The Buffalo Bills ended their slim Playoff chances last Sunday in Oakland. The 26-24 lose to the Raiders eliminated the Bills. It’s been 15 straight years since the Bills made the Playoffs–a sign of the dysfunction of this team. Today’s game against the Patriots is practically a pre-season game. Fans on our local Sports Talk radio station are clamoring for the Bills to start last year’s Number One Draft Pick, E. J. Manuel. Manuel was benched after the fourth game this season in an ugly loss to the Houston Texans. Kyle Orton then became the QB with his usual mix of Good Games and Bad Games. Changes will be made, both coaches and players, in the off-season. Is your favorite NFL team headed for the Playoffs?

It’s hard to believe this is my 300th Friday’s Forgotten Books review. It’s been six years since Patti Abbott invited me to be part of the FFB group and I’ve enjoyed sharing reviews with such knowledgeable readers. For my 300th FFB review, I wanted to do Something Special. Some savvy people consider J. R. R. Tolkien the greatest fantasy writer of the 20th Century. I would rank Tolkien Number Two. My top spot would go to Michael Moorcock.

I started reading Michael Moorcock’s work in Lancer paperback editions back in the 1960s. First I read his Elric adventures about an albino with a very hungry black sword. Then I read about Dorian Hawkmoon battling against the rising Darkness that threatened Civilization. Then there were the tales of Corum who could summon the Dead to fight for him. All of these characters were actually aspects of one Eternal Champion dispersed through the multiverse.

In 1994, a small publishing company called White Wolf started publishing omnibus editions of Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion series. As each volume came out (about one or two per year) I worried White Wolf wouldn’t stay in business long enough to issue all the books in Moorcock’s series. But somehow, White Wolf managed to stay in business until 2000 and successfully published all 15 Eternal Champion omnibus editions before going out of business. All of these omnibus editions are out-of-print (although Titan Books is reprinting the individual volumes). If you want to read the greatest fantasy novels of the 20th Century, here they are!
Vol. 1: The Eternal Champion
The Eternal Champion [Erekosë/John Daker]
The Sundered Worlds (has also been titled The Blood Red Game) [Renark von Bek and Asquiol of Pompeii]
Phoenix in Obsidian (later titled The Silver Warriors in the US) [Erekosë/John Daker/Urlik Skarsol]
“To Rescue Tanelorn” [Rackhir the Red Archer]

Vol. 2: Von Bek
The War Hound and the World’s Pain [Ulrich von Bek]
The City in the Autumn Stars [Manfred von Bek]
The Dragon in the Sword [Erekosë/John Daker/Prince Flamadin and Ulrich von Bek]
“The Pleasure Gardens of Felipe Sagittarius” [Minos von Bek](revised from a non-series story of the same name)

Vol. 3: Hawkmoon [all four stories with Dorian Hawkmoon]
The Jewel in the Skull
The Mad God’s Amulet
The Sword of the Dawn
The Runestaff (originally titled The Secret of the Runestaff)

Vol. 4: A Nomad of the Time Streams [all three stories with Oswald Bastable]
The Warlord of the Air
The Land Leviathan
The Steel Tsar

Vol. 5: Elric: The Song of the Black Sword [all six stories with Elric]
Elric of Melniboné
The Fortress of the Pearl
The Sailor on the Seas of Fate [also Erekosë, Corum, and Hawkmoon]
“The Dreaming City”
“While the Gods Laugh”
“The Singing Citadel”

Vol. 6: The Roads Between the Worlds
The Wrecks of Time (has also been titled The Rituals of Infinity) [Professor Faustaff]
The Winds of Limbo (originally titled The Fireclown) [Alan Powys]
The Shores of Death (originally titled The Twilight Man) [Clovis Becker]

Vol. 7: Corum: The Coming of Chaos [all three stories with Corum]
The Knight of the Swords
The Queen of the Swords
The King of the Swords [also Elric and Erekosë, briefly]

Vol. 8: Sailing to Utopia
The Ice Schooner [Konrad Arflane]
The Black Corridor [Ryan]
The Distant Suns [Colonel Jerry Cornelius, who seems to be a different character from Jerry Cornelius](written with James Cawthorn)
“Flux” [Max von Bek]

Vol. 9: Kane of Old Mars [all three stories with Michael Kane]
City of the Beast (originally titled Warriors of Mars)
Lord of the Spiders (originally titled Blades of Mars)
Masters of the Pit (originally titled Barbarians of Mars)

Vol. 10: The Dancers at the End of Time [all three stories with Jherek Carnelian]
An Alien Heat
The Hollow Lands
The End of All Songs

Vol. 11: Elric: The Stealer of Souls [all six stories with Elric]
The Sleeping Sorceress (has been sometimes titled The Vanishing Tower) [also Erekosë and Corum]
The Revenge of the Rose
“The Stealer of Souls”
“Kings in Darkness”
“The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams” (previously titled “The Flame Bringers”)
Stormbringer

