Again it was a mixed month for reading, with 5 clear nights of astronomy wiping out 5 nights of reading. I still managed to get through several books, a few of them quite long.
Beginning with Robert Silverberg, Starborne is from 1995, and is a novelization of a 1973 short story called "Ship-Sister, Star-Sister." I always have mixed feelings about taking a really good short story and turning into a full novel. Why do such a thing? Well, for one thing, it makes putting another novel out there a lot easier for the writer. And perhaps there is an inner pull to expand on certain parts of the story that were rushed over at the time of first writing. For this book, I go with the former reason. Silverberg was lazy, needed to publish his novel a year, and was likely burning out from writing so many great works lately, including his enormous Majipoor series. And besides, who would ever remember that short story from 1973? Ah. Welcome to the world of reprinting everything that certain authors have ever written. Hardly anything is hidden from view anymore, and indeed with the publishing of all of Silverberg's short fiction in a marvellous series of large edition paperbacks (see my first Silverberg page in this blog), it is so. In brief, then, the short story is pretty amazing. But the novel adds nothing much that is needed to enjoy the tale. Do we really need more background on the several characters aboard the first star ship sent out to colonize new worlds? Hardly. The best parts of the novel deal with the first two planets encountered that might be able to support human life. These parts contains wonderful SF writing, giving a good sense of alien landscapes, and teaching us the difference between what scientific instruments can tell us about a planet, and what human feet on the ground can tell us. If you cannot find the short story, then read the novel. Otherwise, the short story will do just fine.
The Tides of Kregen is the 12th book in Kenneth Bulmer's huge fantasy series featuring the adventures of Dray Prescott. Dray is now involved in a new series of adventures, and starting to learn a bit more of the strange powers that are controlling his destiny. He has been stripped of one of his most cherished titles, and must find a way to earn back his place among his warrior brethren. I have no doubt that he will eventually do it. A decent addition to the story.
From
1956 comes another short (118 pages) but effective western from the pen
of one of the greatest of the pulp writers of the 50s, E C Tubb. I wonder if the author
could have ever imagined that someone would read and review The Liberators (also known as "Vengeance Trail", a much better title), in
the year 2023. What remarkable times we live in. Not so remarkable
were the times that fictional General Grant lived in. A lone Confederate general
returns home after the war, to find that his plantation and home have been
burned to the ground, his parents murdered by rogue Union soldiers, and
his slaves have left the area. One loyal black servant remains. Joseph
gives readers the side of what it was like to be a slave, and Tubb
pulls no punches about the topic. Joseph is a great character, and he
and Grant embark on a search for the killers. Of course the five men
they are seeking are low life outlaws, and the story heads to a dusty
and thirsty small Mexican town. Into the saloon we go, and eventually
one of the men is found.
The
book has a tight focus, with a small number of main characters. The
action takes place in the saloon first, and then out in the wilderness,
where the rest of the outlaws are tracked. When the Indians make an
appearance, again Tubb seeks to educate the reader about their customs,
way of thinking, and ultimately hopeless situation that they face in
their battle to keep their land. Add to this the addition of a credible black
character (Joseph the freed slave), and the defeated Confederate general, and Tubb's novel
would make good reading even today, possibly even in a high school
English class, where the concept of vengeance, which is central to the
story, could also provide lots of room for discussion. A quick but decent read.
From
1978 (my edition is from 1986) comes this sprawling 378 page fantasy,
Gloriana, owing much to the Gormenghast books of Mervyn Peake, to whom this volume
is dedicated. Besides Peake, other influences could be Charles Dickens
and William Shakespeare. Think of Gloriana as a substitute for Queen
Victoria, living in the largest palace ever conceived. Gormenghast, as
sprawling as it is, would fit into one wing of Moorcock's palace, which
is in London. Also, think of some of the American colonies as still
loyal to England, as is Arabia, India, China, etc. The empire still
glows mightily.
Gloriana's
biggest problem is that all lovers leave her unsatisfied; she has never
experienced a proper orgasm. She has rooms and rooms of decadent
sexual inhabitants, to which she visits on whims. This is the first
main fantasy novel I have read that brings sex well into the picture,
and uses it as it probably is and would used; to gain loyalties and to
seal bargains, as well as for pure amusement. In that sense it harkens
towards the writing of Fritz Leiber. But like Leiber, the book uses
sex, but does not dwell upon it. Queen Gloriana soon has more problems
facing her than probably any other monarch in fiction or fact.
The
novel begins slowly (like Peake's series), but continues to build
throughout. There are perhaps too many characters for a single book,
even such a long one, but eventually most of them will become familiar
to the patient reader. There are so many surprises and twists and turns
to the plot that I won't attempt to convey anything of what takes place
to move the story along. But move along it does, to its rapturous
conclusion. The ending itself is one of the novel's biggest surprises. Certainly one of the best fantasy novels ever written.
