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Circle by George Tucker
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A Day with Traffic Controllers by Joanne Winne
Demons Are Forever by Julie Kenner
Deserts by Seymour Simon
Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert
Expecting Adam by Martha Beck
Firooz and His Brother by Alex Jeffers
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Ghost Cat by Beverly Butler
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Hungry, Hungry Sharks by Joanna Cole
In the Hall of the Dragon King by Stephen R. Lawhead
Junie B., First Grader: Boss of Lunch by Barbara Park
Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying by Barbara Park
Light in August by William Faulkner
The Little Baby Snoogle Fleejer by Jimmy Carter
The Lost and Found by Mark Teague
Magic School Bus: Going Batty by Joanna Cole
Magic School Bus: The Great Shark Escape by Joanna Cole
Mercury and Venus by Robin Kerrod
Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies
Nettie's Trip South by Ann Turner
Peace: 50 Years of Protest by Barry Miles
Postcards: True Stories that Never Happened by Jason Rodriguez
Puss in Boots by Rochelle Larkin
The Road from La Cueva by Sheila Ortego
Seduction by Design by Sandra Brown
The Seven-per-Cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer
Space by Carole Stott
The Stone Gods by Jeannette Winterson
Thrilling Wonder Stories by Albert E. Cowdrey
Traitor by M. Rickert
Treasure by Clive Cussler
Under the Microscope: Insects by Grolier
WLT: A Radio Romance by Garrison Keillor

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Thrilling Wonder Stories: 05/05/08

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

The fifth story in the May issue of FSF, "Thrilling Wonder Stories" has made me realize that Albert E. Cowdrey is my least favorite of the magazine's regular contributors. I liked "The Recreation Room"; I tolerated "The Overseer" and I hated "Thrilling Wonder Stories."

Once again Cowdrey's story takes place in New Orleans. This time it's set in the sweltering summer of 1950 as hinted by the inclusion of "Mona Lisa" sung by Nat King Cole. Cowdrey seems to be trying for a Stephen King type story ("The Body" comes to mind) but he doesn't pull it off.

The story is told from Farley's point of view. He's a teenage thug in an unhappy family and he knows his mother's husband isn't his father. Farley is convinced that his father is a man from Mars but the truth is much more mundane than that. This story tries for the clever ending of "The Recreation Room" but it's too little too late. All that really happens is an unhappy boy from an unloving home evolves into a cold blooded killer.

Thankfully the story was only about twenty pages but I still feel like I wasted my time reading it.

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