Joseph Baneth Allen's Blog, page 88
January 14, 2022
An Educated Man - A Dual Biography of Moses and Jesus
Just finished reading "An Educated Man - A Dual Biography of Moses and Jesus" by David Rosenberg, released by Counterpoint Books.
Poet David Rosenberg has written a fascinating thesis which explores the backgrounds of Moses and Jesus through the education they separately received during their early years and how their educations shaped they type of men they became. Its a fascinating look at how education can shape religious personalities and how the education of these to significant characters in their respective religions has impacted generations of humanity throughout the centuries.
Highly Recommended.
Ten Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Educated-Man-B...
Poet David Rosenberg has written a fascinating thesis which explores the backgrounds of Moses and Jesus through the education they separately received during their early years and how their educations shaped they type of men they became. Its a fascinating look at how education can shape religious personalities and how the education of these to significant characters in their respective religions has impacted generations of humanity throughout the centuries.
Highly Recommended.
Ten Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Educated-Man-B...
Outbound
Just finished reading "Outbound" by Jack McDevitt, released by the ISFIC Press.
I first discovered Jack McDevitt when I found his novel "The Engines of God" on the shelves in the science fiction section at the Barnes and Noble near where I live nearly 30 years ago and I have been fan who has enjoyed each new novel from McDevitt. This is the first collection of his short stories that I have read.
"Outbound" contains "Melville on Iapetus," which launches McDevitt's Academy universe and an intense mystery about a painting that Hutch recovered during one of her deep space missions. "Outbound" is a great sampler of the stories that McDevitt has told throughout his writing career.
Well worth the price of admission.
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Outbound-Jack-...
I first discovered Jack McDevitt when I found his novel "The Engines of God" on the shelves in the science fiction section at the Barnes and Noble near where I live nearly 30 years ago and I have been fan who has enjoyed each new novel from McDevitt. This is the first collection of his short stories that I have read.
"Outbound" contains "Melville on Iapetus," which launches McDevitt's Academy universe and an intense mystery about a painting that Hutch recovered during one of her deep space missions. "Outbound" is a great sampler of the stories that McDevitt has told throughout his writing career.
Well worth the price of admission.
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Outbound-Jack-...
"How to Make an Apple Pie from Scratch: In Search of the Recipe for Our Universe, from the Origins of Atoms to the Big Bang
Just finished reading "How to Make an Apple Pie from Scratch: In Search of the Recipe for Our Universe, from the Origins of Atoms to the Big Bang" by Harry Cliff, released Doubleday Books.
Perhaps best known for his 2015 TED Talk, "Have We Reached the End of Physics/" - short answer "no" - particle physicist Cliff is based out of the University of Cambridge and carries out research with the LHCb experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider.
In the original Cosmos television mini-series, the late Carl Sagan famously proclaimed that you need to create a universe in exactly the right fashion before you can have the ingredients to bake an apple pie. While referencing this famous clip from Sagan's Cosmos, Cliff takes the reader on a journey on how the universe was created and how it has evolved over time to become the universe we now live in today. A very enthralling adventure that includes a list on how to create a universe in order to bake an apple pie at the end of the reader's journey.
Highly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Make-Apple...
Perhaps best known for his 2015 TED Talk, "Have We Reached the End of Physics/" - short answer "no" - particle physicist Cliff is based out of the University of Cambridge and carries out research with the LHCb experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider.
In the original Cosmos television mini-series, the late Carl Sagan famously proclaimed that you need to create a universe in exactly the right fashion before you can have the ingredients to bake an apple pie. While referencing this famous clip from Sagan's Cosmos, Cliff takes the reader on a journey on how the universe was created and how it has evolved over time to become the universe we now live in today. A very enthralling adventure that includes a list on how to create a universe in order to bake an apple pie at the end of the reader's journey.
Highly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Make-Apple...
Zarsthor's Bane
Just finished re-reading "Zarsthor's Bane" by Andre Norton, released by Ace Books.
When "Zarsthor's Bane" was first released back in 1978, it was part of Ace Books illustrated novels and was marketed as the only illustrated Witch World novel. While Witch World novels by Andre Norton released by DAW Books would contain an interior illustration on a page before the novel began, "Zarsthor's Bane" does live up to it's claim of being the only fully illustrated Witch World novel, with the illustrations having been done by Evan TenBroeck Steadman. Note, yes while Andre Norton's "Voorlooper" was illustrated by Alicia Austin and released in Ace Books' illustrated science fiction and fantasy line, it is not a Witch World novel, though, it does have some elements of Witch World incorporated in it.
