Mild spoiler: Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3 appears to be the final chapter of this configuration of the Guardians in the Marcel Cinematic Universe. One reason is that Director James Gunn, who both wrote and directed this film (and the other two Guardians of the Galaxy movies), is now the co-CEO of DC studios over at Warner Brothers so this is his Marvel swan song.

The focus of the film is on Rocket Raccoon, the snide genius rodent voiced by Bradley Cooper. It tells Rocket’s origin story as a cruel lab experiment conducted by High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Isuji) whose quest for “Perfection” leads to a lot of death and destruction.

Chris Pratt returns as Peter Quill (aka, Star Lord) and Zoe Saldana returns in a different format as Peter’s love interest, Gamora. Like the previous two Guardians of the Galaxy movies, the music playlist fills the action with mostly songs from the 1990s and a few from the 1980s and 2000s.

Along with Drax (Dave Bautista), Groot (Vin Diesel) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Gunn introduces a new superhero, Adam Warlock (Will Poulter). My favorite character is Nebula (Karen Gillian) who deserves her own movie.

If you’re looking for plenty of action, wacky plotting, and irreverent humor you’ll enjoy Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3. GRADE: B

I fell in love with ACE Doubles at an early age in the Sixties. As I walked to school when I was 12 years old, I passed a local drug store with a prominently displayed spinner rack (remember them?) with plenty of paperbacks. But the ones that seduced me were ACE Doubles with their cool double covers in tête-bêche format. I bought Science Fiction ACE Doubles in those early days, but sometime in my late teens I broadened my buying to include ACE Doubles featuring mysteries and Westerns. I ended up donated dozens of ACE Doubles to the Special Collections at the State University at Buffalo as part of the 30,000 volume George Kelley Paperback and Pulp Fiction Collection.

Stark House just published THREE ACES, A Trio of ACE Books with a wonderful Introduction by Richard Krauss, editor and publisher of The Digest Enthusiast. Richard Krauss’s informative and enlightening description of ACE Doubles and Singles from that era highlights the editorial strategy and the changing public tastes of that time. Richard was kind enough to invite me to add some of my fond memories of ACE Doubles and they’re included in the Introduction, too!

The Gilded Hideaway (ACE Single S-107) by Peter Twist (a pseudonym of C. P. Hewitt) was published in 1955. Robert West has success and a wife and friends, but none of that brings him happiness. So West steals $100,000 and flees to Mexico to start a new Life. But West learns money doesn’t solve all problems especially when it comes to the beautiful woman named Mercedes. GRADE: B

In at the Kill by Emmett McDowell (aka, Robert Emmett McDowell) was half of ACE Double D-445 (the other half was McDowell’s Bloodline to Murder), published in 1960. In at the Kill concerns a scheme to locate some rare stamps, but leads to more valuable photos and blackmail. GRADE: B+

Heat Lightning (ACE Single S-74) by Wilene Shaw (pseudonym of Virgina M. Harrison), published in 1954, delivers a hot love triangle in the Kentucky hills. Holly Reed, while attracted to local bootlegger Brandy Elliot, finds herself drawn to a stranger in town: city-bred Larry Carter. Carter turns out to be a man of mystery…and violence. GRADE: A-

If you have three aces, you’re likely to win. Stark House’s Three Aces omnibus is a winner for sure! Don’t miss this one!

This 1980s compilation includes some artists and groups you don’t hear much of anymore. When’s the last time you heard China Crisis (other than in reference to Taiwan). Or Strange Advance?

On the flip side, there are some very well known artists and groups represented here. Love Kate Bush’s “Running Up that Hill,” Blondie’s “Call Me,” and Naked Eyes’s “Always Something There to Remind Me.”

Do you remember these songs from the Eighties? Any favorites? GRADE: B

TRACKLIST:

As a kid, I loved Greek Myths. And I read Homer when I was around 10 years old (and have reread Homer over the decades). So John Spurling’s ARCADIAN DAYS: GODS, WOMEN, AND MEN FROM GREEK MYTHS was a must-read book for me.

John Spurling is a gifted writer and captures the unique world of Greek Gods and Goddesses who influence humans. Spurling’s choice of five myths starts with Prometheus and Pandora, and continues with Jason and the sorceress Medea, Oedipus and his daughter Antigone, Achilles and his mother Thetis, and Odysseus and Penelope.

