We had serious trepidation about this concert; though the advertisement had a picture of Joe Sample (one of my all time faves) and a brief mention of him, there was no listing of the performers. And the bargain price of about $15 per ticket made me worried; I was sure we would here some great jazz, but would Joe Sample be there? The last time we saw him with the Crusaders, we paid a pretty penny for those tickets.

Not only was he there, but he was joined by Grammy-award winning Houston flutist in an ending set that was simply magical.

The concert was the season ending one by MusicDoingGood, a local organization I had not heard of, but we certainly be following closely.

Of the Third Generation performers, Chase Jordan on the Vibes stood out, with a clear sound and an almost artistically acrobatic usage of the mallets.

Horace Alexander Young on tenor sax shined on both selections in the Second Generation set.

Then the originals arrived. Horace Grigsby did an outstanding rendition of What a Wonderful World, and Jewel Brown, sitting down though she was (refusing to take her cane onto the stage was a nice touch!) absolutely rocked Time After Time.

But the best set was Sample and Laws. Joe Sample came out, performed one track by himself, then Hubert Laws joined him for a set that quickly got into its groove, making the audience think they had been playing together since their high school daze.

The whole group returned for a final rendition of I’ve Got Rhythm.

The set list (thanks to Music Doing Good for providing it):

Midnight openings have a feeling of enthusiasm, especially for long awaited movies like this one. As each new character made their appearance, the crowd cheered; as each battle was won, we applauded again.

It was that kind of movie.

The story is well know, and the plot is predictable (for a more detailed summary, see Derek’s notes at SFSignal). Loki, Thor’s miscreant brother, is freed from his prison in space when Earth scientists fool around with the Tesseract (an alien energy source). Loki calls in an army of out-of-this-world baddies, and Nick Fury, leader of SHIELD, played by Samuel L. Jackson, assembles the Avengers.

Some small spoilers after the break:

The back stories of Thor (played again by Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and the Hulk (this time played, very well IMHO by Mark Ruffalo) were told in other movies. Black Widow (red headed Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) are thrown into the mix, and the team is born, wise cracking their way to an obvious large battle with Loki and his army.

The interaction of the characters is excellent (wise-cracking, as with any Joss Whedon work), each character has their moments and the big battle scene delivers as they work separately, in pairs and as a group to fight the villains (the end of the Thor / Hulk pairing made me laugh so hard my wife had to shush me).

Besides the inevitably predictable plot, two points bothered me:

• At the end of the Thor movie, Thor was stuck, unable to get back to Earth. How exactly did he return? Maybe since the Tesseract opened up a path for Loki it opened up one for Thor as well?
• Hulk is out of control on the plane/flying ship, chasing and knocking around Black Widow (bad Hulk!); but for the final battle, he is able to control himself and communicate. That transition happens too quickly; when and how did he gain control.

All in all, a great movie, one that we are looking forward to seeing again on the big screen when our son is home from college exams.

Currently in the running:

The Judging Eye by R. Scott Baker

This is the first book in the second trilogy (The Aspect-Emperor) that follows The Prince of Nothing Trilogy, which saw Kellhus become the first true Aspect-Emperor of this fictitious land in a thousand years. Since the second book is not out yet (at least in paperback) I may hold off on this one; it has lots of political machinations and multiple characters that would make it easier to remember if I read the entire trilogy back-to-back-to-back.

The Burning Man by Mark Chadbourn

Chadbourn’s Age of Misrule trilogy was one of the best at depicting a slow transition from a “normal” world into the chaos of a fantastical world (my review of World’s End at SFSignal). Jack Churchill is an enjoyable hero to observe, and Chadbourn sets up the battle between light and dark well, pulling in lots of different mythos to go along with the Pendragon spirit. Reading this one and the concluding one in the trilogy are high on the list. And, Chadbourn follows the memory rule: he puts a summary at the beginning, realizing that most of us don’t remember Jack of Ravens (the first in this trilogy, my notes here) since we read it long ago.