For those who came in late, several years ago, I started a project which I call the "Great Re-Reading Of My Favorite Books From My Youth" project. I discovered "Zarsthor's Bane" in on the shelves of the New Release Section for Science Fiction and Fantasy Books at Michelle's Bookstore back in Jacksonville, North Carolina. And yes, because of the mildly suggestive cover art, I had to hide this book away when I brought it to read between classes due to the slightly suggestive cover art and due to some of the highly suggestive interior illustrations least the idiotic assistant principal at Camp Lejeune High School bother Mom and Dad again over my reading choices. For those who are wondering, it only took one encounter with Mom and another encounter with Dad before that nutjob backed off over me, my reading habits, and friends. "Feel free to call Mom and Dad," was what I used to tell the idiot when he would annoy me at school. That was usually enough. [Dad was an X/O and on the Commanding General's staff, so it was really hilarious when that idiot called the General and Dad in to accuse me of lying of being an officer's son thinking it would get me in hot water - I did overhear some really great cuss words from both the General and Dad that day when they ripped him several new ones - being nice doesn't mean that you're not an officer's son.]
Anyways, I bought my re-reading copy at Chamblin's Bookmine, the best bookstore in the Eastern United States.
"Zarsthor's Bane" - the eighth novel in Andre Norton's Witch World series, - opens with Brixia, a survivor of a keep that had been overrun by dark forces looking for the means to survive the long trek ahead of her in the waste of the Western Dale. She soon discovers ruins which in turn lead her to a meeting with a young squire named Dwed and his lord knight Marbon, who is bespelled by the bane that has plagued his homeland of Zarsthor. Andre Norton's Witch World is a land of many gates that lead to many perilous evils that can be overcome by people discovering the power within them and the gifts they carry. Brixia is also befriend by Uta, a wildling cat on her journey to free both Marbon and Dwed, and the land under the curse of Zarsthor's Bane.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS
https://www.amazon.com/Zarsthors-Bane...
When "Zarsthor's Bane" was first released back in 1978, it was part of Ace Books illustrated novels and was marketed as the only illustrated Witch World novel. While Witch World novels by Andre Norton released by DAW Books would contain an interior illustration on a page before the novel began, "Zarsthor's Bane" does live up to it's claim of being the only fully illustrated Witch World novel, with the illustrations having been done by Evan TenBroeck Steadman. Note, yes while Andre Norton's "Voorlooper" was illustrated by Alicia Austin and released in Ace Books' illustrated science fiction and fantasy line, it is not a Witch World novel, though, it does have some elements of Witch World incorporated in it.
For those who came in late, several years ago, I started a project which I call the "Great Re-Reading Of My Favorite Books From My Youth" project. I discovered "Zarsthor's Bane" in on the shelves of the New Release Section for Science Fiction and Fantasy Books at Michelle's Bookstore back in Jacksonville, North Carolina. And yes, because of the mildly suggestive cover art, I had to hide this book away when I brought it to read between classes due to the slightly suggestive cover art and due to some of the highly suggestive interior illustrations least the idiotic assistant principal at Camp Lejeune High School bother Mom and Dad again over my reading choices. For those who are wondering, it only took one encounter with Mom and another encounter with Dad before that nutjob backed off over me, my reading habits, and friends. "Feel free to call Mom and Dad," was what I used to tell the idiot when he would annoy me at school. That was usually enough. [Dad was an X/O and on the Commanding General's staff, so it was really hilarious when that idiot called the General and Dad in to accuse me of lying of being an officer's son thinking it would get me in hot water - I did overhear some really great cuss words from both the General and Dad that day when they ripped him several new ones - being nice doesn't mean that you're not an officer's son.]
Anyways, I bought my re-reading copy at Chamblin's Bookmine, the best bookstore in the Eastern United States.
"Zarsthor's Bane" - the eighth novel in Andre Norton's Witch World series, - opens with Brixia, a survivor of a keep that had been overrun by dark forces looking for the means to survive the long trek ahead of her in the waste of the Western Dale. She soon discovers ruins which in turn lead her to a meeting with a young squire named Dwed and his lord knight Marbon, who is bespelled by the bane that has plagued his homeland of Zarsthor. Andre Norton's Witch World is a land of many gates that lead to many perilous evils that can be overcome by people discovering the power within them and the gifts they carry. Brixia is also befriend by Uta, a wildling cat on her journey to free both Marbon and Dwed, and the land under the curse of Zarsthor's Bane.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS
https://www.amazon.com/Zarsthors-Bane...
Murdder In Old Bombay
Just finished reading "Murder In Old Bombay" by Nev March, released by Minotaur Books.
While recovering in a Poona military hospital from wounds he received during a skirmish on the wild northern frontier, Captain Jim Agnihotri spends his days rereading his favorite Sherlock Holmes stories and is in a depression about the future when he catches notice of "the crime of the century" where two women fell out of university tower in broad daylight.
Intrigued, Agnihotri rouses himself out of his sick bed and approaches the family of the dead women with a proposal to investigate to see what really happened. Only when his proposal is accepted, does Agnihotri that family loyalties, religious faith, with a mixture of forbidden love make for getting at the truth a very dangerous fame where death and dishonor can strike at any moment.
