Dwellers of the Deep was first published in 1970 as half of an ACE Double with Barry N. Malzberg’s pseudonym “K. M. O’Donnell” on the cover. Dwellers of the Deep is set in the summer of 1951.  The story revolves around 23-year-old Izzinius Fox who quits his job conducting interviews of welfare recipients in New York City to devote himself full-time to collecting science-fiction magazines. Izzinius Fox is a passionate collector of Tremendous Stories, a Science Fiction magazine Fox is more interested in owning than reading. Clearly Malzberg is poking fun at rabid SF collectors.

This is also a parody of the once dominant Astounding facing competition from Galaxy and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Science Fiction fandom is divided over the changes in the SF magazine market.

Fox also has his consciousness transported to an alien spaceship orbiting the Earth. The aliens want Fox to give them a copy of “A New Engineering of the Mind” (a dig at Dianetics). Fox resists and suspects he’s going insane. Malzberg captures the essence of SF fandom at that time and the controversies that various sects found mesmerizing. GRADE: B

Gather in the Hall of the Planets was published in 1971 as half of an ACE Double again with “K.M. O’Donnell” on the cover. Mazberg returns to poking fun at Science Fiction fandom in Gather in the Hall of the Planets. A struggling Science Fiction writer named Sanford Kvass is approached by aliens who tell him that Earth is being tested: an alien will appear in disguise at the 1974 World Science Fiction Convention. Unless Kvass can identify the alien, the Earth will be destroyed.

Malzberg mocks many writers and fans at the World Science Fiction convention. A big part of the snarky plot of Gather in the Hall of the Planets is that in becomes apparent that SF fans and SF writers are so weird there is no way Sanford Kvass can determine if one of them is actually an alien. GRADE: B

Dwellers of the Deep and Gather in the Hall of the Planets shows Barry N. Malzberg is a master of sarcasm and irony. Malzberg’s use of ambivalence and humor buffers the ridicule and mockery of SF fandom and SF writers Dwellers of the Deep and Gather in the Hall of the Planets are wrapped in. If you’re looking for dark, delicious Science Fiction satire, this wonderful STARK HOUSE omnibus delivers a double dose!

“THE ‘6Os are gone, dope will never be as cheap, sex never as free, and the Rock and Roll never as great.”–Abbie Hoffman

I’m sure Cap’n Bob will agree with Abbie Hoffman. The Sixties developed into an incredible decade, but these two compilations of songs from the 1960s do not include The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, or Motown so it’s hard to put credence in their claims of “Best.”

The Best of the 60s Decade has “Gloria” by the Shadows of Knight and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by The Tokens, two songs that rarely find their way onto complication CDs.

Top Ten Hits of the Sixties has two songs by The Troggs, but my favorite is their “Love Is All Around.” Of the two songs by The Byrds–both Dylan songs–I enjoyed “All I Really Want to Do” which is lesser known compared to “Mr. Tambourine Man.” I’m a fan of both songs by The Animals: “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” and “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place.”

Do you remember these songs from the Sixties? Any favorites here? GRADE: B- (for both)

The Best of the 60s Decade TRACK LIST:

“Silence is Golden” — The Tremeloes

“Sugar Sugar” — The Archies

“I’m Into Something Good” — Herman’s Hermits

“Tell Laura I Love Her” — Ray Peterson

“Winchester Cathedral” –New Vaudeville Band

“Spooky” — Classics IV

“Windy” — The Association

“Love Potion Number 9” — The Searchers

“Gloria” — Shadows of Knight

“The Lion Sleeps Tonight” — The Tokens

Top Ten Hits of the Sixties TRACK LIST:

I found this Belmont Tower paperback from 1973 with a lame cover. But Roger Zelazny’s “Foreword” praising Harlan Ellison and Ellison’s own “Introduction” describing why he’s fearless make From the Land of Fear a fun read. Also fun are the stories included in this collection along with Ellison’s comments about how each story got written and what he intended by writing it.

Some of these stories come from the 1950s when Ellison was learning how to write and get published. Along with the reminiscences of this early work, Ellison also writes about the state of Science Fiction publishing that he had to navigate. Compelling reading!