My favorite myth in ARCADIAN DAYS is Jason and his Argonauts who seek the Golden Fleece and find the assistance of Medea the sorceress brings unanticipated consequences. If you enjoy classic stories with astounding plots and colossal events, you’ll love ARCADIAN DAYS: GODS, WOMEN, AND MEN FROM GREEK MYTHS. Highly recommended! Do you have a favorite Greek Myth? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Notes — xi

Introduction — 1

PROMETHEUS AND PANDORA

1. Fat and Fire — 3
2. Wife and Gift — 11
3. Eagle and Chains — 19
4. Rain and Waves — 22

JASON AND MEDEA

1. The Man With One Sandal — 28
2. The Departure — 34
3. Lemnos, Hellespont, Arkton — 37
4. The Sea of Marmora — 42
5. The Black Sea — 49
6. Colchis — 54
7. The Return — 68
8. Corinth — 75

OEDIPUS AND ANTIGONE

1. Dragon’s Teeth — 81
2. Investigation — 86
3. Accusation — 91
4. Murder — 95
5. First Shepherd — 97
6. Second Shepard — 100
7. Punishment — 103
8. Colonos — 105
9. Seven Against Seven — 112
10. Burial — 116
11. Sophocles or Euripides?

ACHILLES AND THETIS

1. The Parents — 128
2. The Beloved Son — 131
3. The Siege of Troy — 136
4. Death and Vengeance — 154
5. A Surprise Visit — 173
6. Last Days — 178

ODYSSEUS AND PENELOPE

1. Ithaka — 187
2. Troy — 198
3. Africa — 208
4. Cyclops — 210
5. Alolia — 218
6. Laistrygones — 220
7. Circe — 221
8. Hades — 232
9. Sirens, Scylla, Charybdis — 238
10. Thrinakia — 240
11. Calypso — 245
12. Phaeacians — 253
13. Return — 267
14. Seconding — 286

Glossary of Names — 305

Diane and I travelled into Buffalo to Shea’s Performing Arts Center to watch Six: The Musical. We had seen Six on Broadway a couple years ago (you can read my review of that production here) and Diane wanted to see it again.

This musical retelling of the stories of the six wives of Henry VIII with pop music fired up the Sold-Out crowd. Catherine of Aragon, the first and longest-lasting of King Henry’s wives, takes on the musical style of Beyonce and Shakira. The last wife, Catherine Parr, performs her songs in the style of Alicia Keyes. Jane Seymour, who claims she’s the wife Henry “truly loved,” does a great Adele impression with “Heart of Stone.” Anna of Cleves, the German wife who Henry married because he fell in love with Han Holbein’s portrait of her, does a great mix of Nicki Minaj and Rihanna. You get the idea.

We enjoyed Six: The Musical as much the second time around as we did the first. If this touring company shows up in your neighborhood, don’t miss it! GRADE: A

Musical numbers:

• “Ex-Wives” – Company
• “Ex-Wives (Reprise)” – Company †
• “No Way” – Catherine of Aragon and Company
• “Don’t Lose Ur Head” – Anne Boleyn and Company
• “Heart of Stone” – Jane Seymour and Company
• “Haus of Holbein” – Company
• “Get Down” – Anna of Cleves and Company
• “All You Wanna Do” – Katherine Howard and Company
• “I Don’t Need Your Love” – Catherine Parr
• “I Don’t Need Your Love (Remix)” – Catherine Parr and Company ††
• “Six” – Company
• “The Megasix (Encore)” – Company †

I’m a sucker for books like Boyd Tonkin’s fascinating The 100 Best Novels in Translation. I’ve read a fair number of novels in translation and sometimes they read well…and sometimes they don’t. Boyd Tonkin introduces each novel, writes about the author, and then makes observations about the various translations available. Finally, Tonkin explains why the translation he’s selected is better than the others.

If you’re looking for a guide to novels in translation, Boyd Tonkin’s book checks all the boxes: well written, knowledgeable, and useful.

How many of these novels in translation have you read? Are there any here you would like to read? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION — 11

