Category: Books

SATORI by Don Winslow / Z-View

Posted on by

SATORI by Don Winslow

First sentence…

Nicholai Hel watched the maple leaf drop from the branch, flutter in the slight breeze, then fall gently to the ground.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

1951.  The Korean War rages.

Nicholai Hel, perhaps the most dangerous man in the world, has spent the last three years in solitary confinement in an American prison.  Hel is twenty-six, has a genius-level IQ, is fluent in seven languages and is a master of the martial art hoda korosu (“naked kill”).

The C.I.A. offers Hel a chance at freedom.  It’s a suicide mission.  Hel will pose as an arms dealer, travel to Beijing and kill the Soviet Union’s commissioner to China.  If Hel is successful, and if he survives, he will be given a full pardon and enough money to live anywhere he wants.

Hel accepts.  What the C.I.A. doesn’t know is Hel has an additional reason to accept besides a chance at freedom.  What Hel doesn’t know is that someone in the C.I.A. doesn’t want him to succeed.

+++

SATORI is a prequel to SHIBUMI by by Trevanian, a pseudonym of Rodney William Whitaker.

I had never read SHIBUMI (and plan to correct that), but it didn’t affect my love of SATORI.

A movie adaptation of SHIBUMI is in the works with Chad Stahelski (director of the John Wick movies) set to produce and direct.  Stahelski is obviously a fan of the book.  In two of his movies (John Wick and Bullet Train) characters are shown reading the novel.

Nicholai Hel is a great protagonist.  I would love to see more of his adventures.

Don Winslow’s SATORI gets my highest recommendation.

Rating:

“In the Hand of Dante” (2025) / Z-View

Posted on by

In the Hand of Dante (2025)

Director: Julian Schnabel

Screenplay:  Julian Schnabel, Louise Kugelberg; based on IN THE HAND OF DANTE by Nick Tosches.

Stars:  Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Gerard Butler, John Malkovich, Louis Cancelmi, Sabrina Impacciatore, Benjamin Clementine, Martin Scorsese, Al Pacino and Jason Momoa.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

A handwritten copy of The Divine Comedy has been found. If real, the artifact was written by The Divine Comedy’s author Dante Alighieri between 1308 and 1321.    If real, the artifact is priceless.  If real, Joe Black, a mob boss wants it.

So Joe sends Nick Tosches (a Dante expert), Louie (a killer) and Lefty (another of Joe’s thugs) to retrieve the manuscript.

What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I liked the trailer for In the Hand of Dante.  Interesting concept and a great cast.

The film jumps back and forth in time between modern day and Dante’s time.  I became bored and ultimately, I tapped out.   I wasn’t alone.  In the Hand of Dante has a 4.9 rating on IMDb, 29% Tomatometer and 38% Popcornmeter at Rotten Tomatoes.  Of course your milage may vary.

In the Hand of Dante (2025) rates 1 of 5 stars.

KILLING TOWN: THE LOST FIRST MIKE HAMMER THRILLER by Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins / Z-View

Posted on by

KILLING TOWN by Mickey Spillane, Max Allan Collins

First sentence…

The blonde dame in the sleeper car window was damn near naked in front of the mirror on the back of her closed door, and ready to finish the job.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

World War II is over.  Mike Hammer made it back.  Many of his fellow soldiers didn’t.  Now a civilian, Hammer has a promise to keep.

Which is why he sneaks under a train and rides into Killington on the sly.  As Hammer exits from under the train, through a window in a car across the tracks, he spies a woman undressing.   She’s a looker, but Hammer isn’t a Peeping Tom and wants to get out of there before the railyard cops catch him.

So Hammer scoots.

But it isn’t long before Hammer is picked up for murder.  The murder of the woman he saw in the railyard.  The cops get rough trying to get Hammer to confess.  Things look bad.  He was in the railyard.  He saw the woman.  He has no alibi.

And then the cops turn Hammer loose.  Melba Charles, Senator Charles’ beautiful daughter says that Hammer was with her at the time of the murder.  In fact, she says she and Hammer are soon to be married!

