It was a short month of reading, due to an extended road trip. After hiking and/or driving much of the day I was usually too tired to read in bed at the motel, though I did manage to read one novel on the journey and begin another.
I have not completed reading all the Silverberg that is available to me. It seems that every month or so something old of his comes back into print, so watch this page for updates. His simplified recap of the 100 Years' War, or The War of The Roses: Challenge For A Throne, is
from 1967 and is 293 pages long. Suitable for upper level history oriented high school
students, it gives enough detail for the lay reader to get a good sense
of what all the usurping, backstabbing, and change of loyalties in
England of the 1400s is all about. It was a very confusing time, and
historically it lay the ground work for the subsequent Tudor reign of
England in the 1500s and beyond. Charts and maps help to keep things
understandable, and Silverberg's writing is easy to digest. Though a
lot more research has been undertaken of this troubled time since 1967,
the basic facts of who followed who and how they got to the throne
hasn't really changed much, at least based on the Wikipedia article I
read afterwards. Trying to remember all of the facts can be quite
daunting, though battles were few and everyday life for the peasants
didn't really change much, no matter who was King. It was the nobility that paid the price of
the civil wars, with the houses of York and Lancaster virtually wiped off
the map. Even today it is all but impossible to trace one's ancestry
beyond the Tudors, since so many previous families were summarily wiped
out. Such an interesting time, though I am happy to have not been
around for it.
From 1980, the 160 page novel Beasts of Antares
by Kenneth Bulmer continues the adventures of Dray Prescott at full throttle. The book
opens with an effective brawl at a small inn, and concludes with an
exciting life or death struggle with some escaped and very dangerous
lizard men. Prescott's life is seldom boring, and though he prefers not
to kill (he will usually put guards to "sleep", allowing them to wake
up later with a headache), he will do so effectively and quickly when
necessary. This adventure begins in the Vallian capital city, but Dray
soon leaves there to rescue three friends in a far off dangerous city.
Dray is an Everyman hero, usually going about his business with equal
parts humour and ferocity. He often manages to escape dire
circumstances without striking a blow, and these events are usually
quite funny and fun to read. Each adventure in the series can be read
as a separate stand-alone work, but it is much more fun to read them in
order. The series began with some weak points and frustrating events,
but Bulmer hit his stride here long ago, and the books are a delight to read.
Though filled with violence, there is no sex. Women are far from
helpless, too. There is often necessary nudity, but nothing crude. In
other words, the books can be read by older kids. Bulmer continues to
not only expand his world of Kregen, but to deepen our understanding of
it, too. A rewarding series to read.
Seetee Alert
by E C Tubb is from 1974, and is 111 pages long. Cap Kennedy and his aides must
save the Earth from a madman's scheme to destroy it. Sound familiar?
Remember, this is Tubb, one of the best pulp fiction writers who ever
lived to write. A routine plot turns into something quite special under his pen. Cap and his team are up against a complicated plan that
will use anti-matter, an asteroid, and a tunnel though space to rain
fire and destruction upon Earth. Cap goes underground in disguise to
try and figure out what is going on, and it takes him a long time to
figure it out. And when he does, there is little time to act to stop
the scheme. Tubb writes short novels, but they are so crammed with
action and plot development that they always seem an epic size by the time
they are read. Cap is a sort of James Bond of the galaxy, also a type
of Doc Savage character (with a team to match). Tubb is always rewarding to
read, and this entry in the series is no exception.
I have also read all of the available fiction and non-fiction by James Blish. Next time I will return to Michael Moorcock, at least for a time.
Outside of my Avon/Equinox SF authors, I managed to get through two books. The first novel, Roadside Picnic, is a book I have wanted to read for decades. Written by brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, it became the takeoff point for Tarkovsky's film Stalker. I read the translation by Olena Bormashenko from 2012, with an intro by Ursula Le Guin. The novel was first published in novel form in 1972. It is a truly amazing novel, nothing at all like the film. I've always had a love/hate relationship with the film. Tarkovsky is the best at creating environments and imagining spaces, though his storytelling skills leave a lot to be desired. Roadside Picnic gives us a real nitty gritty first contact story, where humans have encountered the detritus and litter left behind after an alien ship has landed, then departed. The authors' imaginations run wild with what has happened to the location where the ship had been, and the story reads as much horror as SF. Stalkers risk their lives to bring out alien artifacts left behind by the aliens, and most of them end up dead. The lead character, the best of the stalkers, ends up siring a child that resembles nothing ever seen before. We learn gradually what it was like on the day of the landing and departure, and it wasn't pretty. The zone is fenced off, but it doesn't stop diehard professional and amateur looters from trying their luck. A book that could easily be reread more than once. At the end is an afterword by the authors, detailing the painful process of getting the work published in Russia at that time. Sadly, it would likely be harder to do there today. A must read for SF fans, as well as lovers of the Tarkovsky film.
Lastly came my lone read this month from my Delphi Classics collection. Roderick Hudson, by Henry James, was first published in 1875. James considered it his first real novel, though it was actually his second. It is a sprawling work, published in three volumes in James' day, and running to about 400 pages today. It is a coming of age novel, one that exposes the pitfalls of growing into a man, as well as the opportunities. American Roderick Hudson has artistic merit as a sculptor, and Rowland Mallet, an independently wealthy man, offers Roderick a chance to move to Rome for a few years and work there. Away they go, and at first all is well. Roderick creates some beautiful sculptures. He had become engaged to an American girl just before leaving. When he meets a beautiful young woman in Rome, he immediately seeks no other existence than her company. Things proceed downhill from there, at first gradually, and then more precipitously. The main problem with the novel is that Roderick is a stinker of a human being, even though his artistic value is very high. And Rowland, his benefactor, who loves the girl that Roderick is engaged to back in America, is too much of a saintly presence. 95% of the novel takes place in Europe, much of it in Rome. James gives a good account of Rome in 1875, at least from an American's point of view. I found the novel difficult to become interested in at first, and even some of the latter stages made me yawn. But the author can get inside people's heads and express thoughts that rarely, if ever, are discussed out loud. The novel moves along at a fairly consistent pace, until the very end pages. The social constraints of certain women are dealt with well, despite all the wondering why they might be endlessly unhappy. Who wouldn't want to marry a rich Italian prince, a man who is kind, gentle, and forgiving of much? Well, perhaps someone who does not love him. James' dealings with artists is quite honest, as he shows more than one kind. Whereas Roderick burns hot or cold, we are also introduced to artists who work at their trade day in and day out, no matter what their mood might be. This is not a novel I would reread, but I have no regrets at having lasted through it.
Mapman Mike
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