This omnibus edition of Murray Leinster’s “Med Ship” series includes “Med Ship Man,” “Plague on Kryder II,” “The Mutant Weapon” (aka, “Med Service”), “Ribbon in the Sky,” “Tallien Three,” “Quarantine World,” “The Grandfathers’ War,” and “Pariah Planet” (aka, “This World is Taboo”). Murray Leinster is a master story-teller. His work always delivers a compelling plot and fascinating characters. Parts of the Med Ship series were published in ACE Doubles. It’s nice to have this complete package with the entire saga in one place. If you haven’t read these wonderful stories, what are you waiting for?  GRADE: A-

Kate Bush: Hounds of Love, A Classical Album Under Review explores every song on the album. There are live and studio versions of every track. The DVD has journalists Kris Needs and Lucy O’Brien commenting on every song. Musicologist Chris Ingham critiques the Kate Bush compositions from his piano. Also included are archive interviews with Kate Bush from the time the album was released in the 1980’s as well as snippets from the music videos. After watching this DVD, I immediately wanted to listen to Hounds of Love again. If you’re a Kate Bush fan, and I am, you’ll find this documentary DVD well worth the money. GRADE: A-

Jennifer Nettles, with her distinctive voice, and her “straight-man” duo partner, Kristin Bush, have released this rollicking live album which includes a 10-song CD and a 15-song DVD. “Settlin'” is here and so is “Already Gone.” Diane likes “All I Want to Do” and “Stay.” Sugarland is one of those Country-Western groups that have crossed-over into the lucrative pop music mainstream. They performed with Bon Jovi in a memorable CMT CROSSROADS program a few years ago. It’s a nice video if you can find a used copy. Sugarland is one of the few contemporary groups I would pay Real Money to see. They’re touring with Keith Urban and should play a concert in Buffalo in October. Meanwhile we’ll be listening to this CD and occasionally dip into the DVD. Be warned: you can only buy Sugarland: Live on the Inside at Wal-Mart! GRADE: B+

On page 180 of This Is Me, Jack Vance where Vance is talking about the authors he likes you’re going to encounter this line: “Bill Crider, who writes about Sheriff Dan Rhodes in Clearview, Texas, is a pleasure to read.” Congratulations, Bill! My favorite part of the book is pages 178-181. In this brief section, Vance talks about his blindness and how he overcame this disability to still write his books. Then Vance turns to a discussion of writers he likes: M. C. Beaton, Ruth Rendell, P. D. James, Agatha Christie, Patricia Moyes, Dorothy Sayers, Dorothy Simpson, Georgette Heyer, M. M. Kaye, Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt, Donna Leon, Deborah Crombie, Lawrence Sanders, Erle Stanley Gardner, A. B. Cunningham, Jonathan Kellerman, Tony Hillerman, and Philip R. Craig. I wish there were more of this kind of discussion about his science fiction and fantasy writing career. Much of this memoir concerns Vance’s time in the Navy during WWII and his later travels. Reading that kind of stuff is like watching a slide show of somebody else’s vacation. Yawn. Fans of Jack Vance will buy this book regardless of the travelogue portions. GRADE: B

I’m tempted to say: “Local boy does good.” Jason Vieaux grew up in Western New York and comes back to play occasional concerts. Currently, Jason is the head of the Cleveland Institute of Music Guitar Department. Diane and I have seen him perform a number of times. Jason Vieaux is a gifted guitarist. His playing is subtle and nuanced. This recording is a gem. If you love guitar music, Bach, and great sound on a CD just listen to this wonderful music. I can’t wait for Vol. 2! GRADE: A

After The Flash, Green Lantern was my favorite DC comic book character. I liked the galactic federation of Green Lanterns policing the hostile universe. I liked the innovative plots and the ballet-like battle scenes. This animated version of Green Lantern doesn’t take much time to explore Green Lantern’s “Secret Origins” opting instead to get right into the action. There’s more violence than I would have expected in an animated movie, so the target market is for an older crowd. If you’re a Green Lantern fan, you’re going to want to watch this. GRADE: B+

Natash Paremski will be performing the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #2 tonight under the watchful eye of Art Scott. The Emperor is visiting with us this week. Diane and I thought this Russian program would appeal to Art. The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra will also perform Glinka’s “Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture” and Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony #5.” After the concert, I’m guessing a visit to Hibbard’s world-class custard stand will be in order.

Geoffrey Jenkins’ mind-bending plot has a beautiful scientist who’s passionate about beetles, a super-secret Nazi nuclear powered U-boat, a Luger toting Bad Guy, a military court martial, a gripping submarine duel, and a mystery involving an enigmatic section of the African coast. Written in 1959, Jenkins’ high adventure novel hits a couple of sour notes with a lame romantic subplot and jarring references to black Africans. But, if you can overlook these minor flaws, you’ll find A Twist of Sand delivers a satisfying high adventure that just isn’t being written anymore.

Sandra Bullock is getting a little too old to play the ingenue role, but she carries off her part as a Dragon Lady editor for a large publishing firm. Bullock’s character is about to be deported unless she can become a U.S. citizen through a quickie marriage to her administrative assistant, played by Ryan Reynolds. Of course, plenty of screwball romantic entanglements test our couple. Betty White shows she still can inject humor into a tired plot with her role as a 90-year old grandmother of the groom. The Proposal was not as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, it was mildly entertaining. GRADE: B

Robert Silverberg has been a prolific writer for 60 years. The 25-page double-columned bibliography included in Other Spaces, Other Times of just Silverberg’s science fiction publications prove that. Silverberg’s soft-core novels, non-fiction, and mysteries aren’t included in this bibliography. But what is included are Silverberg’s reminiscences of the people he met during his long career as a writer. Harlan Ellison pops up several times, Fredrick Pohl, John W. Campbell, Larry Shaw, Isaac Asimov, Ed Emshwiller, all make appearances. There are plenty of photos of Silverberg interacting with editors, writers, and fans. Dozens of color reproductions of the book jackets and paperback covers of Silverberg’s works are fun to look at. Silverberg’s narrative captures a magic time in publishing that is just about extinct. GRADE: A