April Books Read

Not a lot of volumes were read this past month.  Two of them were quite long and one of them was very intense and required careful and somewhat slow reading.  I also enjoyed 4 nights of astronomy last month, which always cuts into evening reading time.

 

Fires of Scorpio by Kenneth Bulmer, #29 in the Dray Prescott series, is a direct continuation of volume 27, beginning where Dray has just come out of the mountain tunnels.  He becomes reunited with his friend, but is immediately dragged away again by the Star Lords to another location and assignment.   His main purpose now seems to be to interrupt the religion of the Silver Leem.  He arrives at a point where a female child is to be sacrificed to their god.  Of course he saves the girl, and the first part of the story is enlivened by the presence of the child accompanied by Dray.  She has a personality (she is just under 4 years of age) and adds humour to the proceedings.  The latter half of the story is more serious.  Dray is reunited with another warrior friend who is also a chosen one in aiding the Star Lords in whatever it is they are trying to accomplish.  They team up again and the adventures are nonstop until the end of the book.  Though they have managed to disrupt the religion, there is a lot more to do.  And on it goes....  Another solid entry in this remarkable series. 

 

 

From 1974 comes Eater of Worlds, the 126 page on-going adventures of Kennedy and his male cohorts.  This time they are assigned to a case where a prisoner who was being transferred escaped with help.  Many innocent people were killed, and so Cap is trying to find out why this prisoner, with only a year left in his sentence, escaped.  This is one of those rare truly SF stories.  The bad guys think they are about to dig up secret treasure from a lost civilization, and the escapee was the only one with the coordinates to the site.  The location is on a barren planet (we find out later why it is barren), in a sandy desert prone to fierce wind storms.  They discover that the "treasure" lies within a protective shell in the form of a skull (I wonder what that could mean?).  Once they get inside, a very dangerous type of alien life form is released, killing anyone it touches in its form as first a liquid, and then a vapour (after someone panics and shoots it with a blaster).  It begins to spread, and it's now up to Cap and his team to try and stop it.  This is actually a very good story, and would make an excellent SF film.   

 

Collecting Myself: The Uncollected Stories of Barry Malzberg is a 2024 publication and 259 pages long and contains about 35 short stories by Malzberg.  He also contributes a very brief essay at the beginning.  The stories move chronologically from 1970 to 2022.

 

Terminus East is from 1970, and is about the failed colony on the moon.  It is a violent story, and not that appealing.  ** 1/2 stars.

 

Making Titan is from 1970 and details the bizarre 6th attempt by humans to land on Titan, Saturn's largest moon.  Will this one fail like the others, or be the first successful mission?  Remember, this is Malzberg. *** stars.

 

Exploration is from 1971 and is a Malzberg special; no one else writes about how being in space makes you crazy so well as this author.  The captain of a Mars exploratory mission loses it. **** stars.

 

Conquest is a silly tale from 1972 about first contact, which turns out to be a test for the human candidate who will be sent out to greet the aliens.  *** stars.

 

Two Odysseys Into the Center is from 1972.  This one has some pulp fiction humour attached, which ups the rating.  *** stars.

 

Dreaming and Conversions: Two Rules By Which To Love is from 1973.  Another great story of insanity and its self justification.  Of course aliens are involved.  **** stars.

 

Conversations With Lothar is from 1973.  This story and a few others were to become the 1975 novel Conversations, reviewed above.  It works well as a very short story, but the novel is quite incredibly good.  *** stars.

 

Triptych is from 1973 and is as much a satire of pulp SF as it is an homage.  Several possible pulp novels are condensed into a few paragraphs each.  Entertaining to read, and I find myself wishing I could read some of those novels.  *** stars.

 

The Wonderful, All-Purpose Transmogrifier is from 1974, and is way ahead of its time, as it describes addiction to virtual reality gaming.  Dated, obviously, but at the time well ahead of itself.  ** 1/2 stars.

 

Revelation in Seven Stages is from 1980.  Malzberg comes up with quite possibly the most bizarre and unusual use for ancient Eygptian mummies ever conceived.  Funny and weird.  *** 1/2 stars.

 

There The Lovelies Bleeding is from 1981, and tells of a blossoming romance in the far future, where such liaisons have been much frowned upon until now.  Progress against the repression is slow, but gaining momentum.  *** stars.

 

1984 is a one page story from 1985, on the expected theme.  Not too successful, in my opinion.  ** stars.

 

J. S. Brahms is from 1985 and features Sigmund Freud undertaking a cognitive test.  A pretty funny story no doubt related to Malzberg's novel.  Music afficianados will appreciate the humour more.  *** stars. 

 

The Queen of Saigon is from 1987, a story about the Vietnam War as seen through the eyes of a Saigon prostitute.  Fine storytelling of a still touchy topic.  *** stars.

 

Ambition is from 1987.  A SF story in which a communications officer is responsible for the planet of Jubilation's inhabitants rebelling against the Earth invaders.  Offbeat and very short.  *** stars.

 

No Hearts, No Flowers is from 1989.  This is a funny mob-related story, where a casual social reporter thinks he has erred in mentioning a recent mob massacre one day before it happened.  He is summoned to pay a visit to "Bruno" and realizes his time is up.  But Bruno gives him more than he bargained for.  A fun read. *** stars.

