Run Between The Shadows!

In 1989, FASA Corporation, a Chicago-based game company, rolled out Shadowrun. It was a pen-and-paper role-playing-game (RPG) set in a dark future after magic and mystical races had returned to the world.

In this bold new world, magic existed with cyber-technology. Players could create and adventure with cyberware-augmented human or troll heroes (who had their skeletons enhanced with nano-bots or weapons built right into their bodies) or with magic-wielders elven, human, or other race capable of laying waste to people and building.

RPG gamers snapped up the new product and ran with it. Since that time, Shadowrun has constantly been a property sought out by gamers. They adventure through a dark world of treachery and betrayal, working for Mr. Johnsons (the name applied to anyone willing to pay them to run through the city to get information, things, or people. Players could sign up as bodyguards, transport specialists, or outright assassins.

Megacorps run the world, and the players can choose to affiliate with one of them or live off the grid and risk life and limb just to live to see another day.

The RPG was so popular that it spawned a video game for the SNES console as well as the Sega Mega Drive. There was also a CCG, collectible card games.

On May 29, 2007, Xbox 360 and Windows Vista release the latest Shadowrun game. Although initially conceived as being based on the Halo gaming platform, the game designers soon had to write their own engine to drive the game. Shadowrun features 16-multiplayer capability in a first-person shooter scenario.

As a first-person shooter, the player will be able to choose between two different megacorps to play. In addition to the individual gamer’s experience against the game, the designs aren’t his.

Not only that, but Shadowrun will be the first video game to allow crossover gameplaying of the PC and Xbox 360 over Xbox Live. Alterations were made in the PC controls (which some game players have already protested even before the game has been released) to put the console players on equal footing with the PC players. The PC functionality has been lessened to provide harder target acquisition and limited movement to imitate the console player’s handheld controller. The console player also has access to auto-aiming to compensate for the pinpoint accuracy the PC player enjoys.


Screenshots released from the game are beautiful and show the amount of work the designers and the artists have gone to in order to make a good game. Players will have fully rendered 3-D environments to combat each other.

The original Shadowrun game was pen and paper role-playing-game (RPG) that rose to an overnight cult following in 1989. FASA Corporation published the game from that period to 2001 when they closed their doors and sold the rights to WizKids, another company created by FASA’s owners/product designers Jordan Weisman.

The RPG was set in 2050 and the major conceits were that the world had changed from nations and being politically-driven to megacorporations and being profit-driven. Magic and magical creatures and races had also returned to the world. The players usually rolled up characters who became “shadowrunners.” They were called that because they ran between the shadows of the megacorps and off the grid. They were usually hired by “Mr. Johnsons” to steal data, corrupt computer systems, and kidnap employees.

Shadowrun the PC Vista and Xbox 360 game is set in Brazil in 2021 and is a prequel to the events that changed the world. In the RPG game, the VITAS plagues (Virally Induced Toxic Allergy Syndrome) and the Computer Crash of 2029 set those events in motion. The new game is going to backfill some of the history of the RPG and sharpen the definitions of the races involved in the Shadowrun world.

As a writer, I was involved with Shadowrun and ended up doing three novels based on the game. I had a great time with the books and invented my own team of shadowrunners headed up by Jack Skater. The team included a troll street samurai called Elvis. How can you not love this stuff!

The Doctor Is In...Stores, That Is, On August 14th!

Doctor Strange, Marvel Comics’ perennial Sorcerer Supreme, is getting a direct-to-DVD, direct-to-Blu-ray release on August 14, 2007. The movie is the last of the four movies Marvel Comics allowed to be based on their popular characters.

Doctor Strange was created in 1963 by Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Stan Lee literally gave birth to the Marvel Comics line in 1963 when he brought out The Fantastic Four, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, The Mighty Thor, Daredevil, and The X-Men.

Richly imagined by Steve Ditko, the worlds of Doctor Strange drew readers into mysterious and dangerous places filled with action and magic. He gave the world Baron Mordo, Dormammu, the Mindless Ones, Nightmare, and Mephisto. The weird dimensions Doctor Strange wandered through often felt like Dutch artist M. C. Escher, with stairways and roads that led to impossible places.

Doctor Strange started out as Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange, a gifted surgeon with a definite God complex and arrogant beyond belief. Then he ended up have a tragic car accident that left him permanently disabled and never able to perform surgery again.

Strange ended up homeless and alone. The good life he’d been living slipped right through his palsied fingers and he found himself living on the streets. But he pursued every opportunity he could think of to correct his physical disability. Nothing worked.

After exhausting conventional wisdom regarding healing himself, Strange journeyed to the Himalayas to find a cure that might be possessed by a man known only as the Ancient One. Instead of aiding him, though, the Ancient One offers to train Strange in the magical arts. Strange doesn’t want to be trained as a sorcerer, though. On his way out he discovers Baron Mordo plans to kill the Ancient One and take his magical secrets.

Strange can’t let the assassination plans go through and tries to stand against Mordo. But the evil Mordo binds Strange magically. Having no other choice, Strange agrees to be trained in the magical arts. The Ancient One reveals that he’s known of Mordo’s treachery and frees Strange. Then training begins and all the strange worlds, quests, and dangers pull Doctor Strange into them. Fans got to see how Strange used the All-Seeing Eye of Agamotto and the Cloak of Levitation that looked so distinctive the way Ditko drew it. Furthermore, they got to see him practice astral projection at a time when most people had not heard of that.

The 1963 run of comics began in an anthology comic called Strange Tales. The first story was in issue #110. As of #169, the comic got renamed after its lead hero, Dr. Strange. After the initial run was complete with #181, Dr. Strange languished in limbo for a few years before being resurrected in the pages of Marvel Premiere. In 1974, he got his own comic again, as well as his first #1 issue.

Since the end of that run in 1987, Dr. Strange has been in and out of comics in limited series and guest star spots. He’s one of the most unique characters ever turned out by Marvel Comics.

A television movie starring Peter Hooten was made in 1978. The success of The Incredible Hulk on CBS convinced television executives another superhero series could work. Unfortunately those producers created a pilot movie that Stan Lee disavowed as being too campy. The pilot never went anywhere.

Dr. Strange is one of the main characters in the video game, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, and had been in previous Spider-Man games.

In 2006, Lions Gate Home Video began producing the four Marvel direct-to-DVD movies. The first two were Ultimate Avengers and Ultimate Avengers 2, followed early in 2007 by The Invincible Iron Man.

Marvel Comics has posted a website supporting the DVD movie that provides a trailer and information on Dr. Strange. (http://www.marvel.com/doctorstrange)

According to the news releases, Dr. Strange is getting an upgrade and reinterpretation in the movie while honoring the roots of the character. Although Dr. Strange received martial arts training after he became an sorcerer in the comics, in the movie he learns it at the same time as he learns magic.

Buy This Book! Out On May 29th!

Jeff Mariotte has written several Buffy and Angel novels as well as the YA series, Season of the Witch. He's the current chronicler of the Vegas television spin-off novels. He's written comics (Check out his Desperadoes series) and been an editor for DC Comics and IDW.

Currently he's a full-time writer. The above book is his first foray into adult fiction that isn't tied to a licensed property. Jeff lives in the area where the book takes place. He loves noir fiction and movies, passions we share, and tells a great story.

