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Archive for December, 2011

Meet “Fanner Marston” a petty thief who as an adult masters his own craft but goes completely mad! With his vicious greed and slavering lust for power, he alone of 40 men survives a blistering trek through the desert to find the magical city of Parva. Legend has it a great secret awaits that could give him absolute control over the universe. However, the key to all power is not what he expected!

This classic story was written by author L. Ron Hubbard in 1943 in the pulp fiction magazine “Science Fiction Stories. He along with other great writers such as Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Lester Dent, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein and many others, were pioneers in their field in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, far flung adventures and more.

The era of the pulps is unique for at least two reasons; a) it was a time of the great depression where people were very much in need of something that could take them on adventures they would not otherwise experience and b) discoveries in science and physics were expanding at a rapid rate giving the creative minds of writers a whole new genre of fantastic futuristic and wildly colorful characters to entertain their readers with. There was so much new material to work with that the above mentioned writers led the way in how to get the job done influencing future budding writers.

The pulp fiction era that lasted up to the early 1950s produced characters such as “Tarzan of the Apes, the space adventures of Buck Rogers, Conan the Barbarian and the Avengers.” When Hollywood was in full swing, these pulp fiction classics were the ideal stories to put up on the big screen immortalizing these characters forever.

Pulp fiction writers who created space stories and characters were a unique breed of writers due to the fact that space travel did not occur until the 1960s. The idea of space travel up until then was there, but it was just that, an idea! It takes a creative mind indeed to develop an entire story with believable characters and situations and completely capture the imagination of the reader. Cosmic adventure at its best!

Fantasy is somewhat of a different animal than science fiction in that science fiction has some element of a believable truth, it is in the realm of possibility where as in fantasy, anything goes. Fantasy can encompass space fiction, but for the most part it has wildly unique characters such as fairies, elves, trolls, swamp creatures and such.

Life today moves at a much faster pace. Many are hard pressed to squeeze reading a book into their busy schedules. For those in that situation, they are in luck! Audio books have been experiencing a rebirth and many of these classic science fiction/fantasy stories are now making its way to back the general public. Whether on a cd, mp3 player or even an ipod, these classic stories are worth experiencing not only for the pulp fiction generation but our newest generation.

In the very exclusive section of Beach Road in East Hampton, New York live many rich folks that could care less about the rest of the world. Being white, most of these people don’t normally see a black person in the area. One exception is a mansion owned by movie star T. Smitty Wilson. Wilson has built a regulation size basketball court for his friends to use. The friends vary from ex-NBA stars to current prospects for the pros or college, guys that are too good to play a regular street game of basketball. White or black, they play, many times against each other while letting tempers and pride flare. Wilson rarely was home but the stars along with other famous people such as movie stars were welcome to use his court anytime.

Dante Halleyville is one of the brightest prospects. He was expected to draw a huge bonus and salary at draft time. Dante was only in high school but could match the moves and actions of the best and was happy to demonstrate his high level of play. Tom Dunleavy was a former professional athlete that took full advantage of playing with “the best” on the court. Tom is now a defense attorney in the Hamptons. These games became so intense, sometimes causing tempers to flare many times.

One day during the brutal battles on the court a fight broke out. This was no ordinary fight so the others standing around watching should have tried to break it up, but they took no action. Michael Walker drove in for a basket and contact all around started more shoving and pushing. As Tom Dunleavy tried to break it up, Michael Walker appeared with a gun in his hand and pointed it at the side of one of the other boys’ head. Tom did all he could to get Walker calmed down, finally being successful. Everyone then left the area thinking all was over.

When three of the boys that were on the court that day were found murdered execution style, everyone tried to figure the mess out. Then when Michael Walker was also found dead, the police knew they had a real tough investigation ahead. Immediately Dante Halleyville was arrested for the four murders. A gun was found with his fingerprints all over it. Dante’s grandmother, Marie, knows Dante could not have killed anyone and Tom knows Dante was not guilty either. Tom, even though he is an attorney, is not very adept at criminal law and is reluctant to take Dante’s case but Marie talks him into defending Dante.

An old flame of Tom’s, Katherine Costello, is also an attorney that works for a large firm. She has a falling out with her employer and combines with Tom to defend Dante. The two of them start digging into all the evidence connected to both shootings. The chemistry gets very interesting between Tom and Kate at times, but their defense of Dante is first and foremost on their minds.