Hammer is happy to be free.  He came to Killington to keep a promise.  That’ll get done after.  Now he needs to find the mystery woman’s killer.  But first he needs to meet his future bride and find out why she provided an alibi for a man she’d never met.

+++

KILLING TOWN takes place before Mike Hammer became a private eye.  It was actually an unfinished novel that Mickey Spillane started but never finished.  Max Allan Collins, Spillane’s friend was selected by Spillane to complete the tale.

KILLING TOWN is my one of my favorite Mike Hammer tales… on par with I, THE JURY.  (And I don’t say that lightly.)

Rating:

“I Will Find You” (2026) starring Sam Worthington and Britt Lower / Z-View

Posted on by

I Will Find You (2026)

Created by: Robert Hull; based on I WILL FIND YOU by Harlan Coben

Director:

  • Brad Anderson  (eps. 1-2)
  • Maja Vrvilo (eps. 3-4)
  • Adam Davidson (eps. 5-6)
  • Maggie Kiley (eps. 7-8)

Teleplay:

  • Robert Hull (eps. 1-2; 8)
  • Robert Hull, Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt (ep. 3, 6-7)
  • Heather Mitchell, Robert Hull, Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt (ep. 4)
  • Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt (ep. 5)

Stars: Sam Worthington, Britt Lower, Milo Ventimiglia, Erin Richards, Jonathan Tucker, Peter Outerbridge, Madeleine Stowe, Hugh Thompson, Logan Browning and Chi McBride.

Tagline: Find the boy.  Find the truth.

The Plot…

David Burroughs, a Boston law professor, has spent the last five years in prison for the brutal murder of his three year-old-son. Matthew.  The child was beaten with a baseball bat so badly that the body could only be identified through DNA.  From day one, David proclaimed his innocence.

Out of the blue, David’s ex-sister-in-law visits David in prison. She has a recent photo of a boy who would be Matthew’s age if he had lived.  The kid looks like Matthew if he had lived.  The kicker is the boy in the picture has the EXACT same facial birthmark as Matthew.  David is convinced it IS Matthew.

So David tells the Warden about the photo.  The Warden happens to be a friend of David’s family.  So the Warden gets David’s case file and gives it to him.  After two failed attempts on David’s life, the Warden decides to help David escape.  The Warden, brings in his son, a police sergeant (and David’s best friend) to help with the breakout.

Once free and on the run, it will be up to David to prove his innocence by finding his son.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

If after reading that plot and your eyes aren’t still rolling, we can continue.

The prison used for filming is the same used for the series The Mayor of Kingstown.

If you’re willing to suspend a lot of disbelief you might enjoy I Will Find You.  I watched it with my wife.  She really liked it.  I thought it was okay.  As always, your mileage may vary.

It was great seeing Chi McBride.  Logan Browning was excellent as his FBI agent daughter.

I Will Find You (2026) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“The Man Who Laughs” (1928) starring Conrad Veidt & Mary Philbin / Z-View

Posted on by

The Man Who Laughs (1928)

Director: Paul Leni

Screenplay:  J. Grubb Alexander, Walter Anthony, Mary McLean, Charles E. Whittaker; based on THE MAN WHO LAUGHS by Victor Hugo.

Stars:  Mary Philbin, Conrad Veidt, Olga Baclanova, Brandon Hurst, Cesare Gravina, Stuart Holmes, Samuel de Grasse, George Siegmann, Josephine Crowell.

Tagline: The Man Who laughs With Conrad Veidt as the clown on whose face was carved a horrible, leering grin.

The Plot…

Lord Clancharlie is executed when refuses to kiss the hand of King James.  Vengeance is also taken on Lord Clancharlie’s young son, Gwynplaine. His face is cut so that it appears he always sports a horrific impossibly wide smile.

Exilled young Gwynplaine struggles to find shelter in a winter storm.  He discovers a baby girl still in the arms of her dead mother who froze to death.  Gwynplaine picks up the infant and continues his search for shelter.  Ursus, a traveling showman takes them in.