If you're looking for a suspenseful read with a law enforcment background and a touch of the supernatural, please give this book a try. If you buy this book off my recommendation and don't like it, I'll swap you out: a signed edition of one of mine for Jeff's. And I promise, I'll find a good home for Jeff's!

From Amazon:

Bram Stoker Award-nominated author Jeffrey Mariotte delivers a novel of heartstopping horror. When a girl is kidnapped and her family murdered, Sheriff's Lieutenant Buck Shelton is drawn into a bloody supernatural showdown between good and evil-with an innocent girl.

Good Girl Art

I've been a fan of Good Girl Art since forever. One of my all-time favorites is Robert McGinnis, the artist whose work graced most of the mystery and private-eye Gold Medal books I read while growing up. Another was Greg Elvgren, who did many of the Good Girl Art Coke ads back in the day.

Elvgren is gone, but McGinnis is still working on the new Hardcase Crime books edited and published by Charles Ardai (www.hardcasecrime.com). The books are a mix of old and new crime fiction.

The artist responsible for the above painting is Greg Orbik (www.orbikart.com). Here are a couple more he's done. (BTW, the cover is from the comic book series, American Century, by Howard Chaykin, who's a great artist himself.)

Fearless Jones And Paris Minton Are Back And In Trouble Up To Their Ears!

Fearless Jones and Paris Minton are back doing another off-the-books investigation that takes them down the dark alleys of 1956 Los Angeles. The city, especially the areas where Fearless and Paris live as well as the darkness their quest takes them through, is violent and filled with civil unrest.

I discovered Walter Mosley through his first Easy Rawlins novel, Devil In A Blue Dress, which was a lucky occurrence. The Rawlins series tends to be chronologically driven. The first novel is set in the late 1940s and is currently in the early 1960s. A lot has happened in Easy’s life during those years.

A few years ago, Mosley wanted to take a break from his popular series character and a chance to create a different kind of hero. Paris Minton and Fearless Jones actually come across as two halves of a whole. Fearless is a decorated World War II veteran in his mid-30s. He lives up to his name, totally fearless and good at heart. Paris is the true brains of the outfit, the part that is inventive, deceitful, and selfish—to a degree. Without Paris, Fearless would probably never get to the bottom of one of their investigations, but without Fearless Paris would never survive.

Fearless exists in the world doing tough-guy favors for people. Body-guarding and bounty-hunting are two of his primary pursuits, but always within the black community of 1956 Los Angeles. Paris runs a book store that he loves because it gives him the chance to read all the time.

They’ve appeared in two previous novels, Fearless Jones and Fear Itself. In all of their “cases” they actually pursue small crimes that play out big before the adventures are over.

In this book, Paris is haunted by family. His cousin Useless (Ulysses S. Grant IV) shows up at an inopportune moment and things go downhill quickly from there. Not long after Paris turns Useless from his door, Paris gets interrupted by his current girlfriend's current boyfriend. Paris flees for his life (his first rule of operation) and looks up Fearless for backup. But by the time they return to Paris's bookshop, there's a dead man lying there.

No sooner than Fearless and Parish have the body hidden away so no one will take the fall for murdering him than Paris's aunt Three Hearts arrives and begins threatening Paris. Since her evil eye is known to kill, Paris aims to please.

Their investigation is hampered by the fact that Useless is a chronic liar and a man not afraid of committing criminal behavior. His mother, Three Hearts, believes nothing but the best of her son. She’s also one of the book’s best characters: a gun-toting black woman totally unafraid of unloading on anyone stupid enough to take her on.

It doesn’t take Paris and Fearless long to realize that the dead man in Paris’s book shop and Useless’s disappearance are connected. They seek out the trail and start getting deeper and deeper into trouble. Fearless also has a recovery job he’s doing for one of the local bail bondsmen that occasionally gets in the way.

Fear of the Dark felt a lot like the other two books, but that's good. The investigation proceeds at a nice clip and the characters are always fun. Mosley also writes the Easy Rawlins mysteries. Of late, those have been set in the early 1960s. Easy is a married man and at least twenty years older than Paris and Fearless. Paris narrates, and his voice is at once young and aged, savvy and naive.

Mosley's pacing in this book will keep readers flipping pages late into the night. He seems more comfortable at this length than he has in previous novels. There's also more back story and a better view of California at the time in this one. His dialogue seems dead-on and so do his characters.

I’ve always had a good time with Mosley’s work. Up until now, I’ve always enjoyed the Easy Rawlins novels most, but with this latest entry Mosley has pulled the race to a dead heat. Easy has hard-hearted killer Mouse (Raymond Alexander) covering his back when he gets into dangerous waters, but Fearless Jones is truly heroic, a kind and gentle soul capable of great violence.

If you're new to Mosley's work, I'd recommend Devil In A Blue Dress first. The FEAR series can be read pretty much in what order you find them.

Rocky Balboa's Final Fight!

In Sylvester Stallone's latest and, potentially greatest, take on his seminal hero Rocky Balboa, the writer/director/actor scores big in the emotional clenches. These are the final moments of a great character so many people have come to know and love.

When I heard about the film getting green-lit with Sylvester Stallone in the starring role, I have to own up to some skepticism. I really didn't think Stallone could pull it off. I thought maybe he wouldn't have the chops physically or possibly be too emotionally close to the character and the lucrative franchise it became to take enough risks with the character.

Twenty minutes into the film, though, I was convinced that I was in for a comfortable, exciting, and emotional reunion and final meeting with a hero that's been in my life for thirty years. I saw Rocky when it came out. He and Burt Reynolds were the reasons I drove Trans Ams for ten years. Burt had Sally Field back then and jeans looked great on her, so maybe Burt had a little more influence.

Rocky's personal life has always been a series of tragedies. He was a bum from nowhere who got a shot in Rocky. He almost lost the woman of his dreams in Rocky II. He lost his trainer, Mickey, who was like a father to him in Rocky III. He lost one of his greatest friends, Apollo Creed, in Rocky IV. And in Rocky V, he lost everything and got kicked to the curb back in his old neighborhood while getting betrayed by a young boxer he was trying to help.

And in Rocky Balboa, he's lost Adrian. Knowing the character for as long as I did, I had to wonder what was left. His life appears comfortable, but it's empty. The tour he takes us on during those opening minutes of the film bear this out. His relationship with his son has gone south. More than anything, though, Rocky just doesn't know what to do with himself. When Adrian was alive, he could give up the fighting. He had her. Now he no longer has her and all he has is that restless drive to be inside a ring matched up against an opponent.

Stallone pays loving tribute to his character and graciously gives the fans a great story. It's not art. It's not always polished. What you've got here, folks, is myth, the stuff of good dreams. That's been enough for people since they first gathered around campfires to swap stories.

Total High Definition Experiene--Doesn't Help Story


PHONE BOOTH Blu-ray is packed the way HD movies should come. It's loaded with MPEG2@26MBPS video, which means that everything on the screen looks simply incredible. The colors are vibrant and the images are sharp and clear. At this point in time, picture quality really doesn't get any better. The audio portion of the disc was treated in the same fashion. The soundtrack as well as the special effects noises were crystal clear and come through a surround sound system gloriously.


