Baby Groot steals every scene he’s in. Guardians of the Galaxy takes a step back to fill in the story of Chris Pratt’s character, Peter Quill (aka, “Star Lord”). The origin story is impressive, but it weighs down the froth we expect in a Guardians of the Galaxy movie. There’s also some romance, some resolution of a sisterly feud, and a lot of emotional “family” moments. What isn’t here is a lot of the fun of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Elaborate action scenes save Guardians of the Galaxy 2. But James Gunn, the Director and Scriptwriter, jams even more characters onto an already crowded movie screen. The credits announce another Guardians of the Galaxy movie planned for 2020. Let’s hope there’s more fun and less drama in that one. GRADE: B

Back in 1946, E. P. Dutton published Best Detective Stories of the Year, the first in a long series of “Year’s Best” anthologies. David C. Cooke in his Introduction says he read 1800 short stories to come up with these 15 stories. Cooke also addressed the attack on detective fiction by “eminent critic” Edmund Wilson who dismissed the genre as “dull,” “ill-written,” and “boring.” Wilson also concluded that paper should not be wasted on publishing “this rubbish.” Cooke’s spirited defense of detective stories in the Post-World War II years reminds us how low pulp fiction and popular magazine stories were regarded by the Cultural Establishment. Best Detective Stories of the Year is a time capsule of stories that shows what was considered “The Best” over 70 years ago. I liked Bruno Fischer’s “The Man Who Lost His Head,” Day Keene’s “The Case of the Sobbing Girl,” and “Norman A. Daniels’s “Slightly Perfect.” Yes, some of these stories are dated. But this anthology gives you a good view of the state of detective fiction in 1945. Recommended. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
David C. Cooke–Introduction 9
G. T. Fleming-Roberts–Married to Murder (In Argosy) 17
Royce Howes–Slick Trick (In The Saturday Evening Post) 54
Robert C. Dennis–Don’t Comp Back Alive! (In Detective Tales) 68
Q. Patrick–White Carnations (In Collier’s) 78
Walter C. Brown–Prelude to Murder (In Blue Book) 96
Bruno Fischer–The Man Who Lost His Head (In Doc Savage) 118
Margaret Manners–Body in the Barn (In Argosy 138
A. Boyd Correll–Press Agent for Murder (In Detective Story Magazine) 174
Day Keene–The Case of the Sobbing Girl (In Detective Tales 174
Marie Beynon Ray–Just a Minute, Dr. Marlowe (In Cosmopolitan) 203
Julius Long–Carnie Kill (In Black Mask) 220
C. William Harrison–Wish You Were Dead (In New Detective) 250
Henry Norton–The Booby Trap (In Detective Story Magazine) 282
Norman A. Daniels–Slightly Perfect (In The Shadow) 299

Calamity (2016) is the third book in The Reckoners series. My reviews of the first two volumes, Steelheart (2013) and Firefight (2015), can be found here. The premise of this Young Adult science fiction series is that an “event” occurs that causes some people to develop Super Powers. However, these “Epics” find that the powers cause them to become psychotic and cruel. A group called The Reckoners arises to kill the Epics to preserve human life. The books are narrated by David, a clever teenager who has solved part of the Epic puzzle. In Calamity David and The Reckoners face their greatest challenges as the true nature of Epics threatens to destroy them. If you’re looking for a high-action adventure series, The Reckoners delivers. However, you’ll have to put up with some silly teenager dialogue that Brandon Sanderson must have felt he had to include. A movie (and/or TV series) is rumored to be in production. GRADE: B

Imagine that the destruction of H. P. Lovecraft’s Deep Ones foothold village of Innsmouth resulted in the survivors being placed in internment camps (with the Japanese). And further, imagine a survivor, Alpha Marsh, recruited by the U.S. Government to help them determine if the Russians have stolen body-swapping secrets from Miskatonic University. So far, so good. But Winter Tide does not live up to its promise. The story sags in the middle. It goes on too long (366 pages). And, if you’re going to write a faux-Lovecraft novel, there better be a lot of dread lurking in those pages. Unfortunately, the story bogs down and tedium sets in. Disappointing. GRADE: C

Diane wants to see Guardians of the Galaxy 2, but she hadn’t seen the first Guardians of the Galaxy. I just happened to have the Blu-ray version of Guardians of the Galaxy and so we watched it over the weekend. Based on a MARVEL comic book series, Guardians of the Galaxy centers around Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) who was “taken” from Earth when he was a child. Quill grows up among a group of interstellar thieves called The Ravagers. Quill finds a rare artifact and suddenly he’s targeted by a green assassin named Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and a pair of adventurers–a cybernetic animal call Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and a walking tree named Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel). In prison, the group meets Drax (Dave Bautista) who has vowed vengeance on Bad Guy Ronan (Lee Pace). I really liked the cybernetic warrior, Nebula, played by my favorite Doctor Who Companion, Karen Gillan. Plenty of action and humor! Now Diane’s really looking forward to Guardinans of the Galaxy 2!. GRADE: A
BONUS FEATURES
Guide to the Galaxy with James Gunn (writer & director of Guardians of the Galaxy)
The Intergalactic Visual Effects for Guardians of the Galaxy
Gag Reel
Deleted Scenes with Commentary by James Gunn
Audio Commentary by James Gunn