Works Cited — 25

A Note on the Entries –26

Acknowledgements — 27

THE ENTRIES: — 29

1. Don Quixote (1605 and 1615) by Miguel de Cervantes. Translated by Edith Grossman — 29
2. The Princesse de Cleves (1678) by Madame de Lafayette. Translated by Robin Buss –32
3. Candide, or Optimism (1759) by Voltaire. Translated by Theo Cuffe — 34
4. Dangerous Liaisons (1782) by Choderlos de Laclos. Translated by Douglas Parmee — 37
5. The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe — 40
6. Dream of the Red Chamber (1792) by Cao Xuequin. Translated by David Hawkes & John Minford — 43
7. Jacque the Fatalist (1796) by Denis Diderot. Translated by David Coward — 46
8. Corinne, or Italy (1807) by Madame de Stael. Translated by Sylvia Raphael — 48
9. Michael Kohlhaas (1810) by Heinrich von Kleist. Translated by David Luke — 51
10. The Betrothed (1827; revised 1842) by Alexandre Manzoni. Translated by Bruce Penman — 54
11. The Red and the Black (1830) by Stendhal. Translated by Roger Gard — 57
12. IndianaT (1832) by George Sand. Translated by Sylvia Raphael — 60
13. Old Goriot (1835) by Honore de Balzac. Translated by Olivia McCannon — 62
14. A Hero of Our Time (1840) by Mikhail Lermonlov. Translated by Natasha Randall — 63
15. Dead Souls (1842/1855) by Nikola Gogol. Translated by Donald Rayfield — 68
16. Madame Bovary (1857) by Gustave Flaubert. Translated by Adam Thorpe — 71
17. Les Miserables (1862) by Victor Hugo. Translated by Julie Rose — 74
18. Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev. Translated by Peter Carson — 77
19. War and Peace (1869) by Leo Tolstoy. Translated by Anthony Briggs — 79
20. The Crime of Father Amaro: Scenes From the Religious Life (1875; revised 1880) by Era de Quieroz. Translated by Margaret Hull Costa. — 83
21. Epitaph of a Small Winner (1880) by Machado de Assis. Translated by William L. Grossman –85
22. Niels Lyhne (1880) by Jens Peter Jacobsen. Translated by Tiina Nunnally — 88
23. The Brothers Karamazov (1880) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Translated by Richard Paver & Larissa Volokhonsky — 90
24. Germinal (1885) by Emile Zola. Translated by Roger Pearson — 93
25. Hunger (1890) by Knut Hamsun. Translated by Sverre Lyngstad –96
26. The Duel (1891) by Anton Chekhov. Translated by Richard Paver & Larissa Volokhonsky — 98
27. The Murderess (1903) by Alexandros Papadiamatis. Translated by Peter Levi — 101
28. The Gate (1910) by Natsume Soseki. Translated by William F. Sibley — 103
29. The Notebooks of Malte Laurrids Brigge (1910) by Rainer Maria Rilke. Translated by Michael Hulse — 106
30. In Search of Lost Time (1913-1927) by Marcel Proust. Translated by CK Scott Moncrieff, Andreas Mayor, and Terence Kilmartin, revised by DJ Enright –108
31. Reeds in the Wind (1913) by Grazia Deledda. Translated by Martha King — 112
32. Petersburg (1916; revised 1922) by Andrei Bely. Translated by John Elsworth –114
33. Home and the World (1916) by Rabindranath Tagore. Translated by Sreejata Guha — 117
34. Kristin Lavransdatter (The Wreath; The Wife; The Cross) (1920-1922) by Sigrid Undset. Translated by Tiina Nunnally — 119
35. Cheri/The Last of Cheri (1920; 1926) by Colette. Translated by Roger Senhouse –122
36. Zeno’s Conscience (1923) by Italo Svevo. Translated by William Weaver — 125
37. The Good Soldier Svejk (1923) by Jaroslave Hasek. Translated by Cecil Parrott — 127
38. The Magic Mountain (1924) by Thomas Mann. Translated by John E. Woods –130
39. The Trial (1914-1915; published 1925) by Franz Kafka. Translated by Mike Mitchell –133
40. Berlin Alexanderplatz (1929) by Alfred Doblin. Translated by Michael Hoffman — 136
41. The Seven Madmen (1929) by Roberto Arit. Translated by Nick Caistor — 138
42. The Man Without Qualities (1930-1933) By Robert Musil. Translated by Sophie Wilkins & Burton Pike — 141
43. The Foundation Pit (1930; published 1973) by Anthony Platonov. Translated by Robert Chandler, Elizabeth Chandler, and Olga Meerson — 144
44. Journey to the End of the Night (1932) by Louis-Ferdinand Celine. Translated by Ralph Manheim — 147
45. The Radetzky March (1932) by Joseph Roth. Translated by Michael Hofmann — 149
46. Independent People (1934-1935) by Halidor Laxness. Translated by JA Thompson — 152
47. Journey By Moonlight (1937) by Antal Szerb. Translated by Len Rix — 155
48. The Gift (1938; 1952) by Vladimir Nabokov. Translated by Michael Scammell, Dmitri Nabokov, and Vladimir Nabokov — 157
49. Nausea (1938) by Jean-Paul Sartre. Translated by Robert Baldick — 160
50. The Invention of Morel (1940) by Adolfo Bioy Casares. Translated by Ruth L. C. Simms — 163
51. The Tartar Steppe (1940) by Dino Buzzati. Translated by Stuart Hood — 165
52. The Master and Margarita (1928-1940; published in full 1973) by Mikhail Bulgakov. Translated by Hugh Aplin — 168