Unfortunately, high-tech doesn't improve the movie. It's still a good watch with plenty of tension, but not enough of the story is given. Colin Farrell and Forest Whitaker are the only two given the chance to really act. An argument can be made for Kiefer Sutherland's voice-over work, but he was missing in action when it came to being on-stage.


Also, other than the commentary, there were no extras or behind-the-scenes pieces. But it's top of the line for people looking for the true experience of an HD disc for their home entertainment systems.

No Character Development And Predictable But It Will Keep You Nailed To The Seat!

Everyone knows the story of the POSEIDON. This is only the third movie to bear the name and be based (loosely) on Paul Gallico's novel, THE POSEIDON Adventure. There was also a sequel to the original diaster film made by Irwin Allen that starred Ernest Borgnine and Shelly Winters and a ton of others that went on to be major stars.

This version offers Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, Emmy Rossum, Jacinda Barrett, Mike Vogel, Mia Maestro, Jimmy Bennett, and Andre Braugher. Unfortunately, it only features the actors and actresses in roles that you can understand at a glance. There are no real characters here, no sense of history.

What you do get is a knuckle-buster of an adrenaline-soaked movie. After POSEIDON was overturned by the rogue wave about eighteen minutes into the film, I didn't draw a breath till the final frames rolled through.

Was the plot predictable? Sure. Could I figure out who was going to live and who was going to die? I was right more times than I was wrong. POSEIDON was shot on 53 sound stages, some of them several stories tall. The special effects were amazing and the digital work is unsurpassed. The ship felt real even though it wasn't.

In this HD-DVD version, the video portions are beautiful and really show off the cinematography and sets. But the audio is where POSEIDON soars. Captured in Dolby TrueHD, one of the best lossless codec on the market today. A surround sound system totally enhances the viewing experience, and this is one of the movies you can show off your system on.

The viewing can be gut-wrenching and the intensity is definitely pumped up, so young viewers probably aren't a good idea. But for someone who's looking for a high-end action movie that doesn't slow down during a 90-minute presentation, POSEIDON is great entertainment.

Everybody's A Writer!

Man, everywhere you go people are jumping into the big children's market that's out there. Although I really think it's so big because adults have discovered kids' books are the bomb and are double-dipping by buying them for their kids and reading them themselves. I know I do. And I even buy books that Chandler will like "later, when he grows up a little." It's inexcusable really. I should just own up to the fact that I like kids' books.

Anyway, tonight I discovered one of my favorite actresses and her brother have penned what looks like the first the first book in a series.

The actress is Gina Gershon (www.ginagershon.com, www.myspace.com/ginagershon) who has been in a ton of stuff. You'll probably recognize her from something. Or you can check her out at www.imdb.com.

I think she's totally hawt, but she also seems like someone you could sit down and talk to about stuff. And that she might actually have something to say.

About the book:


From Amazon: Einstein P. Fleet is shipped off to summer camp against his will for a summer of fun and fresh air. Stranded in the middle of the Mojave Desert, the eccentric boy soon discovers that the haunt is little more than an alien-run smuggling operation run by the counselors who are turning his fellow campers into monsters, with plans of selling them to an intergalactic zoo. Unable to convince anyone of the dire situation, it's up to Einstein to save the others and himself in the process.



I've got it ordered and will let you know what I think after Chandler and I read it.

But man! There's competition everywhere!

A White-Hot Bullet Right Between The Reader's Eyes!

Duane Swierczynski has, with the publication of The Blonde become one of the new next-gen crime writers I’m watching. He’s an editor-in-chief of a major Philadelphia newspaper, so his lean, muscular prose come to him naturally from a daily grind. The imagination is purely his, but it’s a new twist on a lot of the old noir-style books and movies that I love so much.

I never know what to expect from his characters. In The Blonde I wasn’t even sure who the good guys were until the final pages of the book were sorted out. It was a great ride, and I couldn’t stop turning pages once I’d started. I’d read the warnings on the book posted by other writers and reviews, but they really meant it.

His previous release from a mainstream publisher came in 2005. The Wheelman was a blistering read that kept you glued to the story in a merciless grip. See, Swiercynski has this take-no-prisoners mentality that just grabs the reader by the throat on page one, introduces a problem the protagonist has to handle just to survive, then turns the tables on him (and the reader!) before another 15 or 20 pages have gone by.

Reading the twists and turns of his plots is like constantly getting surprised by an opposing boxer’s hooks and jabs slipping right through your defenses. No matter how ready you think you are, you keep getting smashed and broken up, and get left wondering how it’s all going to shake out.

The Blonde has one of the best opening sequences I’ve seen in a long time. A woman in the Philly airport tells Jack Eisley, the main character, that she’s poisoned his drink and he’s going to be dead in eight hours. He blows her off, thinking she’s just weird. And the reader watches as Jack gives her the slip and walks away. Normally there would be something that would prevent him from doing that.

Not in Swierrcynski’s world. He finds a reason to make the protagonist give in and go back to the airport hoping to find the woman, Kelly White. Jack’s nausea and vomiting convinces him he has been poisoned, so he returns for the antidote. Only the woman fesses up to him and tells him she actually needs him because she’s infested with nanobots that will kill her if she’s left alone.

Okay, we’ve suddenly entered the Twilight Zone as our crime thriller goes into Michael Crichton overdrive.

Then we pick up the next main character. His name is Kowalski. He’s an operative for a super-secret government organization. A close reader will remember him from The Wheelman, and I thought it was great that Swierczynski rewards his fans like that. The author’s building quite a little violent family out in Philly. But he’s not afraid to kill them off, either. This is the same territory comics legend Frank Miller carved out for himself in Sin City.

Kowalski has been killing Mafia guys off the clock on his own time as revenge for the death of his girlfriend and their child. That plotline goes back to the previous novel, but it isn’t necessary to have read it first. It does add to things, though.

Now Kowalski’s been given a new assignment: Find a professor and bring back his head. Kowalski never even flinches at the prospect. It’s all business to him. But his business goes south in a hurry as events go awry.

Swierczynski’s characters are all interesting people, but I wouldn’t want to meet any of them. None of them care for much outside their own skins. But, man, they are an absolute blast to read about.

The Blonde is a white-hot bullet of a story that hits the reader right between the eyes. Taking place in less than nine hours, the story will leave you breathless with anxiety and brimming with anticipation of what’s going to happen next. It’s a race to the finish as Swierczynski wheels this high-octane, V-8 thriller for the checkered flag.

Charlie Bone Faces Danger Again!

Charlie Bone, whose life has never been easy, gets slammed with a whole new problem in Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors. He’s entering his second year at Bloor’s Academy, the school for the specially endowed children of the Red King, who disappeared a thousand years ago.

All his familiar enemies are there, including the Bloors, the Yewbeam aunts, and Grandma Bone. Thankfully, Charlie still has all his friends, him mom, Grandma Maisie, Uncle Paton, and Miss Ingledew. In this novel, series readers get to find out new secrets that have been staring them right in the face, and get a peek as some potential new twists and enemies that Charlie is going to have to deal with in successive books.

