What I'm Reading: The Agent Pendergast Series

Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast appears in four stand-alone novels in addition to starring in his own trilogy. All of these books were jointly written by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

• Relic (Pendergast's First Appearance) -- Pendergast investigates a series of strange murders and rumors of a murderous beast in the New York Museum of Natural History. Includes reporter Bill Smithback and Vincent D'Agosta. (I'm 80% done with this book)

• Reliquary -- Pendergast returns to New York when a new string of murders surfaces resembling those of the Museum Beast case. He is again teamed with Margo Green, Dr. Frock, William Smithback Jr., and Vincent D'Agosta (all of whom were in the previous book) and introduces the character of Laura Hayward.

• Cabinet of Curiosities -- Pendergast is drawn to the remains of a 19th century charnal house, unearthed at a construction site in New York and finds himself investigating a new series of copycat killings. He is joined by William Smithback Jr. and Dr. Nora Kelly. (I've read this before but love it so much I'm going to read it again in order).

• Still Life With Crows -- Agent Pendergast travels to midwestern Kansas to the dying farm town of Medicine Creek to investigate a series of brutal and ritualistic killings. He teams up with teenage malcontent, Corrie Swanson to solve the case. (I'm about 30% through this one).

Brimstone (Book One) -- Agent Pendergast and Vincent D'Agosta team up once more to investigate brutal murders of a seemingly supernatural origin. Their investigation takes them from high society New York to old world Italy and into the dark heart of an age-old conspiracy. Vincent D'Agosta, Laura Hayward and Bill Smithback's nemesis, reporter Bryce Harriman (mentioned often in the previous books) make a reappearance. In this book the reader is introduced to Pendergast's brother Diogenes and D'Agosta catches his first glimpse of Diogenes.

• Dance of Death (Book Two) -- Aloysius Pendergast faces off against Diogenes in an attempt to stop his diabolical brother before he can complete the perfect crime. All of Pendergast's old compatriots find themselves in danger and old friends band together in the race to prevent an almost certain disaster. The novel features an all-star cast for Preston-Child fans and includes cameos from all of the books even going so far as to include characters from the author's non-Pendergast novels.

• Book of the Dead (Book Three) -- The final book of the Pendergast Trilogy. Expected to wrap up loose ends and provide an ending to the conflict between the Pendergast brothers. Centered, again, around events at the New York Museum of Natural History.

Co-author Douglas Preston has said that a new book featuring Pendergast is currently being written

Hell Warmed Over

Heat waves and power outages. It's been Hell here in Los Angeles. The heat in Los Angeles has finally dropped about 5 degrees (feels like 10). Thank God. I don't ever remember LA being so hot in all of the years I have lived here (since 1984). That's 22 years! They are saying that this is a heat wave unparalleled in 50 or 100 years. Hope it stays cool. My apartment is 79 degrees. It was 84 yesterday but feels a lot cooler due to reduction in humidity. Hell warmed over.

Disneyland in the 1970's

Do you remember when Disneyland rides required a ticket? My brother Bob and I flew down to Disneyland from Seattle back in the 70's. Boy have things changed since then. A lunch at the Tahitian Terrace would cost you a steep $1.85. And a cup of coffee for 15 cents? How I wish I had invested in Starbucks back in those days. Space Mountain was brand new and LA was the smoggiest town in the US (ok, some things don't change). Bob and I ate at Casa de Fritos. E-ticket rides were 85 cents and with one you had a choice of the following rides: America Sings, the Monorail, the Submarine Voyage, It's a Small World, the Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Country Bear Jamboree, the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Enchanted Tiki Room and the Jungle Cruise. For more about old Disneyland, visit Yesterland. I wish I could still get a Monte Cristo Sandwich served with fresh fruit compote for $1.50.

New Blog Feature

I've added a new blog feature. In the left hand column I've listed all of the celebrities I've seen in real life. I've also added links, mostly to IMDB. Since the list is getting so long I thought I'd make it a regular feature. Enjoy.

One of my favorite films: Race with the Devil

The film opens as Frank Stewart (Warren Oates), owner of a South-Western dirt-bike shop, is about to vacation with his best rider Roger (Peter Fonda) and their wives Alice (Loretta Swit) and Kelly (Lara Parker of Dark Shadows fame) in Frank's new luxury motor-home ("32 feet and gleamin'!"). After a long day's drive, Frank bristles at Roger's suggestion that they stop at an RV park. Frank argues that the reason they took their vacation in January was to "get away from the crowd", and says "we're self-contained, baby!". They turn onto an unmarked dirt road ("our private road to seclusion") and set up camp. Frank and Roger can't resist racing each other on the bikes they've brought along, and after crashing in a river, Frank delivers the deservedly-hated cliche that only Warren Oates could get away with: "I'm gettin' too old for this shit". Back at the RV, the couples have some wine over dinner,and Frank and Roger, already tipsy, continue the party outside. I envy those of you who cannot relate to the crappy folding-table scene that follows.

An explosion of flames across the way cuts the drunken conversation short. A group of robed people are dancing around a bonfire underneath a barren (and very spooky) tree while chanting in rhythm. Frank fetches his binoculars for a closer look. The leader makes a circle in the sand around them with a sword. After hoping that he'd see a hippy orgy, Frank sees the masked leader kill a girl. Before Frank can react, his wife comes out of the RV, telling him to get to bed. The Satanists hear this, and the "race" is on. The couples frantically make their escape in the RV, pursued by robed Satanists on foot.

