Caitlin Kiernan’s Black Helicopters is an expansion of her 2014 World Fantasy Award Best Novella of the same title. The story of an “event” that kills thousands of people (and might be the harbinger of something much Worse) appears in a series of chapters from different time-lines. The story shifts from the near Present to the Past to a couple of hundred years into the Future to back to the near Present. Much of what is going on is mysterious (at least to me). Agents from secret agencies duel in the back alleys of Dublin. Strange characters with telekinetic powers send the story careening toward the growing Darkness. Caitlin Kiernan has always been an atmospheric writer. Black Helicopters might be her moodiest book yet by far. GRADE: B

Charlize Theron plays a mother named Marlo on the edge of a breaking point in Tully. She’s enormously pregnant with her third child. Her other two kids, Sarah (8-years old) and Jonah (kindergartener) with “problems,” are draining her energies. Her husband, Drew (Ron Livingston), is busy working to support this growing household. Marlo’s wealthy brother suggests a “Night Nanny” to watch the new baby (Mia) while Marlo sleeps. Marlo realizes she needs help as her family spins out of control. When Tully, the Night Nanny, shows up she’s a 20-something bundle of wit and verve. While Marlo sleeps, Tully not only cares for little Mia, she cleans the house. Before long, Marlo is waking up to freshly baked cupcakes complements of Tully. So far, so good. Then Tully veers into Magical Thinking. Some may like the direction that Diablo Cody takes her movie in. I did not. GRADE: C

The motto of AshleyMadison.com is “Life is short, have an affair.” Esther Perel, a therapist in New York City, has worked with couples with marriage problems for the past 10 years. And, the Number One problem these couples deal with is affairs. The Internet acts like gasoline dumped on a fire. Sex is just a click away. Many people think an affair will “fix” what’s wrong in their relationship. Perel writes about marriages where one partner loses interest in sex. There’s also the pornography factor. The mass migration to online life is also an accelerant for infidelity. And then there are all the Presidential affairs. Ester Perel provides a thoughtful guide to a growing social problem. GRADE: A-
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Acknowledgments p. ix
Introduction p. xiii
Part I: Setting the Stage
Chapter 1 A New Conversation About Marriage and Infidelity p. 3
Chapter 2 Defining Infidelity: Is Chatting Cheating? p. 18
Chapter 3 Affairs Are Not What They Used to Be p. 36
Part II: The Fallout
Chapter 4 Why Betrayal Hurts So Much: Death by a Thousand Cuts p. 55
Chapter 5 Little Shop of Horrors: Do Some Affairs Hurt More than Others? p. 76
Chapter 6 Jealousy: The Spark of Eros p. 92
Chapter 7 Self-Blame or Vengeance: The Dagger Cuts Both Ways p. 109
Chapter 8 To Tell or Not to Tell? The Politics of Secrecy and Revelation p. 127
Part III: Meanings and Motives
Chapter 9 Even Happy People Cheat: Mining the Meanings of Affairs p. 151
Chapter 10 An Antidote to Deadness: The Lure of the Forbidden p. 172
Chapter 11 Is Sex Ever Just Sex?: The Emotional Economics of Adultery p. 190
Chapter 12 The Mother of All Betrayals?: Affairs Among Other Marital Misdemeanors p. 214
Chapter 13 The Lover’s Dilemma: Conversations with the Other Woman p. 233
Part IV: Ever After
Chapter 14 Monogamy and Its Discontents: Rethinking Marriage p. 255
Chapter 15 After the Storm: the Legacy of an Affair p. 280
Notes p. 303
Index p. 311

I enjoyed this second tale of the Lovecraft Middle School. Twin sisters are possessed by aliens from another dimension. Charles Gilman manages to convince the reader that Sarah and Sylvia Price aren’t Middle School students, but are actually hideous monsters in disguise! The Slither Sisters plan to win the Student Council election and then abduct the entire Seventh Grade. This Young Adult novel is great fun! And, I just love the cool hologram cover! GRADE: B+

