Sometimes, I get in the mood for a Medieval mystery. And, of course, with the coronavirus raging, S. D. Sykes’s Plague Land checked all the boxes. This is the first book in the Somershill Manor series. Oswald de Lacy, the youngest son of Lord Somershill, is called back home from the monastery where he was placed after his father and two older brothers die of the Black Death.

The 14th Century was a grim time and Sykes shows the lack of medical knowledge and the grip of superstition on the villagers of Somershill Manor. Oswald has to deal with his conniving Mother and scheming sister. Fortunately, Oswald has his Benedictine Brother, Peter, as an older and wiser companion. Oswald has no idea how to run an estate or how to deal with disgruntled villagers. But Peter does.

In addition to the post-plague problems, the politics of rural life, a murder committed has been committed. As Lord Sumershill, Oswald feels that he must solve the crime and prevent the murderer from striking again. All in all, Plague Land is an entertaining Medieval mystery. GRADE: B+

HAPPY APRIL FOOLS’ DAY!

But this is NOT an April Fools joke. A Rochester doughnut shop actually sold hundreds of these Dr. Fauci doughnuts! What’s your favorite doughnut?

During dismal times, a funny movie can lift your spirits. One of my go-to funny movies is Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I first saw it in 1975 when it first came out. Loved it! I used my University of Wisconsin Student ID to get a reduced rate at the local movie theater. I saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail twelve times.

Then I bought the VHS version (remember them?). Later, I bought the DVD version. And finally, I bought the 40th Anniversary Blu-ray version. The constant among all these versions: silliness. I enjoy the silly jokes, the surreal storyline, and the wacky characters.

And, this Blu-ray Disc is full of funny features:

Terry Jones Introduces the Outtakes
Enlightening Commentaries by Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones, Plus General Complaints and Back-Biting by John Cleese, Eric Idle & Michael Palin
Join Michael Palin and Terry Jones in their Special Documentary: The Quest For The Holy Grail Locations
Monty Python And The Holy Grail In Lego!
Japanese Version
How To Use Your Coconuts (An Educational Film)
BBC Film Night
Terry Gilliam Introduces His Lost Animation Reel
Meanwhile, King Arthur & Sir Bedevere…
Elephant & Castle
Run Away!
The Tale of Sir Robin
The Tale of Sir Lancelot
Three Mindless Sing-Alongs
Henry 4th
Cast Directory Photo Gallery
Holy Grail Blu-ray Credits

Are you a Monty Python fan? GRADE: A

At 1070 pages, Jonathan I. Israel’s The Enlightenment That Failed certainly qualifies as a Big Fat Book. Israel traces the history of the Enlightenment from the middle 1700s to the middle 1800s.

Along with the changes in philosophy, political changes followed. Monarchies began to evolve into democracies. Wars still happened but they were motivated by power grabs instead of religious differences. I was interested in the chapter on emancipating Women as marriage, equality and female citizenship movements produced change.

I’m a fan of history and this book goes deep into the weeds to explain how laws, governments, social institutions, and financial systems changed. It doesn’t get much better than this! Do you enjoy reading history books? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. Introduction: Radical Enlightenment and ‘Modernity’
Part I: The Origins of Democratic Modernity
2. The Rise of Democratic Republicanism
3. From Radical Renaissance to Radical Enlightenment
4. From Radical Reformation to the Cercle Spinoziste
5. English ‘Deism’ and its pre-1700 Roots
6. Great ‘Moderates’ and the Temptations of the Radical: Montesquieu and the Forbidden
7. D’Holbach against Voltaire and Rousseau: a triangular battle of Political Thought Systems
8. Revolution without Violence: The Nordic Model
Part II: Human Rights and Revolution (1770-1830)
9. Parallel Revolutions: America and France (1774-1793)
10. General Will’ and The Invention of Universal and Equal Human Rights (1750-1789)
11. Emancipating Women: Marriage, Equality, and Female Citizenship (1775-1815)
12. From Classical Economics to post-Classical redistributive Economics (1775-1820)
13. Reforming Europe’s Law Codes
14. Unity of Humanity: Race Theory and the Equality of Peoples
15. Unity of Humanity: Property, Class, and the Emancipation of Man
Part III: Revolution and Competing Revolutionary Ideologies (1789-1830)
16. Robespierre anti-philosophe, Or, the Battle of Ideologies during the French Revolution
17. The Swiss Revolution and the Hard Climb to Democratic Republicanism (1782-1848)
18. The Belgian Revolution (1787-1794)
19. Enlightening against Robespierre (and Napoleon): the Ecoles centrales (1792-1804)
20. Revolution and the Universities: Germany’s ‘Philosophy Wars’ (1780-1820)
21. Radicalism and Repression in the Anglo-American World (1775-1815)
22. The American Connection
23. The Spanish Revolution (1808-1823)
24. Black Emancipation, Universal Emancipation and the Haitian Revolution (1775-1825)
Part IV: The Enlightenment that Failed
25. Reaction and Radicalism: Germany and the Low Countries (1814-1830)
26. British Philosophical Radicalism (1814-1830)
27. Failed Restoration in France (1814-1830)
28. Bolivar and Spinoza
29. Karl Marx and the Left’s Turn from Radical Enlightenment to Socialism (1838-1848)
30. Conclusion: The ‘Radical Enlightenment Thesis’ and Its Critics

