Gardner Dozois specializes in these Big Fat Books that bring together a number of “name” writers in an anthology centering around a theme or concept. In this case, each story revolves around a sword. Some of the swords are magical, but all of them are special. I really liked Matthew Hughes’s “The Sword of Destiny” that takes a wizard’s henchman into a wild adventure he hadn’t counted on. I also found Kate Elliott’s “‘I Am a Handsome Man’, Said Apollo Crow” very compelling. I hope Elliott continues the story of the unique Apollo Crow from the Spirit World. Dozois presents a variety of stories in his anthologies: there’s something for just about everybody and nearly every taste. Next year around this time, Dozois will bring out The Book of Magic with some of the same writers plus a few new ones. I find the Dozois anthologies include entertaining stories by top writers. Recommended. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction – Gardner Dozois
“The Best Man Wins” by K. J. Parker
“His Father’s Sword” by Robin Hobb
“The Hidden Girl” by Ken Liu
“The Sword of Destiny” by Matthew Hughes
“‘I Am a Handsome Man,’ Said Apollo Crow” by Kate Elliott
“The Triumph of Virtue” by Walter Jon Williams
“The Mocking Tower” by Daniel Abraham
“Hrunting” by C. J. Cherryh
“A Long, Cold Trail” by Garth Nix
“When I Was a Highwayman” by Ellen Kushner
“The Smoke of Gold Is Glory” by Scott Lynch
“The Colgrid Conundrum” by Rich Larson
“The King’s Evil” by Elizabeth Bear
“Waterfalling” by Lavie Tidhar
“The Sword Tyraste” by Cecelia Holland
“The Sons of the Dragon” by George R. R. Martin

Just in time for the Holidays, here’s an affordable gift for the movie-lover on your list. This box set contains 15 Alfred Hitchcock movies plus a plethora of “Special Features.” Sure, you probably have some of these movies in DVD format. But this entire set is in sparkling Blu-ray! AMAZON is offering this Box Set for about $70. You might find it for less at other internet sites. This would make a great stocking stuffer…if you have a big enough stocking! What’s your favorite Hitchcock movie? GRADE: A
MOVIE LIST:
Disc 1 – Saboteur:
Saboteur: A Closer Look
Storyboards
Alfred Hitchcock’s Sketches
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
My Scenes
Disc 2 – Shadow of a Doubt:
Beyond Doubt: The Making of Hitchcock’s Favorite Film
Production Drawings by Art Director Robert Boyle
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
My Scenes
Disc 3 – Rope:
Rope Unleashed
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
My Scenes
Disc 4 – Rear Window:
Rear Window Ethics: An Original Documentary
A Conversation with Screenwriter John Michael Hayes
Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of the Master
Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock
Hitchcock / Truffaut Interview Excerpts
Masters of Cinema
Feature Commentary with John Fawell, Author of Hitchcock’s Rear Window: The Well-Made Film
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
Re-Release Trailer Narrated by James Stewart
My Scenes
pocket BLU App
BD-Live
Disc 5 – The Trouble with Harry:
The Trouble With Harry Isn’t Over
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
My Scenes
Disc 6 – The Man Who Knew Too Much:
The Making of The Man Who Knew Too Much
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
Re-Release Trailer
My Scenes
Disc 7 – Vertigo:
Obsessed with Vertigo: New Life for Hitchcock’s Masterpiece
Partners in Crime: Hitchcock’s Collaborators
Hitchcock / Truffaut
Foreign Censorship Ending
The Vertigo Archives
Feature Commentary with Film Director William Friedkin
Theatrical Trailer
Restoration Theatrical Trailer
100 Years of Universal: The Lew Wasserman Era
My Scenes
pocket BLU App
BD-Live
Disc 8 – North by Northwest:
Destination Hitchcock: The Making of North by Northwest
North by Northwest: One for the Ages
The Master’s Touch: Hitchcock’s Signature Style
Feature Commentary by Screenwriter Ernest Lehman
Stills Gallery
Theatrical Trailer
Disc 9 – Psycho (1960):
The Making of Psycho
Psycho Sound
In The Master’s Shadow: Hitchcock’s Legacy
Hitchcock / Truffaut Interview Excerpts
Newsreel Footage: The Release of Psycho
The Shower Scene: With and Without Music
The Shower Scene: Storyboards by Saul Bass
The Psycho Archives
Posters and Psycho Ads
Lobby Cards
Behind-the-Scenes Photographs
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
Re-release Trailers
My Scenes
Feature Commentary with Stephen Rebello (author of “Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho”)
BD-Live
Disc 10 – The Birds:
Deleted Scene
The Original Ending
The Birds: Hitchcock’s Monster Movie
All About The Birds
Storyboard Sequence
Tippi Hedren’s Screen Test
Hitchcock / Truffaut Interview Excerpts
The Birds Is Coming (Universal International Newsreel)
Suspense Story: National Press Club Hears Hitchcock (Universal International Newsreel)
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics
100 Years of Universal: The Lot
My Scenes
pocket BLU App
BD-Live
Disc 11 – Marnie:
The Trouble With Marnie
The Marnie Archives
Theatrical Trailer
My Scenes
Disc 12 – Torn Curtain:
Torn Curtain Rising
Scenes Scored by Bernard Herrmann
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
My Scenes
Disc 13 – Topaz:
Alternate Endings
Topaz: An Appreciate by Film Historian and Critic Leonard Maltin
Storyboards: The Mendozas
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
My Scenes
Disc 14 – Frenzy:
The Story of Frenzy
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
My Scenes
Disc 15 – Family Plot:
Plotting Family Plot
Storyboards: The Chase Scene
Production Photographs
Theatrical Trailer
My Scene