Old Ezekial Bloor and Charlie's aunts, the Yewbeam sisters, have managed to resurrect a ghostly horse creature that they believe has the heart of an old, fierce warrior named Borlath. They indend to use the creature against Charlie and his other endowed friends at Bloor's Academy. However, something has gone drastically wrong. As it turns out, they’ve put the wrong heart in the creature and Manfred causes a mistake in the spell that will have dire consequences.

In the meantime, Charlie has to deal with a weird new teacher named Tauntalus Ebony and Manfred’s new position at the school as more or less a teacher role. Now Manfred doesn’t even need his endowed powers of hypnotism to make Charlie’s life terrible. He can just put Charlie in detention and take away his weekends.

Just as with the previous Charlie Bone books, author Jenny Nimmo keeps a lot of balls in the air. A lot of possibilities and threats dangle in front of the reader as they cruise through this tale. It seems as though disaster and defeat lurk around every corner.

Charlie is still looking for his father Lyle, whom everyone believe is dead but Charlie is certain is still alive. Poor Billy Raven still hasn't been adopted, but he gets adopted in this one--by the most evil people in the world. The bit about the Oaths and how they get free and are eventually dealt with is awesome. Nimmo’s imagination summons up some great action.

Charlie and Billy’s travel on the white horse, who turns out to be much more than anyone would guess, to the island containing the Castle of Mirrors is exciting. The whole history of the castle if fantastic, and this deep history is one of the things that Nimmo has come to excel at.

More of the Yewbeam family lineage is discovered, as well as what happened to many of the Red King's children. The things that bind Charlie and his friends, family ties as well as personal stakes, grow even stronger in this novel.

I read these books to my nine-year-old, who enjoys them immensely and takes the tests on the Accelerated Reader program at his school. I enjoy how easy they are to read aloud, and the degree of history that Nimmo has put in each of her novels, building on what has gone on before. The plots do tend to be somewhat repetitive, but they are Charlie Bone books. They tell a certain kind of story with certain elements that the young readers require.

The Charlie Bone books are great escapist fiction for the Harry Potter crowd while they're waiting on the final book in that series. And Charlie Bone hasn't quite progressed to the level of darkness that the Potter books have. Charlie Bone still guarantees excitement and laughs.

Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen Are Going To "Star" In This One!

Yep, I said "star." They're going to be the two protagonists of the novel, Marshals Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch.

Robert B. Parker’s second Western novel, Appaloosa is being made into a movie starring Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen. I’d previously passed Parker’s novel by, though I love his writing, because he’s Bostonian to the bone and I figured if I wanted to read Westerns (which I grew up on), I’d go back and pick up Louis L’Amour, Elmer Kelton, or the occasional Max Brand.

I read all of Parker’s Spenser novels, and every book in his Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall series, and even the recent YA novel he’s done, Edenville Owls. All of those are set in Boston or Massachusetts, which is Parker’s stomping grounds. I just didn’t want my favorite “Easterner” writer mixing it up with Westerns.

But with the movie coming out, I got curious. The book had been released in paperback, so I picked up that edition and tucked in. Before I knew it, like with every other Parker book I’ve ever read, the pages started flying by and I was having a great time.

The plot essentially boils down to the town tamer plot line. A ruthless rancher, Bragg, and his boys are shooting up the town of Appaloosa whenever they get the urge. In fact, when three of the hired hands kill a man and rape his wife, the local marshal goes out to Bragg’s ranch and gets gunned down in cold blood.

Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch have been taming towns for a long time. The city aldermen hire them to bring Bragg to heel. Cole agrees to the job, if they’ll allow him to write out the laws they need to pass, and the war begins.

Parker writes some of the best dialogue out there. It’s short, punchy, and says a lot in a few words. In a short time, Cole and Hitch put Bragg and his boys on notice and they discover really quick that the two new marshals don’t have any hesitation about killing anyone who goes up against them.

The action sequences at this point are great. The scenery and the sets are barely described, but I’ve seen so many Westerns that as soon as the bar’s batwing doors were mentioned, I had the rest of the saloon in mind. So it wouldn’t have mattered how much Parker tried to build the Western world he was writing in, I already had my view of it. He’s a skillful enough writer that I think he was banking on that and didn’t want to get in the way of his readers who love Westerns.

The plot takes a turn, for the worse in my opinion, with the introduction of Allie French. She says she’s married but that her husband ran off. Arriving in Appaloosa (though what she was planning on doing because she only had a dollar to her name) is anybody’s guess. Cole is smitten with her and sets her up playing piano at the hotel. Every long-time reader of Parker’s work feels the familiar groove drop into place. It’s not quite a death knell on the novel, but it sure took some of the wind out of the sails for me.

One of Parker’s most used (debatably over-used) themes is that of a good man loving a bad/weak woman. While juggling that theme with the war against Bragg, something does get lost. A little disinterest kicks in, as well as wariness.

However, readers not overly familiar with Parker’s work, may see this them as something new. Especially Western readers. And I’m pretty certain the movie crowd won’t have seen something this blatant.

But, since no one can move a story along the way Parker can, I kept my horse turned in the same direction as our heroes and galloped through to the end. I enjoyed the book a lot. Loved the dialogue and sarcasm. And I was glad I spent my free time with it.

I can’t wait for the movie to come out.

Old West Meets New West In A Brawl For It All!

One of the things I love about Max Allan Collins's period-piece mysteries and suspense novels is the authenticity. If you read something in a Collins book, outside of the fictional spin he adds to and puts on things, you can bet it really existed at that time. He also delves deeply into the backgrounds of his historical "characters" and provides a good biography of them.

When I read that BLACK HATS was going to offer a confrontation between an elderly Wyatt Earp and a young, wet-behind-the-ears Al Capone, I was excited. I conjured up images of alley showdowns with six-guns and Thompson submachine guns. We almost got that here.

The action was a little more downplayed that I would have wanted, but I was working off my own expectations. Collins stayed within the truth of what really happened in those days in 1920, with a little bit of what COULD have happened thrown in. Collins gave us a fictional son of Doc Holliday and painted the Prohibition backdrop both eloquently and faithfully. His other "characters" like Texas Guinan, Jack Dempsey, and Damon Runyon were great and added a lot of color to the story.

But it's Wyatt and Bat Masterson who really seize the spotlight. Their friendship comes across clearly and believably, and it was fun seeing them in action together. The plot was especially well done too. John Holliday had won a warehouse full of liquor in a poker game at a time when the rest of the city (and the state) were dry and having to import their liquor from Canada. It was a treasure trove on par with one of the acheological finds that would have sent Indiana Jones scampering for his fedora.

I was a little disappointed with the ending because it wasn't as BIG as I'd imagined. But it had neat little twists that made everything come together well. BLACK HATS is a fast, fun read with plenty of history, atmosphere, and trivia to keep armchair historians and thrill-seekers turning the pages.

How A Writer's Mind Works

So I was reading an article on shipwrecks for a novel I'm reasearching. Two words jumped out at me.

Skeletons Recovered

Well, my mind went to work conjuring up all kinds of twists. Naturally the article was about skeletons being recovered from a shipwreck. I also thought that maybe a forensic anthropologist or investigator might rebuild the body from its basic framework.

You know, standard stuff you'd think.

However, and this is where the writer's mind/twisted vision fires up, what if it meant that skeletons lacking flesh could get recovered? Recovered in what? And why would they get recovered? Witness Protection for bony rats that tell everything they know? Anorexia victims who get made over for the funeral?