The Buffalo Bills Rookie Camp kicks off next week so I thought this might be a good time to review what the Buffalo Bills did in the 2018 NFL Draft. The Bills have needed a franchise quarterback for 20 years! They’ve mis-fired on their Draft picks in this area (J. P. Losman, Trent Edwards, E.J. Manual, etc.) in recent years. The Bills had to trade TWO Second Round Draft Picks (and their #12 Draft Pick) to Tampa in order to move up to draft Josh Allen. Who knows if the Bills picked the right “Josh.” Josh Rosen was also on the Board (the Arizona Cardinals drafted Rosen with the Number 10 pick). The Bills also aggressively moved up (from #22) again to draft 19-year-old linebacker, Tremaine Edmunds, at #16. They had to give Baltimore a Third Round Pick to move up, but most “experts” think the Bills got one of the best players in the Draft with that move. After this action, the Bills drafted to fill holes on their Defense and finally got around to drafting some depth players for Offense.

Draft Picks can only be evaluated after two or three years in the NFL. But, for what it’s worth, Draft Guru Mel Kiper, Jr. graded the Buffalo Bills Draft an “A.” How did your favorite NFL do in the Draft?
BUFFALO BILLS 2018 NFL DRAFT PICKS:
Round 1, Pick 7 (No. 7 overall) [via Tampa Bay]: Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming

Round 1: Pick 16 (No. 16 overall) [via Baltimore]: Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Virginia Tech

Round 3, Pick 32 (No, 96): Harrison Phillips, DT, Stanford

Round 4, Pick 21 (No, 121 overall): Taron Johnson, CB, Weber State

Round 5, Pick 17 (No. 154 overall) [via Baltimore]: Siran Neal, CB, Jacksonville State

Round 5, Pick 29 (No. 166 overall): Wyatt Teller, G, Virginia Tech

Round 6, Pick 13 (No. 187 overall): Ray-Ray McCloud, WR, Clemson

Round 7, Pick 37 (No. 255 overall): Austin Proehl, WR, North Carolina

Subterranean Press just published this third volume of Seabury Quinn’s COMPLETE TALES OF JULES DE GRANDIN. This 500-page volume includes the only novel in the series, The Devil’s Bride. Seabury Quinn’s stories were a staple of Weird Tales during the 1920s and 1930s. These tales with supernatural elements were very popular with the Weird Tales readership. If you’re in the mood for classic detective fiction with a ghost or ghoul or mummy, Seabury Quinn’s entertaining stories will fit the bill. My review of Horror on the Links (Volume One) can be found here. My review of The Devil’s Rosary (Volume Two) can be found here. Highly recommended! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction – George A. Vanderburgh and Robert E. Weinberg vii
Jules de Grandin: “The Pillar of Weird Tales – Darrell Schweitzer xiii
1931
The Lost Lady (Weird Tales, January 1931) 1
The Ghost Helper (Weird Tales, February-March 1931) 34
Satan’s Stepson (Weird Tales, September 1931) 53
1932
The Devil’s Bride (Weird Tales, February-July 1932) 103
The Dark Angel (Weird Tales, August 1932) 253
The Heart of Siva (Weird Tales, October 1932) 284
The Bleeding Mummy (Weird Tales, November 1932) 316
The Door to Yesterday (Weird Tales, December 1932) 340
1933
A Gamble in Souls (Weird Tales, January 1933) 373
The Thing in the Fog (Weird Tales, March 1933) 404
The Hand of Glory (Weird Tales, July 1933) 441

The most recent story in Lost Mars: The Golden Age of the Red Planet is J. G. Ballard’s “The Time Tombs” from 1961. These stories were all written when people believed the Martian canals actually held water and that Mars had an atmosphere like Earth’s. Better science and space probes discovered Mars is actually a chilly desert with little air. These retro stories focus on story-telling and classic themes. Lost Mars is the first book in the “British Library Science Fiction Classics” series. If you’re a fan of Golden Age Science Fiction, you’ll love these vintage tales. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION 7
“The Crystal Egg” – H. G. Wells 27
“Letters From Mars” – W. S. Lach-Szyrma 51
“The Great Sacrifice” – George C. Wallis 73
“The Forgotten Man of Space” – P. Schuyler Miller 101
“A Martian Odyssey” – Stanley G Weinbaum 127
“Ylla” – Ray Bradbury 163
“Measureless to Man” – Marion Zimmer Bradley 181
“Without Bugles” – E. C. Tubb 229
“Crucifixus Etiam” – Walter M. Miller, Jr. 253
“The Time Tombs” – J. G. Ballard 281

