November Reads

I read 7 books related to the Avon/Equinox authors, and 1 book that wasn't.  That one book was a SF novel of some length (over 300 pages) by Sherri Tepper, called After Long Silence (The Enigma Score in Britain).  It details life on a planet that may have intelligent life, in the form of crystals that grow to mountain size.  From 1987, it was my main read during my trip to Sudbury.  A pretty intelligent book, and definitely worth reading.  I gave my cope away to a Sudbury friend when I finished.

I began November near the end of my 16-book author rotation with a novel by Ballard, called  The Unlimited Dream Company, about a man who dies in a plane crash, but who then experiences a suitably strange after life.  This is a phenomenal book, spell binding from the first word onwards.  I took my time with it, which I always do with Ballard, as the novel is rich in imagery, and often requires pause to think about matters occurring.  So it was a great start to the month's reading! 

Next up was Barry Maltzberg's incomparable Gather In The Hall of Planets, about a SF writer attending a convention, and being told by aliens that if he doesn't discover who the alien is masquerading as, the world will be destroyed.  The book completely spoofs SF fans, cons, and is a very funny story.  I laughed at nearly every single dark-humoured page.  This is a book that a true fan of SF literature should read more than once. 

A cycle of reading is complete when I arrive at James Blish, long a favourite SF author.  I began rereading his Cities In Flight novels, likely the best SF series ever written.  The first novel, They Shall Have Stars, begins at the beginning, just as several major developments are about to come on-line, enabling travel to the stars.  The VR scenes on Jupiter are so far ahead of their time that they still resonate.  A true classic, and an excellent beginning to such a wonderful series of four novels.

Well, that makes for 3 books in a row to which I awarded 4 stars, from the Avon/Equinox authors.  What could top that?  Well, not the next book, which was a real clunker from Robert Silverberg.  Called The Seed of Earth, the first half is one of the most abysmal stories I have ever read.  The second half at least achieves average pulp standards.

After Silverberg comes Norman Spinrad.  I spent a huge chunk of the month reading his 500+ page novel called He Walked Among Us.  The premise is amazingly good, and this is the author's third attempt to help Earth avoid environmental catastrophe.  In the end, though, one tires of Spinrad's voice, and especially of one of the characters, the one from the underworld, so to speak.  I really wonder how many people actually finished this novel of those who started it.

I began a new series by Piers Anthony, a major author who I have come to like more and more.  His genius is undisputed, but sometimes he has difficulty expressing himself clearly and concisely.  God of Tarot is a kind of St Anthony in the wilderness story, and is quite well written.  However, I didn't feel totally engaged, instead feeling like an outsider watching things happen.  Perhaps just a bit too clinical.  Some stunning attacks against religion!

I'm running out of novels by John Christopher.  I have begun his Tripods series, with The White Mountains being the first book he published as an author for children.  This mixture of SF and fantasy serves as the template for virtually all of his youth novels.  I thought this was his last series written, because of the publication date.  But the books are reissues from the 60s, and were actually his first.  In my edition the author talks about his experience trying to get this book published in Britain and the US.

I am currently reading a Stonehenge book by Harry Harrison, which I will review soon on the Harrison page of my Avon/Equinox blog. 

Sunday afternoon was Philip Adamson's 6th concert in a years long series playing the 32 Beethoven Sonatas.  yesterday's program included the monstrously difficult Hammerclavier, lasting nearly 55 minutes.  It was a beautiful and magnificent performance!  Now that Philip has a bit of free time once again, I shall try and sneak in a lesson with him.  My own pieces are coming along, and might be up for a January performance or two.  We shall see how December goes.  Randy G. also attended the concert, and we went out for coffee afterwards.

Also on Sunday afternoon was Deb's appointment with a heart specialist from London, Ontario.  Basically they cannot go ahead with any treatment for her until she can provide an EKG strip during one of her episodes.  So we are going to work on that problem, and hopefully provide a strip on her next SVT attack. 

Sunday evening Amanda L came over for a visit, her first since last Christmas holiday.  We had a bit of catching up to do, and even found time to play a round of the Dr. Who card game!  Sunday was a busy day, and our most social in a long while.  I'm afraid we are becoming hermits. 

Last weekend was also Deb's choice for a film festival.  She chose three films directed by Anthony Asquith:  Pygmalion, The Woman In Question, and The Browning Version.  All three are remarkable films in some way or other.  These monthly mini-festivals are fun to have, and with nearly unlimited choice for grouping them, they should continue indefinitely.  Along with the listening programs we have going on, many pleasant evenings are being spent here at the Homestead.  We are prepared for winter nights.

M.