Bibliography

Index

This kind THANK YOU note arrived in yesterday’s mail. You might remember that I donated a box of N95 Respirators to my Primary Care Physician, Dr. Galucci last week (you can refresh your memory here). I’m very moved by that fact that Dr. G took the time out of his frantic day to send me a THANK YOU note. Things are worsening and the doctors and nurses on the Front Line deserve all our help and assistance. It’s scandalous that they don’t have enough protective gear!

Diane wanted to renovate our kitchen for years. So, while Patrick was home for Christmas, he and Diane went to the International Stone Gallery and looked at about 100 countertops. Patrick liked a Quartz countertop with copper flecks in it and Diane liked it, too. They put in an order.

Next, Diane contacted a contractor to put up a white tile backsplash and to paint the kitchen, living room, dining room, and the hallway up the stairs to our second floor (Diane was tired of the orange walls, preferring some more sedate). Finally, Diane ordered a new light for over our dinner table.

What do you think of the result? Are you contemplating any home renovations?

Brian Murphy’s excellent study of Sword-and-Sorcery fiction touches all the bases. He correctly identifies Robert E. Howard as the key figure in the genre. Murphy discusses other Sword-and -Sorcery writers from Weird Tales and other magazines. He spends some pages on C. L. Moore whose Jirel of Joiry is one of the few female characters in the genre with gravitas. The genre declined after the death of Howard and went dormant.

Then Murphy transitions to “Revival” with writers like Michael Moorcock who introduced Elric, Corum, and Dorian Hawkmoon to the Sword-and-Sorcery audience. Fritz Leiber created Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser which energized the genre. I wish Murphy had spent a few more pages on TOR’s Conan pastiches (over 40 volumes) published from 1982 to 2004 (there are rumors this Conan series might be revived).

If you’re a fan of Sword-and-Sorcery stories, Brian Murphy’s book provides a history of the genre’s development, its ups and downs and an idea where Sword-and-Sorcery is headed. Do you have a favorite Sword-and-Sorcery writer? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Intorduction v
CHAPTER ONE: What is Sword-and-Sorcery? 1
CHAPTER TWO: Origins 31
CHAPTER THREE: Robert E. Howard and the Birth fo Sword-and-Sorcery 57
CHAPTER FOUR: Weird Tales: Howard’s Sword-and-Sorcery Contemporaries 83
CHAPTER FIVE: Revival 107
CHAPTER SIX: Renaissance 133
CHAPTER SEVEN: Decline and Fall 163
CHAPTER EIGHT: Underground, Resurgence, and New Directions 195
CHAPTER NINE: The Cultural Impact of Sword-and-Sorcery 219
CHAPTER TEN: Why Sword-and-Sorcery? 241
A Probable Timeline of Sword-and-Sorcery 249
Works Cited 255
Acknowledgements 279
About the Author and Artist 281

The 1970s was one of my happiest decades. I started my teaching career, I left that for Madison, Wisconsin to work on a PhD. I loved the music of the Seventies as well as many of the books and movies of that decade. And I married Diane.

