Tanya Huff is best known for her urban vampire novels, so Valor’s Choice came as a surprise to me. Carl V. recommended this SF military novel. Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr and a combat platoon are sent as an honor guard to an alien planet where delicate diplomatic negotiations are taking place. This was supposed to be a symbolic mission, but when their ship is hit with missiles and crash-lands in a dangerous area of the planet, the survivors are thrust into a situation similar to Michael Caine in Zulu. I was impressed as Torin Kerr keeps her Marines alive as thousands of alien warriors attack their tiny redoubt. If you’re a fan of military science fiction, you’ll enjoy this action-filled adventure. Carl has more to say about Tanya Huff’s series here.

Mindy Kaling is a screen-writer and producer of NBC’s comedy, The Office. She’s cute and perky and her writing reflects that. Mindy Kaling tells how she went from a chubby (her word) teenager to a successful Hollywood writer. Along the way, Mindy shares her fashion tips, writing routine, and some personal history. If you’re a fan of The Office you’ll appreciate the inside story of Mindy’s interactions with the stars and staff. Think of Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? as Bossypants-lite. GRADE: B

Last year, I posted my 1000th blog entry. I could not have continued a daily posting without your insightful and frequently humorous comments. Thanks to Jeff, Patti, Todd, Deb, Drongo, Beth, Bill, Art, Steve, Bob, Anne, Dan, Rick, Joe, Randy, Scott, James, Carl, and all the rest of you who support this blog with your interest and opinions. I hope 2012 is a great year for all of us. I’ll keep blogging if you keep reading and commenting!

Anna Nicole is a tragic-comic cautionary tale about the extremes of celebrity culture. Composer Mark Anthony Turnage, librettist Richard Thomas, and director Richard Jones bring Anna Nicole Smith to the level of opera’s most tragic women. This opera of Anna Nicole’s life from sexy Playboy model, to wife of an octogenarian billionaire, to her sudden drug-induced death is filled with glorious music. Eva-Maria Westbroek’s convincing performance and the jazz-flavored music makes this opera worth watching and listening to. The New York Times called Anna Nicole “an engrossing outrageous, entertaining and, ultimately deeply moving opera.” I agree. Check out the trailer below. GRADE: A

Dystopian Young Adult fiction wouldn’t seem like a hot commodity with the target audience mostly obsessed with the Twilight and Harry Potter series. Yet Suzanne Collins seems to have captured lightening in a bottle with her The Hunger Games Trilogy. North American has suffered an apocalyptic event that has reduced cities and populations to 12 Districts who service the rulers in the Capitol district. The series is narrated by sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister in District 12 (a mining district). The elites in the Capitol hold a yearly televised gladiatorial event called “The Hunger Games.” A girl and a boy from each of the 12 districts are chosen at random to compete in the Games. Only one contestant will survive. I was surprised at the level of violence in these books. But Suzanne Collins knows how to tell a very compelling story. Once you start these books, you’ll find them hard to put down. The movie version of The Hunger Games will be released in March 2012. Check out the trailer to the movie below.

Back in the 1960s, Lancer Books brought out a series of books that I instantly recognized were homages to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Mars novels. Blades of Mars, Warriors of Mars, and Barbarians of Mars (published under the Edward P. Bradbury pseudonym) told the adventures of Michael Kane, gifted swordsman and physicist, who finds himself transported to Mars in time and in space when an experiment in matter transmission goes awry. Kane finds himself on Mars, but a Mars thousands of years in the past. Of course, there’s plenty of action as Kane battles the invading Blue Giants and falls in love with the beautiful Princess Shizala. In all three books, Kane confronts man-sized spiders, ancient mutant races, and a genetically engineered plague. If you’re a fan of the Burroughs Mars books, you’ll enjoy these worthy pastiches. The Planet Stories editions of these entertaining books with Moorcock’s more colorful titles are still available.