Years pass. Ursus raises both Gwynplaine and the baby he named Dea. Dea loves Gwynplaine.  Even though he loves her, he feels unworthy due to his disfigurement.  Ironically, Gwynplaine’s disfigurement has made him famous as “The Laughing Man”.   Ursus, Gwynplaine and Dea travel from village to village to perform plays Ursus has written for them.  People come to see the show.  What they really want to see is the freak… the Laughing Man.

Word of The Laughing Man reaches the royal court.  Could this laughing freak be the heir to Lord Clancharlie?   If so, can he be allowed to live?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

To get Gwynplaine’s horrific smile, Conrad Veidt had to wear dentures with metal hooks that pulled back the corners of his mouth.

Conrad Veidt’s appearance in The Man Who Laughs inspired writer Bill Finger and artists Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson to create The Joker, who is the most famous of all Batman villains.

The Man Who Laughs (1928) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Lucky” (2026) starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Annette Bening, Clifton Collins Jr., Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, William Fichtner and Timothy Olyphant / Z-View

Posted on by

Lucky: Season 1 (2026)

Created by: Jonathan Tropper; based on LUCKY by Marissa Stapley

Director:

  • Jonathan Van Tulleken (eps. 1; 6-7)
  • Greg Yaitanes (eps. 2-3)
  • Jet Wilkinson (eps. 4-5)

Teleplay:

  • Jonathan Tropper (ep. 1)
  • Hilary Bettis (ep. 2)
  • Ariel Levine (ep. 3)
  • Mark Stasenko (ep. 4)
  • Hilary Bettis & Mary Anthony  (ep. 5)
  • Jonathan Tropper & Kevin Rosen (ep. 6)
  • Cassie Pappas  (ep. 7)

Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Annette Bening, Clifton Collins Jr., Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, William Fichtner and Timothy Olyphant.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Lucky and her husband, Cary, did it. They have the ten million dollars in cash to prove it. The money was stolen from Wayne Whittaker.  Whittaker is a ruthless crime boss.  He’s marked Lucky and Cary for death.

Cary’s mother, Priscilla works for Whittaker.  He’s  going to kill her too… unless she’s gets his money back.  If that happens he’ll just kill Lucky and Cary.

But now Lucky and Cary are on top of the world.  Tonight they celebrate.  Tomorrow they use the ten million dollars to disappear to a life of luxury.

When Lucky wakes up the next morning Cary is gone.  So is the cash.

With the FBI closing in, Lucky finds herself on the run.  She has no one to turn to.  If the FBI gets her, she can look forward to years in prison.  If Priscilla or one of Whittaker’s thugs catches her first, she can count on a slow painful death.

To survive this she will need to be, uh… Lucky.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Lucky is a rollercoaster ride of over-the-top situations coupled with outlandish action. Anya Taylor-Joy, Annette Bening, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Clifton Collins Jr., and Timothy Olyphant do much of the heavy lifting to make it work.

Anya Taylor-Joy is more than capable of carrying the series. Lucky has my favorite Annette Bening performance.  Clifton Collins Jr. is perfect as the killer dedicated to Priscilla.  He deserves a spin-off playing Dutch.  Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is a powerhouse as the FBI agent obsessed with bringing down Whitaker no matter what.  William Fichtner was the right choice to play Whittaker.  Timothy Olyphant is always good… even when his character isn’t.

If you enjoy over-the-top action then give this one a go, you might just get Lucky.

Lucky: Season 1 (2026) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Abraham’s Boys” (2025) starring Titus Welliver / Z-View

Posted on by

Abraham’s Boys (2025)

Director: Natasha Kermani

Screenplay:  Natasha Kermani; based on Abraham’s Boys by Joe Hill.

Stars:  Titus Welliver, Jocelin Donahue, Judah Mackey, Aurora Perrineau and Brady Hepner.

Tagline: A Dracula story.

The Plot…

After the events in Dracula, Dr. Abraham Van Helsing and Mina Harker married.  Now, about twenty years later they live on a remote California farm with their two teenage sons.  Dr. Helsing raised his sons aware that vampires exist.  That is why they moved many times to more and more isolated locations.

Dr. Van Helsing prepared his sons to fight the ultimate evil should it ever find them.