My favorite part of From the Land of Fear is “Soldier,” a memorable anti-war story included both in short-story form and as a screenplay Ellison wrote for TV’s The Outer Limits. “Soldier” is the first of two episodes of The Outer Limits television series written by Harlan Ellison and is loosely adapted from his 1957 short story “Soldier from Tomorrow.” Ellison later brought suit against the producers and distributor of The Terminator (1984) for plagiarism of this episode. “Soldier” was first broadcast on The Outer Limits in September 19, 1964 and I watched it avidly as a fifteen-year-old kid. It turned me into an instant Harlan Ellison fan. GRADE: B

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Foreword: In Praise of His Spirits Noble and Otherwise — Roger Zelazny — 7
Introduction: Where the Stray Dreams Go — Harlan Ellison — 11
The / One / Word / People — 15
Moth on the Moon — 16
Snake in the Mind — 19
The Sky Is Burning — 24
My Brother Paulie — 33
The Time of the Eye — 42
Life Hutch — 51
Battle without Banners — 62
Back to the Drawing Boards — 75
A Friend to Man — 88
“We Mourn for Anyone…” — 95
The Voice in the Garden — 111
Soldier — 114
Soldier — 136
Soldier Act One — 139
Soldier Act Two — 149
Soldier Act Three — 159

I’m a big fan of Carl Hiaasen’s comic crime novel, Bad Monkey (2013), so I was looking forward to the Apple TV+ version. From watching the first two episodes–all that’s available now–I’m delighted by the casting and the high production values. I can’t wait to see the next eight episodes!

Vince Vaughn plays Andrew Yancy, suspended police detective who has been reduced to conducting restaurant inspections in Florida Keys after knocking a politically connected man into the water…with a lot of witnesses viewing the event. Vince Vaughn is terrific as a guy obsessed with detection.

A severed arm found by a tourist during a fishing outing lures Yancy into a plot filled with corruption and murder. After only two episodes I’m in love with Natalie Martinez who plays Dr. Rosa Campesino, the smart and sexy medical examiner from Miami, who helps Yancy investigate the severed arm.

And I can’t get enough of Jodie Turner-Smith as Dragon Queen/Gracie, an Obeah–practicing siren living in Andros, Bahamas. If you’re looking for some late Summer TV entertainment, I highly recommend Bad Monkey. GRADE: INCOMPLETE, but trending towards an A.

Nancy Pelosi denies she had any direct role in convincing Joe Biden to leave the Presidential race, but after reading The Art of Power (2024) I bet Pelosi had a big role in that decision… from afar. And after reading The Art of Power I’d would have suggested to the former Speaker of the House that The Art of Politics would be a more accurate title.

Politics can get a little dry. I suspect most readers are going to find Pelosi’s writing about getting the Affordable Care Act of 2010 passed a bit tedious. But anyone running for office will find the tactics Pelosi used both powerful and effective.

The part of the book that held my attention–I was on the edge of my seat!–was Pelosi’s hour-by-hour account of the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. As the mob shouted Pelosi’s name and threaten her life and the lives of the other members of Congress, those representatives with military training were making pikes from the wooden stands that held anti-Covid-19 hand sanitizer in case they had to defend themselves from the attackers.

Pelosi holds Trump and his cult responsible for the vicious attack on her husband, Paul. In 2022, a far-right conspiracy theorist, David DePape, broke into the Pelosi’s San Francisco house while Nancy, his target, was in Washington. DePape delivered three hammer blows to Paul Pelosi’s head with such force that DePape later expressed surprise that his victim survived.

Republicans have spent millions of dollars on ads personally attacking Pelosi over the years. But their vile attacks continued after the attack on Paul Pelosi. Donald Trump Jr. shared a meme of a hammer on social media that was captioned: “Got my Paul Pelosi Halloween costume ready.” Sick.

There’s a price to be paid if you decide to pursue a career in public life, but currently the hostility is so high, rational people would have to consider whether putting their families and themselves at risk is worth it. The Art of Power provides some insights into what life in Washington, D.C. is like today. GRADE: A

“Trump first brought up her Time cover during his disastrous chat with Elon Musk on Monday night. “She looks like the most beautiful actress ever to live,” he complained. “It was a drawing, and actually, she looked very much like our great First Lady Melania. She didn’t look like Camilla [Kamala], that’s right. But of course, she’s a beautiful woman, so we’ll leave it at that, right?”

Many people pointed out that this was a very weird thing to say, as Harris looks nothing like Melania Trump in the cover image, and comparing your female opponent’s looks to your wife’s is generally a bad move. But Trump is still fixating on the image. He brought it up again during a rally in Asheville, North Carolina, on Wednesday evening, which was ostensibly about the economy but included lots of personal attacks against Harris.” — New York magazine,
“Trump Can’t Hide Jealousy Over Kamala Harris Time Cover” By Margaret Hartmann

Is Trump losing it?

Back in the 1990s I spent a lot of time with Patrick and Katie watching animated TV shows. One of the shows was X-Men: The Animated Series. Even at an early age, Katie–who was eight years old–questioned the title of the series: “Dad, if Jean Grey, Rogue, Jubilee, and Storm are women, how can they be called X-Men?” “Limited thinking on the part of the writers,” was my answer then. Today, you’d have to say: sexism.

