve Changed
   • (performed by Billie Holiday)
4. I’m Sorry
   • (performed by Brenda Lee)
5. You Don’t Own Me
   • (performed by Leslie Gore)
6. You Don’t Know How Glad I Am
   • (performed by Nancy Wilson)
7. End Of The World
   • (performed by Skeeter Davis)
8. Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue
   • (performed by Crystal Gayle)
9. Private Dancer
   • (performed by Tina Turner)
10. MacArthur Park
    • (performed by Donna Summer)
11. Love Is Like A Heatwave
    • (performed by Martha Reeves)
12. Release Me
    • (performed by Esther Phillips)
13. Who’s Sorry Now
    • (performed by Connie Francis)
14. It That All There Is
    • (performed by Peggy Lee)
15. Whatever Will Be Will Be
    • (performed by Doris Day)
16. Mister Sandman
    • (performed by Emmylou Harris)

Disc 2

1. Anticipation
   • (performed by Carly Simon)
2. Rose Garden
   • (performed by Lynne Anderson)
3. Baby Don’t Go
   • (performed by Sonny & Cher)
4. What The World Needs Now Is Love
   • (performed by Jackie DeShannon)
5. Goldfinger
   • (performed by Shirley Bassey)
6. Mangos
   • (performed by Rosemary Clooney)
7. Johnny Get Angry
   • (performed by Joanie Sommers)
8. I Cried A Tear
   • (performed by Lavern Baker)
9. The Loco-Motion
   • (performed by Little Eva)
10. Easier Said Than Done
    • (performed by The Essex)
11. Johnny Angel
    • (performed by Shelley Fabares)
12. Your Precious Love (with Tammi Terrell)
    • (performed by Marvin Gaye)
13. What’s New
    • (performed by Linda Ronstadt)
14. Cry Me A River
    • (performed by Julie London)
15. Love Me Or Leave Me
    • (performed by Lena Horne)
16. La Vie En Rose
    • (performed by Edith Piaf)

I’m sure most of you have already received your Economic Stimulus payment. We filed our income tax through Turbotax which somehow delayed our payment. But, better late than never! We plan on using this extra money for charitable purposes in these troubled times. How do you plan to use your Economic Stimulus payment?

In 1984, I read a book that surprisingly made it to the top of the Best Sellers List: Tom Clancy’s The Hunt for Red October. Clancy would go on from that shockingly successful novel to dominate the Military Tech genre at the end of the Cold War.

The Hunt for Red October is the story of a captain of a Russian submarine who wants to defect with his crew and the advanced technology on the nuclear sub. Jack Ryan, a military analyst (who would go on to star in many more Clancy novels and their movie versions), believes the captain’s story, but elements of the Government think the captain wants to launch a nuclear attack on the U.S. instead. Jack Ryan is given three days to confirm or deny the captain’s true intentions.

The 1990 movie version of The Hunt for Red October stars Sean Connery as the Russian captain and Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan. Both actors are brilliant in their roles. However, Alec Baldwin blew his chance at starring as Jack Ryan in future movies when he described his boss, Disney studio Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg, as “the eighth dwarf — Greedy.”

Are you a fan of the Jack Ryan movies? Do you like Tom Clancy’s novels? GRADE: A

 If you’re a fan of Lisbeth Salander (aka, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) and Henning Mankell’s earnest Kurt Wallander you’ll find Scandinavian Noir an informative exploration of mysteries from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

Wendy Lesser takes the reader on a tour of Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole novels and Stieg Larsson’s noirish mysteries as well as the Martin Beck series of police procedurals by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. If you’re interested in this genre, you’ll find much to learn and enjoy in Scandinavian Noir. GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Back in September 1966, I was wowed by a new program called Mission Impossible on CBS. Back in those days, a TV season included way more episodes (25 or more!) than today’s truncated TV seasons. This DVD box set holds all 28 episodes from the first season of Mission Impossible. I loved the planning and execution of what was essentially a caper each week. This group, with each member possessing a special skill, meticulously planned a complicated mission to accomplish a goal.

I thought casting Greg Morris as the group’s “tech specialist” was cutting edge for the Sixties. Loved Martin Landau’s brilliant disguises. And, of course, like most 17-year-olds of that time, I had a crush on Barbara Bain.

Mission Impossible lasted for seven seasons and I remember enjoying every one. Sure, the formula got a little stale in the last season, but I enjoyed the format and the cast right up until the end of the series. Were you a fan of the Mission Impossible TV series? Did you have a favorite character? GRADE: A-

Michael Swanwick has won Hugo Awards and Nebula Awards and is considered one of the best Science Fiction writers. I’ve been a fan of Swanwick’s Darger and Surplus short stories and now Subterranean Press has collected them and published this wonderful collection.

Aubrey Darger is a con artist who can blend into any group. His partner, Sir Blackthorpe Ravenscairn de Plus Preieux (aka, Surplus), is a genetically modified dog with a keen intelligence–and talks. This unlikely duo might remind you of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser (without the swords) given their tendencies toward larceny and adventures. The setting is the Future where the survivors of a brutal war between Artificial Intelligences and humanity live in a steampunk world where technology is feared (with good reason).