Just because a song is a Number One hit on BILLBOARD, that doesn’t guarantee the quality of the work. I found a few clunkers among the Billboard #1s: The ’70s 30 songs. While I love “Boogie Oogie Oogie” by A Taste of Honey, I’m much less fond of “You Made Me Feel Like Dancing” by Leo Sayer. Do you remember these songs? Do you see any favorites here? GRADE: B+

TRACK LIST:
Disc: 1
1. What A Fool Believes — The Doobie Brothers
2. December 1963 (Oh, What A Night) — The Four Seasons
3. Crocodile Rock — Elton John
4. You’re So Vain — Carly Simon
5. Midnight Train To Georgia — Gladys Knight & The Pips
6. Lean On Me — Bill Withers
7. Then Came You — Dionne Warwick and Spinners
8. Pick Up The Pieces — Average White Band
9. Let’s Get It On — Marvin Gaye
10. Reunited — Peaches & Herb
11. Make It With You — Bread
12. Oh Girl — Chi-Lites
13. I Can See Clearly Now — Johnny Nash
14. Welcome Back — John Sebastian
15. Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head — B.J. Thomas
Disc: 2
1. Good Times — Chic
2. Bad Girls — Donna Summer
3. Boogie Oogie Oogie — A Taste Of Honey
4. Shining Star — Earth, Wind & Fire
5. Me And Mrs. Jones — Billy Paul
6. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough — Diana Ross
7. Let’s Stay Together — Al Green
8. Rich Girl — Hall & Oates
9. If You Leave Me Now — Chicago
10. Babe — Styx
11. Love Train — The O’Jays
12. Three Times A Lady — Commodores
13. Without You — Nilsson
14. You Make Me Feel Like Dancing — Leo Sayer
15. Heart Of Glass — Blondie

Once upon a time, I used to mow our lawn. We have a large lawn so it would take me 90 minutes or so to cut the grass. I have allergies to grasses and pollens so I used an N95 respirator to protect myself. After my knee surgeries, I gave up cutting the lawn. By that time Diane had her Fitbit and decided cutting the lawn would add to her “steps.” So I passed the lawnmower over to Diane ( but I still gas it and start it up for her).

Meanwhile, I completely forgot about the box of N95 respirator masks sitting up in pantry…until today. I had an appointment with my General Practitioner, Dr. Galucci, today. During the appointment (where he wore a N95 mask), he mentioned the shortage of medical supplies and the lack of coronavirus test kits. I couldn’t do anything about the test kits, but when I got home and told Diane what Dr. Galucci said, she went to the pantry and produced an almost full box of N95 respirator masks. I immediately called Dr. Galucci and offered to bring in the N95 respirators. He was thrilled!

When I entered the Waiting Room of the medical center, the nurses cheered as I gave the N95 respirators to the Receptionist. Glad I could help!

Agatha Christie’s The Pale Rider (1963) is one of Christie’s conspiracy mysteries in the mode of The Big Four. There are significant differences between Christie’s novel, the new AMAZON Prime Video version, and a DVD version from the 1990s.

A priest is murdered after visiting a dying woman. The woman gave the priest a list of names which he wrote down and hid in his shoe (because he had a hole in his pocket). The killer didn’t find the list, but the police did. On the list is the name of Mark Easterbrook, an art historian, who becomes the narrator of this tale. Easterbrook meets a young woman called Tommy Tuckerton whose name is also on the priest’s list. She dies soon afterward.

Christie introduces the Three Witches in a small town who appear to be behind the deaths of the people on the priest’s list. In Christie’s novel and the DVD version, Christie underlines the Three Witches by including a scene with Easterbrook and his girl friend, Hermia, attending Macbeth.

While the AMAZON Prime Video version has better production values than the The Pale Horse DVD version, the DVD version stays closer to Christie’s novel. And the star of the AMAZON Prime Video version, Rufus Sewell as Mark Easterbrook, looks bewildered most of the time in this 2-episode series. COLIN BUCHANAN, who plays Easterbrook in the 1997 DVD version (53% on ROTTEN TOMATOES), is young, cocky, and gets beaten up.

All in all, a weak Christie mystery and two mediocre video adaptions. GRADE: B- (for all three versions of The Pale Horse