The group arrives at a local police station, and meets with Sheriff Taylor (played by familiar character actor R.G. Armstrong, veteran of such horror flicks as The Car, Evilspeak, and Children of the Corn) who takes the men out to the site to look for evidence. They arrive at the tree, and a deputy takes a sample of what looks like blood in the dirt. The Sheriff's men spread out to search the area, and Frank finds the carcass of a dog on the tree.

In the meantime, Alice and Kelly are cleaning the motor home, and discover a note stuck to the edge of the rear window that had been smashed by the Satanists during their escape. The note contains a warning to be silent, and some occult symbols. Determined to decipher the threat, they boost some reference books from the local library. The note warns that any harm they inflict will be returned 9-fold. Frank and Roger wonder if the Sheriff is on the level. As insurance, Roger collected his own sample of the blood.

The group makes its way to an RV park, where ther women take a swim, but Kelly is convinced that she is being watched. The feeling returns that night in a redneck bar, where the steel guitar player in the band seems to have that Satanic look in his eyes. Returning to the lot, they find that "Ginger", Roger and Alice's lap dog, has been killed. None of the neighbors claim to know anything about the incident, so they drive off.

Trying to make coffee, Alice lets two large rattlesnakes loose in the cabin, causing Frank to crash the motor home. Eventually, Roger and Frank kill the snakes, but Kelly is at her wits end, and the men search the RV for any more Satanic surprises. They turn up nothing, but the fan has been damaged in the crash, and must be fixed before they can move on.

The next morning, Roger buries the dog as Frank completes the repairs on the RV. Preparing for all-out war, they buy a shotgun at the first shop they come across, and find that the telephone is suspiciously out of order. When the phone at the next stop is also out of order, they become even more alarmed.

On the way to the interstate, the debt the "Road Warrior" films owe to this movie becomes clear. A group of trucks tries to run the RV off the road, and Frank fights them off with the shotgun. Frank and Roger fight them off, and come to a roadblock. It seems a schoolbus has been in an accident. As they approach it, Frank says "I don't trust a schoolbus on a Sunday" and rolls right through. The RV is followed by several cars, and after they've been dispatched, the RV pulls off the road, seemingly out of danger.

Just as our survivors are about to pour martinis to celebrate their escape, they hear the tell-tale chanting outside. The Satanists are approaching, and Sheriff Taylor is among them. In an instant, the motor home is surrounded by a "circle" of fire, and the credits roll.

For Oates fans, the first 30 minutes or so are pure gold. For those who enjoy 70's satan movies, what this film lacks in quanity, it makes up for in the fine quality of the chanting and mumbo-jumbo.

Source:http://members.aol.com/CraigStep/racedevil.html

The Devil Wears Prada

Meryl Streep's masterful performance as fashion magazine editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly, whose icy hauteur and acidic condescension makes for a most irresistible injection of venom into what would otherwise be a typically sugary Anne Hathaway Princess Diaries installment. Hathaway's latest everygirl-makes-good avatar is wannabe writer Andrea "Andy" Sachs, a mousy, walking fashion faux pas who gets more than she bargained for when she becomes second assistant for monstrous Miranda. After much bitchy belittling, cue the haute couture makeover for Andy, not only in a aesthetic but also an attitudinal sense, as she soons finds herself nipping at the heels of Miranda's high-strung first assistant (Emily Blunt) and her new time-consuming career also consuming her personal life. That's all well and bland, even with Hathaway giving what is perhaps her first unannoying performance ever (and, yes, I include her bewigged Brokeback Mountain turn as one of said infractions), so leave it to Streep to exponentially elevate the proceedings with a terrifically shaded turn that goes beyond the bitchery; one can see how Miranda uses the glacial snootiness as a defensive suit of armor as well as how Miranda, however abrasive as she can be, is able to command admiration and respect, even fierce loyalty, with her stern professionalism. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Streep can drop biting zingers with exacting Swiss clock precision. Further adding to the flavor are a nicely understated Stanley Tucci as a no-nonsense longtime colleague of Miranda's and scene-stealing up-and-comer Blunt, who dominates the screen whenever she shares it with Hathaway--a feat that would Miranda make proud. -- Michael Dequina, Mr. Brown's Movies.

What I'm Reading: Relic

RELIC - the phenomenal New York Times Besteller - was the debut collaboration between Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. The novel has been translated into over a dozen languages and was made into a major feature film by Paramount.

Just days before a massive exhibition opens at the popular New York Museum of Natural History, visitors are being savagely murdered in the museum's dark hallways and secret rooms. Autopsies indicate that the killer cannot be human. But the museum's directors plan to go ahead with a big bash to celebrate the new exhibition, in spite of the murders. Museum researcher Margo Green must find out who--or what--is doing the killing. But can she do it in time to stop the massacre?

What I'm Reading: Digital Fortress

When the National Security Agency's (NSA) most classified technological wonder--an invincible code-breaking machine--encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls in its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant and beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through the corridors of power. The NSA is being held hostage... not by guns or bombs, but by a code so ingeniously complex that if released it will cripple U.S. intelligence. Betrayed on all sides she finds herself fighting not only for her country, but for her life, and in the end, for the life of the man she loves.