What about if they're skeletons with a drinking or drug problem that their human body gave them? What if in the afterlife they kept trying to keep up the habit, but since they have no stomach or lungs, they're constantly jonesing?

What if skeletons could run away? I mean, they carry a hundred and more pounds of living, breathing flesh that is basically parasitic. Maybe they got resentful, peeled the body off them, and headed down to Mexico. (I've seen some shirts from Mexico that suggest skeletons down in Mexico get totally wild!) So there are these puddles of flesh sitting around in Barcoloungers putting out bounties on runaway skeletons so they can be returned to a slave's existence.

Okay, I know I'm really tired. Now I gotta get back to work and try not to get distracted. That's one of the pains of having ADHD. However, ADHD also pays the bills around here too.

At Amazon

Joe R. Lansdale's New Mainstream Novel Is Out!

Joe R. Lansdale is a fantastic writer known for his rip-roaring East Texas noir, bizarre horror tales, and fiction that doesn’t comfortably fit on any niche known to publishing. He’s also an accomplished martial artist and operates a dojo in Nacogdoches, Texas. He's also been a good friend for years.

Lansdale has penned several novels and short stories, and garnered awards in multiple fields, including six Bram Stoker Awards in horror and the Edgar Award in mystery for his novel, The Bottoms. His on-going mystery series about Hap Collins and Leonard Pine, two blue collar amateur detectives, is a favorite on mystery shelves and with his fans.

Lately Lansdale has concentrated on movie projects and some of the strange fiction he’s known for. His short story, “Bubba Ho-Tep” was produced as a movie with the same name and featured an ageing Elvis Presley and invalided John F. Kennedy whose skin tone had been changed to a black man to protect him. Presley and Kennedy unite to track down an Egyptian monster on the loose in the senior citizen’s home where they live. Lansdale’s 1950s mystery, A Fine Dark Line will be coming to theaters soon.

In addition, Lansdale has written several comic books and cartoon episodes starring Batman and Superman. His two runs on perennial Western “hero” Jonah Hex were nominated for awards and can be found in the graphic novels, Two-Gun Mojo, Riders of the Worm and Such, and Shadows West.

This year, Lansdale returned to mainstream fiction with Lost Echoes. The plot revolves around Harry Wilkes, who develops the disconcerting ability of “hearing” trapped sounds that carry full-blown and bloody images of murders, rapes, vicious beatings, and traffic accidents.

As a child, Harry suffered an ear infection that almost rendered him deaf. When the infection finally cleared up, he started hearing the noises that rocket him back in time to the various violent episodes he experiences. This section is actually a little quiet and tame for a Lansdale novel, but it builds up Harry’s character and makes him real to the readers.

During this time Harry becomes friends with Kayla and forges a relationship that will come back to, literally, haunt him. Kayla’s dad, a policeman, supposedly committed suicide and she’s never been able to accept that.

Kayla and Harry get separated while they’re kids. In the meantime, Harry grows up and starts college. He also starts drinking to dull the psychic impressions that he receives everywhere he goes. Harry learns to keep his life small so he doesn’t have these unexpected, unpleasant, and unnerving surprises. He lives in a house where he’s covered the walls with egg cartons to soundproof it as much as he can. He’s made a map of the city that allows him to avoid streets with traffic accidents and buildings with murders or violence trapped within them.

Lansdale excels at writing the common person, sharing that trait with Stephen King. Both of them can take the ordinary and make it terrifying, unusual, and still keep it firmly rooted in the familiar. Harry and Kayla are perfectly understandable throughout the novel. They’re people that most readers have gotten to know. Except for the whole psychic thing.

The book takes a casual approach to the story until Harry meets, Tad Peters. Tad is old enough to be Harry’s father and eventually takes on that role. Like Harry, Tad has also become an alcoholic. Tad is racked with grief and guilt over the death of his wife and son. After watching Tad nearly get rolled outside a bar and seeing the man take out three would-be robbers, Harry gets fascinated by martial arts.

While taking Tad home, Harry learns more about the man and his misery. The kindred souls are drawn together and soon decide to try to stay away from the alcohol.

It the scenes like these, where two people are talking and getting to know each other, where they’re finding out their commonalities, that Lansdale’s gifts as a writer really stand out. Lansdale knows people and likes them. Watching Tad and Harry work through their reluctance to take on a friend is great stuff. The dialogue totally rocks. Lansdale also throws in some martial arts philosophy along the way.

Watching them get cleaned up and resist temptation is good. The dialogue crackles and the pages almost turn themselves. Harry finally tells Tad about his “problem” and, even though Tad finds it hard to believe at first, Tad helps him try to find an explanation for it.

But it’s when Kayla Jones reappears in Harry’s life that things get really complicated and the plot’s testosterone level jets into the stratosphere. Kayla has gone on to become a police officer, following in her father’s footsteps. Her father may not have been a good men, but he was her daddy and she loved him and doesn’t want people to continue to think he committed suicide.

She asks Harry to use his gift to investigate her father’s death. She was the one who found him hanging from a garage rafter and dressed in women’s underwear. (Lansdale loves going for the bizarre and twisted.) Harry is reluctant at first, but knows he can’t refuse Kayla. After a failed romantic interlude, Harry discovers that his feelings for Kayla have never gone away, and hers for him haven’t either.

Lansdale’s writing excels during these very human parts. The dialogue moves the story smoothly along. It’s easy to imagine the scenes playing out in a television show or movie. Not only that, but the twisted sense of humor Lansdale brings to his characters makes them charming and sometimes offensive at the same time. The dinner conversation between Tad and Harry’s leech of a friend, Joey, is absolutely hilarious. Yet, once you meet Lansdale you realize that this is exactly how he would handle a similar situation.

The cat-and-mouse chase that propels the last third of the novel is great. The suspense builds with each passing scene, and there are enough twists and turns to keep seasoned readers with the story way past bedtime.

If you haven’t read Lansdale before, I’d recommend any of the Hap and Leonard novels, preferably starting at the beginning with Savage Season, or the stand-alones, Cold In July, The Bottoms, or A Fine Dark Line to get a taste of his take on mystery/suspense. One of my favorite novels he ever wrote is The Magic Wagon, which is something of a weird western/horror pulp with some real irony and soul-searching.

New Fantasy Trilogy Based On Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

When I first heard about the book, I was curious but leery. The idea of a new take on Wonderland was intriguing, but I was left wondering what an author could really do with it. Apparently a lot, but I was left asking why it was necessary. But I picked it up anyway.

Frank Beddor, the author, has a vivid imagination, but everything he does truly springs out of Lewis Carroll's novel. He has some amusing twists and capricious renderings of characters, events, and hardware in Wonderland, but ultimately I was disappointed with this one. There just really wasn't enough of a difference, and the differences that were there flew in the face of everything I loved about the book.

The idea of an adult Alyss (see, Carroll gave us the incorrect spelling after schoolteachers forced Alyss to change her name to Alice) going back to Wonderland to lead a revolt against Queen Redd was interesting, but just didn't really come to life. Beddor's world-building seems good, and his pacing is excellent, but I would have liked to read something wholly original by him. He's a good writer, but being enamored of Wonderland doesn't do him justice in some ways.