A highly vivid and realistic murder mystery tale of a bygone era in Commonwealth history.
Highly Recommended.
Ten Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Old-Bom...
While recovering in a Poona military hospital from wounds he received during a skirmish on the wild northern frontier, Captain Jim Agnihotri spends his days rereading his favorite Sherlock Holmes stories and is in a depression about the future when he catches notice of "the crime of the century" where two women fell out of university tower in broad daylight.
Intrigued, Agnihotri rouses himself out of his sick bed and approaches the family of the dead women with a proposal to investigate to see what really happened. Only when his proposal is accepted, does Agnihotri that family loyalties, religious faith, with a mixture of forbidden love make for getting at the truth a very dangerous fame where death and dishonor can strike at any moment.
A highly vivid and realistic murder mystery tale of a bygone era in Commonwealth history.
Highly Recommended.
Ten Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Old-Bom...
Alien Oceans
Just finished reading "Alien Oceans - The Search For Life In The Depths of Space," by Kevin Peter Hand, released by Princeton.
Hand, who just happens to be a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is leading the effort to get a lander on Europa to search for life, has written a through and thought-provoking tour of the oceans hidden away beneath the surfaces of the outer solar-systems moons and the ninth planet Pluto. He examines how the oceans of the outer solar system were discovered and their various potentials as oasis for life - expanding the definition of 'the Goldilocks Zone." He also explores the difficulty of how to discover is life in these exo-oceans and if life could have even evolved there and the unique challenges it would face in each ocean in the solar system.
Highly Recommended.
Ten Stars
https://www.amazon.com/Alien-Oceans-S...
Hand, who just happens to be a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is leading the effort to get a lander on Europa to search for life, has written a through and thought-provoking tour of the oceans hidden away beneath the surfaces of the outer solar-systems moons and the ninth planet Pluto. He examines how the oceans of the outer solar system were discovered and their various potentials as oasis for life - expanding the definition of 'the Goldilocks Zone." He also explores the difficulty of how to discover is life in these exo-oceans and if life could have even evolved there and the unique challenges it would face in each ocean in the solar system.
Highly Recommended.
Ten Stars
https://www.amazon.com/Alien-Oceans-S...
Full Wolf Moon
Just finished "Full Wolf Moon" by Lincoln Child, released by Doubleday Books.
When renowned enigmalogist Jeremy Logan travels to a remote writers' retreat deep in the Adirondack Mountains, he's met with the usual derision over his career choice and popularity as a "myth de-bunker." All Jeremy wants is the relative peace and quiet the retreat is famous for in order to finish his book so that he can submit it to his publisher. Only an old college friend shows up with a mystery involving a badly mutilated body that suggests some poor hiker was attacked by a wild bear - or an extremely large wolf. Reluctantly Jeremy investigates and soon uncovers not all creatures of the night are shrouded in myth, and this particular creature is a creation of a misguided scientist trying to claim a bit of scientific glory.
A Very Enjoyable Read.
Five Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Full-Wolf-Moon...
When renowned enigmalogist Jeremy Logan travels to a remote writers' retreat deep in the Adirondack Mountains, he's met with the usual derision over his career choice and popularity as a "myth de-bunker." All Jeremy wants is the relative peace and quiet the retreat is famous for in order to finish his book so that he can submit it to his publisher. Only an old college friend shows up with a mystery involving a badly mutilated body that suggests some poor hiker was attacked by a wild bear - or an extremely large wolf. Reluctantly Jeremy investigates and soon uncovers not all creatures of the night are shrouded in myth, and this particular creature is a creation of a misguided scientist trying to claim a bit of scientific glory.
A Very Enjoyable Read.
Five Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Full-Wolf-Moon...
The House In The Cerulean Sea
Just finished reading "The House In The Cerulean Sea" by TJ Klune, released by TOR Books.
Klune carries on in the rich tradition of whimsical British fantasy of the late and much beloved Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett in a world where children with magical abilities through no fault of their own are regulated to out of the way orphanages to be kept out of sight and mind. Enter Linus Baker, a caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, who is given the assignment by Extremely Upper Management to determine if six children in such on orphanage his government organization oversees are capable of ending the world. Only by choosing Linus, Extremely Upper Management has made a fatal mistake. Linus is by the book, but he has a heart and the ability to see the truth. And it's his ability to see the truth and act on it regardless of the outcome that sets forth a series of changes that not only changes his outlook on life and sets the children free, but gives him a chance at the one thing he denied himself for decades - love and a family of his own if he's willing to reach out and grab for those he has come to love.
Highly Recommended!
Ten Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/House-Cerulean...
