Book Review- "Shudders" Edited by Ross R. Olney

"Shudders" is a collection of ten horror stories that both children and adults can appreciate.

My favorites of the collection are: "Sweets to the Sweet" by Robert Bloch. Sweets to the Sweet is a sad tale of an abused little girl who is turned into a monster.

"The Monkey's Paw" by W.W Jacobi is a frightening story of a mummified Monkey's paw that is able to grant wishes. Just be careful what you wish for.

"Floral Tribute" also by Robert Bloch is about a young boy and his Grandmother  who live next to a cemetery and the "neighborly" ghosts that visit them each night.

Film Review- "Escape From Sobibor"

"Escape From Sobibor" is a powerful film based on actual events that occurred during World War Two.

Sobibor was a Nazi extermination camp located in Eastern Poland. At least 200 thousand people were murdered there. Trains would bring  captured Jews  to Sobibor from all over Europe. Most of those on the trains were immediately sent to the gas chambers. A few of the new arrivals were chosen to do labor around the camp.

On October 14, 1943, the 600 inmates of Sobibor rebelled, killing many of their Nazi and Ukrainian guards. About 300 managed to escape into the forest.

Escape From Sobibor does not flinch at depicting the brutality of daily life in a Nazi extermination camp. There are shootings, beatings, and hangings, but one of the most heartbreaking scenes occurs when one of the new camp laborers( Jack Shepherd as Itzhak Lichtmann)  finds out that his wife and child were sent to the gas chamber.

Alan Arkin as Leon Feldhendler and Rutger Hauer as Alexander "Sasha" Pechersky do excellent work here. Hartmut Becker is chillingly effective as Nazi SS Sergeant Gustav Wagner.

In my opinion,  Escape From Sobibor ranks as one of the best and most moving of the Holocaust films.

"The Cave" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Jim was deep in the back country when he noticed the cave. He had been that way several times before and had not noticed a cave, but still there it was.

Jim pulled a flashlight out of his backpack and walked up to the entrance of the cave. The cave ceiling appeared to be high enough for him to walk upright. Jim took a few steps into the cave and stopped. Caves could be very dangerous, but he decided to explore this one just a little.

After about a 100 yards inside the cave, Jim noticed the faint traces of a light ahead. Jim followed the light until he entered a large cavern. Suddenly, a panel opened in the cavern wall exposing another room. 

Bones of every kind were scattered around the room and some kind of shapeless thing  occupied a kind of throne against the new cavern's wall. Jim turned to run, but found the exit gone. "There is no need to be afraid" the thing in the chair said.

"Who or what are you?" Jim asked the creature. "I can't answer either question." The creature said. "My only memory is of  being in this cave. I have the ability to manipulate matter in some fashion, but I do not have the power to leave this cave."

"So I am to be dinner?" Jim said looking at all the bones. The creature laughed. "No, I have no need for what you think of as food. The bones you see are from people and animals that have kept me company over the long years."

"I don't understand." Jim said  "I do not have the physical needs of your kind." the creature said, but I do need companions. I will provide you with food and drink and you will be my friend as long as you live."

"What if I do not wish to be your friend.?" Jim said. "There is no other choice.The cave entrance has been sealed." The creature responded.

Jim looked at the bones on the floor. The creature was right. For the time being, there was no escape.

Book Review- "The Wounded Planet" edited by Roger Elwood and Virginia Kidd

"The Wounded Planet" is a collection of science fiction stories with an environmental theme.

Among my favorites of the collection are: "Noonday Devil" by Dennis O'Neil in which a  fallen priest tries to use his faith one last time to prevent an environmental catastrophe.

"Desirable Lakeside Residence" by Andre Norton has two little girls trying to solve a mystery which may bring life and hope back to a dying world.

"Beautyland" by Gene Wolfe is a wicked satire about what happens to one of the last pristine areas left in a bleak future.

and lastly "Paradise Regained" by Cogswell Thomas  has convicts on a prison planet creating their own unique environmental paradise.

Book Review "Black Storm Comin'" by Diane Lee Wilson

The young adult novel "Black Storm Comin" begins in 1860 as the mixed-race Wescott family heads west to California by wagon. After an accident, the father deserts the family and 12 year old Colton Wescott is left to care for his sick mother and his sisters.

After finding a doctor for his mother, Colton goes to Carson City to join the Pony Express. The Manager of the Pony Express station is understandably skeptical about hiring a boy to deliver the mail, but Colton does get the job.

For those who don't know, The Pony Express was a short-lived method of delivering the mail in the west during the years 1860-1861. As the name implies, the Pony Express used expert riders and fast horses to move the mail from east to west. It was necessary to hire young men who were generally lighter and better able to  endure  the long rides and hardships better then older men.

Along his first ride across the Sierra Nevada mountains Colton encounters a number of characters including a slave chaser, a woman prophet, and old miner who at first glance seems to be an enemy.  

Black Storm Comin is one of the best novels I have read in a while. The story is exciting and fast-paced and there is a welcome

message of kindness and forgiveness throughout the book.