The Buffalo Bills play tomorrow. What is your favorite NFL team going to do today?

I really wanted to like DOCTOR STRANGE more than I did. Benedict Cumberbatch is just fine as the egocentric, narcissistic neurosurgeon who loses his ability to practice his profession. Rachel McAdams is solid as Strange’s former love interest (she’s also an ER doctor). And Tilda Swinton is a delightful casting choice as The Ancient One. My problem is with the Magic. Given that we’re in a world of magic and sorcery, you’d think that the CGI guys would come up with something cool. Instead, we get buildings folding themselves (a la Inception) and glowing magic shields. Not impressive. I think the MARVEL Special Effects team needs to watch the trailer to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to see how Magic should look like on the Big Screen. GRADE: B

A couple weeks ago I reviewed The 13 Crimes of Science Fiction. You can read that review here. Steve mentioned the earlier anthology with the same theme: Miriam Allen deFord’s Space, Time & Crime from 1964. I liked the Solar Pons story by Derleth and Reynolds. And I enjoyed the James McKimmey story, too. Problably the most famous story in this anthology is Fritz Leiber’s “Try and Change the Past.” It’s one of his Change War stories that I’ve always admired. If you’re in the mood for a mashup of SF and crime, you’ll enjoy Space, Time & Crime.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
7 • Introduction (Space, Time & Crime) • (1964) • essay by Miriam Allen deFord
11 • Crisis, 1999 • (1949) • short story by Fredric Brown
27 • Criminal Negligence • (1955) • short story by J. Francis McComas
43 • The Talking Stone • [Wendell Urth] • (1955) • short story by Isaac Asimov
61 • The Past and Its Dead People • (1956) • novelette by Reginald Bretnor [as by R. Bretnor ]
81 • The Adventure of the Snitch in Time • [Solar Pons] • (1953) • short story by August Derleth and Mack Reynolds
89 • The Eyes Have It • (1953) • short story by James McKimmey, Jr. [as by James McKimmey ]
97 • Public Eye • (1952) • short story by Anthony Boucher
111 • The Innocent Arrival • novelette by Poul Anderson and Karen Anderson (variant of Innocent at Large 1958)
129 • Third Offense • (1958) • short story by Frederik Pohl
137 • The Recurrent Suitor • [Plumrose] • (1963) • short story by Ron Goulart
149 • Try and Change the Past • [Change War] • (1958) • short story by Fritz Leiber
157 • Rope’s End • (1960) • short story by Miriam Allen deFord
167 • Or the Grasses Grow • (1958) • short story by Avram Davidson

The Masked City is the second book in the Invisible Library series. You can find my review of the first book, The Invisible Library here. For some inexplicable reason, Genevieve Cogman wrote the first book in the first person and The Masked City in the third person. I prefer this series in the first person. Irene, a secret agent for the Invisible Library, finds herself traveling to an alternate chaos world to try to rescue her kidnapped student, Kai. Kai was taken by the Fae, a race of powerful magicians who delight in chaos and confusion. This alternate world features a Venice that’s perpetually celebrating Carnival. Written for the Young Adult market, these books deliver thrills and adventure and fun. If you’re looking for some light, entertaining reading I recommend the Invisible Library series. A third volume, The Red Page, is schedule for early 2017. GRADE: B

Ed Gorman once mentioned to me that he was reading Harry Whittington and really enjoying his writing. But Ed admitted didn’t have any of Whittington’s westerns. The next day, I shipped a dozen duplicates of Harry Whittington’s western paperbacks to Ed Gorman’s address. Ed was delighted by the Whittington package and bestowed on me a “Lifetime” subscription to Myestery Scene. That’s the kind of guy Ed Gorman was. I’m sure on “Ed Gorman Day” you’ll read a lot of stories like this one featuring Ed’s generosity and helpfulness. He was a class guy, an excellent writer, and an inspiration to many.

A Man Called Ove is based on a worldwide bestseller by Fredrik Backman about a curmudgeon who feels his life is empty after the death of his wife. There’s a running joke in the book and film about Ove and his lack of success in this matter (no spoiler). Ove is played by Rolf Lassgård who played Wallander in the Swedish version of Hemming kelton’s mystery series. Ida Engvoll plays Ove’s wonderful wife, Sonja. In a series of flashbacks, we discover Ove has been dogged by tragedy. Yet, when a new family moves in next door, things begin to change. The arrival of new neighbors Parvaneh (Bahar Pars), her husband Patrik (Tobias Almborg), and their two daughters alters Ove’s plans and the gloom begins to lift. It takes a crafty movie and book to both make you laugh and make you cry. A Man Called Ove manages to achieve both. GRADE: A-

Just a few short weeks ago, the Bills defeated the Patriots 16-0. But now Tom Brady is back and the Patriots yearn for payback. The Bills are still reeling from the 28-25 lost in Miami last Sunday. The weather tomorrow should be full of wind and rain. LeSean McCoy, the Bills best player, is unlikely to see action because of a sore hamstring. Things do not look promising for the Bills. How will your favorite NFL team fare today?

Like the previous Dan Brown novels and previous movies starring Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, intrepid Harvard professor, Inferno presents a number of puzzles that lead to more puzzles. Tom Hanks wakes up in a hospital with amnesia. Before too long, Hanks is being shot at and hunted. Following the template of the previous hit movies and best selling books, Inferno resembles a series of chase scenes. I love Sidse Babett Knudsen as Director of the World Health Organization. She starred in the Danish political drama, BORGON. Irrfan Khan steals every scene he’s in. And, who doesn’t like Felicity Jones? Sure, the plot doesn’t make a lot of sense and one reviewer has written “In one month Tom Hanks has gone from Sully to silly.” But if you’re in the mood to look at great Italian artwork and watch people running around, Inferno has plenty of that. GRADE: B-

In his excellent Introduction to Cornered!/The Long Ride, Bill Crider draws the parallels between John D. MacDonald and James McKimmey. Both writers knew how to generate suspense and narrative tension. I read Cornered! in the late 1960s when I lucked out with big paperback buy of a used bookstore in Buffalo that was closing (soon to be a common though tragic event). Reading my first James McKimmey novel and loving it led me to searching for more. I found The Long Ride in a used bookstore in Madison, Wisconsin. I dropped everything and read The Long Ride in one sitting. The cinematic aspects of McKimmey’s novels that Bill refers to are very evident in The Long Ride. If you’re looking for top-notch suspense, this wonderful STARK HOUSE double-feature has exactly what you crave. GRADE: A