The book is readable, and if you're truly curious I'd suggest waiting for the paperback. Amazon.com has already slated the book for a deep discount ($5.49 for the hardcover, which is cheaper than most paperbacks, as of this writing), so that might work out for you too. I'd be interested in hearing any comments other readers might have on the book.

And I'll be looking for Beddor's first original work. Although that might be a ways off given the fact that there's a movie, an RPG game, comics, and other avenue in the works on this one.

Iron Man Costume Revealed!

I've seen this in a few places now and am getting really excited about the movie coming out next year.

However, I also got a copy of one of the scripts and don't know how it's going to play out. The computer animated stuff should be a blast and there are plenty of action parts, but we'll have to see if they pull the character off right.

I also have a lot of faith in Robert Downey, Jr. as an actor. If anyone can do this, he's the guy.

New Robert B. Parker Book Is Out!

Spenser fans everywhere are going to love this book. Although Spenser was raised by his father and uncles in Laramie, Wyoming, 14-year-old Bobby Murphy almost comes closer to the childhood many longtime fans envisioned for Robert B. Parker's signature character.

Bobby Murphy is a wonderful, though idealistic, protagonist. He's more or less the brains and eventual leader of a five-man junior varsity basketball team called the Edenville Owls. They ended up calling themselves that because the only uniforms they could find were all yellow. He's on the cusp of young adulthood, just starting to notice the finer intracacies of the world: such as the opposite sex and problems in the adult arena that normally stay behind closed doors.

After his last teacher was removed from the school, Bobby and his class got a new teacher: Miss Delaney. Miss Delaney is young and beautiful, the perfect teacher for a young boy on his way to becoming a man to fall in love with. However, Miss Delaney also apparently has some dark secrets.

While in detention, Bobby and one of his friends sees Miss Delaney arguing with a man. After a heated exchange, Miss Delaney slaps the man. Bobby shouts at the man to leave her alone, then he and his buddy charge to the rescue but are made to return to detention. Later Miss Delaney asks Bobby to forget he ever saw anything. In just those few moments, Bobby's plunged into a mystery that will tear away a lot of his remaining innocence as he pursues the truth of who the man is and exactly what's going on.

Three main storylines weave throughout the book: the mystery involving Miss Delaney, Bobby's work to bring his basketball team to the state tournament, and his evolving relationship with Joanie, a girl he becomes friends with that eventually comes between him and Nick, one of his best friends. Any one of the stories would be enough to keep a reader turning pages. That they're all together and complement each other well is just excellent writing.

Parker is going to take a lot of heat over Bobby, though. Bobby thinks like Spenser. He acts like Spenser. And both characters are troubled over the same vagaries of life. But these are the themes that Parker constantly writes about.

Readers familiar with Parker's work are going to find a lot of familiar ground here, though altered somewhat because the story is set in the 1940s and Parker does, for the most part, stay within the conventions of his youthful heroes. However, argument can be made that the Hardy Boys were taking on much more dangerous assignments on a regular basis.

The fact that World War II was only an eyeblink ago in the story's setting is important. The villains are made more menacing because of that. And Parker is given a freer rein to talk about wickedness. Strangely enough, some of that wickedness is still in our world.

The writing is as pure and economical as always. There's an innocence about Bobby that is endearing, but at the same time he comes across as older than his 14 years. Parker weaves his plotlines effortlessly and readers will cruise through this one. More than that, this is a book that adults and young readers can share and both enjoy. I've handed off my copy to my 18-year-old, whom I've also introduced to Parker's work, as well as Crais's and other writers.

I envy the young readers who will find this book. This will be their first Robert B. Parker novel and they'll find so many more books waiting for them as they grow up. Hopefully Parker will find time in his busy schedule to pen another Bobby Murphy book.

Another Great YA Series That's Good For Kids And Grown-Ups!

I held off buying The Lightning Thief for a couple years. The market seems glutted with YA fantasy at the moment, and I read quite a bit of it with my 9-year-old. We've discovered several good series, but The Lightning Thief seemed too long to hold his attention when it first came out.

This year we noticed it in the book fair at school, then saw that it was an Accelerated Reader book. So I picked it up and read a couple chapters to try it out. I was 50 pages into it when I realized I needed to be reading this to my son.

I did read it to him. We flew through the book (375 pages!) in 6 days because he kept pestering me to read it to him. We finished it up in a 5-hour marathon yesterday, hanging onto every page as Percy and his friends tried to save the world and put things to rights in their own lives.

The Lightning Thief is a great book for adults and kids. I've already recommended it to a couple of adult friends who experienced the same kind of can't-put-it-down pull that I did.

Percy Jackson, the hero of the book, comes across as every kid you'd ever meet or ever would. He's no brainiac (he has dyslexia and ADHD) but he has friends who are. But he is courageous and clever, stubborn and loyal. He is the best he can be, and he's getting even better.

Riordan works in many of the Greek myths in the novel. There was a time when knowing Greek mythology was a pre-requisite for having a "classical" education. Many morals and philosophies are presented in the tales.

From the very beginning of the novel, we find out Percy is different when he ends up fighting a harpy in the museum while on a school trip. He's been kicked out of 6 schools in 6 years, lives with his mom and step-dad, Smelly Gabe, an evil guy who deliberately makes Percy's life hard. Then, when he's on a well-deserved vacation with his mom, he finds out he's a Half-Blood, the son of one of the Greek gods. But his mom doesn't know who his dad was and that's just one of the mysteries Percy ends up solving.

The cool part of the book is peeling away all the mysteries of Percy's life and who really took Zeus's magic thunderbolt. Along the way he gains powers that set my son's head to spinning with hope and delight. Percy's a superhero without the costume, and there are plenty of villains in his world.

Riordan is a teacher who obviously loves kids as well as the subject matter. The Greek gods were a cantankerous lot, and Riordan delivers them well. Not only does he give his readers the stories, but he also brings the gods on stage and gives them personalities.

The series is supposed to run for 5 books. I think it will go on longer. I hope so. I've already ordered books 2 and 3, and my son and I are looking forward to them. The books take a while to read outloud to younger readers, but the effort is well rewarded. The story is rich and deep, and will keep your child's attention. In addition, you'd be surprised how much you can talk about even when you're not reading. And your child may just want to wander around the internet learning more interesting facts about Greek mythology.

The Lightning Thief is well worth reading and is probably in most public and school libraries.

Have I Told You Lately That I Love Watching My 9-Year-Old Play Baseball?

Chandler had to dig this one up out of the dirt to get the runner out (and he did!), but he did it in true Cowboy-Up style, presenting the ball so the umpire could clearly see he had control. He also had to stretch out to tag the base.

Our season is getting better, and all the kids are coming up with real magic. But this is my kid and he's my kryptonite. I love him and he continues to amaze me every day.

My New NCIS Novel Is Out On The Shelves!

I think this is one of the most emotionally-charged books I've ever written. The characters really came alive in this story and I ended exploring a lot of themes about being an adult child as well as a parent. This was a story that was begging to be told from the first book in the series, Paid In Blood.

While the rest of Will Coburn's NCIS team struggles to find the truth about a year-old murder that everyone thought was technically solved, medical examiner Nita gets pushed to the edge by her own self-destructive urges, the past she thought she'd buried, and feelings of love and need that she's only now starting to understand about her daughter and husband.

