Three nights in a row of outstanding clear skies have left me pretty tired but happy. We haven't had a streak like that since early January. However, in January I can wrap up a three-hour session by 9:30 pm or so. In July and early August things aren't done until after 1 am. I've been getting to bed around 2:30 am. Reading and piano practicing have gone out the window lately. My eyes (and legs) last about three hours at a time at the telescope these days. I have been consistently using my newest observing site, further from the lights of Windsor/Detroit in the northwest, and safe from the greenhouse lights in the south that are plaguing the official observatory. I am in the shadow of a giant windmill, which varies its noise level with wind speed. It can get pretty loud, but it is a sound I can live with. The dark sky is magnificent, with an excellent Milky Way showing all the way to the horizon.
Last Wednesday we had our new, very expensive door installed. Sort of. Near completion one of the workers dropped a very heavy drill onto the silver footplate leading into the house. It left a crater the size of the lunar Copernicus one. So they will be back in two weeks. They have to completely take out the new door, replace the plate, and put the new door back in. So our screen door is not yet on, but we are (for now) sealed in tight with the new main door. It will take them even longer when they return.
In July I managed to finish reading 13 books, 10 by authors related to the Avon/Equinox series. Works by John Christopher, Harry Harrison, Kenneth Bulmer, E.C. Tubb, Jack Williamson, Rex Gordon (as Bennett Stanley), Hal Clement, Robert Silverberg, Michael Moorcock, and Ward Moore complete the project authors for last month.
Bulmer's "World's For The Taking" was notable, as Earth is now in the habit of capturing Earth-like planets and inserting them into our solar system for colonizing. A weird premise but very well handled. Also memorable was E. C. Tubb's "C.O.D. Mars," in which three astronauts return from Alpha Centauri, the first space travellers to successfully undertake such a journey. Expecting to return and be hailed as conquering heroes, they are instead quarantined and are sent out to orbit the sun permanently. Some type of disease is suspected, but it turns out to be even worse. A good version of an attempted alien invasion.
"Sea Struck," by Bennett Stanley" (alias Rex Gordon; S. B. Hough) is a fabulous tale of a sea captain trying to keep sailing his wonderful schooner for profit despite so many odds against him. This book brings back fond memories of reading Conrad many years ago. If you've ever wondered what it might be like to spend time at sea on a sailing schooner, than look no farther (hint: it's no picnic). The first chapter of this book might be the best opening chapter to any book I have ever read.
Hal Clement's sequel to "Needle," called "Through The Eye Of A Needle," continues the story of an alien policeman living within the body of a young man who lives in the south seas. Both books are good and recommended, though his finest work lies elsewhere (his "Mesklin" series is unbeatable). Silverberg"s "The 13th Immortal" is a very early novel, his first written for Ace publishing. Even way back then, the early beginnings of his famous Majipoor series can be traced in this adventure spanning several continents (North and South America, and a very futuristic Antarctica).
I have begun reading Michael Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius quartet of novels. I had previously encountered Jerry in Heavy Metal Magazine back in the day (drawn by Moebius), as well as in a short story by Farmer. Moorcock loaned out the character and asked other writers to contribute. In addition to the four novels, Moorcock also wrote short stories. The first book is called "The Final Programme." It is a really fun and fascinating romp into 1960s (SF) London and the counterculture of the times. Possibly the biggest and party party ever takes place in these pages. In my review I said it was a cross between a Doc Savage pulp adventure, a James Bond novel, and a Highsmith Ripley story. Great fun! Looking forward to the next volume, in about 6 weeks time.
On the flip side of this month's Ace Double featuring the Mars story by Tubb was "Alien Sea" by John Rackham. This is one of three books unrelated to my project authors that I read this month. Rackam is a new name for me, and his title sums the story up nicely. The entire book, which is quite memorable, takes place upon and within a planet that is now only ocean and floating space ship docks. Unique and worth seeking out. Wish it had been longer. The opening chapter is really something.
A second non-project book I read was the first part of the SF version of the Finnish Kalevala. "The Saga of Lost Earths," by Emil Petaja, begins the journey I completed last month, when I came across and read Book 4. I got the first volume on Kindle, and will seek out the others, too. Unusual and fun to read.
The final book unrealted to my Avon/Equinox project was called "Beware The Usurpers," a violent tale from 1951 about six humans (including a blind man, a one-armed man, two elderly men, and a woman) trying to save the world from an nefarious and deadly alien invasion from another dimension. It received praise from Robert Silverberg, and is a good example of pulp fiction at its most murderous and action packed. I have no doubt that Farmer based his Tarzan and Doc Savage tales around material just like this. From 1951, it was written by Geoff St Reynard (real name Robert Krepps). If you want to know what real pulp writing is like from the early 50s, then this is for you. Needless to say, I liked it. if you read it you will come across another version of the Jack the Ripper legend. This book was a sequel to a much shorter story, simply called "The Usurpers." However, the plot of that story is summed up in this longer tale.
I just finished a novel by J. G. Ballard, but that will have to wait for the August review. Or check out the Ballard page on my Avon/Equinox blog, and to read more about the books mentioned above (and to see their cover art). Until next time....
Mapman Mike
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