If you need something to lighten your gloom about our current politics, you might give You Can’t Spell America Without Me.” Alec Baldwin and Kurt Andersen’s parody will put a smile on your face and a giggle in your heart. Yes, things are Bad, but this book brings some mirth and wit to the state we’re mired in. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Chapter 1: YOU ACTUALLY CAN’T SPELL AMERICA WITHOUT “ME” 1
Chapter 2: I HAD TO DO IT MY WAY 6
Chapter 3: THIS IS AMERICAN HISTORY 15
Chapter 4: I WON, I’M A WINNER, I’M THE WINNER 23
Chapter 5: WITH GREAT WEALTH COMES GRAT QUALITY 34
Chapter 6: THE ACTUAL LEGAL TAKEOVER OF THE GOVERNMENT 37
Chapter 7: I NEED A TV IN THE OVAL 47
Chapter 8: IT FINALLY FLET REAL, LIKE A MOVIE. 53
Chapter 9: I’M THE PRESIDENT 65
Chapter 10: I FEEL LIKE A NEW MAN. 77
Chapter 11. I LIKE TOUGH 80
Chapter 12: IT WAS ABOUT TO GET EVEN BETTER 88
Chapter 13: THE SO-CALLED RUSSIAN STORIES. 98
Chapter 14: IF I ACTED “PRESIDENTIAL” I’D LOSE MY SPECIAL POWERS 102
Chapter 15: THE AMERICAN PEOPLE UNDERSTAND 114
Chapter 16: A GOOD TEST FOR COMEY 123
Chapter 17: THEY SAID IT ON THE NEWS 132
Chapter 18: THE BAD POLLS ARE PROBABLY MOSTLY OR COMPLETELY FAKE 143
Chapter 19: EVERYBODY LIED TO ME 152
Chapter 20: IVANKA HAS SUCH A GORGEOUS SMILE 164
Chapter 21: THE PRESIDENCY REALLY IS LIKE A TV SERIES. 171
Chapter 22: I NEVER PANIC 179
Chapter 23: I HAD TO “KILL” HIM–Kill in Quotation Marks 190
Chapter 24: THE “SPECIAL COUNSEL” IS TOTALLY RIGGED 196
Chapter 25: EVERYONE NERVOUS EXCEPT ME 200
Chapter 26: IS JARED A FREDO? 205
Chapter 27: WE’RE BOTH STRONG AND KNOW THE SCORE 208
Chapter 28: IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO ME, HERE’S THE TRUTH 212
Chapter 29: WE’LL ALL LOOK BACK AND LAUGH ABOUT THIS 214
Chapter 30: CALL HIM FLIPPER 216
Chapter 31: IT’S A CRAZY WORLD 217
Chapter 32: SO MANY, MANY SECRETS TO KEEP 221
Chapter 33: ROUTE 66 223
Chapter 34: MAGA 226
Chapter 35: MY NOBEL PRIZE 227
Chapter 36: SHLIMAZEL 228
Chapter 37: ANG BUHLAY AY MAGANDA 229
Chapter 38: WAS THAT ALL A DREAM? 232
Chapter 39: ALL FAKE 233
Chapter 40: HOORAY PRESIDENT TRUMP, HOORAY PRESIDENTE TRUMP, HOORAY PRESIDENT TRUMP IN RUSSIAN WITH THE CRAZY BACKWARD 3 234
Chapter 41: THE END 240