I loved writing this book. Hope you enjoy the read.

I Found A New Mystery Series To Enjoy!

Mystery novels remain some of my standard fare. There’s nothing like kicking back and testing an author—especially a new one or a favored old one—to see if they can slip one by me.

I’d heard a lot about Laura Lippman and her series detective Tess Monaghan. I’d even picked up a few books. But I hadn’t gotten around to reading her. Then the latest Tess Monaghan book came out in paperback with a great, captivating cover and I just had to pick it up.

I’m glad I did. Although the mystery wasn’t as mysterious as I would have thought, the characters were nothing short of living, breathing people. Tess’s boyfriend, Crow, takes center stage to a degree in this book. Tess is all about business and being responsible (within her own rules and limitations, of course) and Edgar “Crow” Ransome leans in favor of a more relaxed approach. They play off each other splendidly.

The way Lippman handled the introduction of the characters was well done. I liked the opening narration by Crow, which set up the closing narration as well, because I actually go the chance to decide that I liked the characters because of who they were rather than what trouble they got into or what action they took.

The gentle way the author took us into the mystery/drama was well done too. Crow meets Lloyd, a streetwise young black teen, when Lloyd is part of a two-man operation to boost a few bucks out of people’s pockets. Lloyd’s partner punctures a person’s tire, and Lloyd just happens by with a jack and a tire wrench. Crow berates Lloyd and convinces him to let him take him out for lunch rather than pay him cash. With all the bad weather coming on, Crow invites Lloyd to Tess’s house where Crow is living. If I hadn’t already gotten to know the characters, I don’t know that I would have believed that plot. But this is what Crow is all about.

Things start to get complicated almost at once. Crow really wants to domesticate Lloyd, but Lloyd has simply pulled a Trojan Horse maneuver on Crow to get into the house so he can still stuff. That part was exceptionally well done as well. Everything bad grew out of that kindness, out of that one good deed that Crow tried to work.

After Lloyd slips away in the middle of the night, he runs Crow’s car into someone else and starts off a chain of events that lead Crow and Tess into the confrontations with killers that threatens to tear their whole world apart. Before long, state and federal investigators approach Tess and start making her life a living hell after she arranges to have testimony fall into the hands of a newspaper she wanted to do business with.

Lippman delivers the goods on her villains, making them hard as nails and arranging it so they have an assortment of weapons to throw onto Tess in an effort to get her to knuckle under to their demands.

The decision to separate Crow and Tess for most of the book’s action was an interesting one, but i works and pays off well. While Tess wrangles with the official pressure and Crow is off gallivanting around staying hidden, he also steps up to be something of a surrogate father for Lloyd. I found Crow’s choice of reading and viewing matter extremely interesting as well. Evidently Crow and I (and doubtless Laura Lippman) treasure books and movies by the same people. Some of Crow’s favorites are also my favorites. Read closely and you may find some of yours.

After reading No Good Deeds, I realized that what I was reading wasn’t truly a mystery story. Lippman is so good at building characters and crafting a plot that the book feels like a introduction to two different but equally good characters.

The dialogue is good. There’s a lot of it and it does more work than just advance the plot. People talk and exchange plot points and information, but it adds layers to the characters and to the Baltimore world on stage.

The plot is somewhat reminiscent of Robert B. Parker’s Early Autumn, but that’s more a tip of the hat than anything else. Parker’s book is one of those that get mentioned during the course of the novel.

In addition to the Tess Monaghan series, Laura Lippman is—like so many of the current mystery series authors out there—writing stand-alone suspense thrillers. They are generating a lot of good reviews from critics as well as casual readers. I’ll be picking those books up as well because I’m convinced I’ve found a new favorite author. The lady can write. She knows her way around plots and characters. No Good Deeds is a great read that will keep you entertained from beginning to end whether you’re a regular mystery fan or suspense reader.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Are Back And Rockin' The House!

The Turtles have been around in one incarnation or another for more than a generation now. They started out as a black-and-white comic by Eastman and Laird, who have gone on to other things but have never grown beyond this one HUGE splash they made in comics and kids cartoons.

The original Turtles weren't for kids. The action in the comics was gritty and bloody. They originally didn't sell well. In their first incarnation, they were like a parody of the white-hot X-Men at the time.

Then someone out in television production land looked at the idea and thought the Turtles would be an excellent addition to the kids market that the X-Men cartoons had opened up. And we soon had Turtles everywhere. Cartoons, comics, movies, and action figures soon blossomed everywhere.

Now we have TMNT, which is most likely the relaunch of the movie franchise. Thankfully we're not treated to a rehash of Turtle history and the origin story. Unless you've been living in some far-off shell, you know the story of the four turtles and the rat that were exposed to radioactive slime and became Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo, Raphael, and Master Splinter. April O'Neil and Casey Jones are also up to bat in this one (sorry, I couldn't resist).

The plot centers around a billionaire CEO named Max Winters who's been alive for 3000 years thanks to a spell that introduced 13 monsters into the world. The planets only line up in a certain way every 3000 years to provide the energy to open a doorway to another world (you'd think they'd find a better power source!). Winters also had four generals who served him that were turned to stone. They've recently returned to life and are now looking for the 13 monsters to power up the sorcerous spell again. Mix in the Foot Clan who are working for Winters and you've got a return to greatness.

The characterizations for the Turtles, Splinter, April O'Neil (voiced by Sarah Michelle Geller), and Casey Jones are spot-on. April comes across a little to Tomb Raiderish for me, but it works overall.

However, Leonardo has been gone from the group for the last year and doesn't really want to return. When he does, it's just in time and there's a world to save and a family to reclaim.

TMNT is beautifully rendered in computer generated artwork. Although it does admittedly look like a cartoon and you're never really pulled into the this-is-real mindset even the three live-action movies of the 1980s achieved to a somewhat limited dgeree, the world is big and vibrant. The musical score compliments the action and the moods really well. The fight between Raphael and one of the demons to the rollicking licks of "Black Betty" have to be seen to be believed.

My nine-year-old was in heaven. There were plenty of funny bits, actions as well as one-liners, that kept him in stitches. Even though some of the movie is predicatable for the adult mind, I still had a blast and found myself chuckling along with my kid. Even my 17-year-old son and 21-year-old daughter, who I thought would never want to see this movie, had a great time when they decided to join us.

The martial arts moves, the mad dashes across the rooftops, and the larger-than-life creatures in combat on the screen looked terrific. You're not going to get this kind of experience in live-action, and the cartoons simply don't have this kind of budget for CGI.

The movie treks along familiar themes and doesn't really go anywhere new, but it is a fantastic treatment of material that has become part of a generation's heritage. Hopefully there will be more new movies. We'll be looking forward to them.

My Newest Book in the ROVER Series Is Out!

Pick it up at any bookstore or order online At Amazon!

I love this world and these characters, and I think this is one of my best books.

I Need Votes!

Yep, it's me. Begging for votes again. I checked my Amazon.com stats. I hit 1300 today. The lowest I've ever been. I'm still trying to hit that coveted TOP 1000 reviewer button. So if you have time, please drop by my Amazon reviews (located over to the right for easy access) and vote me up!

Thanks!

Baseball Season Is Here!

