Reviews and Comments

An early effort from Agatha Christie, featuring Hercule Poirot. A fix-up of a number of short stories, it's as much a thriller as a mystery. Not one of her best by any means and a bit cringeworthy, but acceptable. Plus, it's free. The best-formatted free editions I know of are available through Standard eBooks at standardebooks.org/ebooks/agatha-christie/the-big-four .

And early effort from Agatha Christie featuring Hercule Poirot. A fix-up of a number of short stories, it's as much thriller as mystery. Not one of her best by any means, but acceptable. Plus, it's free. The best-formatted free editions I know of are available through Standard eBooks at standardebooks.org/ebooks/agatha-christie/the-big-four .

A classic collection of four novelettes about a starship and its crew. One thing that has always puzzled me is Jay Score, the title character of the first novelette. Does he end up being a cyborg with his brain in an Android body, or a full-on robot with nothing left of the original character? The book says robot, but that doesn't feel right and back then the differentiation between cyborgs, androids, and robots was not really settled.

Surprisingly good. The first half is quite like the movie that was based on the book; exciting and interesting. The second half is quite different. There's a bit of protagonist stupidity that's annoying, as it always is. But the resolution is satisfying, albeit a little abrupt.

Surprisingly good. The first half is quite like the movie that was based on the book; exciting and interesting. The second half is quite different. There's a bit of protagonist stupidity that's annoying, as it always is. But the resolution is satisfying, albeit a little abrupt.

Lawrence Watt-Evans' Ethshar is better than ever. His protagonists are intelligent, decent people who deal with interesting problems and situations. This novel begins as stories in the original fantasy world of Ethshar from the viewpoint of several different characters, one chapter at a time. It's a great read to see how things come together. It's not predictable or stale; I enjoyed every page and looked forward to see what was going to happen next. Bravo!

A boxed collection of four books which will fit in the palm of your hand, the Nutshell Library includes Chicken Soup with Rice, Pierre, One was Johnny, and Alligators All Around. Sendak is, of course a national treasure and this collection is very special indeed. It was also the basis for the Really Rosie television special, which is available free on YouTube.

One of the four tiny books that make up Maurice Sendak's Nutshell Library, as well as the inspiration for Carol King's wonderful song of the same name from the television special, which is free to watch on YouTube. As with the rest of the Nutshell Library, I read this one to my son as a toddler; we both loved it, of course. Who wouldn't enjoy reading about an obstinate boy being devoured by a hungry lion, after all? 😁

One of the four tiny books that make up Maurice Sendak's Nutshell Library, as well as the inspiration for Carol King's wonderful song of the same name from the television special, which is free to watch on YouTube. A deceptively simple and lovely little poem of the months of the year!

Just a laugh-out-loud parody of classic, epic space opera ever written. A pair of All-American young high-school geniuses invent an interstellar drive and head out (unintentionally) into the cosmos, along with a couple of unforeseen stowaways. Far out in space, they stumble into eons-long wars between alien species of unimaginable power - and malevolence, in some cases. But our plucky heroes are indomitable in the face of certain doom.

If you've read any of the stuff from the good old days, you'll find yourself laughing again and again. It re-reads well, too!

It's not the most enjoyable reading experience, but it's a powerful one. Schlosser rips off the curtain covering America's fast food industry and reveals the ugly truths behind it. It's The Jungle (1906) of it's day. After reading it, I stopped eating fast food. It has been decades since I've eaten MacDonald's, Burger King or their equivalents.

A surprisingly good collection of relatively early SF stories by A. E. van Vogt. I first read it in my mid-teens, and it made a big impression on me; when I rediscovered it forty years later, it was with real delight. His stories bridge the Gernsback era of science fiction to the Campbell era; they could be utterly memorable, and in Destination: Universe they mostly were. They express feelings and moments that stayed with me for decades. His later bad habit of cannibalizing his own earlier work shadowed his overall reputation in my eyes, but the fact remains that when he was good, he was very good indeed. Although all of the stories are excellent, "The Monster" and "A Can of Paint" are particularly memorable.

The first five or six books in the Xanth series (this was the third) were cute and enjoyable, albeit silly at times and VERY punny. This one sets up some stories for later books in the series, introduces some major characters, and features an odd form of time travel. It also features a tragic love story ~~with a happy ending~~; credit to Piers Anthony for managing that.

But don't get too attached. As is frequently the case, the series ended up turning creepy. I still reread and enjoy the earlier books in the series, but after Ogre, Ogre the creepiness factor increases with pretty much every book.