Title page of episode 1 of “The Private Eye”. Used with permission.

With the plethora of social media outlets combined with the ease of content creation brought on by mobile devices, faster networks and better cameras, it grows more difficult to keep one’s information private. Some people that I know (my college-age son included) have started a backlash by deleting their Facebook and other accounts, citing their distraction, invasion of privacy and questionable content as reasons not to invest time. And once your data and information is out there in the great wide Intrawebs that Al Gore invented, it is near impossible to retract it, or delete it. Thanks to Google et. al., it gets easier and easier for anyone to find it. The viral nature of the Internet can make anyone a celebrity, and the lack of privacy can make many wish they were not.
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REVIEW SUMMARY: Pulp legends collide as Doc Savage encounters King Kong shortly after World War I, augmenting the history of Doc Savage.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Called upon to take care of King Kong’s body after his fall from the Empire State Building, Doc Savage recounts to his aides the story of his first meeting with Kong, shortly after World War I when he and his father were searching the southern seas for Doc’s grandfather.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Adds to the origins and background of Doc Savage and features a younger, still maturing, more complex Doc; and it has Kong! And DeVito art of Kong!
CONS: Would have enjoyed seeing more of Kong; and more DeVito art of Kong!
BOTTOM LINE: Near the 80th anniversary of both King Kong and Doc Savage, this novel is a well-paced look at a younger Doc Savage, uncertain of his future, uncomfortable in his relationship with his father, and searching for a grandfather he barely knows. This “origin” story provides a more complex Doc Savage than other novels, and can be enjoyed by Savage zealots (guilty!) and neophytes alike. Kong’s portrayal is true to DeVito’s Kong: King of Skull Island, and more Kong is the main thing I would ask of this novel.

[For newbies: check out A Doc Savage Primer and this list of all of the Doc Savage novels]

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REVIEW SUMMARY: The third book in Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus series joins Percy Jackson (son of Poseidon), Jason Grace (son of Jupiter) and other Greek and Roman demigods in a quest to save the world from the destructive awakening of Gaia, goddess of the Earth.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Seven teenage demigods of prophecy race to Rome to save one of their own and to thwart Gaia, one of the most powerful gods in mythology. Gaia sends giants and other mythological creatures against them. And the Roman demigods are threatening the Greek demigods camp. All while the teenage demigods act like…well…teenagers.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Full of Greek and Roman mythology; fast paced; suitable for kids, young adults and adults. And flying ships! And Riordan is from San Antonio!
CONS: Gotta wait for at least one more and maybe two in the series.
BOTTOM LINE: Rick Riordan gets my vote (and my family’s vote) to fill the void left by the end of the Harry Potter series. The books include well-researched Greek and Roman mythology, very ‘human’ demigods and gods, lots of humor and ‘save-the-world’ action.

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Award shows and popularity contests normally have no influence on my book buying. With a long back-list on the SF/F TBR stack demanding attention (not to mention the History book TBR stack, the Science TBR stack…), and the growing availability of all types of titles, glomming onto any “this year’s best” has seemed a small influence (especially given the low voter numbers, see results here). Plus different genres and different authors obviously appeal to different people.

But this year, given certain events (Yay John!), I participated in the voting and enjoyed the benefits of the Hugo voter packet (an outstanding deal).  The Hugo packet certainly had the desired effect: I’ve purchased other works by a couple of these authors, based on what I read and enjoyed in the packet.

I voted simply based on which book I enjoyed the most, versus any context of whom I thought was the most deserving. The group of nominated novels contained a near-future space opera, a near-future zombie apocalypse, the continuation of a historical fantasy series, a coming of age novel of fairies and magic, and a story of alien language. Another interesting fact is that three of the five are part of series and two are standalone novels.