The Civil War: A Narrative–Fort Sumter to Perryville, Vol. 1 by Shelby Foote

At 840 pages, the first volume of Shelby Foote’s amazing Civil War narrative is the very definition of reader commitment. And I already did a preview of the first chapter, a narrative of Jefferson Davis resigning from Congress as secession nears. But I will wait until I have collected the last two in the trilogy, and read them all straight through.

At Dawn We Slept by Gordon Prange

Having recently completed Red Sun (an alternate history which assumes the Japanese invaded Oahu after Pearl Harbor, notes here) and Retribution by Max Hastings, which chronicles the end of World War II in the Pacific, I’d like to dive into Prange’s classic detailed history of Pearl (and follow that up with Miracle at Midway by Prange)

Norstrilia by Cordwainer Smith

Norstrilia is Paul Linebarger’s (writing as Cordwainer Smith) only science fiction novel. I ordered both the novel and the full collection of short stories (The Rediscovery of Man) in the excellent NESFA Press hardbacks. I’ve read Atomsk (my notes here), Linebarger’s (writing as Carmichael Smith) post-World War II thriller, and I enjoyed the psychological warfare perspectives he threw in. As it is standalone, this novel will most likely be next in line.

• The carrier USS Enterprise was in Pearl Harbor during the attack, and was destroyed (and, in fact, blocked the Harbor); in fact, the carrier was due in Pearl Harbor the morning on the attacks, but was delayed due to a storm and was several hundred miles away.
• The Japanese did indeed launch the third air strike against Pearl Harbor; in fact, they did not, fearing counter-attacks from the carriers USS Enterprise and Lexington, whose whereabouts were unknown.
• The Japanese subsequently invaded and overtook Hawaii.

The book was written in 2001 by Richard Ziegler and Patrick M. Patterson, two instructors from the Honolulu Community College, and uses the above assumptions, combined with knowledge of Japanese and U.S. actions in other theaters to tell a compelling story. Through three different types of dialog (called Vistas, Vignettes and Voices), the story unfolds through fictional history lessons, personal accounts and reflections.

After having recently read Retribution, Max Hasting’s excellent account of the end of World War II in the Pacific, the references to other battles, to the treatments by the Japanese of their prisoners and the attitudes of the Japanese themselves all ring true in Red Sun. It is a very plausible what-if alternate history, complete with a set of notes at the end about what events were altered or assumed altered for the story.

With some great friends who grew up on the island of Oahu and still live there (which brings us the extremely wonderful privilege of visiting often), we are familiar with many of the landmarks and the terrain of Oahu. The assumptions the authors make about the invasion of the island, and the defense of those places are excellent hypothesis. The defense of the Mokapu Peninsula is spot on, mirroring that of Bataan.

The depiction of Hawai’ian independence, or independence feelings, is another well done aspect of the story. The Japanese put many puppet emperors in charge of conquered countries in their empire, and the authors mirrored this in their story. But the also integrated the strong desire for Hawai’ian independence, making it a feeling that the Japanese tried to manipulate, and that was also a source of resistance and pride for the islanders.

The end of the book (which I won’t give away) is a fictitious rendition of one of the options Max Hastings reviews in his non-fiction summary. Though I would have preferred that the novel end inside the bounds of Hawai’i, the authors do follow their alternative history premise to a logical conclusion.

An excellent tale, highly recommended for those interested in World War II and/or Hawai’i history. Thanks to Bob for another excellent recommendation.

An excerpt:

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.

The Bottoms, Joe Lansdale’s Edgar Award winning novel from 2000, is one of my favorite stories of all time. The East Texas setting, the Depression era time period, the characterizations, the prejudice…all flowed together into exactly what a novel should be…a story told by a master storyteller in a way that sounds like he’s sitting right across from you. These pieces made the “horror” aspect of a traveling serial killer blend right in to the background, making it just another part of the story.