Little did I know that Last Night, A Superhero Saved My Life was going to contain so many serious essays. For example, Delilah Dawson talks about her anger management issues which led her to admire The Hulk. Jamie Ford talks about his relationships and how he lost his virginity while under the influence of Daredevil and Elecktra. I preferred the lighter pieces in this anthology: Joe R. Lansdale on Batman’s influence in Lansdale’s writing career and Carrie Vaughn’s love of Wonder Woman. And, who knew Jodi Picoult wrote for comic books? “In the last issue I wrote for DC Comics, I wrote myself into the script, instructing the illustrator to make an Amazon warrior look like a certain red-haired novelist moonlighting as a comic book writer. And, sure enough, when the issue hit the stands, there was my alter ego…systematically beathing the crap out of Batman.” (p. 190) Last Night, A Superhero Saved My Life is full of surprises and great writing. Don’t miss this one! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION
SUPERHEROES AND BEING HUMAN
Me and Batman and you / Austin Grossman —
On the Hulk: you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry / Delilah S. Dawson —
Dented hearts: a story of Iron Man / Anthony Breznican —
The weight of four-color justice / Christopher Golden —
SUPERHEROES AND LOVE
Daredevil, Elektra, and the ninja who stole my virginity / Jamie Ford —
Everything I know about love, I learned from Gambit and Rogue / Karina Cooper —
Spider-Manhattan / Scott Westerfeld —
How I spent my summer vacation with the Judas Contract / Brad Meltzer —
SUPERHEROES AND WRITING
How Batman saved my life / Joe R. Lansdale —
All the world is waiting for you / Carrie Vaughn —
The devil inside: how Matt Wagner’s Grendel saved my life / Brendan Deneen —
You never forget your first time / Neil Gaiman —
SUPERHEROES AND GENDER
We are not Amazons / Leigh Bardugo —
Weapon X / Ron Currie, Jr. —
Wonder Woman / Jodi Picoult —
SUPERHEROES AND CHILDHOOD
God of thunder / Kevin Seccia —
Underdog and me / Martin Kihn —
Superman: one rad dude / Jim Di Bartolo —
Some interstitial thoughts on the In-Betweener / Charles Yu —
SUPERHEROES AND TRAUMA
Becoming Bethany: a life in seven deaths / Alethea Kontis —
Swashbuckle my heart: an ode to Nightcrawler / Jenn Reese —
The hero I needed / Liesa Mignogna.

Today we’re going to the Sheas Performing Arts Center to see the touring version of Cabaret. I’m anticipating seeing a performance unlike the famous Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli movie. We’ve seen stage versions of Cabaret twice. The story and the music stay fresh as Art mirrors current events. What do you think of Cabaret?

Fate of the Furious set box office records when it showed up in theaters a month ago. With a cast of Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, Ludacris, and Michelle Rodriguez as well as dozens of vehicles that explode, this movie has more action than dialogue. Yes, it’s all silly fun. But the hyper-kinetic production values are on the screen. Great popcorn movie! GRADE: A-

Greg Shepard’s Introduction traces the successful writing career of Rene Lodge Brabazon Raymond, aka “James Hadley Chase,” a British writer who wrote 90 thriller novels–most of them set in America. A James Hadley Chase novel features hard-boiled action and usually a noirish ending. STARK HOUSE has been reprinting omnibus editions of James Hdley Chase novels. This latest omnibus edition includes Just the Way It Is and Blonde’s Requiem. Just the Way It Is (1944) is the story of gangsters in a small town. What makes this novel unusual is Chase’s devleopment of two women characters: Lucille, a gangster’s moll, and Clare Russell, a plucky reporter. Blonde’s Requiem (1945) caused Chase problems because he borrowed heavily from Raymond Chandler’s Farewell, My Lovely in plot construction. The book has been out-of-print for 70 years.

If you’re looking for traditional thrillers with violence, deception, betrayal, and drama, this STARK HOUSE omnibus will fulfill your yearning for noir.

I found 25 Juke Box Greats, Vol. II at a Library Book Sale. It cost me twenty-five cents. This CD includes plenty of songs I grew up listening to in my early teens. Who could forget Betty Everett’s “The Shoop Shoop Song”? How many of these songs do you remember? GRADE: B+
TRACK LIST:
1 –The Tokens The Lion Sleeps Tonight 2:37
2 –Peggy March I Will Follow Him 2:30
3 –Jackie DeShannon Put A Little Love In Your Heart 2:37
4 –Jay & The Americans Cara Mia 2:33
5 –Ray Peterson Tell Laura I Love Her 2:57
6 –Sam Cooke Twistin’ The Night Away 2:40
7 –The Highwaymen* Michael 2:47
8 –Fats Domino I’m Walkin’ 2:04
9 –Bobby Vee Rubber Ball 2:22
10 –Ernie K-Doe Mother-in-Law 2:34
11 –Johnny Tillotson It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin’ 2:49
12 –Gary Lewis & The Playboys This Diamond Ring 2:10
13 –Petula Clark I Know A Place 2:47
14 –Betty Everett The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss) 2:16
15 –Jan & Dean Surf City 2:28
16 –John Fred & His Playboy Band Judy In Disguise 2:55
17 –The Fleetwoods Come Softly To Me 2:25
18 –Peggy Lee Fever 3:22
19 –Everly Brothers, The* All I Have To Do Is Dream 2:21
20 –The Chiffons One Fine Day 2:10
21 –Marv Johnson I Love The Way You Love 2:39
22 –Dee Clark Raindrops 2:52
23 –Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters* Cry Baby 3:25
24 –Linda Scott I’ve Told Ev’ry Little Star 2:19
25 –Gene Vincent Be-Bop–A-Lula 2:34