I’ve enjoyed Jack McDevitt’s “Academy Series” with star pilot Priscilla “Hutch” Hutchins. The latest volume (and possibly the last), The Long Sunset, kicks off with an alien transmission 7000 years old. The political environment of 2256 is isolationistic. The politicians want to ground all the interstellar ships and just “hunker down.” A scientific group contacts Hutch and convinces her to pilot a FTL starship to the region where the alien transmission originated. The Government tries to stop them, but the starship manages to launch. What happens next is predictable. The Long Sunset features one of the lamest First Contact stories I’ve ever read. The conclusion will surprise no one. The best thing about The Long Sunset is the John Harris cover. Disappointing. GRADE: C
Academy Series – Priscilla “Hutch” Hutchins
The Engines of God (1994), ISBN 0-441-00077-0
Deepsix (2001), ISBN 0-06-105124-1
Chindi (2002), ISBN 0-441-00938-7
Omega (2003), ISBN 0-441-01046-6
Odyssey (2006), ISBN 0-441-01433-X
Cauldron (2007), ISBN 0-441-01525-5
StarHawk (2013), ISBN 0-425-26085-2
The Long Sunset (2018), ISBN 1-481-49793-6
The short stories “Melville on Iapetus” (1983), “Promises to Keep” (1984), “Oculus” (2002), “The Big Downtown” (2005),[7] “Kaminsky at War” (2006), “Maiden Voyage” (2012), and “The Cat’s Pajamas” (2012) are also set in the Academy universe.

I’ve enjoyed the Monsters vs. Aliens movies and featurettes over the years. This DVD from 2014 includes 9 new episodes (over 3 hours!) with plenty of fun and wit. Riki Lindhome voices Susan Murphy/Ginormica, with Eric Edelstein as B.O.B., Chris O’Dowd as Dr. Cockroach, Diedrich Bader as The Missing Link, James Patrick Stuart as President Hathaway, Jeff Bennett as Coverton, Gillian Jacobs as Sta’abi. The voices/characters of Susan, Link, Dr. Cockroach, and B.O.B. make up Team Monster who take on power-mad aliens who invade the Earth. Sure, this is entertainment aimed at children (smart children). But these Nickelodeon episodes have another level aimed at smart adults. Excellent production values and cast. I bought this DVD at Wal-Mart for $5–a bargain! I had a lot of fun watching Monsters vs. Aliens: Supersonic Joyride. You will, too! GRADE: A
Episodes
98 Pound Cockroach
When Nature Shrieks
Vornicarn
It Got Out of Hand
The Sound of Fear
The Sorry Syndrome
Speak Not the Q Word
Screaming Your Calls
The Time-Out That Wouldn’t End
It Came From Channel 5
It Ruled With an Iron Fist
Driven to Madness
The Beast From 20,000 Gallons!
The Sneezing Horror
Prisoner of the Dark Dimension
Number Seven!
The Friend Who Wasn’t There

Gil Brewer was a prolific writer who labored under the struggle with his alcoholism. These two novels were published in the famed Fawcett GOLD MEDAL series. David Rachels, in his informative Introduction, says Gil Brewer wrote Flight to Darkness (1952) in three days fueled by booze. Flight to Darkness centers around Leda, a treacherous and manipulative woman, who plays mind-games with the tortured narrator. Flight to Darkness a psychological thrill ride into Hell. 77 Rue Paradis (1954) is a variation in the Gil Brewer oeuvre because it’s basically a spy novel. It features the usual betrayals and double-dealing that are standard in spy fiction, but Gil Brewer adds his patented psychological stress and mental mayhem. If you’re a Gil Brewer fan, this new STARK HOUSE omnibus is a must-buy. If you’re a fan of high-octane noir, you’ll enjoy Flight to Darkness/77 Rue Paradis. My review of Gil Brewer’s Nude on Thin Ice/Memory of Passion can be found here. My review of Brewer’s Redheads Die Quickly can be found here. GRADE: B+ (for both novels)