We've got a new name this year, but we're back in action. I love coaching Little League baseball and basketball.

This is my son. He picked his number this year. The only reason he picked #99 is because I wouldn't let him have #100. *sigh* Now I'm stuck wearing the same dumb number all season.


If you're in the Moore Ballpark some weekend, look for us. We might be there!

At Amazon

Great Kids' SF Novel With Touches of Robert A. Heinlein

Science fiction novels these days are an odd mix. Most of them tend to be tied into television or movie properties. A few have roots in video games. Others have science so ingrained and specialized that weaving a story through all the information overload can be tough.

I grew up on science fiction novels by Robert A. Heinlein and Andre Norton that were inventive, inviting, and a lot of fun. Heinlein’s juveniles often stayed within the known solar system while Norton ventured far, far away.

As a result, few children’s science fiction novels are being published these days. Thankfully, some authors and publishers are holding the line and producing new material.

Michael Daley’s Shanghaied to the Moon is a fun romp that’s often reminiscent of early Heinlein and Norton. Thirteen-year-old Stewart Hale wants to be a space pilot like his mom, who died in a fiery crash. Since that time, he’s been in the care of a virtual counselor that has been controlling his academic performance and actually keeping him from achieving that goal.

Stewart has started suspecting that something is going on that no one talks about. He’s become convinced that there’s a big secret the school, the virtual counselor, and his dad are keeping from him. With his older brother’s help, he discovers that the virtual counselor has altered his grads and is actually preventing him from remembering some events in his life and is keeping him from getting qualified for the Space Academy. I love conspiracy story, and I really didn’t know there was one in this book until I landed squarely in the middle of it.

At the same time, Stewart’s dreams of those forgotten events start surfacing in dreams. Daley weaves a mystery about everything that happened to Stewart after his mother died. Although the book is crammed with action and interesting tidbits about the history of space travel and fictional exploits regarding the same, I found myself turning the pages faster and faster not only to see how things turned out, but to find out what the big secret was.

Even as Stewart’s dreams begin again and his curiosity propels him to solve that mystery, he meets a washed-up spacer who offers him a chance to go to the moon. Knowing that there’s a conspiracy to keep him out of space and wanting to go more than anything else in the world, Stewart takes the guy up on his offer and blasts off.

However, the spacer has an ulterior motive that Stewart hasn’t been able to guess at. I was constantly kept on my toes trying to figure out what was going to happen next and what was truly going on. The adventure takes some really interesting twists and turns along the way.

Daley has produced a book that’s a lot of fun to read. The first-person narration is first-rate and given more immediacy by the present tense spin. In addition to the adventures and dangers, the author also provides a lot of interesting details about the space program that got the United States to the moon in the first place. The rapid pacing guarantees readers will stay with the book, and the mysteries will solidly hook them.

Shanghaied to the Moon is a great read, and it’s a book elementary school and junior high school librarians should put on the shelves. Fantasy stories still dominate that market at present, but there’s plenty of room for science fiction adventures like this one.

A Fun, Exciting Story for Parents Who Read to Kids

Although the historical novel for the juvenile and YA crowd seems to be going the way of the dodo (I expect mainly because the world has become so urbanized and suburbanized that kids can’t imagine what small town living was like in the 1950s—or earlier as in this novel), I still find the occasional novel to share with my nine-year-old that really rings true.

Darleen Bailey Beard’s Operation Clean Sweep is one of those books. It has the honest and wholesome goodness of The Andy Griffith Show but still manages to play out the push and shove of real emotions over real problems for youngsters.

I settled down to read this one to my son because it’s on the Oklahoma Sequoyah list this year, and I’m surprised I hadn’t found it earlier. It originally debuted in 2004.

Cornelius, "Corn" to his friends, is a welcome and genuine narrator in this story based on real political events early in the 20th century. It’s 1916 and women haven’t get been given the vote nationally, but a few states and territories have allowed them to vote. The world is all ready changing far faster than anyone at that time realizes.

Corn's dad is the town mayor, but he doesn't know that the women in town are tired of dragging their dresses through chicken poop in the streets and stepping over holes in the wooden sidewalks. Bailey paints a picturesque image of the town and the citizens. All of it feels real. Unknown to anyone in town (except the women), a secret coup takes shape among the women as they intend to run for office. Corn is astounded to learn that. But even worse is the fact hat his mom is going to run against his dad for mayor.

The writing is tight and clean. It lends itself to being read aloud to young listeners. Corn's troubles are the kind that every kid goes through, and he relates them in a matter-of-fact kind of way that's endearing. His infatuation with Birdine is warm and funny, and progresses naturally. The conversations Corn has with his mom and dad are good, full of values without being preachy.

The friendship between Corn and Oatmeal (Otis) is a riot. Oatmeal has fallen in love with his tape measure and is constantly measuring things or poking people with it. They hang out at the gravestone of a town founder who was buried in the middle of the street. The grave wasn’t intended to be there, but the town just kept growing and that’s where it ended up. The boy humor is just as real as the historical setting.

I read this one aloud to my nine-year-old and he cracked up a lot at the jokes, the stunts, and the whacky way the characters had of solving their problems. Such as Oatmeal’s advice that Corn imagine girls with a million boogers in their noses so they don’t seem so perfect.

In addition to the political war at home, Corn's problems with Birdine, and struggling to write his essay on the Great War (World War I), Corn also has to deal with Sticky Fingers Fred, the worst pickpocket in the area at the time. Although that part of the plot is predictable, it’s shoehorned right into the middle of the action at the election to pump up the excitement.

Darleen Bailey Beard has written one of those timeless books that school libraries should have on their shelves and parents should enjoy with their children.

Equal Parts History, Lunacy, and Adventure!

Mike Mignola doesn't invent your typical run-of-the-mill hero. Nor does he set their adventures in the everyday world or even a world most readers accept as everyday. Instead, he gifts his fans with side treks through strange and unknown places.

Most everyone knows about Hellboy, his premiere creation. The comic has done well and continues, and has even spun off sequels. The movie franchise is gearing up for a second movie.
THE AMAZING SCREW-ON HEAD is a prequel of sorts to Hellboy. Taking place in the 1860s, the story provides something of a history for the action in the pages of the Hellboy comics and movies.

The artwork of the 22-minute feature shows Mignola style. Heavily inked, edgy characters, and with some of the color drained away to make the artwork look more severe and stark, THE AMAZING SCREW-ON HEAD looks as though it exploded right out of the pages of a comic.

The dialogue is a hoot. Fabulously twisted, anchored in today's world with tongue firmly in cheek, the characters speak and act in a mix of 19th and 21st century actions. The strange machinations take root and spread across the screen, offering a visual treat at every turn. A case in point is when President Lincoln refers to a man who was kidnapped by "two old women and a monkey." Of course, one of those old women also turned out to be a werewolf.

Since there is only the 22-minute episode and special features that almost double the viewing time on the disc, THE AMAZING SCREW-ON HEAD may seem pricy to some. But Mignola fans and people who have heard about the show are going to step up and pay it anyway.

I had a blast with the episode. So did my 9-year-old, who loved the jokes and repartee. Buy this one out of love, not economics. I promise, you'll watch it more than once. And if you do, you've already doubled your return on your initial investment!