Here are my notes on the nominated novels, with where I placed them in the voting (which correlates with my tastes not matching the voters at large):

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REVIEW SUMMARY: A fable of Order vs. Chaos fighting for a young man’s soul set in a world of alchemy and alternate universes. And steamships! KJA’s world building plus Easter eggs for Rush fans, and a struggle that starts out simple but is complex.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Owen Hardy grows up in a world controlled by the Watchmaker, where “the Universe has a plan, All is for the best.” His yearning for something more takes him out of the order of his small town, and thrusts him into the battle between order (the Watchmaker) and chaos (the Anarchist) leading him to explore places and worlds he did not realize existed.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Hugh Syme’s graphics (wish there were more in the ARC!); Rush easter eggs; combination of alchemy and steampunk world
CONS: Starts slow; more backstory (i.e, a longer novel) on the world’s history and characters;
BOTTOM LINE: After a slow start, Clockwork Angels barrels through a world of alchemy, multiple universes and steamships, using a manipulative war between chaos and order as the canvas for a philosophical discourse based on lyrics by Neil Peart. Not just for Rush and KJA fans, but enjoyable for those who like different worlds and allegorical fables.

[For additional background, see the review of the Clockwork Angels album by Rush]

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REVIEW SUMMARY: With ancient conspiracies wrapping more genetic mutations and the not quite omniscient Department of Military Sciences, Assassin’s Code is the most enjoyable in this series yet.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Taking a cue from the headlines – after rescuing U.S. students being held as spies in Iran, Joe Ledger and Echo Team are pulled into an ancient hostile agreement between Christian and Muslim factions, with an old foe, some legendary mutations and the past of the DMS leadership complicating their fight against a nuclear holocaust.

MY REVIEW

PROS: Maberry keeps the pace moving with short chapters, wise-cracking Joe Ledger, lots of action and flashbacks; blends in historical background with enough realism to make you check the facts; large world and history shaking conspiracies.
CONS: Need some new villains; hopefully background on Church/Deacon/St. Germaine in a future book.
BOTTOM LINE: Fast-paced, with Joe Ledger getting more and more complicated with each novel, Assassin’s Code is easily the best in the series since Patient Zero…and may be the best of the four.
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“Dad,” asked my 21-year-old son, “do you think she’ll wear the Princess Leia outfit?”

That, in a nutshell, is the now 55-year-old Carrie Fisher’s blessing and curse. My friend Vern admitted he had “serious issues with Princess Leia” from age 13. Ms. Fisher herself tells the story of a man who said he thought of her daily from age 14 to 22…”at least four times a day.”

Our evening with Carrie Fisher, watching her perform Wishful Drinking, her one woman autobiographical sketch of “talking about myself behind my back” was neither as magical as the first time one sees Star Wars as a teenager and probably will not be as memorable (my wife enjoyed it, but even she rated the jazz concert from the previous Friday better entertainment…it was Joe Sample!). Ms. Fisher’s show, which has been running off and on since November 2006, could quickly have turned into celebrity self-indulgent crap (at one point she says “Don’t you hate it when celebrities talk about themselves?”); but through many clever turns of a phrase and an uncanny detachment of talking about tragic parts of her life in humorous fashion, Ms. Fisher made it quite an enjoyable evening. It was comfortable and fun, like exchanging stories while drinking with an old friend.

In this case, the old friend has a Hollywood pedigree, a metal bikini from George Lucas, one ex-husband named Paul Simon and awards for mental illness. And that’s how Carrie Fisher structures her very well written show, in four parts:

• Hollywood Inbreeding 101
• Star Wars
• Two Ex-Husbands
• Mental Illness

If you haven’t seen the show and intend to, some spoilers after the break.
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REVIEW SUMMARY: Utilizing the East Texas setting he knows so well, Lansdale repeats the master storytelling displayed in one of my all-time faves, The Bottoms, with this genre-bending tale of escape and hope. Lansdale integrates pieces of Homer, Mark Twain and other influences, but it is his ability to make the characters, the setting and extraordinary circumstances come to life that makes this a great read.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Almost an adult, Sue Ellen is trapped in East Texas with an abusive stepfather and a mother who lives in a drunken haze. A friend’s murder and the discovery of her hidden stash of cash set Sue Ellen and her friends, Terry and Jinx, on an escape down-river, trying to leave their past and running from people and legendary killers who would take their new found cash, their freedom and their lives.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Lots of people know how to write a book, Lansdale knows how to tell a story. The characters, the setting, the prejudices of the time period and the legendary “do they really exist” killers all flow together into a can’t-put-it-down tale.
CONS: Strikingly similar to The Bottoms — not necessarily a con, but some scenes seemed familiar.
BOTTOM LINE: Lansdale often gets classified as a “Horror Author” and that kept me away from his stories for a long time. But his writing flows so well, it’s like we’re sitting drinking tequila swapping tales…with him always winning the storytelling contest. Edge of Dark Water is difficult book to confine into a single genre (the best kind!) but it’s an enjoyable read, ranking close to The Bottoms as Lansdale’s best.

