True Course: Lessons from a Life Aloft is Brigid Johnson’s memoir of a life spent on a flight deck. This is a book that will repeatedly make you sit back and think for a while, either to consider an insight the author gives you, or to relive a memory she brings to your mind.

Each chapter takes on a different subject, such as patience, friendship, or freedom. While all of the chapters tie back to flight and the life of an aviator, Johnson does an expert job of tying her thoughts to the reader’s life. Again and again, I found myself nodding along with her stories. I laughed out loud at some parts, and found emotion tightening my throat at others.

True Course is an excellent book for a slow, hot day or an evening in front of the fire.

I discovered About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior as a private in 1990. I saw Colonel Hackworth do an interview to support the book, and I was fascinated by his quiet demeanor as he talked about a lifetime of service and combat. When I saw the book on display at the PX, I scooped it up and devoured it. It’s been on my “Read This Often” reading list ever since.

About Face is a memoir, but it’s one that’s been tempered with the viewpoints of many of the people it talks about. Colonel Hackworth and Julie Sherman did a good job of coordinating his recollections with those of his friends and comrades from 3 decades of Army life.

The book is made up of in-depth discussions of Hackworth’s views on politics, the military, and leadership, all punctuated by mesmerizing tales of combat and the men he served with.

The final chapter, in which Hackworth talked about his views of the United States and her military circa 1988, is, to me, the most interesting of all. When the authors wrote those words, we were on the brink of the Berlin Wall falling, but were still poised for World War III starting somewhere in the Fulda Gap. The First Gulf War, Somalia, the Balkan War, 9/11, and the War on Terror were still in the future. Hackworth’s insights are a remarkable look back at where we were. They lead me to look at where we’ve come and how the Reagan military he discusses was and was not prepared for the world we fell into in the years after his writing.

The narration by John Pruden is spot on. The book is liberally salted with military jargon, and it was very rare that it wasn’t used or pronounced correctly. Pruden paced the story, over 40 hours long, very well. You could hear the emotion come through where it was appropriate, and his characterizations during the combat sequences painted a vivid picture.

If you already know Hackworth and Sherman, you’ll enjoy this opportunity to experience this seminal work again. If you haven’t read About Face or any of Colonel Hackworth and Ms. Sherman’s other works and you enjoy good living history, you’re in for a treat.

Avengers: Endgame, the latest product of the Marvel money-printing machine, is taking the world by storm. Millions of fans, many of whom cannot remember a time before the original Iron Man movie, have flocked to theaters worldwide to find out what happens after the events of last year’s Infinity War.

While I enjoyed the movie, I wasn’t impacted by it in the way other folks in the theater were. The young lady, seated next to me, and Boo, who sat on the other side, went from laughing, to crying, to cheering over and over again. A good portion of the audience clapped and cheered when the movie was over, either because they loved it or because they could finally go to the bathroom after three hours and a gallon of Coke.

To me, the plot dragged quite a bit. The first hour was spent on “We gotta do something!”, the middle hour was a pretty good heist movie, and the last hour as packed solid with “Bam!” and “Smash!” and “Kaplooey!” The first hour could have been cut down quite a bit, and the last hour could have been trimmed some to make this a better-paced story.

The acting was pretty good. This shouldn’t surprise anyone, but the portrayals of Captain America and Thor were my favorites. As always, Robert Downey, Jr., did an excellent job channeling Tony Stark.

As for special effects and action, it’s everything you expect from a Marvel movie and more. I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by saying that you’ll see enough CGI faces get punched and things get blown up to satisfy even the most degenerate action-movie junkie.

On a parental note, I did notice a bit more rough language in this one than in earlier MCU movies. Nothing too graphic, but just a few words that were unexpected in a series that has been mostly clean.

While this isn’t my favorite episode in the Marvel series, it was enjoyable and worth the cost of admission. Now that the main story arc of the last decade is done, let’s hope that Marvel doesn’t squeeze the lemon too hard and tarnish the series ala Star Wars/Trek.

Alma Boykin closes her “The Powers” series with an excellent story of family, honor, and duty in “Against a Rising Tide“.

The World War has ended. The battles rage on.

