William I. Lengeman III - Freelance Writer & Blogger

Book Review - The Genesis Race

The Genesis Race: Our Extraterrestrial DNA and the True Origins of the Species
by Will Hart
Inner Traditions International, 2004
Reviewed by William I. Lengeman III
(First published in Fortean Times)

One of the most telling statements Will Hart makes in The Genesis Race is that “it is possible to make a case for almost anything and evidence can be found to support what we wish to prove.” This stands as one of the most well-reasoned arguments in a book filled with mostly well-reasoned arguments and an admission that ultimately, unless some staggering bit of “proof” is uncovered to support Hart’s theory of intelligent extraterrestrial intervention, or any other theory of evolution of humankind, we will each have to pick and choose among the theories that seem most viable and more or less take the rest on faith.

Book Review - Hitchcock On Hitchcock

Hitchcock On Hitchcock: Selected Writings And Interviews
Edited by Sidney Gottlieb
University of California Press, 1997
Reviewed by William I. Lengeman III
(First published at Creature Corner)

The late Alfred Hitchcock may be one of the world’s best-known movie directors. The only other director who really comes close is Woody Allen. Among the contributing factors that made “Hitch” a household name were his prodigious output as a director – more than fifty feature films in roughly as many years – his trademark cameo appearances in each film, a television series that ran for ten years and to which he lent not only his name, but his hosting talents, and a keen awareness of the value of public relations.

Book Review - Daydreams Undertaken

Daydreams Undertaken
By Stephen L. Antczak
Marietta Publishing, 2004
Reviewed by William I. Lengeman III
(First published at Tangent Online)

Daydreams Undertaken is Stephen Antczak’s first short story collection. It brings together eleven pieces that have appeared in such anthologies and magazines as Gahan Wilson’s Ultimate Haunted House, Dreams of Decadence and The Third Alternative, over the course of a decade or so, from 1992 to 2003. There are also four stories which are seeing the light of publication for the first time. Antczak also includes a foreword, afterword and an introduction for each story.

Book Review - Changeling

Changeling
By Nancy Jane Moore
Aqueduct Press
Reviewed by William I. Lengeman III
(First published in Apex Digest)

Nancy Jane Moore's Changeling is the third of Aqueduct Press's Conversation Pieces, a chapbook series that "celebrates the speculations and visions of the grand conversation of feminist SF." Having read this mission statement, I tiptoed ahead, half expecting to be bludgeoned with some dry chunk of polemic. But I was pleased to discover that Moore's novella was a reasonably strong piece of science fiction capable of standing on its own merits.

Book Review - From Sawdust to Stardust

From Sawdust to Stardust:
The Biography of DeForest Kelley, Star Trek's Dr. McCoy
By Terry Lee Rioux
Pocket Books, 2005
Reviewed by William I. Lengeman III

The number of books linked, in one way or another, to the Star Trek universe must surely be as numberless by now as grains of sand on the beach. Terry Lee Rioux’s biography of DeForest Kelley is one of the latest, and it is considerably overdue, when you consider the fact that there has been at least one biography, autobiography, or memoir covering William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Walter Koenig, and Star Trek’s creator, Gene Roddenberry.

Book Review - The Burroughs Cyclopædia

The Burroughs Cyclopædia: Characters, Places, Fauna, Flora, Technologies, Languages, Ideas and Terminologies Found in the Works of Edgar Rice Burroughs
By Clark A. Brady
McFarland & Co., Inc., 2005
Reviewed by William I. Lengeman III
(First published in Apex Digest)

The most interesting thing about The Burroughs Cyclopædia, at least to the casual Burroughs reader, is that there’s a need for such a thing at all. Over the years I’ve read a few Tarzan books and I was aware of Burroughs' Mars books, but I had no idea that he was so prolific.

Book Review - Woman

Woman
By Richard Matheson
Gauntlet Press, 2005
Reviewed by William I. Lengeman III
(First published in Apex Digest)

Readers who need to be introduced to Richard Matheson – frequently cited as a key influence on Stephen King, among others – should sally forth to the nearest university and register for Horror 101. The rest of us are aware of his impressive achievements in the field, so I’ll forego listing them and get right down to it.

Book Review - Godforsaken

Godforsaken
By Steven Shrewsbury
Behler Publications, 2005
Reviewed by William I. Lengeman III
(First published in Apex Digest)

As I read through the first chapter of Godforsaken, I couldn’t help being reminded of Jack Whyte’s impressive series, The Camulod Chronicles, another work that examines the struggles between Rome and the early Britons.

Book Review - Terminal

Terminal
By Brian Keene
Bantam Books, 2005
Reviewed by William I. Lengeman III
(First published in Apex Digest)

Reviewing books someone else has chosen can sometimes be a bit of a crapshoot. There are times when it becomes a regular chore just to slog on through to the end of a book so that you can write a reasonably informed review.

Book Review - Of Gods and Monsters

Of Gods and Monsters:
A Critical Guide to Universal Studios' Science Fiction, Horror and Mystery Films, 1929-1939
By John T. Soister
McFarland & Company Inc., 2005
Reviewed by William I. Lengeman III
(First published in Apex Digest)

For sheer entertainment value, most film criticism ranks somewhere between a C-Span marathon and a whittling contest. Then there is that rare volume like John Soister's Of Gods and Monsters, a work which would probably be enjoyable even if you'd never seen any of the 43 films the author discourses upon (I hang my head in shame to admit that I've only seen four).