Michio Kaku, a theoretical physicist, writes about the greatest quest in Science. When Sir Isaac Newton discovered the laws of motion and gravity, he unified the rules of physics. Since then, physicists have been discovering new forces and incorporating them into ever-greater theories of how everything works. But the major breakthroughs of the 20th century–relativity and quantum mechanics–are incompatible. So today’s physicists have been attempting to find a way to combine the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics to ultimately tie all the forces in the universe together into one beautiful equation that can unlock the deepest mysteries of space and time.

We’re not there yet, but Michio Kaku thinks we’re getting close. Despite the complexity of these ideas, Kaku writes clearly about what research is being done and the direction physics is likely to take in the future. If you’re interested in the state of the quest for “The Theory of Everything,” The God Equation holds a lot of the answers. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction to the final theory — 1
Unification, the ancient dream — 7
Einstein’s quest for unification — 32
Rise of the quantum — 52
Theory of almost everything — 77
The dark universe — 106
Rise of string theory : promise and problems — 141
Finding meaning in the universe — 182

Acknowledgements — 201

Notes — 203

Selected Reading — 211

Index — 213

Diane and her Book Club read Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See–which won the Pulitzer Prize–and loved it. So when Diane learned that the Just Buffalo Literary Center’s BABEL series was bringing Anthony Doerr to Buffalo to talk about his work we quickly called and bought a couple tickets.

Diane and her Book Club buddy, Cindy, heard Anthony Doerr speak at a New York City book event in March 2017. Diane was impressed by Doerr’s speaking style and his message on climate change. To prepare for Anthony Doerr’s Buffalo appearance, Diane read Doerr’s latest novel, Cloud Cuckoo Land–600+ pages!–which involves five characters from the Past to the Future.

Hundreds of Anthony Doerr fans showed up on March 30, 2023 at Kleinhans Music Hall (home of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra) for Doerr’s appearance. Doerr uses a Power Point presentation to illustrate his points as he spoke about writing his novels and his concern for environmental issues. The evening ended with a Q&A session where Doerr demonstrated a lot of humor with his witty answers. When asked how he decompresses after writing all day, Doerr answered: “Mario Cart.”

Diane and I did not stay for Doerr’s book signing, but dozens did. I came away with a better idea of the Creative Process and the amount of research needed to produce a First Rate novel. Are you an Anthony Doerr fan? GRADE: A

I came across Diana Waggoner’s The Hills of Faraway published in 1978 simply by chance. Yes, the book stops with fantasy works from 1975 so the book is dated. But, if you’re interested in J. R. R. Tolkien, George MacDonald, William Morris, Ursula Le Guin, Patricia McKillip, Fletcher Pratt, Thorne Smith, E. R. Eddison, Roald Dahl, A. Merritt, and dozens of other fantasy writers from 1858 to 1975, this is the reference book for you.

Waggoner spends 100 pages or so defining various types of fantasy fiction and discusses the sources of what we consider Modern Fantasy. Then she presents lists of various Fantasy books and stories organized by type. Waggoner also provides a sampling of classic Fantasy illustrations!

If you’re a fan of Fantasy works from the period Waggoner analyzes, The Hills of Fantasy provides plenty of insights and information about the Fantasy types and the authors who wrote them. It’s a fun book to browse and discover new facts. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Preface and Acknowledgements — v

Theory of fantasy — 3

Some trends in fantasy — 28

1. Mythopoetic fantasy — 31
2. Heroic fantasy and adventure fantasy — 36
3. Ironic fantasy — 49
4. Comic fantasy — 51
5. Nostalgic fantasy and sentimental fantasy — 56
6. Horror fantasy — 60

APPENDIX A: A timeline of fantasy, 1858-1975 — 65

APPENDIX B: Some fantasy award-winners –68

APPENDIX C: Fantasy illustration — 70

APPENDIX D: Subgenres of fantasy — 94

Sources — 119

A bibliographic guide to fantasy — 125

Index of Names and Terms — 303

Index of Titles — 314

Stax of Soul (aka, Soul Emotion in a previous release) brings together some Oldies but Goodies and some head-scratching choices. Most of us remember Inez Foxx’s “Mockingbird” and Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family.” But do you remember the Detroit Emeralds’ “Feel the Need in Me” or First Choice’s “Love and Happiness”?

