Welcome to August. Still in Stage 2 here in Essex County, the only place in Ontario that remains so. And with good reason. We are home except for grocery shopping and medical appointments. And my first haircut since February!! It's really short at the moment, and should last a few months again. Deb had a chest x-ray last week, and next week goes for her annual mammogram. Her cough is persisting, and her shortness of breath.
Deb won another film award today. Or should I say I did! Best Narration for her Red Death animation short! Now I have to rent a tuxedo and write a very long acceptance speech, thanking all my voice coaches over the long years I've been....
July was a warm one. We had 19 days that reached 30 C or higher. The highest temp was 35 C. No records broken, but it was warm, with no relief. In June we had 11 days of 30 C or higher. August is starting out wet and much cooler--I can live with that, at least until the next astronomy session begins, around the 10th.
I read 11 books in July, 9 or them related to my Avon/Equinox project, with two not related. I read my third SF novel by John Rackham. He keeps appearing on the back of some of my Ace Doubles. This one was called Treasure Of Tau Ceti, and proved to be quite an enjoyable planetary adventure, in the old tradition. Three characters, one of them a very strong and capable female (yay!) go through an awful lot of misery to gain a very valuable hidden treasure. Very enjoyable novel!
The other non-related book was Five Weeks In A Balloon, by Jules Verne. While it is an outrageous adventure story with its own merits (and faults), it is also a grand recap of the explorations of Africa by European whites up to that time. I have read two Verne novels lately, and have enjoyed them far too much. Others will follow. I will have a lot more to say about Africa in an upcoming post.
E. C. Tubb's The Luck Machine began my regular reading program for the month. I've now read 23 books by this author, and have enjoyed many of them. This one is a farcical comedy that would likely have made a pretty decent movie. A crazy scientist invents the machine, which can be worn on the wrist like a very large watch (think Garmin). It brings good luck to the wearer, and the thing is tried on a very unlucky and unloved male teacher from a boys' school, during summer break. When it appears to work, the scientist and his cohorts try to get the machine back from the teacher, and that is when most of the humour ensues. Very silly, but makes a nice break from all the serious SF I read.
Next was a novel that was started by Jack Williamson. He was unable to finish Star Bridge, after writing the first 170 pages and getting blocked. He sent the manuscript to James Gunn, who finished it and polished it up. It's a pretty great story that resurfaced in the 1980s, after having influenced a number of writers, including Farmer. The first half is especially fine, and it's somewhat surprising that Jack could not think of a way out. Gunn's latter section is good, but not as good as the whole opening section.
From 2003 came Hal Clement's last novel, a really brilliant and highly enjoyable one called Noise. A Polynesian Earth colony survives on a watery planet, and is visited by a linguist from Earth who wants to learn how the languages might be changing. He elarns a whole lot, and so do we! Like many of Clement's works, this is one of the best SF novels ever written. Highly recommended, and very sophisticated writing.
Count Brass is my 17th book by Michael Moorcock, and it's more or less the first of a three-volume direct continuation of the post-apocalyptic Hawkmoon series. I liked the book, perhaps even more than the original series, and look forward to the next two books in the series. It's a mixture of fantasy, magic, and science that seems to combine really well.
The Kindness Of Women, by Ballard, is a sequel of sorts to his more famous Empire Of The Sun. He recaps some of his boyhood experiences in Shanghai, must then takes off for post-war England, and even spends some time in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan! After reading both of these fascinating and extremely well-written books, it is much, much easier to understand where his fiction writing is coming from. Yes, he has deep issues stemming from a very abnormal childhood. But to what a use has he put these issues! A stunning read!
Next came some short stories by Barry Malzberg, under one of his many pseudonyms, namely K. M. O'Donnell. One half of an Ace Double, the book was called Final War and Other Fantasies. They were all early works, and not my favourite thing to read, though a few them were pretty brilliant.
Blish's Mission To The Heart Stars is a somewhat inferior sequel to his outstanding The Star Dwellers. This time we visit the Galactic Hegemony, which turns out to be a pretty disappointing bunch. The sequel reads like a really good Star Trek episode, and is a pretty good story. But I had expected even better things from this writer. There is a pretty good introduction by his daughter.
This completed another round of my series, so after reading the Verne novel mentioned above, I restarted with Silverberg. Those Who Watch is a pretty tense read, about three benign alien observers (conveniently in human form) who crash land in New Mexico. The story of their individual adventures in survival makes up the story, and it's a pretty good one. One of the story threads is particularly good, the one where a young native boy from a Pueblo befriends the wounded astronaut.
Next came Piers Anthony's 2nd Xanth installment, called The Source of Magic. I am now more convinced than I was even after the first book that I am done with series. That will save me reading about 40 of his books. They are his most popular creations, so that should tell you something about the state of fantasy writing, and the author's ability to insert himself into it. Basically the series is one long joke. And only one joke. After over 700 pages now of hearing the same joke, I think I can safely say stay away from this series. I'm surprised it's not a major motion picture franchise.
In movie news, my pick for the week was another film by Fassbinder. Beware Of A Holy Whore is from 1970, his 5th film, and chronicles the making of a movie in an exotic location. Part avant-garde theatre and part cinematic experimentation, it's filmed in glorious colour. Fassbinder again stars in it, as assistant director. Despite some painful moments, it is quite watchable, and might be his best film so far. Though that is not saying a lot. He was so prolific that I doubt I will get through his entire oevre, but I will keep at it. We also watched part 6 of Berlin Alexanderplatz, which gets more painful with each episode.
Now showing on Criterion.
Next up, my summer in Africa.
Mapman Mike
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