Lansdale’s latest, Edge of Dark Water, has a lot of the same characteristics as The Bottoms. The setting of East Texas near the Sabine River is similar, and some of the scenes (escaping through the thorns and brambles, for example) seemed familiar. It’s is told from the perspective of Sue Ellen, a teenager, almost a woman, who lives an edge-of-poverty existence dodging her drunken step-father’s roving hands. Her mother is hooked on a cure-all that keeps her in a dazed stupor. Sue Ellen’s release are her friends: Terry, a well-schooled young man most suspect of being a “sissy” with stepfather issues of his own; Jinx, a black girl with good parents whose father travels north frequently to get a good paying job; and May Lynn, a beautiful young lady who dreams of going to Hollywood. When they pull May Lynn’s body out of the river while fishing (found with a sewing machine tied to her legs to hold her down), Sue Ellen’s world changes, and changes quickly. Terry wants to take May Lynn’s ashes and spread them over Hollywood. And when they stumble upon a map of May Lynn’s which leads to a stash of cash apparently stolen by her larcenous brother (now deceased), they have the means to not only escape the lives they currently detest, but honor May Lynn as well.

Read the full review here.

The one to watch, in our humble opinion, is NOT the one we predicted. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is, by far, the better movie of the two, with an interesting story and an ending that, while not exactly uplifting, tells a story of hope. The Descendants, in contrast, meanders all over the place, not really telling us anything.

There are some good pieces to the Clooney movie, his performance being one of them; as a man who has ignored his wife, who is now in a coma and finds out she was having an affair, Clooney plays confusion and uncertainty on what steps to take exceedingly well. The subplot of the Hawaiian land that “the descendants” own, and what to do with it, hits close to home, with our good friends who live and were born on the islands providing background on this issue, past and present. And Shailene Woodley who plays Clooney’s teenage daughter, out of drug rehab and trying to help, is enjoyable and gorgeous.

But the movie is a cacophony of angry reactions and aimless events (with the exception of the decision on what to do with the parcel of land). While the characters may be believable, it’s hard to give a crap what happens to them.

The opposite occurs in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The story of Oskar Schell, close to his father, not so much to his mother, hunting for the lock that fits a key that he found amongst his father’s things after his father was killed in 9/11. By finding what the key fits (and it has do with “BLACK”, which is the name on the envelope the key came in), Oskar hopes to find some closure on his father’s death. Aided in his search by his Grandmother’s “renter” (who he knows is his estranged Grandfather, played well by Max Von Sydow), without giving away spoilers…Oskar does find closure, and ends up much closer to his mother.

Hanks and Bullock could have overwhelmed this movie, but it is Oskar’s story (played by Thomas Horn, whose IMDB bio says he won Kid’s Week on Jeopardy) and the two stars (and Sydow) fit in seamlessly.

Here’s my personal persuasion for you:

I met John DeNardo (JD, because all of the kool one word monikers were taken) in 2006. I was pimping my novel Dusk Before the Dawn, and knew of this site called SFSignal. I contacted them, and got an email from this John DeNardo guy with an address of where to send a copy.

The address had the same zip code as mine. I had no clue. JD was not only in the same neighborhood, but worked for the same large computer company that I used to work for.

We met in person (rare for any internet relationship) and JD reviewed my novel. His review was characteristic of  the site, and of John: fair and insightful.

I’d been reviewing books on my website for a while, and JD asked me to review a novel that was somewhat related to mine. Thus I became an SFSignal Irregular.

Before I took the oath (which included strange disclaimers about bagels) I was told the following:

• there is no pay; the site is supported mainly by some ad and affiliate revenue, just enough to cover the hosting costs (I’m guesstimating here). This is an important point for you voters to realize: JD and his partner in crime, JP, have done the editing and generated most of the content for this site for a decade for the love of the genre;
• there is the opportunity to get free books. Obviously, this sold me; I’d do lots of unnatural acts for free books.

Since then, I’ve gotten the opportunity to not only read books that I would not have read, either because of time or availability, but I’ve interviewed a couple of authors who’ve I’ve built extended relationships with, built a couple of cool primers for Doc Savage and John Carter, and been introduced to an opportunity to do a video primer of John Carter, which was eventually shown at the NY Review of Science Fiction meeting.