53. The Outsider (1942) by Albert Camus. Translated by Sandra Smith — 171
54. Suite Franchise (1942; published 2004) by Irene Nemirovsky. Translated by Sandra Smith — 173
55. Near to the Wild Heart (1943) by Clarice Lispector. Translated by Alison Entrekin — 176
56. The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric. Translated by Lovett F. Edwards –179
57. Only Yesterday (1945) by SY Agnon. Translated by Barbara Harshav — 181
58. The Makioka Sisters (1946-1948) by Jun’ichiro Tanizaki. Translated by Edward G. Seidensticker– 174
59. Fortress Besieged (1947) by Qian Zhongshu. Translated by Jeanne Kelly & Nathan K. Mao –187
60. Dirty Snow (1948) by Georges Simenon. Translated by Marc Romano & Louise Varese — 190
61. The Moon and the Bonfires (1950) by Cesare Pavese. Translated by RW Flint — 192
62. Trilogy: Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnameable (1951-1953) by Samuel Beckett. Translated by Samuel Beckett & Patrick Bowles — 195
63. The Hive (1946; published 1951) by Camilo Jose Cela. Translated by JM Cohen — 197
64. Memoirs of Hadrian (1951) by Marguerite Yourcenar. Translated by Grace Frick — 200
65. Pedro Paramo (1955) by Juan Rulfo. Translated by Margaret Sayers Peden — 203
66. The Cairo Trilogy (Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street) (1956-1957) Naguib Mahfouz. Translated by William Maynard Hutchins, Olive E. Kenny, Lorne A Kenny & Angele Boors Samaan –205
67. That Awful Mess on the Via Merulana (1946- 1957) by Carol Emilio Gadda. Translated by William Weaver — 208
68. The Leopard (1948) by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. Translated by Archibald Colquhoun — 210
69. The Tin Drum (1959) by Gunter Grass. Translated by Breon Mitchell — 213
70. Life and Fate (1959; published 1980) by Vasily Grossman. Translated by Robert Chandler — 216
71. Solaris (1961) by Stanisław Lem. Translated by Bill Johnston –219
72. The Time Regulation Institute (1962) by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar. Translated by Maureen Freely & Alexander Dawe — 222
73. The Garden of the Finzi-Contints (1962) by Giorgio Bassani. Translated by Jamie McKendrick — 225
74. The Slave (1962) by Isaac Bashevis Singer. Translated by Isaac Bashevis Singer & Cecil Hemley — 227
75. The Death of Artemio Cruz (1962) by Carlos Fuentes. Translated by Alfred McAdam –230
76. Hopscotch (1963) by Julio Cortazar. Translated by Gregory Rabassa — 233
77. Three Trapped Tigers (1965) by Guillermo Cabrera Infante. Translated by Suzanne Jill Levine & Donald Gardner — 235
78. Season of Migration to the North (1960) by Tayeb Salih. Translated by Denys Johnson-Davies — 238
79. One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Translated by Gregory Rabassa –241
80. The Quest for Christa T. (1968) by Christa Wolf. Translated by Christopher Middleton –244
81. I Served the King of England (1971) by Bohumil Hrabal. Translated by Paul Wilson –246
82. Chronicle in Stone (1971; revised 1997) by Ismail Kadare. Translated by Arshi Pipa– 249
83. The Bridge of Beyond ( 1972) by Simon Schwartz-Bart. Translated by Barbara Bray — 251
84. Correction (1975) by Thomas Bernhard. Translated by Sophie Wilkins — 254
85. Life: A user’s Manual (1978) by Georges Perec. Translated by David Bellos –257
86. The Book of Laughter and Forgetting (1978) by Milan Kundera. Translated by Michael Henry Helm –260
87. If On a Winter’s Night a Traveller (1979) by Italo Calvino. Translated by William Weaver — 262
88. Basti (1979) by Intizar Husain. Translated by Frances W. Pritchett –265
89. So Long a Letter ((1979) by Mariama Ba. Translated by Modupe Bode-Thomas — 267
90. Buru Quartet (This Earth of Mankind; Child of All Nations; Footsteps; House of Glass) (1980-1988) by Pramodeya Ananda Toer. Translated by Max Lane — 270
91. The True Deceiver (1982) by Tove Jansson. Translated by Thomas Teal — 273
92. The Lover (1984) by Marguerite Duras. Translated by Barbara Bray — 276
93. The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis (1984) by Jose Saramago. Translated by Giovanni Pontiero — 278
94. Hard-boiled Wonderland and The End of the World (1985) by Haruki Murakami. Translated by Alfred Birnbaum — 281
95. See Under: LOVE (1986) by David Grossman. Translated by Betsy Rosenberg — 284
96. The Black Book (1990) by Orhan Pamuk. Translated by Maureen Freely — 287
97. The Emigrants (1992) by WG Seabald. Translated by Michael Hulse — 289
98. The Land of Green Plums (1993) by Herta Muller. Translated by Michael Hoffmann –292
99. A Dictionary of Maqiao (1996) by Han Shaogong. Translated by Julia Lovell — 295
100. The Feast of the Goat (2000) by Mario Vargas Liosa. Translated by Edith Grossman — 297

