I’ve made no secret of my fondness for the works of Matthew Hughes. Hughes somehow channels Jack Vance and produces whimsical works in Vance’s celebrated style. Underland Press of Portland gains my praise for publishing Matthew Hughes’ latest science fiction novel, The Other. Luff Imbry, the greatest thief on Old Earth, is kidnapped and taken across the galaxy to an obscure, desert planet called Fulda. The humans of Fulda aspire to “perfection” by measuring themselves against a standard designed by their spiritual founder, Haldeyn. Deviants from that standard are outcasts and classified as “oddies.” Imbry has to figure out how to survive in this bizarre society, identify the enemy who has abandoned him on this isolated planet, and to get back to Old Earth to use his vast resources to extract vengeance. As with most of Matthew Hughes’ work, I read The Other in one sitting. Hughes leaves the door open for sequels. I, for one, would welcome them! GRADE: B+

The Filter Bubble will feed your paranoia. Eli Pariser shows how much of the information we get online has been “filtered.” Two different people will get different search results on GOOGLE for the same term. AMAZON will skew its search results depending on your buying profile. “The cloud” is essentially run by only a few companies that may not have your best interests at heart. Eli Pariser shows that companies who collect information are under enormous pressure to sell that information. That information then leads companies to market to consumers who fit their profile. Other consumers have been “filtered” out. The transparency of the Internet is a myth. After reading Eli Pariser’s book, you’ll be more skeptical…and more careful. GRADE: A-

Roger Ebert, in his laudatory Introduction, admits that he’s read more of Georges Simenon’s work than any other author. Of course, Simenon wrote hundreds of novels. Act of Passion, just published in a new edition by New York Review Books (translated by Louise Varese), was first published in 1947. A doctor seemingly has the perfect life: a beautiful wife, two lovely daughters, a devoted mother, and a thriving practice. But, while on trip, the doctor meets a woman he completely falls in love with. And, the more time he spends with her, the stronger his obsessions become. Simenon can out-do most writers with his noirishness. Act of Passion will stay with you long after you read the final pages. Drongo was kind enough to point out that the October 10th issue of The New Yorker includes Joan Acocella’s essay on Georges Simenon which gives a fine overview of his entire writing career.

Mark Twain famously said that every time he read Pride and Prejudice he wanted “to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone.” “Her,” of course, is Jane Austen. On the other side, philosopher Gilbert Ryle admitted he read novels, “all six of them.” Again, referring to Jane Austen and her six famous books. Rachel M. Brownstein loves Jane Austen so plenty of this book explores why many readers return again and again to Jane Austen and the world she creates in her works. Brownstein quotes from Jane Austen’s letters and backs up her points with persuasive evidence from the novels and Austen’s correspondence. If you’re a fan of Jane Austen, there’s plenty here to enlighten and amuse you. GRADE: A

If you want to sleep at night, DO NOT read Michael Lewis’s latest expose of the world financial system, Boomerang. Lewis starts in Iceland and shows how fisherman gave up their boats to be investment banks in the go-go years of 2003-2008. But, then the bottom dropped out and Iceland’s banks were ruined. Lewis travels to Greece and discovers a culture of corruption (no one pays their taxes). Default is inevitable. And when that happens, the Euro Zone will be dragged into a vortex of debt. Lewis stops off in Ireland to discover how a country famous for its poverty became rich on real estate only to be plunged back into poverty. The only country in Europe that’s solvent is Germany. Lewis explores the factors that keep them wealthy and why they’ll stop lending to the debt-strapped countries in the European Union soon. Then, the euro will unravel.

Finally, Lewis visits California (everything happens in California first) and finds California spends more money on prisons than schools. The same financial dysfunction Lewis found in Iceland, Greece, and Ireland appears to be growing in California–and by extension, all the United States. Buy guns, ammo, and canned goods! GRADE: A

Taylor Swift has sold more CDs in the past year than anybody. Her appeal continues to grow. Taylor Swift concerts sell out quickly. Clearly, this young woman is part of a music phenomenon. My favorite Taylor Swift DVD is the one she did with Def Leppard a year ago. But this new DVD captures the excitement of Taylor Swift’s latest tour. She sings a mix of her older hits and songs from her latest CD, Fearless. The bonus material gives you a look at how Taylor Swift evolved from a kid with a guitar into a media mogul. Lady Gaga gets more press, but Taylor Swift is doing more business. GRADE: B+

If you’re a fan of soul music, you’ll enjoy Mayer Hawthorne’s new CD, How Do You Do. Put the Chi-Lites and Curtis Mayfield in a blender and the result will sound like Mayer’s songs. I enjoyed Mayer Hawthorne’s first CD, A Strange Arrangement, but this new CD is even better. If you need a fix of contemporary soul music (that sounds like it came from the Sixties) listen to Mayer Hawthorne. Check out the video below.

The Gentlemen’s Hour is the sequel to Don Winslow’s The Dawn Patrol (which I reviewed in yesterday’s posting). Surfer Private Eye, Boone Daniels, gets involved in a murder investigation of a local surfer and an intricate real estate conspiracy. I liked The Gentlemen’s Hour better than The Dawn Patrol because Boone’s involvement in the murder investigation alienates him from his surfer friends and he’s forced to work on his own. Don Winslow ties things up a little too neatly at the end, but once again the result is a satisfying read. For another review of The Gentlemen’s Hour check out Scott Parker’s posting here. GRADE: B+

I pronounced the Private Eye novel dead back in the 1990s. Yet vestiges of the genre still stagger around like zombies here in the 21st Century. Don Winslow’s The Dawn Patrol features Boone Daniels, legendary surfer, who sometimes works as a private investigator to earn the money that allows him to surf almost all the time off the coast of San Diego. Boone finds himself investigating the murder of a stripper. The murder leads to subplots involving arson and human trafficking from Mexico. At times while reading The Dawn Patrol I felt like I was reading a Doc Savage clone. Doc Savage had the “Fabulous Five” helping him out, Boone has his talented buddies in “The Dawn Patrol” helping out in his investigations. Winslow is a little too facile with the storyline, but the result is satisfying. GRADE: B

Once again, Planet Stories has published a great omnibus volume of Robert Silverberg’s work. The three works in this latest volume, The Planet Killers, features three of Silverberg’s short novels published as halves of ACE Doubles. The Plot Against Earth was published in 1959 (with Milton Lesser’s Recruit for Andromeda on the other side). The Planet Killers was published later in 1959 (with Poul Anderson’s We Claim These Stars! on the other side). One of Our Asteriods is Missing was published in 1964 (with A. E. Van Vogt’s The Twisted Men on the other side). Needless to say, the first two short novels are very pulpy. Silverberg was learning his craft. You’ll see a difference (and more maturity) in Silverberg’s One of Our Asteroids is Missing. A sign of things to come. If you’re a fan of Robert Silverberg, you’ll love this volume and Silverberg’s informative introduction. If you’re curious about Silverberg’s early career, The Planet Killers is the perfect place to start.