It has.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I thought the idea of Van Helsing raising his sons to take up the fight against vampires was a cool one.  The movie leads us to believe that vampires are coming.  I won’t spoil the ending other than to say I was disappointed.

Abraham’s Boys (2025) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Desperation Road” (2023) starring Garrett Hedlund, Willa Fitzgerald, Ryan Hurst, Woody McClain and Mel Gibson / Z-View

Posted on by

Desperation Road (2023)

Director: Nadine Crocker

Screenplay:  Michael Farris Smith; based on DESPERATION ROAD by Michael Farris Smith.

Stars:  Garrett Hedlund, Willa Fitzgerald, Ryan Hurst, Woody McClain and Mel Gibson.

Tagline: The Road to Redemption is Twisted.

The Plot…

Maben, a homeless single mother, is traveling with her young daughter.  Maben thought she had hit rock bottom.  She’s about to find out how wrong she can be.  Now Maben and her child are on the run from the law.

Russell Gaines was recently released from prison after seven years. Russell, while driving drunk, caused an accident that killed a man named Jason.  Jason’s brothers feel seven years in prison wasn’t enough.  Russell killed their brother and they will have their revenge.

Russell and Maben cross paths.  Russell feels sorry for Maben and her daughter (although he doesn’t know Maben’s full story).  Russell offers them a place to stay until they get back on their feet.

Russell’s troubles and Maben’s problems are on a collision course.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Don’t let the movie poster fool you.  Mel Gibson’s role is more of a glorified cameo.

Desperation Road (2023) rates 3 of 5 stars.

PUSH THE WALL by Frank Miller / Z-View

Posted on by

PUSH THE WALL by Frank Miller Hardcover: 224 pages Publisher: S&S/Saga Press First sentences…
How to start a story? At the ending. Know your ending. I repeat: Know your ending.
The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

If you know of Frank Miller, it could be for any number of reasons.  Perhaps it was because of the comics he took to new heights (Daredevil; The Dark Knight Returns; Batman: Year One) or those groundbreaking comics that he created (Ronin; Sin City; 300) to name just a few.  Maybe you know Miller from his work as a writer and/or director on feature films (Sin City; 300; Robocop 2 and Robocop 3; The Spirit).  Miller revolutionized comics.  Then he went to Hollywood.  He’s considered a living legend.

PUSH THE WALL is Miller’s memoir.  Through stories and remembrances he takes us back to his childhood in Vermont.  Wanting to be a comic artist from an early age.  Coming to New York City and discovering he’s not ready.  Getting work.  Getting lucky.  Honing his craft.  Getting better and wanting to be better still.  Success that took him to the stratosphere.  Expectations that rose as well.  Falling short.  Going to Hollywood.  Again success… and failure.  Getting back to what he loves… comics.  With more stories to tell.

Miller set the book up as a series of lessons.  These are lessons that he learned and can be used by other writers/artists to improve their craft.  Miller’s anecdotes are both entertaining and enlighting.  We get a glimpse behind the curtain of Miller’s thought processes, as well as the artists, comics, books and movies that influenced him.  All told in a writing style that makes you feel as he’s talking to you.

The more of a Frank Miller fan you are, the more you will like the book.

Rating:

“The Vampire Lestat” Season 1 (2026) starring Sam Reid, Jacob Anderson, Eric Bogosian, Assad Zaman and Delainey Hayles / Z-View

Posted on by

The Vampire Lestat: Season 1 (2026)

Created by: Rolin Jones; based on THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES by Ann Rice

Director:

  • Craig Zisk (eps. 1-2)
  • Claudia Llosa (eps. 3-4)
  • Levan Akin (ep. 5)
  • Jane Wu (ep. 6)
  • Alan Taylor (ep. 7)

Teleplay:

  • Rolin Jones & Hannah Moscovitch (ep. 1)
  • Jonathan Ceniceroz & Kevin Hanna (ep. 2)
  • Anusree Roy (ep. 3)
  • Jonathan Ceniceroz (ep. 4)
  • Daniel Hart & Hannah Moscovitch  (ep. 5)
  • Ryan Kattner & Kevin Hanna (ep. 6)
  • Hannah Moscovitch (ep. 7)

Stars:  Sam Reid, Jacob Anderson, Eric Bogosian, Assad Zaman, Delainey Hayles, Joseph Potter, Jennifer Ehle.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Lestat is a vampire.  A. Real. Vampire.  Lestat is also the lead singer for a rock band.  His public persona is a rock singer playing a vampire.  The band has achieved cult status.  His followers don’t believe Lestat is a real vampire, but they enjoy dressing up and coming to his concerts.