I love Silver Convention’s “Fly Robin Fly” and The Three Degrees’ “When Will I See You Again.” But the compilers of this music CD have Al Jarreau sing “Ain’t No Sunshine” instead of Bill Withers’ iconic rendition. Ike and Tina Turner’s “Living For the City” sounds fine–but it’s no “Proud Mary.”

Do you remember these songs? Any favorites? GRADE: B

TRACKLIST:

1	Al Wilson–	Show And Tell
2	Climax (6)–	Precious And Few
3	The Whispers–	Seems Like I Gotta Do Wrong
4	Inez Foxx–	Mockingbird
5	Al Jarreau–	Ain’t No Sunshine
6	Detroit Emeralds–	Feel The Need In Me
7	The Philly Groove Orchestra–	Didn’t I Blow Your Mind
8	Ike & Tina Turner–	Living For The City
9	First Choice–	Love And Happiness
10	Ohio Players–	Summertime
11	Sister Sledge–	We Are Family
12	Rose Royce–	Wishing On A Star
13	Silver Convention–	Fly Robin Fly
14	The Three Degrees–	When Will I See You Again
15	Ben E. King–	Supernatural Thing
16	The Fantastics–	Something Old Something New
17	Freda Payne–	Band Of Gold
18	Marvin Gaye–	What’s Going On
19	James Brown–	Get Up Offa That Thing
20	Commodores–	Rise Up

Dark Origins is the first volume of the Arkham Horror “Collected Novellas.” I already read and reviewed Volume 2, Grim Investigations and my review will be posted in a few weeks. All of these stories have Lovecraftian aspects to them. The writing is a step above fan fiction so to enjoy these stories you’ll have to set the bar low.

“Hour of the Huntress” by Dave Gross begins with the mysterious disappearance of gun-toting dilettante Jenny Barnes’ beloved sister, Izzie, and triggers a frantic search through Arkham’s underworld. The climactic shoot-out is a dandy! GRADE: B

“The Dirge of Reason” by Graeme Davis follows for federal agent Roland Banks whose investigation of a bizarre incident exposes him to the supernatural horrors of Arkham. GRADE: C+

“Ire of the Void” by Richard Lee Byers concerns an astronomer and professor Norman Withers who finds himself the subject of a strange creature’s gaze when he agrees to assist in a fellow scientist’s weird experiment. This story features the famous Hounds of Tindalos who Frank Belknap Long made famous. GRADE: B+

“The Deep Gate ” by Chris A Jackson writes about a sailor, Silas Marsh, who must return to Innsmouth and confront his harrowing nightmares when he stumbles on a tome foretelling the end of the world. GRADE: C

If you enjoy Lovecraft patiches, Dark Origins will provide some mild Entertainment. But my quibble with these Arkham Horror anthologies is that the stories lack the dread that Lovecraft infused most of this stories with.

Beetlejuice, the 1988 film directed by Tim Burton, was a mild success even though it had Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, and Jeffrey Jones. But, over the years, a cult following supported Beetlejuice and the musical version came to life. The musical had a tryout at the National Theatre, Washington, D.C. in October 2018, prior to opening on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre on April 25, 2019. It is produced by Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures (a unit of franchise owner Warner Bros.). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the show played its final performance at the Winter Garden on March 10, 2020.  It reopened at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway on April 8, 2022, and closed on January 8, 2023; a US national tour of the production began in December 2022. Two days ago Diane and I saw Beetlejuice: The Musical at the Shay’s Performing Arts Center with a sold-out audience.

With music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect and book by Scott Brown and Anthony King, this version modifies the story concerns a deceased couple who try to haunt the new inhabitants of their former home and call for help from a devious bio-exorcist ghost named Betelgeuse (after the star; the name is pronounced and often spelled “Beetlejuice”). Beetlejuice is summoned by saying his name three times. One of the new inhabitants is a young girl, Lydia, who is dealing with her mother’s death and her neglectful father.

Where the focus in the movie was on the dead couple trying to get their house back, this musical version focuses on Lydia (played by Winona Ryder in the original), a teenager who is grieving over the death of her mother, played by Catherine O’Hara–who was alive the entire movie.