Jerry Sullivan, a Buffalo News sports writer, called Head Coach Sean McDermott’s decision to start rookie quarterback Nate Peterman last week against the Chargers “a colossal mistake.” Peterman threw FIVE interceptions in the first half of the game–then he was benched. This week, McDermott is back to starting QB Tyrod Taylor. The Bills are 11 1/2 point underdogs in Kansas City. Things look bleak. How will your favorite NFL team perform this week?

Some artists have devoted a whole album to singing Bob Dylan songs like Chimes Of Freedom: The Songs Of Bob Dylan [4 CD Box set] by Sting and Joan Baez. Judy Collins did it best with Just Like a Woman: Judy Collins Sings Bob Dylan. Now Joan Osborne gives it a try. The results are mixed. Osborne chooses some strange Dylan songs to cover: “Tryin’ To Get To Heaven,” and “High Water.” I was never a fan of “Quinn, The Eskimo.” When you sing a classic like “Tangled Up in Blue,” you better be able to improve on Dylan–which Osborne doesn’t. I enjoyed listening to most of these songs, but I wish Joan Osborne had picked some other Dylan songs to sing. Do you have a favorite Dylan song? GRADE: B
TRACK LIST:
1 Tangled Up In Blue 5:43
2 Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35 4:05
3 Buckets Of Rain 3:55
4 Highway 61 Revisited 4:19
5 Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn) 4:20
6 Tryin’ To Get To Heaven 4:26
7 Spanish Harlem Incident 2:56
8 Dark Eyes 4:02
9 High Water (For Charley Patton) 3:53
10 You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go 4:12
11 Masters Of War 4:23
12 You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere 3:15
13 Ring Them Bells 3:13

I’ve been reading Robert Silverberg’s short stories and novels for over 50 years. Silverberg, a versatile writer, started out churning out story after story for the Science Fiction magazines of the 1950s. When those markets dried up, Silverberg turned to the paperback market. Then, after all that success, Silverberg left SF to write non-fiction books. Frederik Pohl, then editor of GALAXY and IF, lured Silverberg back to Science Fiction by telling him “write whatever you want.” Silverberg, inspired by this offer, wrote a lot of award-winning stories: “Nighwings” (1969), “Passengers” (1969), and “Good News from the Vatican” (1971). Over the decades, Silverberg would take occasional “breaks” but eventually he would return and write wonderful stories and novels. There have been several “Best of” collections of Robert Silverberg’s work. Subterranean Press published a series of books collecting most of Silverberg’s short fiction.

But First-Person Singularities is different. All the stories are told in the First Person. Some of these stories are familiar–like “The Secret Sharer–others are more obscure. If you’re a fan of Robert Silverberg’s work, this is a must-buy. If you’re a fan of science fiction, here are some great stories by one of SF’s masters. John Scalzi provides an entertaining Introduction. Do you have a favorite Silverberg story or novel? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
The “I”S of Robert Silverberg: An Introduction by John Scalzi
Foreword by Robert Silverberg
Ishmael in Love
Going Down Smooth
The Reality Trip
The Songs of Summer
The Martian Invasion Journals of Henry James
Push No More
House of Bones
Call Me Titan
Our Lady Of The Sauropods
There Was an Old Woman
The Dybbuk of Mazel Tov Iv
Caliban
Passengers
Now Plus N, Now Minus N
The Iron Star
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame
To See The Invisible Man
The Secret Sharer

Generous Beth Fedyn sent me an ARC of Edward St. Aubyn’s Dunbar. Hogarth Press came up with a great marketing idea: invite writers to “retell” Shakespeare’s plays in novel form. St. Aubyn’s Dunbar is a contemporary novel where Dunbar is a billionaire and his greedy daughters seek to take over his very profitable media company. The daughters have corrupted Dunbar’s doctor with sex and money so Dunbar opens the novel sitting in a nursing home with his wits addled by drugs and age. In St. Aubyn’s version of King Lear, everyone is double-crossing everyone else. I’ve enjoyed Edward St. Aubyn’s previous novels. You can read my reviews here and here. I haven’t read any of the other novels in this series (more will be published in the years ahead), but when you’re retelling a classic story, it’s tricky work. GRADE: B
HOGARTH SHHAKESPEARE SERIES:
The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson (The Winter’s Tale)
3.72 avg rating (out of 5 points) — 4,307 ratings — published 2015

