Review of Callahan's Key

Book #6. Callahan’s Key, by Spider Robinson. Unabridged audio.  

This is the penultimate novel in Robinson’s Callahan saga. I have enjoyed the prior ones to varying degrees, but generally consider myself a fan of the series. And even though this one features a new location, and a few new characters, it is a plot that we’ve seen before.

In this one, a bizarre cluster of freakish phenomena has brought us to the edge of nuclear war. The United States' own defense system has become a perfect doomsday machine, using Nikola Tesla’s death ray. The motley crew from Jake Stonebender’s old bar pack up in school buses and head to Key West. Along with Tesla himself, Jake, his wife, and his super-intelligent toddler Erin set out to break into NASA to stop the end of everything.

And Robert Heinlein's wandering cat shows up, too. And there are a lot of puns. A lot of bad puns. Spider Robinson is very skilled at combining humor with his science fiction, but I think sometimes the wackiness of the story overwhelms the narrative of the story. The crew learning their way around a new location was a nice touch, creating opportunities for nice character moments.

I am probably biased, as I enjoyed this series when it started out life as a series of connected short stories. Once Robinson switched the series over to novels a few books back, the need for a more cohesive plot arises, and that is not necessarily Robinson’s strength as a writer.

There is one more book left in this series, and although I was a little underwhelmed by this one, I am definitely looking forward to wrapping up the series. 

Source: Delaware County library

Review of Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way

Book #5. Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way, by Pope John Paul II. Hardcover.

I have read a few of this Pope’s books before, and have always been impressed with his prose skill – or at least the prose skill of his translator! In particular,  Crossing the Threshold of Hope is a solid work of accessible Catholic theology.

This book was written specifically for bishops and other clergy. I am not a Catholic, so few of the Pope’s books are really written for me, but I am furthest from the target audience in this book. Parts of the book are specifically tailored to that audience. However, I found the combination of practical theology, pastoral advice, and personal reflections that make up most of the book to be interesting reading.

My favorite parts of the book are those where the Pope discusses his experiences working in Poland, as a priest, then a bishop. The struggles of the church against Communist authorities in Poland are interesting, and worth remembering.

Source: purchased from a Goodwill store, in Eastern North Carolina.

This Week in Reading

BOOKS:
The Secret History of Wonder Woman (hc), by Jill LePore, COMPLETED. Reviewed here.
Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way (hc), by Pope John Paul II, pages125 - 201. 
Callahan’s Key (ua), by Spider Robinson, pages 149 - 265.

COMICS:
The Walking Dead 103-108.
Crisis on Infinite Earths 1 
Shado: Song of the Dragon, Book 3

Review of The Secret History of Wonder Woman

Book #4. The Secret History of Wonder Woman, by Jill Lepore. Hardocver.

Anyone familiar with comic book history knows about the creator of Wonder Woman, William Moulton Marston. He was a psychologist who was involved in the creation of the lie detector machine, and lived with both a wife and girlfriend while he was writing Wonder Woman. His views on gender and sexuality filtered were on display in his work, which at times bordered on propaganda for equal rights and his particular view of femininity.

So to a lot of comic book fans, the basic outline of the history in this book was not previously a “secret,” although many of the details certainly were. Lepore does a good job explaining the details of his biography to readers, and details how he developed his particular take on feminism. She does a very nice job comparing scenes in Wonder Woman to literature from the feminist and suffragist movements, as well as from his own life and relational experiences.

Marston’s battles with his DC Comics editors are also covered, as Marston bristled at charges that the rampant bondage in his stories was problematic. The popularity of the character had the effect of pulling her out of Marston’s control, as she appeared in other character’s books. In those, she was reduced in power and authority to a great degree, even serving as the Justice Society’s secretary, rarely joining them in adventures. His death from polio caused the character to lose that fire that Marston imbued her with, but she has remained popular to this day.

There is a lengthy section devoted to his work on the lie detector, and the downward spiral that his academic career seemed to take as he devoted much of his energies to this project, which of course failed to become a credible source of evidence in legal cases. The most surprising (or “secret”) part of the story was that one of the women in his household wrote articles for the popular press extolling Marston, not revealing her relationship with her subject.