In these stories, Darger and Surplus scheme their way into Buckingham Palace and create havoc, fall in love (with disastrous consequences), and are captured by a living hotel. If you’re in the mood of something completely different, THE POSTUTOPIAN ADVENTURES OF DARGER AND SURPLUS delivers escapist fun. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction:

• Mother Goose’s Errant Sons 9

Stories:

• The Dog Said Bow-Wow 15
• The Little Cat Laughed to See Such Sport 39
• Girls and Boys, Come Out to Play 63
• Tawny Petticoats 99
• There Was An Old Woman 139
• Appendix:

• Introduction to Appendix: A Little Smoke and a Mirror or Three 175
• Smoke and Mirrors: Four Scenes from the Postutopian Future 181

I loved watching The Twilight Zone as a kid. But I really enjoyed Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, too. I recognized some of the episodes right away because I had read the stories by H. P. Lovecraft, C. M. Kornbluth, and Fritz Leiber that the episodes were based on. Take a look at the Table of Contents and you’ll see some familiar authors and stories.

The Introduction by Carol Serling extolls her husband’s love of horror and the supernatural. And, Carol Serling discusses the projects cut short by Rod Serling’s untimely death at the age of 50 after heart surgery in 1975.

How many of these stories do you recognize. Were you a fan of Night Gallery? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• x – Introduction – Carol Serling
• 1 – The Escape Route – Rod Serling – na The Season to be Wary, Little Brown: Boston, 1967
• 71 – The Dead Man – Fritz Leiber – nv Weird Tales Nov ’50
• 104 – The Little Black Bag – C. M. Kornbluth – nv Astounding Jul ’50
• 138 – The House – André Maurois – vi Harper’s Jun ’31
• 141 – The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes – Margaret St. Clair – ss Maclean’s, 1950
• 152 – The Academy – David Ely – ss Playboy Jun ’65
• 163 – The Devil Is Not Mocked – Manly Wade Wellman – ss Unknown Jun ’43
• 171 – Brenda – Margaret St. Clair – ss Weird Tales Mar ’54
• 184 – Big Surprise [“What Was in the Box”] – Richard Matheson – ss EQMM Apr ’59
• 191 – House—with Ghost – August Derleth – ss Lonesome Places, Arkham: Sauk City, WI, 1962
• 199 – The Dark Boy – August Derleth – ss F&SF Feb ’57
• 215 – Pickman’s Model – H. P. Lovecraft – ss Weird Tales Oct ’27
• 230 – Cool Air – H. P. Lovecraft – ss Tales of Magic and Mystery Mar ’28; Weird Tales Sep ’39
• 240 – Sorworth Place [“Old Place of Sorworth”; Ralph Bain] – Russell Kirk – nv London Mystery #14 ’52
• 261 –The Return of the Sorcerer – Clark Ashton Smith – ss Strange Tales of Mystery and Terror in September 1931
• 279 – The Girl with the Hungry Eyes – Fritz Leiber – ss The Girl With the Hungry Eyes, ed. Donald A. Wollheim, Avon, 1949
• 297 – The Horsehair Trunk – Davis Grubb – ss Colliers May 25 ’46; ; as “The Secret Darkness”, EQMM Oct ’56
• 308 – The Ring with the Velvet Ropes – Edward D. Hoch – ss With Malice Toward All, ed. Robert L. Fish, Putnam, 1968

This is the strangest set of music compilation CDs I own. If you look at the various Track Lists, you’ll see what I mean. The songs are from various eras of Rock-and-Roll, various styles, some obscure groups, odd choices, and strange combinations of songs/artists. The accompanying documentation goes into some detail about how these songs came about: songwriters, producers, etc.

The “concept” behind this series was to take songs from the Columbia Records and Epic Records vaults and remix and remaster the sound. Several of these songs appear in true stereo for the first time on these discs. The choices seem bizarre to me, but there are some gems here. And, the sound is fabulous! These buffed up songs are all spiffed up for new audiences.

Do you recognize these songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: B+

Tracklist: Volume 1

Tracklist: Volume 2

Tracklist: Volume 3

Tracklist: Volume 4

Season Two of What We Do in the Shadows delivers more dark humor than the First Season. The premise is that a group of vampires resides in a house in Staten Island, New York. This American mockumentary comedy horror television series was created by Jemaine Clemen and features Nandor (a warrior vampire hundreds of years old), Laszlo, and Nadja (a romantically linked vampire couple); Colin Robinson, an energy vampire (who drains people of their energy instead of their blood); and Guillermo, Nandor’s familiar, who is secretly a Vampire Killer. 

The fun of this series revolves around the vampires trying to adjust to contemporary society and technology. Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), assists the group in hopes Nandor (Kayvan Novak) will turn him into a vampire. Laszlo (Matt Berry) and Nadja (Natasia Charlotte Demetriou) provide romantic interests, but they also have roguish natures that take them into unusual situations. Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch), the world’s most boring vampire, cunningly drains energy in many comic settings. I particularly enjoyed the episode where Colin tracks down an Internet troll.

Clearly, dark humor may not be the genre people want to indulge in during the Age of the Coronavirus. But, for something completely different and funny (at least to me), I recommend this quirky series. GRADE: A