Shylock Is My Name by Howard Jacobson (The Merchant of Venice)
3.17 avg rating — 1,113 ratings — published 2016

Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler (The Taming of the Shrew)
3.41 avg rating — 18,479 ratings — published 2016

Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood (The Tempest)
3.89 avg rating — 11,912 ratings — published 2016

New Boy by Tracy Chevalier (Othello)
3.52 avg rating — 2,593 ratings — published 2017

Macbeth by Jo Nesbø (Macbeth)
4.07 avg rating — 29 ratings – published 2016

Dunbar by Edward St. Aubyn (King Lear)
3.49 avg rating — 359 ratings — published 2017

The latest MARVEL Netflix series, The Punisher, features Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal)–who uses lethal methods to fight criminals as the vigilante who calls himself “the Punisher.” This 13-episode series is a spin-off of MARVEL’s successful Netflix Daredevil series. Unlike Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, or Iron Fist–the other MARVEL Netflix superheroes–The Punisher doesn’t have any super powers. He’s just really good at violence.

Frank Castle served in the U.S. military and excelled at hand-to-hand combat and weapons. When Castle’s wife, daughter, and son are murdered, he goes on a rampage to avenge their deaths. In this new series, Castle discovers a deeper, darker conspiracy that led to his family’s execution. Steve Lightfoot is the series showrunner. Frank Castle takes a licking but keeps on ticking. If you’re in the mood for conspiracies and violence, The Punisher lights up the Bad Guys. GRADE: B+

Matthew Walker is a sleep researcher who shares his findings about sleep in Why We Sleep. Many sleep studies show sleep rejuvenates our immune system. One chapter in Why We Sleep begins: “Bad sleep, bad heart.” The connection between poor sleep and heart problems is strong. People with cancer find their disease metastasizes faster if they don’t get the necessary eight hours of sleep per day.

Walker also discusses sleep’s effects on mental health, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. The chapters on improving sleep present several suggestions for a better night in the Land of Nod. Why We Sleep is clearly written and full of timely information. Highly recommended! How is your sleep? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Part 1 This Thing Called Sleep

Chapter 1 To Sleep … 3

Chapter 2 Caffeine, Jet Lag, and Melatonin: Losing and Gaining Control of Your Sleep Rhythm 13

Chapter 3 Defining and Generating Sleep: Time Dilation and What We Learned from a Baby in 1952 38

Chapter 4 Ape Beds, Dinosaurs, and Napping with Half a Brain: Who Sleeps, How Do We Sleep, and How Much? 56

Chapter 5 Changes in Sleep Across the Life Span 78

Part 2 Why Should You Sleep?

Chapter 6 Your Mother and Shakespeare Knew: The Benefits of Sleep for the Brain 107

Chapter 7 Too Extreme for the Guinness Book of World Records: Sleep Deprivation and the Brain 133

Chapter 8 Cancer, Heart Attacks, and a Shorter Life: Sleep Deprivation and the Body 164

Part 3 How and Why We Dream

Chapter 9 Routinely Psychotic: REM-Sleep Dreaming 193

Chapter 10 Dreaming as Overnight Therapy 206

Chapter 11 Dream Creativity and Dream Control 219

Part 4 From Sleeping Pills to Society Transformed

Chapter 12 Things That Go Bump in the Night: Sleep Disorders and Death Caused by No Sleep 237

Chapter 13 iPads, Factory Whistles, and Nightcaps: What’s Stopping You from Sleeping? 265

Chapter 14 Hurting and Helping Your Sleep: Pills vs. Therapy 282

Chapter 15 Sleep and Society: What Medicine and Education Are Doing Wrong; What Google and NASA Are Doing Right 296

Chapter 16 A New Vision for Sleep in the Twenty-First Century 324

Conclusion: To Sleep or Not to Sleep 340

Appendix: Twelve Tips for Healthy Sleep 341

Illustration Permissions 343