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Tad Williams writes doorstop-sized fantasy series where, in his world building, not everything is ever revealed to the reader. One of the great characteristics about series such as Otherland, Shadowmarch, and Memory, Sorrow and Thorn is that, when they are done, there are pieces and connections that your brain continues to try to figure out; it’s not that he leaves big gaping holes in the background of the world or characters, he provides just enough to allow his reader to think, and to imagine. (The other great characteristic is that he finishes these series with a frequency that doesn’t keep his readers waiting for several years; and he always provides a summary of what has gone before, something those of us with poor memories require.)

Thus, I expected this collection of short stories and novellas to be in that category: grandiose fantasies with lots behind the curtain. And some of these certainly fit in that bucket and could be extended into larger stories and worlds (specifically “And Ministers of Grace”, “The Storm Door”, “The Stranger’s Hand”, and “The Terrible Conflaguration at Quiller’s Mints”, which takes place in the Shadowmarch world). But there were other stories that were either completely out of the fantasy genre, or in someone else’s world, or were just standalone fantasy short stories. And unfortunately, there were a couple of screenplays thrown in. Unless it’s Shakespeare, the reading of a screenplay is difficult (unless maybe for actors?), and having one (or two) in a collection of short stories breaks up the rhythm. Structurally, they are quite a different read, and the two included here were a fragment and a horror story. “Black Sunshine”, the horror story, I actually enjoyed, but the reading of a story in screenplay format is not for me.

My favorites here were “And Ministers of Grace”, “The Stranger’s Hand”, “The Thursday Men” (Hellboy, yeah!) and “The Lamentable Comic Tragedy (or the Laughably Tragic Comedy) of Luxal Laqavee”. I could have done without “Bad Guy Factory” (the screenplay fragment) and “The Terrible Conflagration at the Quiller’s Mint”.

Individual reviews below:

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A fan (way to go, Mike!) took re-cut the many officially released John Carter trailers and put one together that tells the story (adapted from Edgar Rice Burroughs first novel A Princess of Mars) better than they did.

Really looking forward to the release!
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REVIEW SUMMARY: The latest invasion of zombies generated by government scientist searching for super-soldiers meets up with a good-looking, foul-mouthed female Sheriff…and she’s packin’.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: The same old tired zombie genre gets a swift kick in the pants courtesy of a female protagonist who is not only not afraid to lead, but wishes they would quit hitting on her.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Sheriff Penny Miller, a foul mouthed, zombie killing beauty in a wedding dress who is not afraid to lead a pack of wimpy guys; fast paced with lots of foul-mouthed banter (yes, that is a “pro”).
CONS: Common Zombie plot lines.
BOTTOM LINE: It’s about Sheriff Penny Miller, not the zombies!

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With Disney’s trailers and announced March release of the movie John Carter, readers of the books that inspired the movie are at once hopeful and fearful: hopeful that the movie will actually capture the imagination as well as the initial reading of Edgar Rice Burroughs Barsoom series did; fearful that the movie will be an unfaithful adaptation, or, at worst a lemon in the tradition of pulp movie adaptations like the Doc Savage movie.

Though never a large Tarzan fan, I, like many readers my age, tore through the other worlds created by ERB. But Barsoom was always the cornerstone. Here, then, is a Primer on John Carter and the Barsoom series of novels.