Now on Disney+ there’s X-Men ’97, a retro animated television series created by Beau DeMayo based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the X-Men. It is a revival of X-Men: The Animated Series (1992–1997), continuing the story of the X-Men who face new challenges following the loss of their leader, Professor X.  By retro, I mean the style of animation, the storylines, and even some of the voices are the same as X-Men: The Animated Series. Looks the same, sounds the same.

X-Men ’97  has DeMayo as head writer for the first two seasons, followed by Matthew Chauncey for the third season, and Jake Castorena as supervising director. The quality control operates at a high rate insuring the new animated series looks just like the 1990s version.

I always enjoyed the various forms of The X-Men–animated series, comic books, movies–with the theme of Being Different Has Consequences. The mutants–most of them–try to work with humanity while many humans fear the mutants and want to exterminate them. In this rendition, Cyclops, Jean Grey, The Beast, Wolverine, Jubilee, Rogue, Gambit, and some surprise mutants battle against the forces who want to eliminate them. Unlike the 1990s series, some X-Men get killed in X-Men ’97. I’ve watched six of the 10 episodes. Just as much fun at watching this series 25 years ago! Are you a fan of the X-Men (and women)? GRADE: INCOMPLETE, but trending towards a B+

“Ideally every text should be read twice, first to know what is said, second to appreciate how it is said, and from there to obtain the full aesthetic enjoyment. The crime story is a limited but exacting model of a text that, once you have discovered who the killer is, invites you implicitly or explicitly to look back, either to understand how the author has led you to build up false ideas, or to decide that after all he hadn’t hidden anything, only that you had failed to observe with the keen eye of the detective.” Umberto Eco, Chronicles of a Liquid Society, p. 112

I took Umberto Eco’s advice and read The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920) again, even when I knew “whodunnit.” I watched as Agatha Christie, in her first Poirot mystery, cleverly sends the reader–especially the First Time reader–down Rabbit Holes and encounters with Red Herrings.

Back in 1964, I binged on a couple dozen Agatha Christie mysteries. When I read The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Christie faked me out of my jockstrap! She had me so confused, that I had THREE suspects for the murder…and all were wrong! But after reading a dozen Christie mysteries, I started to see certain patterns and my Picking the Murderer Rate went up to about 60%. By the time I’d read my 24th Christie, I was batting 900!

Are you an Agatha Christie fan? Do you have a favorite Christie mystery? GRADE: A

“Pure Gold Hits” is a little bit strong, but I remember all these songs especially Sammy Johns’ “Chevy Van” (backed by The Wrecking Crew) which inspired a lot of fantasies back in 1973. This compilation includes classics like The Lovin’ Spooful’s “Summer in the City” and Linda Ronstadt’s “(Love is Like A) Heat Wave.” I’m also partial to Seals & Crofts’s “Summer Breeze,” which I wish we had right now with temps in the 80s!

Do you remember these songs? Do you have a favorite Summer song? And what do you think of Obama’s Summer Playlist 2024? GRADE: B

TRACK LIST:

Matthew Hughes first introduced Margolyam, a young sorceress with great potential, in Cascor (you can read my review here). Margolyam decides to attend The Institute of Hermetic Studies to become a thaumaturge and learn more magical spells. However, her professors discover that Margolyam has a rare ability: she’s a “Tome-tickler.” Margolyam can open ancient spell books that other thaumaturges couldn’t access. This creates problems for Margolyam when her enemies frame her.

Two of Margolyam’s professors at The Institute, Vinciano and Quist, approach her with a proposal: if she will accompany them to Olliphract–a city of thaumaturges, wizards, sorceresses, and magical beings–they will reward her with more lessons and magic spells. Margolyam accepts their offer and finds Olliphract a bizarre city completely surrounded by mountains. Vinciano and Quist begin their experiments with Margolyam’s powers, but they attract a cunning thaumaturge, Fatezh, who also wants to use Margolyam’s powers…for nefarious reasons.

Margolyam’s adventures include meeting Skyrie, a magician from the Past aeons. Skyrie created a magic artifact, The Hat, that can totally destroy Reality. Margolyam needs to find The Hat before other thaumaturges find it and annihilate everything.

Matthew Hughes has the gift of creating worlds where magic makes sense in the hands of quirky magicians and sorceresses, some Good and some Evil. The wild adventures his characters undertake are both thrilling and intense as they confront challenges and dire perils! Margolyam is an imaginative and heartfelt story of a young girl learning about the power and dangers of her talents. GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Foreword — vii

1. The Touch — 1
2. Nescience — 43
3. The Institute — 88
4. Olliphract — 135
5. The Hat — 172
6. The War — 201
7. Skyrie — 233
8. The Boyfriend — 271

Epilogue — 302

Acknowledgments — 307

Bibliography — 309

A Note from the Author — 311