New books peddle sex, drugs 'n' prepubescent astronauts

Last night I went to my 9-year-old son's third-grade Christmas play at his school. (Yeah, it was a "Christmas" play as opposed to a "holiday" one, complete with a nativity scene ending and yet, a tribute to Hanukkah.) What threw me off is that between each of the eight rather elaborate musical numbers, different kids essayed the roles of Grandpa, Grandma and their two grandkids. I was so confused that it really destroyed the play's forward narrative.

My point? These books BOOKGASM covered this week faired much better (clink the links to read the reviews in full):

• ESCAPE FROM EARTH: NEW ADVENTURES IN SPACE edited by Jack Dann and Garder Dozois – "If I only could give one reason why the Science Fiction Book Club rocks, I’d have to go with the exclusive anthologies it cranks out. They’re huge, dense volumes put together by the best editors in the field. ... The theme of ESCAPE FROM EARTH is science-fiction adventures for teenagers, in the vein of Robert Heinlein’s canonical “juvenile” works. That’s a high bar for anyone, and the editors wrangled up, for the most part, an excellent spread for kids of all ages to feast upon. ... SFBC members get a treat for them and their teenagers, and Dann and Dozois have assembled a great, contemporary take on every teenager’s greatest desire: to rise above the mundanity of existence and truly escape, if only for a moment. To adults, it seems hyperbolic, but ESCAPE FROM EARTH can make us all remember when it was all too serious."

• STREET RAISED by Pearce Hansen – "Sometimes you come across a book that is just so raw and natural, you can't help but want to see what happens next, especially when it shows you a side of life few rarely (and thankfully) ever see. This is the case with STREET RAISED, a novel from first-time author Pearce Hansen. Expanding on events in his youth, Hansen writes about the people who fall through the cracks of society, and who will do whatever they have to in order to protect their own and survive every day. ... I've really got to hand it to Pearce for writing a book like this: so visceral, raw and unapologetic. It's such a breath of fresh air for a crime story."

• THE PEDDLER by Richard S. Prather – "Three 6 Mafia was right: It really is hard out here for a pimp. And so discovers Tony Romero, the antihero protagonist of THE PEDDLER. ... One has to wonder if Oliver Stone had read THE PEDDLER before scripting Brian De Palma's SCARFACE, because really – even similar names and demeanors of their lead characters aside – it's merely about substituting one vice for another: cocaine for Stone, pussy for Prather."

Some other stuff from BOOKGASM's week that we don't want you to miss: our completely negative savaging of Bob Fenster's TWISTED: TALES FROM THE WACKY SIDE OF LIFE, Ed Gorman reviewing three recent offerings, a retrospective of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars series, plus reviews of YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN PUZZLED, ESSENTIAL MARVEL HORROR, THE PINK PANTHER'S JUST DESSERTS, J.F. Gonzalez's THE BELOVED and more. And a book that's nothing but pictures of monkeys. Who doesn't love monkeys?