SPOILER ALERTS – for those readers who have not read the books and would like to be surprised at the movie plot (which hopefully doesn’t stray to far from the book plot line), this primer is written with the potential spoiler pieces at the end. Feel free to read the Author section. The John Carter section contains a bit of preview, but stay away from the sections below that if you want to go into the movie fresh.

SEE ALSO: VIDEO: A John Carter Primer – Everything You Need to Know Before Seeing the Disney Film
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REVIEW SUMMARY: A fast-paced story in a bleak future, where escape into virtual worlds is driven by a contest based on 1980s trivia and culture and the winner gets billions.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Wade Watts hides from the nasty real world of the mid-21st century inside the virtual world/MMORPG called OASIS. Like many, he searches for the clues that will grant the solver the fortune left by the will of the founder of OASIS. When he is the first one to solve the first of three main puzzles, the real world and the virtual starts in hot pursuit.

MY REVIEW:
PROS: Any book that ties in Rush, Zork, Monty Python and other relics from my past into a Second Life meets World of Warcraft virtual reality gets my vote.
CONS: A made-for-Disney-movie ending; if you don’t like 1980s trivia and culture, you may not dig this book (if it’s too loud, you’re too young)
BOTTOM LINE: With a high geek and 80s factor, this book won’t appeal to everyone. But Cline lays down a well paced-plot with some good twists, and doesn’t spend too much time buried in the minutia of 80s trivia, making this an enjoyable read.
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REVIEW SUMMARY:An extremely well written, well paced book, with excellent characterizations where, like many “bridge books”, not much forward movement on the plot is achieved…well-worth the the read.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: The fifth book in the Song of Ice and Fire series parallels the previous novel, following characters Tyrion Lannister (running into hiding after killing his father), Jon Snow (after the fight with the wildlings, determining how to stop the undead “Others”), Daenerys Targaryen, Arya Stark and others as they deal with dragons, the Others, multiple kings, politics and the lead up to the final show down between Ice and Fire (hopefully not too many thousand pages away).

MY REVIEW:

PROS: Continued awesomeness in the characterizations; the blending of the magical/fantasy aspects has them not overpowering the characters or the story; dragons and Daenerys; a few surprises (though, five books in, I almost put this aspect in the CONS list).

CONS: Unlike the first three books in the series but like many “bridge” books in the middle of a series, not a lot of forward plot movement; no summary at the beginning, and I’d rather rely on an author’s summary than random Wiki entries to refresh my old memory; one or two characters who seemed superfluous (Quentyn Martell???).

BOTTOM LINE: Though I kept wondering when a momentous event such as those that were in every chapter in the first three novels, I was a hundred pages on, and enjoying the prose. It’s GRRM, just read it!

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REVIEW SUMMARY: Continuing from the guilty pleasure of the voyueristic look at the pulp author heros of my childhood in The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril, Malmont follows Heinlein, Asimov and other science fiction giants as fact meets fiction again in a race to create super-weapons and super defences against the Axis in World War II.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: John Campbell assembles a team of science fiction writers to work with the Government during World War II. Led by Robert Heinlein and joined by Isaac Asimov and others, the team works to make science fiction a reality to help the war effort. Lost manuscripts and testing notes from Nikola Tesla lead the team on a merry chase for a super-weapon that could end the war.

MY REVIEW:

PROS: As with The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril, hard to tell where fact ends and fiction begins; great tie-ins with the previous novel; believable characterizations of our heroes, Heinlein and Asimov.

CONS: My mama always told me that voyeurism was bad, but in this case I’ll make an exception. (Sorry, Mom!)

BOTTOM LINE: Picks up where the first book left off; with strong characterizations of Heinlein and Asimov, and return appearances by Gibson, Dent and Hubbard, an enjoyable blend of historical fact with adventure fiction.

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REVIEW SUMMARY: The first new Doc Savage novel in eighteen years, written by Will Murray based on notes from Lester Dent, is true to the originals and a great read.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Doc Savage and his team descend upon California, to investigate mysterious red dust demons from the sky that are killing Hollywood types; Pat Savage, Doc’s cousin, is missing and may be one of the victims.