Several key police officers and detectives, the prosecuting attorneys, the Coroner, and other friends and enemies of Dante and the murdered boys, interact throughout the book. The action is fast and furious with many unexpected twists and turns. When you think you are at the end of the case you have another curve or two thrown at you. This is a very good story that picks up steam as it goes on. I will not tell any more so you can enjoy this good read.

Evolution Press (2008)

ISBN 9780979741265

“Case Study” by C.R. Cardin was absolutely riveting. I would get so caught up in the suspense that I would forget to breathe. This story is a Taylor Case Mystery. Dr. Taylor Case teaches forensic courses at a college. Years ago, her brother was abducted and never found. Both she and her family have been severely affected by this. Taylor uses her forensics knowledge to secretly track down sexual predators. She sees to it that evidence is located and that the perpetrator is arrested. Until this case, her involvement has been a secret.

In “Case Study,” the son of her family’s neighbor has disappeared. He is a redheaded child. Taylor is visiting when she discovers this. She immediately goes outside and “walks the grid,” while seeking evidence. She discovers some important clues. She does everything in her power to track down the boy, but in doing so, she herself gets captured. There is a very interesting twist to this story. An FBI officer who is also investigating discovers Taylor’s involvement with other cases. Her identity is now known.

“Case Study” contains so many interesting elements that it is hard to know where to start. The issue of child pornography is a tough one to handle. C.R. Cardin does it very well. It is something that is incredibly distasteful, yet a huge problem. I felt that by reading the story, I was also being educated on the subject. The author also discusses forensic procedures done to investigate clues. This was incredibly interesting. The characters in the story are very well-developed. Taylor’s personality is very complex. She is successful and knowledgeable, yet she feels burdened by the guilt of being unable to find her brother. That is what drives her to do what she does. The others in the plot are also very interesting. The insane characters are truly insane, yet fascinating.

C.R. Cardin really knows how to develop a plot. Just when you think that you know what is going on, you discover that you don’t. I love this aspect of the story in “Case Study,” because it forced me to stay on my toes. I cannot wait to read more books in this story. You must not miss out on this one!

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (11/07)

With the advent of our new born baby – a beautiful girl, we are forced to spend a lot of our time trying to stop her from crying incessantly. After my wife’s patience ran out and she could manage our daughter’s crying no longer, I have been forced to step in.

Fortunately, I had the help of Amar Chitra Katha (ACK for short) – one of India’s premium story books for children. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words – stories are told beautifully in ACK with the picture as well as the story appearing side by side.

I remember as a child my dad buying me these beautiful books and rewarding me whenever I had done well in academics. This served me two fold – I inculcated the habit of reading books and wanted to do well so that I could earn these story books as rewards. Now when I look back, I recall it with fondness that these books were worth the time and money.

Now whenever my baby cries, I start telling her a couple of stories from ACK each day. It helps, as she quietens a bit, listens to the stories and then goes to sleep.

One other benefit of ACK is that it gives a fair and accurate account of the history and mythology of India and its heroes. I have benefited both on an individual basis and now am able to share the same with the next Generation and help them discover the true value and tradition of my country.

Thank you Uncle Pai for being our guiding light and helping us discover the richness of our tradition and our heroes.

As a sustainable living enthusiast, I love this book. With Climate Change and Global Warming now well-documented and abundant in our media, there are plenty of individual sources prophesying doom and gloom and many self-help texts listing hundreds of ways to save the planet. What strikes me most is the incredible feat that Chris Wright has pulled off in writing a concise and well-researched book that encompasses all of these aspects of the crisis at hand.

Wright describes the purpose of the book thus:

First, we must acknowledge that there is a real and pressing problem, and then feel sufficiently angry or fearful about it that we want things to change. Second, that anger/fear has to be channelled into understanding more about the nature of the problem and how we have come to be in the position we are. third, we need to explore how our ideas change and how that is then translated into action. Fourth, we need to have an alternative way of looking at the world, offering a positive vision of the kind of sustainable world that can be enjoyed by our descendants in perpetuity and that will provide the energy to overcome our inbuilt resistance to change. And then we must act!

So, it really is a wake-up call. For those who are still in denial or for those who are so embroiled in the rat race that they do not have time to read more than one book on the issue, this is the one.