Five years after the end of the World War, men, Half-Dragons and True-Dragons labor to repair the damage. The English and French insist on punishing the nations of the Habsburg Confederation and Germany, while nationalists and Communists threaten to tear the alliance and the Houses apart from within. As chaos swirls and tensions rise, István Eszterházy and Archduke Rudolph von Habsburg struggle to preserve order, and to preserve both Houses and Powers. Worse, an old enemy from the war stalks István, intent on revenge.

But true danger lurks to the east. The forces that destroyed Galicia threaten to devour all of the Powers and Houses, killing the very soil of the land as they do. As another war rages, István and Rudolph must hide the secret of the Powers from forces more terrible than the Mongols and ottomans combined.

Against a Rising Tide continues the story of Istvan Esterhazy, a nobleman leading a family that boasts dragons in its bloodline. After the defeat and dismemberment of the First World War, the Houses of the Empire are hard-pressed to adapt to a new world. Boykin adds a thread of tension throughout this story, which ratchets up the pace and keeps the reader riveted.

While taking us through the political and social upheaval of the 1920’s and ’30’s, Boykin paints a vivid depticion of a man trying to preserve what he can while living in the real world. In the end, this is a story of humanity in an ever-more dehumanizing world.

I had to take this story in small bites so that I could chew it over and think about what it was telling me. I definitely recommend this entire series to folks who are interested in this period of history and want a story that appeals on many levels.

Cedar Sanderson’s new short work, Lab Gremlins, is a fun tale of someone discovering that the world is stranger, more wonderful, and more terrifying than he thought it was.

All Steven wanted was a lab job to get experience. His boss acted like a mad scientist, but that wasn’t the problem. No, the problem started with disappearances around the lab, and then it really escalated. Steven finds himself scrambling to cope with gremlins, chemical spills, and much worse things when the government agents show up… because they are recruiting and don’t take no for an answer!

Lab Gremlins is a fun, short read that introduces us to Steven, an every-man lab technician who chances upon the rabbit hole and gets dragged down into its depths. Sanderson is a master story-teller, and wastes no time in intricately painting both her characters and the world they inhabit.

Alma Boykin returns to her Familiar Tales world with “Vaguely Familiar“, and Oddly Familiar, a pair of fun rides with Lelia Chan and her familiar, Tay the Lemur.

First, the blurb from Vaguely Familiar:

When stone calls to stone, Familiars and mages must answer.

Lelia Chan’s and Tay’s chance discovery of a fragment of a blood-soaked knife leads them deeper into what it means to be a shadow mage and her Familiar. Meanwhile, Morgana Lorraine heads west, looking for answers (and really good bacon), leaving Officer Jamie Macbeth to deal with the Off Ramp of Doom and his mother-in-law’s ongoing displeasure. But the stone won’t stay quiet.

Could the Off Ramp and the stone be connected? As the stone’s call grows stronger, Lelia and friends race to find an answer to an evil that won’t go quietly.

And Oddly Familiar:

Ah, October, when the ghosts, and spirits walk, and the Off Ramp of Doom falls quiet. Too quiet…

Lelia Chan and her Familiar, Tay, continue learning about magic and what mages do. When a customer drops a strange silver disk in Belle, Book, and Blacklight, it starts a chain of events that pull Lelia deeper into shadow magic. André Lestrange and Rodney return to help sort out the off-ramp. Someone else returns, someone who wants to open doors best left closed. Lelia and Company have their hands and paws full dealing with the forces of darkness and bad jokes.

Evil walks on All Hallows Eve. It’s up to Lelia and Tay to send it back where it belongs. Or else.

Boykin brings a wry sense of humor, a collection of rich settings and characters, and a deft hand at story telling to bring these tales to life. Lelia is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters to learn about, but the other mages are just as well fleshed out and enjoyable. The interaction between the mages and their familiars is at times touching, but also adds a good dose of humor to what could easily have been intense, dark stories.

Both Vaguely Familiar and Oddly Familiar are quick reads, and went very well with a couple of evenings in front of a fire. While the stories dealt with adult themes, they were appropriate for teenagers and adults alike.

I’m really looking forward to seeing where the author takes this world.