MY REVIEW:

PROS: Shows the “science investigator” Doc and the “human enough to get mad” Doc; the inclusion of Pat Savage is always a plus; dirigibles, baby!; excellent Afterwords by Will Murray and cover art by Joe DeVito; promises of more new Docs to come.

CONS: The eighteen year wait nearly killed me; even after all these years, I still dislike the inclusion of the pig and the monkey.

BOTTOM LINE: Not only a great story for starving Doc fanboys (guilty!), also contains elements of steampunk (Doc was punk before it was cool), westerns and adventure. Not my favorite Doc of all time, but an excellent start to a new set of stories.

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REVIEW SUMMARY:Bringing to life pulp authors Lester Dent (Doc Savage) and Walter Gibson (The Shadow), Malmont strings together a pulp yarn involving the death of H.P. Lovecraft and revolution in China, pulling in other pulp authors as he goes.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: The authors of Doc Savage and The Shadow become adventurers as they try to find the ending to a pulp-like mystery in Chinatown and track down H.P. Lovecraft’s murderer.

MY REVIEW:

PROS: Strong characterizations of Lester and Norma Dent, Walter Gibson, L. Ron Hubbard and the pulp business in general; draws a fine line between where reality ends and where pulp begins; well interwoven with a story of China just before World War II.

CONS: Would like to have seen more Lovecraft…but that’s a quibble.

BOTTOM LINE:Fantastic re-imagining if you are into the pulps, and a great adventure story even if you are not.

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REVIEW SUMMARY: Employing frighteningly realistic conspiracy theory scenarios and some creative misdirection, Maberry has Joe Ledger and the Department of Military Sciences team battling secret organizations and old enemies, protecting the world again.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Reeling from the tragedy at the end of Ledger #2 (small spoilers below), Joe is pulled back into the DMS after the Royal London Hospital is destroyed in a terrorist attack. The group The Seven Kings is responsible, and they hit with more attacks, paralleling the seven plagues of Egypt, and go after Ledger and the DMS.

MY REVIEW:

PROS: Great conspiracy thinking with LARGE events; misdirection; interesting, complex criminals who don’t like each other; a great dog and destruction of one of Maberry’s favorite writing places!

CONS: One plot line that was beyond me to connect, perhaps a lead-in for Joe #4?

BOTTOM LINE: As good and maybe better than Patient Zero, the first Joe Ledger novel, The King of Plagues brings a more than possible terrorist conspiracy to scary life.

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REVIEW SUMMARY: Radio theater meets the Man of Bronze in this remastered edition of NPR’s 1985 broadcast of two classic Doc Savage Stories.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Variety Arts Radio Theater perform Fear Cay and The Thousand Headed Man, two Doc Savage stories by Lester Dent, adapted for radio by Will Murray and Roger Rittner.

MY REVIEW:

PROS:Two great stories; dead-on voices (that matched the voices in my head) for Monk, Renny and Johnny; enjoyable behind-the-scenes CD.

CONS: slight variations from the books; Doc’s trilling sounded like a tea kettle!

BOTTOM LINE: My first pick would always be to read a Doc Savage story, but this enthusiastic radio theater production (which sounds excellent in this remastered 8 CD edition from Radio Archives) is a great alternative. It might just hold us until Mr. Murray is able to get the new Docs published!

[For newbies: A Doc Savage Primer]

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When SF Signal asked if I was interested in reviewing the recently released re-mastered audio version of two Doc Savage radio adventures, I quickly agreed. Since reading the Bantam books during my youth and going on a re-reading rampage lately, I’ve always been a big Doc fan.

As I was listening to the re-mastered CD versions with my college-age son, I quite enjoyed it when he mimicked Johnny (one of Doc’s five aides) shouting “I’ll be super amalgamated!” But he was always asking me who Doc Savage was, wondering what drove me to collect the 130+ Bantam paperbacks (still taking donations of any mint condition Omnibuses!).

So before we print the review of the CD Version of The Adventures of Doc Savage, here’s a bit of background on one of the longest running “pulp” heroes and largest influences on fiction and comics.

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