Published in 2023, Collaborative Capers contains 25 SF stories that Malzberg wrote
with different authors. There is a short interview at the beginning
between the editor and Malzberg. The volume is 273 pages long. Most of
the stories are pretty short, with the longest being about 20 pages. It is
quite a fascinating collection, with Malzberg's voice sounding very
clearly in many of the stories, and more subdued in others. It is a
collection probably best read a few stories at a time, rather than at once, which is how I read it. Two stories are connected; the rest are
individual. There is a story about the Mona Lisa, another two about Van
Gogh's painting Starry Night (Stars Nit), one that mimics the writing of
Falkner, there is a tie in to Cheever, as well as a story about
Mozart. Of course the Kennedy assassination (attempt) is also in there,
and a few with Jewish themes. Many stories are light-hearted, though,
like the final one, sometimes have a serious underlay. All in all a
very worthwhile collection to acquire and to read. It is probably a good way to get introduced to Malzberg, or to enjoy him more if you find his solo writing too much to bear. There are several stories here to which I will eventually return.
That covers the five Avon/Equinox authors, my required reading for the month. After this I found myself footloose and fancy. First up came an early novel by Arthur Machen. The Secret Glory was written between 1899 and 1908, but not published until 1922. And the final two chapters were not included in that edition, nor were they published during the author's lifetime. It is a story about a schoolboy, 15, 5th form, at a public school. He is a loner but must face up to the horrors of such a life, of which he is ill suited. The story jumps back to memories he has of his late father, and their excursions into the forests and mountains of Wales. His father instilled a love of deep Nature in his son, and Ambrose has not forgotten those lessons. In fact, it is those past memories of walks with his father that sustain him and enable him to face the realities of day to day life at boarding school. While everyone at school finally sees him settling in after receiving a brutal caning, he is in fact in full rebellion. The story sometimes jumps ahead, as well, to his 18th year when he leaves the school, tries university for a half term, then virtually disappears from the map.
So many people face demeaning lives and are unable to fit into society. Ambrose is religious, but has been taught by his father about the older Celtic form of Christianity, which he can accept much more readily than the weekly trudge to chapel and the inevitable sermon. He keeps certain secrets of past events locked in his heart, and this clarifies his vision and sees him through his troubled years. A quite brilliant scholar, he realizes that what he wants to learn he won't learn at university. He is a very strange boy, and only an outsider would be able to understand him and what he seeks. This is a compelling novel and virtually required reading for those who feel that they don't fit in, and enjoy things that most others do not. His search for what he wants was actually completed at ten years, and he is able to use his past experience to elevate himself spiritually in the present. One gets a strong feeling that rather than turn out scholars, sportsmen, and jolly good fellows, the public schools in England at the time were great crushers of spirit and innovation. In Ambrose's case, he was able to stay above the worst of it, keeping his values and beliefs strong within him despite the best efforts of the system to beat them out of him. A recommended read.
Next up was the 2nd novel by Richard Marsh, Daintree, from 1883. I enjoyed his first novel immensely. The Devil's Diamond, also from 1893, was a funny and very original tale (see blog entry from October 1st, 2022). Daintree, on the other hand, is a tough nut to crack. In fact, it just might be the worst novel I have ever read. The story, in one sentence, concerns two sons who wish to leave the farm life behind them, despite their father's wishes that they carry on the good work. That's it; the whole enchilada. This novel has more bible quotations than the actual Bible. Seriously. Avoid avoid avoid.
I needed a reward, big time, after that. Dave Barry came to the rescue. Or so I thought. His first novel is called Big Trouble, from 1999. Barry is a very funny guy. There are plenty of funny things in this novel, which is a crime caper a la Elmore Leonard. But the pace is unrelenting, with things happening every single paragraph. And there are plenty of paragraphs. There is some good satire, especially about voting, and airport security (pre 911 days), and radio programs. But there is also a good deal of sadism, mostly aimed at women. And after a while the reader notices that the author is using the same few jokes over and over again (dog and toad get way too much mileage, for one example). So despite the rave reviews, and the book being made into a film, I would not give it more than 2 1/2 stars. The beginning showed promise, but ultimately I was left rather chilled and worn out by it all.
Lastly came a very long novel by George Meredith. Called by some the first truly modern novel, The Ordeal of Richard Feveral is an epic by any consideration. In many ways it is an astounding novel, and though somewhat bloated with prose in places, it does cut to the quick when needed. A baronet raises his only son under his own devised scientific System, hoping to turn out the perfect human to sit at his side and eventually take over the estate. Being separated from his wife, his view of women is not only very low, but he even leaves them completely out of his System. So when Richard, at eighteen, falls in love with the girl next door, things begin to go awry very quickly. Meredith has written a novel that was included in the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series called The Shaving of Shagput, which is how I came to know him. Last October I read his second novel, a brief and not very substantial affair. This, his third novel, has garnered several tons of literary criticism, which quickly becomes an entire study in itself. Definitely recommended. What an improvement in the relating of the eternal father/son struggle compared to Richard Marsh's effort, also read this past month.
December reading now commences with one of Robert Silverberg's final novels, The Alien Years.
Mapman Mike
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