There has been a small dust-up recently, in which some of Marston’s descendents have questioned Lepore and her methods. But I am more likely to trust the Harvard professor who has been nominated in the past for a National Book Award. Even though Lepore did have a story to tell, in general I trust her objectivity more than that of the family.

Source: public library

Review of A Bear Called Paddington

Book #3. A Bear Called Paddington, by Michael Bond. Hardcover.

Along with Winnie-the-Pooh, Paddington Bear is the earliest fictional character that I can remember being a fan of. We got many of his books from the library growing up, and I always considered myself a fan. And as I grew older, I found a similar joy in Michael Bond’s delightful Monsieur Pamplemousse series.

But with a big-budget movie coming out, that doesn’t look all that promising, I decided to pick up the first book for a nostalgic read. And what a fun read it was.

Michael Bond has such a light touch with the storytelling, letting the events just unfold before our eyes. The fact that Paddington is a bear(much less a talking one) is remarked upon, but never really made a big deal. It is just the perfect level of surrealism that these stories need. There is nothing spoon-fed, nothing dumbed-down, just very funny stories. For kids of any age, including mine.

The eight chapters in the book are basically stand-alone stories, with just a bit of connection. My favorite stories were “A Bear in Hot Water,” “A Visit to the Theater,” and “Adventure at the Seaside.” Each of these shows Paddington interacting with something unusual (a bath, the theatre, and the beach, respectively), doing his sincere best to handle it, and somehow overcoming obstacles, with the help of the Browns or another human friend.

Sometimes nostalgia doesn’t work out in the current day. But in this case, it did. It certainly did.

Source: public library

This Week in Reading

BOOKS:
The Secret History of Wonder Woman (hc), by Jill LePore, pages 210 - 259.
Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way (hc), by Pope John Paul II, pages114 - 125.
Paul & The Faithfulness of God, by N.T. Wright (pb), pages 135 - 163.
A Bear Called Paddington (hc), by Michael Bond, COMPLETED. Review to follow.
Callahan’s Key (ua), by Spider Robinson, pages 38 - 149.

COMICS:
Catwoman 7-12. Reviewed here. 
Wonder Woman 19-23.

My Own Podcast Awards!

My Very Own Podcast Awards 

Since I (1) listen to a lot of podcasts, and (2) have a blog, I believe I am qualified to talk about my favorites podcasts of 2014. And since the official Podcast Awards were delayed into later this year, this is about as official as things can get for now ...

Favorite Podcast That I Have Guested On
Runners-Up: Views From the Longbox, Walking Dead Wednesday, Trentus Magnus Punches Reality, Just One of the Guys, The Fantasticast, The Fire & Water Podcast, Who True Freaks
Winner: Back to the Bins, which has not just had me on, but had me BACK. More than once. That hardly ever happens. They also had my daughter Emily on. 

Favorite Overall Podcast
Runners-Up: Comics Monthly Monday, The Tony Kornheiser Show, More Than One Lesson
Winner: No Agenda

Best Produced Podcast
Runners-Up: X-Files Truth, No Agenda, Arkham Sessions
Winner: Spirit Blade Underground 

Best New Podcast of 2014
Runners-Up:  Parallel Lines, SQPN: Secrets of Doctor Who, Mark's Mess, Earning My Ears. {almost nominated: Comic Book Time Machine}
Winner:  King-Size Comics Giant-Size Fun

Gonna Miss You Award, for a show that ended (or maybe seems to have ended) in 2014.
Runners-up: Authentic Life Radio, The Social Hour, The Bunker Project, Mad Money Machine
Winner:  Superman in the Bronze Age

Back From The Dead Award, for shows that seemed to maybe be dead, but released at least one episode in 2014!
Runners-up:  Praxis Podcast, The Jen and Dave Show, Superman Forever Radio
Winner:  Tales of the Justice Society of America. After taking 2013 off, they released 15 episodes in 2014, and have big big plans for 2015.

Special Award: Best Individual Podcast Episode 
Uncovering the Bronze Age #5, in which my daughter Emily (with audio contributions from some podcasting luminaries) talks about the influential book Seduction of the Innocent, as well as its notorious author Fredric Wertham. It's part audio drama, part book report, part podcast episode.