Lestat’s growing fame is a concern for other vampires throughout the world.  If it is discovered that Lestat is a real vampire, it would create problems for them.  Deadly problems.

They’re going to have to deal with Lestat.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I loved the first two seasons of Interview with the Vampire.  For the third season the name of the series was changed to The Vampire Lestat.  The fourth season will be titled Anne Rice’s Queen of the Damned.

The Vampire Lestat: Season 1 (2026) rates 3 of 5 stars.

PETRIFIED DREAMS: A HAP & LEONARD NOVEL by Joe R. Lansdale is Coming!

Posted on by

Joe Lansdale, as well as Hap & Leonard fans will be preoccupied on October 6th.  That’s when PETRIFIED DREAMS: A HAP & LEONARD NOVEL drops.  Here’s what the boys are into this time…

With women going missing across the Deep South, dynamic detective duo Hap and Leonard zero in on a horrific, chimerical villain protected and abetted by Texas’ most powerful figures in this thrilling conclusion to the beloved series.

“Joe R. Lansdale is to crime fiction what Willie Nelson is to country music: . . . raw, gritty, soulful, and lastly, timeless.” — May Cobb, author of The Hunting Wives

The sun never sets on justice, but it may finally be setting on the beloved crime fighting duo of Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. The two opposites — brothers from another mother — have called the detecting business quits, but when a prop plane holding the bodies of several kidnapped women crashes into their favorite watering hole, the boys know they’re in for one last effort. With the help of a victim’s sister, they learn that a network of men has stolen vulnerable young women on behalf of a horrifying, charismatic villain known as The Artist, a sculptor of living things, including his own body, and protected by the elite of the South. But the Artist refuses to be found, and every lead brings Hap and Leonard into the crosshairs of something even more dangerous. Finding The Artist is a long shot, and getting out alive is even less likely.

Perhaps the darkest, funniest, and most intense of the Hap & Leonard mysteries, PETRIFIED DREAMS concludes the revered series as audaciously as one would expect from the mojo master of Southern crime and wit.

The series conclusion? Say it isn’t so.

Preorders are available now.

“Cape Fear” Season 1 (2026) starring Javier Bardem, Amy Adams, Patrick Wilson, Joe Anders, Lily Collias, CCH Pounder, Malia Pyles, Jamie Hector, Ron Perlman and Juliette Lewis / Z-View

Posted on by

Cape Fear: Season 1 (2026)

Created by: Nick Antosca; based on THE EXECUTIONERS by John D. MacDonald; Cape Fear by Wesley Strick and Cape Fear by James R. Webb

Director:

  • Morten Tyldum (ep. 1)
  • SJ Clarkson (ep. 2)
  • Amanda Marsalis (ep. 3)
  • Reed Morano (ep. 4)
  • Steven Piet (ep. 5)
  • Trey Edward Shults (ep. 6)
  • Jon S. Baird (ep. 7)
  • Stephen Williams (ep. 8)
  • Amanda Marsalis (ep. 9)
  • Jonathan Van Tulleken (ep. 10)

Teleplay:

  • Nick Antosca (ep. 1)
  • André Jacquemetton & Maria Jacquemetton (ep. 2; 7)
  • Alan Page Arriaga (ep. 3; 8)
  • Tara Shivkumar (ep. 4)
  • Peter Blake (ep. 5)
  • Brian Evenson (ep. 6)
  • Diana Pawell & Peter Blake (ep. 9)
  • Nick Antosca & Peter Blake & Tara Shivkumar (ep. 10)

Stars:  Javier Bardem, Amy Adams, Patrick Wilson, Joe Anders, Lily Collias, CCH Pounder, Malia Pyles, Jamie Hector, Ron Perlman and Juliette Lewis.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

From the outside Anna and Tom Bowden look like they have it all.  They’re both successful attorneys.  The have two children, a boy and a girl… a big house… nice salaries.  Yeah, from the outside it looks like all is good.