Klune carries on in the rich tradition of whimsical British fantasy of the late and much beloved Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett in a world where children with magical abilities through no fault of their own are regulated to out of the way orphanages to be kept out of sight and mind. Enter Linus Baker, a caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, who is given the assignment by Extremely Upper Management to determine if six children in such on orphanage his government organization oversees are capable of ending the world. Only by choosing Linus, Extremely Upper Management has made a fatal mistake. Linus is by the book, but he has a heart and the ability to see the truth. And it's his ability to see the truth and act on it regardless of the outcome that sets forth a series of changes that not only changes his outlook on life and sets the children free, but gives him a chance at the one thing he denied himself for decades - love and a family of his own if he's willing to reach out and grab for those he has come to love.
Highly Recommended!
Ten Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/House-Cerulean...
January 10, 2022
The Fourth Tower of Inverness
Just finished re-listening to "The Fourth Tower of Inverness" released by ZBS Foundation.
Selma Franz, my baby sister, suggested to me a few weeks ago that I should start a "Great Re-Listening of Favorite Audio Dramas" to run in conjunction with my "Great Re-Reading of Favorite Books from My Youth" project.
I first discovered ZBS Foundation back in the late 1990s, and I was intrigued by what I read on their website to take the plunge and order "The Fourth Tower of Inverness." I first listened to it when I worked as the scale house operator for Allied Signal before it bought Honeywell and took the Honeywell name for greater name recognition.
Traveling everyman Jack Flanders is introduced in "The Fourth Tower of Inverness" which suffers like every episode in a great series, it's not really great and struggles to find its footing. Basically Jack Flanders visits his aunt and sees the mythical fourth tower and embarks on a series of metaphysical adventures in seeking understanding.
Now I must of thought the series had potential, because I do have all of the Jack Flanders adventures on CD and I enjoyed them. Not so much with re-listening to "The Fourth Tower of Inverness.."
So, Three Stars - for it's attempt to launch what became a great series of audio dramas.
Recommended for launching the Jack Flanders series.
https://www.zbs.org/index_new.php?/st...
Selma Franz, my baby sister, suggested to me a few weeks ago that I should start a "Great Re-Listening of Favorite Audio Dramas" to run in conjunction with my "Great Re-Reading of Favorite Books from My Youth" project.
I first discovered ZBS Foundation back in the late 1990s, and I was intrigued by what I read on their website to take the plunge and order "The Fourth Tower of Inverness." I first listened to it when I worked as the scale house operator for Allied Signal before it bought Honeywell and took the Honeywell name for greater name recognition.
Traveling everyman Jack Flanders is introduced in "The Fourth Tower of Inverness" which suffers like every episode in a great series, it's not really great and struggles to find its footing. Basically Jack Flanders visits his aunt and sees the mythical fourth tower and embarks on a series of metaphysical adventures in seeking understanding.
Now I must of thought the series had potential, because I do have all of the Jack Flanders adventures on CD and I enjoyed them. Not so much with re-listening to "The Fourth Tower of Inverness.."
So, Three Stars - for it's attempt to launch what became a great series of audio dramas.
Recommended for launching the Jack Flanders series.
https://www.zbs.org/index_new.php?/st...
January 9, 2022
Under The Whispering Door
Just finished reading "Under The Whispering Door" by TJ Klune, released by TOR Books.
When the newly departed attorney Wallace Price discovers that he died from a heart attack, he's stunned to discover that the afterlife isn't exactly what he expected to be. Collected by a reaper, he's deposited at the tea shop at Charon's Crossing where he's given the opportunity to come to terms with his death and gain the acceptance he needs in order to peacefully cross over to the next life. Only as Wallace finds himself trying to understand the afterlife, he soon finds himself falling in love with Hugo, the young owner of the tea shop who is a ferryman tasked to help him cross over, only Hugo is finding himself falling in love with Wallace.
TJ Klune has written a timeless tale about what happens next after you think you have no second chances at life and life. Klune reminds me of Diane Wynne Jones in the style of his writing, with a measure of Patricia A. McKillip.
A great read.
Highly Recommended.
Ten Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Under-Whisperi...
When the newly departed attorney Wallace Price discovers that he died from a heart attack, he's stunned to discover that the afterlife isn't exactly what he expected to be. Collected by a reaper, he's deposited at the tea shop at Charon's Crossing where he's given the opportunity to come to terms with his death and gain the acceptance he needs in order to peacefully cross over to the next life. Only as Wallace finds himself trying to understand the afterlife, he soon finds himself falling in love with Hugo, the young owner of the tea shop who is a ferryman tasked to help him cross over, only Hugo is finding himself falling in love with Wallace.
TJ Klune has written a timeless tale about what happens next after you think you have no second chances at life and life. Klune reminds me of Diane Wynne Jones in the style of his writing, with a measure of Patricia A. McKillip.
A great read.
Highly Recommended.
Ten Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Under-Whisperi...