I wasn’t a big fan of the movie and I’m not a big fan of this musical version. Your mileage may vary. GRADE: C

Musical numbers:

Act I“ Prologue: Invisible” – Lydia and Ensemble The Whole “Being Dead” Thing” – Beetlejuice and Ensemble “Ready, Set, Not Yet” – Adam and Barbara “The Whole “Being Dead” Thing, Pt. 2″ – Beetlejuice and Ensemble “The Whole “Being Dead” Thing, Pt. 3″ – Beetlejuice “Dead Mom” – Lydia “Fright of Their Lives” – Beetlejuice, Adam, Barbara and Ensemble “Ready Set, Not Yet” (reprise) – Barbara and Adam “No Reason” – Delia and Lydia “Invisible” (reprise)/ “On the Roof” – Beetlejuice “Say My Name” – Beetlejuice, Lydia, Barbara and Adam “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” – Delia, Charles, Maxie, Maxine and Ensemble

Act II “Girl Scout” – Skye “That Beautiful Sound” – Beetlejuice, Lydia and Ensemble “That Beautiful Sound” (reprise) – Beetlejuice and Ensemble “Barbara 2.0” – Barbara and Adam “The Whole “Being Dead” Thing, Pt. 4″ – Beetlejuice† “Good Old Fashioned Wedding” – Beetlejuice “What I Know Now” – Miss Argentina and Ensemble “Home” – Lydia “Creepy Old Guy” – Lydia, Adam, Barbara, Beetlejuice, Charles, Delia and Ensemble” Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)” / “Dead Mom” (reprise) / “Home” (reprise) / “Day-O” (reprise) – Lydia, Barbara, Adam, Delia and Charles

David Lehman, the insightful critic, has seen all the noir movies (multiple times) and has read the novels many of the noir movies are based on. Lehman celebrates Ida Lupino as The First Lady of Noir–his arguments convinced me. But Lehman doesn’t stop there: he expands the borders of noir.

What impressed me most was Lehman’s analysis of writers I don’t associate with noir: Rex Stout and Ed McBain. Lehman teases out noirish aspects of the Nero Wolfe series as well as the 87th Precinct novels.

Spying wraps noir around itself in the dark alleys and secret passages of le Carre, Graham Greene, and Eric Ambler. After reading Lehman’s intriguing chapters on spy craft, I wanted to drop everything and dive into the world of espionage and moles and double-dealing!

If you’re a fan of noir–movies and/or books–Lehman’s guided tour to the genre will impress and edify you. Highly recommended! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction: The Mysterious Romance of Murder — 1

Part I. Killer Style

1. Cracking Wise — 45

2. Paradise of the Damned: Eighteen Notes on Noir — 52

3. Poetry Noir — 79

4. Five Noir Poems — 87

“Perfidia” –87

“Laura” — 88

“Witness to a Murder” 89

“The Formula” — 90

“Just a Couple of Mugs” — 91

Part II. The Elements of Crime

5. Here’s to Crime! — 95

6. The Last Cigarette — 103

7. Among My Souvenirs — 113

Part III. Auteurs

8. The Great British Spymasters — 125

9. The Limits of Logic: Trent’s Last Case (E. C. Bentley) — 140

10. Dashiell Hammett’s Priceless Patter — 144

11. Paperclip (Raymond Chandler) — 157

12. “Grim Grin” (Graham Greene) — 159

13. Rex Stout: The Emperor of Couronne de Canard — 161

14. Ida Lupino: The First Lady of Noir — 167

15. Black Friday (David Goodis) — 172

16. Orange Noir (Charles Willeford) — 175

17. Ed McBain: The Man from Isola — 178

18. Hitchcock’s America — 185

Part IV. Dreams That Money Can Buy

19. Straight Down the Line: Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity (1944) — 213

20. Strangers and Mirrors: Orson Welles’s The Stranger (1946) and The Lady from Shanghai (1947) — 218

21. An Exchange of Bullets in Belfast: Carol Reed’s Odd Man Out (1947) — 222

22. Blind Accidents: John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle (1950) — 226

23. Epitaph for a Genre: Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing (1956) — 230

24. Shadow of Evil: Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear (1962) — 234

25. A Reluctant Spy’s Conversion: William Holden in The Counterfeit Traitor (1962) — 238

26. Gangsters in Love: Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America (1984) — 242

27. Rogues’ Gallery — 246

28. Why Not New York? — 252

Part V. The Imp of the Perverse

29. Three Astrological Profiles — 259

Barbara Stanwyck (July 16) — 259

Graham Greene (October 2) — 262

Marlene Dietrich (December 27) — 266

Author’s Note — 271

Authors and Books Index — 273

Film and Television Index — 278

Set in London, England in 1885 Of Manners and Murder (2023) starts off with a secret. Miss Hermione, the most popular advice columnist in England, is actually Adelia Manville. Violet Manville, who lives with her aunt, suddenly finds herself becoming the mysterious Miss Hermione when Aunt Adelia takes off on a European vacation.