It’s not.

The marriage isn’t smooth sailing.  Their son is going through mental issues.  Their daughter feels isolated due to their parents’ and brother’s issues.

Then Max Cady shows up.  Max was just released from prison after seventeen years.  Cady has been convicted of killing his pregnant wife.  Cady was released due to someone else confessing to the murder.

Cady blames  Anna and Tom Bowden for his seventeen years in prison.  Anna was his defense attorney.  Tom was the prosecutor.  Cady believes they were having a relationship at the time of his trial.  Worse still they did something to make sure Cady was convicted.

But Cady is out now.  And he will have his revenge.  On Anna.  On Tom.  And their children.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Cape Fear is based on John D. MacDonald’s novel THE EXECUTIONERS, as well as the two movie adaptations of it.

There’s a definite attempt to give this adaptation a Hitchcock-feel from the way some of the scenes are shot to the soundtrack.

I am a huge fan of the Cape Fear movies.  I believe the series suffers because it’s hard to root for the Bowden family, because they are so unlikeable.

Bardem had big shoes to fill, following Robert Mitchum and Robert DeNiro.  He does an admirable job.

Ron Perlman has a small but important role.  He’s a welcome addition to the cast.  Same could be said for CCH Pounder, Jamie Hector and Juliette Lewis.

Cape Fear: Season 1 (2026) rates 3 of 5 stars.

QUARRY’S REUNION by Max Allan Collins is Coming Soon!

Posted on by

Max Allan Collins’ Quarry returns November 10th in QUARRY’S REUNION.  Here’s the scoop…

The hitman hero of the acclaimed Cinemax series comes out of retirement for another nail-biting suspense thriller from the New York Times best-seller, MWA Grandmaster and award-winning author of Road to Perdition, Max Allan Collins.

YOU’RE CORDIALLY INVITED TO CELEBRATE 50 YEARS OF MURDER…

Since his first appearance in 1976, Max Allan Collins’ quintessential killer-for-hire, Quarry, has starred in 17 novels, two films, a graphic novel, and a Cinemax TV series — and with QUARRY’S REUNION, he reaches a milestone never before achieved by any character in American crime novels: a series that has continued for 50 years.

To celebrate, MWA Grand Master Collins is taking Quarry somewhere he’s never gone before: back home, to the town in Ohio where he grew up, before his tour of duty in Vietnam and his even bloodier experiences Stateside. An old high-school girlfriend summons Quarry for his 50th reunion – but old times take a back seat when bullets start to fly. Thrilling, moving, and revealing, this new installment in Quarry’s Edgar and Shamus Award-nominated saga delivers a powerful capstone to the killer’s career – and a perfect entry point for readers new to Quarry’s story.

Pre-orders are available now.

CHAIN REACTION: A REACHER NOVEL by Lee Child and Andrew Child is Coming Soon!

Posted on by

The new Jack Reacher novel, CHAIN REACTION by Lee Child and Andrew Child drops on October 20th.  Here’s the lowdown…

The heart-pounding new Jack Reacher thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling authors Lee Child and Andrew Child.

Jack Reacher is hard to find. It’s not easy to track him down. And he likes it that way. But General Susan Turner, based deep inside the Pentagon, has the means and the motive. She needs his help. A member of her team has been brutally murdered on covert duty. She can’t trust anyone she works with, not even her deputy. She needs someone from the outside. Someone who solves problems and disappears without a trace.

Reacher heads to Summertown, Colorado. A town as remote and bizarre as it gets. One diner, one motel, five massive data centers, two giant solar farms humming away in the dust. Total population: four people. And one of them is watching him. But Reacher isn’t built to run. He’s built to finish things. General Turner knows that if they come for Reacher, they’ll regret it—all the way to the top of the chain.

Preorders available now.