Vol. 12: Corum: The Prince with the Silver Hand [all three stories with Corum]
The Bull and the Spear
The Oak and the Ram
The Sword and the Stallion

Vol. 13: Legends from the End of Time (collection of novellas)
“Pale Roses”
“White Stars”
“Ancient Shadows”
“Constant Fire” (previously titled The Transformation of Miss Mavis Ming and A Messiah at the End of Time )
Elric at the End of Time [Elric]

Vol. 14: Earl Aubec and Other Stories (a collection of 33 short stories, only the first of which features Earl Aubec) [Earl Aubec and others]

Vol. 15: Count Brass [all three stories with Dorian Hawkmoon; set after the “Swords” books]
Count Brass
The Champion of Garathorm [also Ilian of Garathorm]
The Quest for Tanelorn [also Erekosë, Corum, and Elric]

I know most Christmas presents are supposed to be surprises, but I’ve dropped enough hints to insure that one of the gifts under our tree will be The Album Collection: Vol. 1 1973-1984. This is a completely remastered set of Bruce Springsteen’s first eight albums. I love these early Springsteen albums and they contain his best songs. Check out what’s on these CDs:
TRACK LIST:
Disc 1
1 Blinded by the Light (5:04)
2 Growin’ Up (3:04)
3 Mary Queen of Arkansas (5:21)
4 Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street? (2:04)
5 Lost in the Flood (5:17)
6 The Angel (3:24)
7 For You (4:39)
8 Spirit in the Night (5:00)
9 It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City (3:16)

Disc 2
1 The E Street Shuffle (4:29)
2 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) (5:36)
3 Kitty’s Back (7:08)
4 Wild Billy’s Circus Story (4:47)
5 Incident on 57th Street (7:44)
6 Rosalita (Come out Tonight) (7:03)
7 New York City Serenade (9:58)

Disc 3
1 Thunder Road (4:50)
2 Tenth Avenue Freeze Out (3:11)
3 Night (3:01)
4 Backstreets (6:31)
5 Born to Run (4:29)
6 She’s the One (4:30)
7 Meeting Across the River (3:18)
8 Jungleland (9:35)

Disc 4
1 Badlands (4:04)
2 Adam Raised a Cain (4:34)
3 Something in the Night (5:13)
4 Candy’s Room (2:48)
5 Racing in the Street (6:56)
6 The Promised Land (4:29)
7 Factory (2:19)
8 Streets of Fire (4:04)
9 Prove It All Night (4:00)
10 Darkness on the Edge of Town (4:32)

Disc 5
1 The Ties That Bind (3:34)
2 Sherry Darling (4:03)
3 Jackson Cage (3:03)
4 Two Hearts (2:46)
5 Independence Day (4:50)
6 Hungry Heart (3:19)
7 Out in the Street (4:17)
8 Crush on You (3:11)
9 You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch) (2:37)
10 I Wanna Marry You (3:30)
11 The River (5:01)

Disc 6
1 Point Blank (6:06)
2 Cadillac Ranch (3:03)
3 I’m a Rocker (3:37)
4 Fade Away (4:46)
5 Stolen Car (3:54)
6 Ramrod (4:05)
7 The Price You Pay (5:29)
8 Drive All Night (8:33)
9 Wreck on the Highway (3:54)

Disc 7
1 Nebraska (4:32)
2 Atlantic City (4:00)
3 Mansion on the Hill (4:09)
4 Johnny 99 (3:42)
5 Highway Patrolman (5:40)
6 State Trooper (3:17)
7 Used Cars (3:10)
8 Open All Night (2:58)
9 My Father’s House (5:07)
10 Reason to Believe (4:10)

Disc 8
1 Born in the U.S.A. (4:40)
2 Cover Me (3:28)
3 Darlington County (4:50)
4 Working on the Highway (3:15)
5 Downbound Train (3:37)
6 I’m on Fire (2:39)
7 No Surrender (4:02)
8 Bobby Jean (3:48)
9 I’m Goin’ Down (3:31)
10 Glory Days (4:18)
11 Dancing in the Dark (4:05)
12 My Hometown (4:39)

Alan Turing is acknowledged as one of the key figures in the development of computers. The story of his work during World War II was suppressed until decades later. Turing was part of a secret group of scientists who cracked the Nazi’s “Enigma” code. How Turing and his colleagues pulled off a feat many thought was impossible makes for a great story. But, there’s more to the story. Turing was a homosexual and after WWII was arrested for his sexual activities. The story of his “treatment” and suicide is tragic. Benedict Cumberbatch is brilliant as Turing. The Imitation Game should do well at Oscar time. Highly recommended! GRADE: A