Violet, a would-be scholar and recluse, is the opposite of her wealthy and frivolous step-sister, Sephora, who delights in being a social butterfly. Violet doesn’t tell Sephora that she is the new Miss Hermione–Sephora like most women of that time regards Miss Hermione’s advice as wise and correct.

One of Violet’s first letters asking Miss Hermione for advice involves a young woman who has recently married. Her concern revolves around the number of accidents that she’s involved with. When Violet goes to visit the woman who wrote the letter to Miss Hermione, she finds out the woman is dead. Violet immediately suspects foul play and starts her investigation.

Meanwhile, Sephora’s new boyfriend suddenly disappears and Sephora risks her life in the more dangerous neighborhoods of London looking for him. The sisters searching intersects as a murderous plot reveals itself. If you’re in the mood for a classic Victorian mystery, give Of Manners and Murder a try. GRADE: B

In the first minute of John Wick, Chapter Four John Wick kills four guys. Symbolic? John Wick has killed 299 Bad Guys in the first three John Wick movies. I stopped counting the bodies in this latest movie when I hit 100. And the movie had an hour more to go!

The High Table, a cartel of criminals and assassins, decides to punish The Manager (Ian McShane) for assisting John Wick by removing his hotel. The Marquis (Bill Skarsgard)–who rules The High Table–puts a $20 million dollar bounty on John Wick. The action shifts to Osaka where one of the most marvelous and stylized battle scenes on film takes place. The Continental, managed by John Wick’s friend, Shimazu (Hiroyuki Sanada) and his daughter Akira (singer Rina Sawayama), gets attacked by High Table henchmen. Choreographed violence erupts!

The High Table has also enlisted the blind assassin, Caine (Donnie Yen), to kill John Wick. The wild card in this plot is a tracker called “Mr. Nobody” (Shamier Anderson) who will locate John Wick for The High Table…for a price. Mr. Nobody’s dog steals the show!

The action moves to Berlin where John Wick has to take on criminal kingpin in order to get reestablished in his Family. The final scenes take place in Paris where John Wick is hunted by an army of mercenaries eager to collect the bounty. Wick has to climb 222 steps–defended by dozens of killers–to the Sacre-Coeur where he has a duel with Destiny.

If you’re a John Wick fan, you’ll find this latest movie the best of the bunch! Director Chad Stahelski and scriptwriters Shay Hatten and Michael Finch…and of course Keanu Reeves, all deserve top grades! GRADE: A

I’ve read most of Jack McDevitt’s SF novels and all of Alex Benedict series. Village in the Sky is the ninth book in the Alex Benedict series. Alex Benedict lives about 10,000 years in the future. He’s a specialist at finding historical artifacts/antiquities…and selling them. The Alex Benedict novels are narrated by his talented pilot, Chase Kolpath, where the pair usually face a baffling mystery in their searchers–and solve it.

Village in the Sky begins with a human exploration starship finding an alien village on a remote planet. But when a followup ship is sent to investigate, the aliens and the village is gone. Where did it go? Who are these aliens?

Alex Benedict, who loves a mystery–and the prospect of finding invaluable alien artifacts–assembles a team to travel to the planet where the aliens were first seen and then figure out where they went…and why.

My favorite Alex Benedict novel is Seeker which won a Nebula for Best SF novel of 2005. A Village in the Sky is a few steps below that classic. GRADE: C+

ALEX BENEDICT SERIES:

• A Talent for War (1989) (also published as part of Hello Out There)
• Polaris (2004), ISBN 0-441-01202-7
• Seeker (2005) – winner of Nebula Award for Best Novel, ISBN 0-441-01329-5
• The Devil’s Eye (2008), ISBN 0-441-01635-9
• Echo (2010), ISBN 0-441-01924-2
• Firebird (November 1, 2011), ISBN 0-441-02073-9
• Coming Home (November 4, 2014), ISBN 0-425-26087-9
• Octavia Gone (May 7, 2019), ISBN 0-481-49797-8
• Village in the Sky (Gallery Publishing Group/Saga Press, January 31, 2023), ISBN 978-1-66800-429-6