INDEX OF AUTHORS — 301

For the first time in 40 years, the Buffalo Bills drafted a Tight End in the First Round of the NFL Draft. Dalton Kincaid has “elite” catching ability–something that appealed to the Bills after coming in second to Green Bay with the most dropped passes last season. The Bills then added to Josh Allen’s protection by picking O’Cyrus Torrence (aka, “Cyborg”)–a 6’5″ 330 lb. offensive lineman who had the rare talent not to have given up a sack last year…and did not have any penalties, either!

How did your favorite NFL do in the 2023 Draft?

Buffalo Bills Draft Picks by Round in 2023

• Round 1, Pick 25 (From NYG via JAX) Dalton Kincaid, TE, Utah.
• Round 2, Pick 59. O’Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida.
• Round 3, Pick 91. Dorian Williams, LB, Tulane.
• Round 5, Pick 150 (from ARI) Justin Shorter, WR, Florida.
• Round 7, Pick 230. Nick Broeker, OG, Ole Miss.
• Round 7, Pick 252, Alex Austin, CB, Oregon St.

M. R. Carey’s Infinity Gate begins with an Artificial Intelligence describing how it came into sentience: the combination of Hadiz Tambuwal (a scientist), Essien Nikanika (a rogue), and Topaz Tourmaline FiveHills (a rabbit).

Carey creates a Universe where Step technology allows travel between parallel worlds. But the multiverse is threatened by two colossal empires: The Pandominion made up of thousands of worlds of living species and the Ansurrection made up of hundreds of thousands of worlds of machines. A war is brewing and worlds will be destroyed by unstoppable weapons.

After 500 pages, Carey leaves us this message: “The story continues in Book Two of The Pandominion.” I’m eager to find out where Carey is going with this multiverse in deep trouble plot. GRADE: B

Hundreds of vintage Science Fiction paperback and SF magazine covers! Plenty of eye-popping covers by Ed Valigursky, Chesley Bonestell, Ed Emshwiller, Richard Powers, and dozens of other artists from the 1940s and 1950s. I was surprised that Josh Kirby’s artwork showed up on so many SF paperbacks and SF magazine covers from that era.

Much of the focus of Rayguns & Spaceships is on SF in post World War II England. However, many of the covers will look familiar since those covers also showed up on American SF paperbacks and magazines.

Are you a fan of SF artwork? Do you have a favorite SF artist? GRADE: A

https://youtu.be/Y6obJfkCSCk

Featuring Norah Jones is a compilation album by American singer Norah Jones that was released on November 16, 2010, by Blue Note Records.  The album includes songs by other artists on which Jones is featured, including songs by her side bands The Little Willies and El Madmo. The album includes “Here We Go Again”, a duet with Ray Charles, which won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 2005. The song “Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John” by Belle & Sebastian had only been released one month prior to the release of this album on the group’s October 2010 album Belle and Sebastian Write About Love.

I was a big fan of Norah Jones when I listened to her first two CDs: Come Away With Me (2002) and Fells Like Home (2004). In later years, I drifted away as Norah Jones tried different singing styles and different songs…not to my tastes. But, this compilation CD includes plenty of excellent songs. The only dud is “Baby It’s Cold Outside” where Willie Nelson sounds unenthused.

With the variety of songs on this CD, I’m sure you’ll hear something you like…perhaps a lot! Are you a Norah Jones fan? GRADE: B+

Track listing: