THE WALKING DEAD

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I’m not a big zombie fan, but I watched the first episode of The Walking Dead last Sunday on AMC. The setup is basic: a police deputy wakes up in a hospital after being shot and discovers he’s in an abandoned building filled with dead bodies. He learns an illness killed millions of people and then turned them into flesh-eating zombies. The deputy decides to head for Atlanta, but when he gets there, he finds the city has been taken over by “The Walking Dead.” I found the first episode to be a bit slow. However, the apocalyptic premise is compelling and I’ll give this series a few more weeks. The constant shooting of zombies in the head (the only sure way to “kill” them) gets a bit tedious. This series is based on a series of graphic novels by Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore first published in 2003.

ECHO By Jack McDevitt

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I’ve read and enjoyed Jack McDevitt’s previous books in his Alex & Chase series so I was eager to read the just published new novel in the series, Echo. Artifacts dealer Alex Benedict and pilot Chase Kolpath encounter a strange marker with cryptic lettering on it. Then, the first of three attempts on their lives occurs. That only makes Alex more motivated to track down the origin of the marker and solve the mysteries behind it. If you haven’t read the previous books in this series–A Talent for War, Polaris, Seeker, and The Devil’s Eye–you’re missing some great contemporary SF adventures. Each book is essentially a mystery so if you enjoy puzzle novels, you’ll find these books great fun, too. GRADE: B+

FORGOTTEN BOOKS #90: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARK TWAIN, VOLUME ONE

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In a moment of marketing genius, Mark Twain declared that his Autobiography not be published until a 100 years after his death. Twain died in 1910. Now we have Volume One of Twain’s rambling reminiscences: all 760 pages. Twain decided that the best way to create his Autobiography was to walk around telling stories and having a stenographer follow him around taking down every word Twain spoke. The result is very much like a blog: subject follows subject almost randomly. Yes, there are some tedious passages, as you might expect in a book this large. But Twain’s humor and wit appear on almost every page. I’ll be waiting eagerly for the next two volumes (1200 pages!). If you’re a Mark Twain fan, the 100 year wait is over!

WORLD MADE BY HAND & THE WITCH OF HEBRON By James Howard Kunstler

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Jame Howard Kunstler writes survivor fiction in these two novels. In World Made By Hand we learn that Los Angles and Washington, D.C. have been destroyed by terrorist nuclear bombs. The United States has disintegrated into regional government (and there is very little of that) with citizens dealing with no electricity, no oil, and the aftermath of a pandemic flu that killed many young people. The novels are set in up-state New York town called Union Grove. Robert Earle, a carpenter, works to keep his small community functioning. But the influx of a fundamentalist religious group threatens the stability of the survivors. In The Witch of Hebron a psychopathic killer named Billy Bones casually wrecks havoc wherever he goes. The “witch” is a healer whose powers attract both good and evil. If you’re in the mood for post-nuclear holocaust fiction, Kunstler paints a very convincing picture of a grim future. GRADE: B (FOR BOTH)

DOO-WOPS & HOOLIGANS By Bruno Mars

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First off, this is NOT a doo-wop album. What you’re going to hear is Bruno Mars (aka, Peter Gene Hernandez) sing some luscious urban soul songs. My current favorite is “Grenade” but some of the others are edging their way into my consciousness, too. Bruno Mars is an artist to keep an eye on after hitting it out of the park with his first solo album. The kid has Talent! GRADE: A-

BARGAIN OF THE WEEK: ELLERY QUEEN MYSTERIES on DVD

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This digitally remastered set of the 22 episodes in the NBC classic series is available at BJ’s Warehouse for $29.99. AMAZON has it for $36.99 and Barnes & Noble wants $46.99 for this set. This six DVD set includes an interview with one of the series’ creators, William Link. There’s also a guide that includes episode plot summaries. If you enjoyed these wonderful programs as much as I did, check out this affordable box set. It would make a great holiday gift! GRADE: A

THE CARETAKER OF LORNE FIELD By Dave Zeltserman

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Patti Abbott reviewed The Caretaker of Lorne Field a few weeks ago on her blog. I immediately picked up a copy and finally found time to read it. If you put Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and any Stephen King novel in a blender, the result would be something like The Caretaker of Lorne Field. Jack Durkin, the Caretaker, is from the sixth generation to weed Lorne field. The Durkin family has been weeding Lorne field for 300 years to prevent an invasion of the Aukowie, a blood-thirsty alien race. The Aukowie resemble small weeds, but as they grow larger, they become more powerful and murderous. Durkin has The Book of Aukowie, an ancient text that describes how the Aukowie must be fought on a daily basis, and a contract signed by the village which explains the role of the Caretaker and the obligations of the village to support the Caretaker. But, now, the new villagers think the Aukowie are a myth. Durkin tries to convince everyone who will listen of the threat, but he’s considered a mental case. The Caretaker of Lorne Field would have made a great Twilight Zone episode. Dave Zeltserman bears watching. I want to read his next book. GRADE: B+

BURNING BRIGHT By Ron Rash

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Ron Rash writes short stories in the tradition of Raymond Carver, Bobbie Ann Mason, and Daniel Woodrell. You might call it Country Noir. Rash’s characters are mostly poor, living day-to-day. Their lives seem to get worse every day. My two favorite stories in this collection are “Back of Beyond” and “Dead Confederates.” In “Back of Beyond,” a pawn broker deals with a meth addict. “Dead Confederates” features a pair of grave robbers. If your tastes run to rural Wal-Mart realism, you’ll like the stories in Burning Bright. GRADE: B+
(This completes the October 2010 portion of my Short Story Reading Challenge. I will read and review one short story collection per month in 2010. To find out more about the Short Story Reading Challenge, be sure to click: “http://theshortstorychallenge.blogspot.com/”>Short Story Reading Challenge.

FORGOTTEN BOOKS #89: THE BORDERLAND SERIES Edited by Thomas F. Monteleone

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Halloween is in the air so I thought I’d present a series many people don’t know about: the Borderland series edited by the talented Thomas F. Monteleone. The first volume was published in 1988, the second appeared in 1991, the third in 1993. They were published by White Wolf Books and distribution was spotty. Some people have never seen these books. White Wolf folded and the fourth and fifth volumes of the Borderland series were published by Borderland Press. The fifth volume was reprinted by Warner books in 2004 in as From the Borderlands, but the Table of Contents is identical to Borderlands 5. Contributors to the series included Stephen King, Ed Gorman, John Farris, Whitley Strieber, David J. Schow, Poppy Z. Bright, Harlan Ellison, Kathe Koja, Charles Grant, Joe R. Lansdale, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Ramsey Campbell, Dennis Etchison, and Peter Straub. The quality of these horror stories is high as you would expect from the reputations of the contributors. This is a little-known series that produced some scary horror fiction that would get you in the Halloween mood.