I denote these not to blow my own horn, but to show how JD and SFSignal promote the community of science fiction and fantasy. JD encourages creativity during his editorial purview, and by looking at some of the awesome columns on the site, you can see the results.

So…VOTE FOR MY FRIEND JD and SFSIGNAL. It is an honor I believe is well deserved.

Having recently read two World War II books focused on the Pacific side of the War, Atomsk was a natural followup. One of the two books, Retribution by Max Hastings, is a non-fiction account written by a British author which features several areas not covered in other books on World War II. Some of those areas focused on China, following Chiang Kai-shek  as he dallied with the U.S. for aid and Mao as he hid and lived to survive through the chaos.

When the novels of Cordwainer Smith were recommended to me by a gent who previewed my John Carter Primer video at the New York Review of Science Fiction, I found that Cordwainer Smith was one of the pen names for Paul Linebarger. Linebarger wrote the definitive book on Psychological Warfare, was a Major in the Army during WWII and was in China, ending up as a confidant of Chiang Kai-shek during the war. Known mostly for his limited output of science-fiction (one novel and some short stories) which he wrote under the name Cordwainer Smith, Linebarger also wrote Atomsk under a different pen name, and two other books (writing as Felix C. Forrest).

In Atomsk, super-spy Dugan spent WWII playing the role of a Japanese officer, working through any psychological means to thwart their war effort. He goes to great efforts to prepare for the Atomsk mission, even having his appendix scars changed to be more like ones a Russian would have. As he moves from Japan to Manchuria and through Russia towards his target, he changes roles like others change clothes. At one point, he spots a Russian spy who is trying to pass himself off as an American officer; Dugan arranges to rouse a drunken mob into a lynch mob, thus disposing of the potential threat without damaging his own cover.

Though written over sixty years ago, the usage of psychological warfare by the character (no doubt reflecting Linebarger’s prowess on the subject) is enjoyable to read. But what stood out in the book is how allies and friends tried to see the “real” Dugan, and how Dugan perceived his real self as he shifted from role-to-role. An excerpt from his debriefing shows this:

“What I really mean is, do you ever stop playing a role, underneath all these different characters, Major? Is there a real Dugan underneath…?”

Dugan turned his eyes away from Landsiedel. Not even looking at him, he said, “That’s not the way it seems to me. I’m myself, no matter where I go, no matter what I do. I act out those other people. On the outside, it may look as though I really change. Did I impress you that much – that way?”

“You did,” said Landsiedel flatly.

Looking forward to reading other Linebarger books, including the Psychological Warfare one, if a copy can be found!

This book and Farmer connects the dots with two of my long term obsessions: Doc Savage and Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Farmer should be a familiar author based on his two most widely read series: the Riverboat series (To Your Scattered Bodies Go (a most excellent name for a novel, BTW) won the Hugo in 1972) and the World of Tiers series. But Farmer also had a fascination and participation with Edgar Rice Burroughs and Doc Savage.

Doc Savage is the long running pulp series (my primer on SFSignal can provide you background) which Will Murray has recently revived. Farmer wrote two books in the Doc Savage canon: Escape from Loki (which depicts Doc and his five men as an origination story in World War I) and the psuedo-biography Doc Savage: His Apocolyptic Life.

Edgar Rice Burroughs is the creator of Tarzan and John Carter, the subject of my current SFSignal Primers (written here and video here).

Farmer connects Doc Savage and Tarzan in many of his stories, and in his Wold Newton universe (which postulates that a meteorite that landed in England affected certain people in the universe by giving them extraordinary abilities).

The Gods of Opar stories bring this connection full circle. Opar is first mentioned in Burrough’s second Tarzan book, Return of Tarzan, and is the setting of three others in the series. Farmer expands this region by building the history, setting Hadon in the year 10,000 BC and putting a time-traveler character from one of his other novels as a tinkerer and trouble maker.

A full review of the trillogy will be on SFSignal when reading is complete.