 

Safety Zone is from 1990, a somewhat bizarre tale of a barfly and a man she meets one night.  A bit puzzling, but still some fine writing.  *** stars.  

 

One Ten Three is from 1991, and is one of the funniest stories I have ever read.  A race horse talks to a betting man and tells him he will win the next race.  The man bets $80.  Did the horse win?  In a way.  A truly wonderful story, and laugh out loud at times.  **** stars.

 

Dumbarton Oaks is from 1992, a story in which the devil is given tasks by the big boss.  A bit weird.  ** stars.

 

Gotterdammerung is from 1992, and is the story of a wizard who is visited by interested parties in finding the magic ring that was lost in the river.  The wizard is outsmarted, though the ring still remains lost. *** stars. 

 

Is This The Presidential Palace? is from 1992, a typical Malzberg story about an alien with an agenda meeting a human.  Quite amusing.  ** 1/2 stars.

 

It Comes From Nothing is from 1994 and is a spin on the end of King Lear.  Not a very nice spin, either.  In fact, kind of a cruel spin.  * star.

 

Sinfonia Expansiva is from 94, and is a somewhat sex-obsessed story that doesn't really work very well. ** stars.

 

Of Dust and Fire and The Night is from 1994, and is the author's take on the star of Bethlehem and three wise men.  It never hurts to throw the legend of the phoenix bird in, either.  A bit silly, but fun. ** 1/2 stars. 

 

Close-up Photos Reveal JFK Skull On Moon is from 1994.  A bizarre story where JFK ends up on the lunar surface, Elvis is now in France after having plastic surgery to alter his face and singing in small clubs.  He is being pursued by a 102 year old female fan who just birth to twins, who turn out to be JFK and Elvis reborn.  Marilyn Monroe reveals her unsuccessful pursuit of Elvis.  *** stars.

 

Getting There is from 2002 and is another powerful Vietnam anti-war story.  **** stars.

 

The Third Part is a view of Revelations as seen from the perspective of a southern redneck.  Most odd. *** stars.

 

Crossing the Border is from 2003 and deals with a man who has a sex change.  *** stars.

 

These The Inheritors is from 2006, and tells of the revenge of the insect world on humans, with a Jewish slant. ** stars.

 

The Passion of Azazel is from 2008.  A man who recently attended therapy and made a revealing discovery about himself make a golem in the form of a goat.  Inspired by a quote from Leviticus. ***1/2 stars.

 

Why We Talk To Ourselves is from 2011, and is a meditation on the 9/11 destruction of the Twin Towers in NYC. ** stars.

 

Richard Nixon Saved From Drowning is from 2014, as we hear words and thoughts from the not so great former president.  ** stars.

 

The Terminal Villa is from 2014, and was inspired by a quote from Dick Cheney, who had dramas while recovering from heart surgery.  Meant as a tribute to J G Ballard.  ** stars.

 

The Phantom Gentleman is from 2022, and has some musing of Malzberg on his upcoming "final Journey."  ** 1/2 stars.

 

January 2018 is from 2018, and isn't much of a story to end this pretty decent collection.  ** stars. 

 

Cover by Jeff Jordan.

Mother London is from 1988, a mostly disappointing novel by Moorcock that is 496 pages long.  It purports to give glimpses of London from the 1940s through 1988, mostly through the eyes of three people who survived by were greatly affected by the Blitz.  We get a pretty strong sense of what it was like to live under the threat of German bombs during WW II, especially the dreaded V2 rockets.  David, Joseph, and Mary meet in an institution some 15 years after the war.  Mary has been in a coma since she was 15, awakening at 30.  The three become very good friends, often interacting during the story.  The problem with the book is the storytelling itself, as well as Moorcock's complete inability to depict a troubled mind.  Both Mary and Joseph seem to have some type of psychic ability, and the novel is filled with italicized inner dialogues, sometimes of others near them and sometimes of their own thoughts.  I eventually learned to just skip over these sections, as they offered up nothing for the reader.  It's a silly attempt to be avante garde, or modern, and these passages often show just how clueless the author is about inner voices.

 

The storytelling is often divided into chapters that take place in a certain year, anywhere between 1941 and 1988.  The problem is that the chronology is completely messed up, with a 1970s chapter followed by a 1940s one, and then one from the 60s.  It destroys any kind of continuity the story badly needs to build up a sound picture of the main characters and their friends and acquaintences.  At one point we attend the funeral of a friend of David's before we even know who the person is.  Although I could go back and reread the novel and try to do it chronologically, the story itself and the characters are simply not interesting enough.  Much of the book is quite dull, and it was a struggle to get through it all.

 

With a title like Mother London, we get a rather superficial glance at the great city, possibly the greatest city of the world.  I had high expectations, but alas they were not fulfilled.  I found the parts dealing with the bombing and its aftermath the most interesting part of the book, but much of the rest held little to no interest for me.  I think much of that has to do with the way Moorcock (and his editor) chose to tell the story.  It's confusing enough trying to keep track of three main characters, but to have the time jumps interfere and confuse readers further, I found a lot of this book to be a waste of time.

 

Cover by Greg Ragland.

 

 

Olaf Stapledon's Star Maker from 1937 gives the reader everything.  Literally.  The full history of not just the Universe is here, but of everything else, including god (to humans) the creator.  Stapledon simply calls him Star Maker.  Stapledon creates not a novel in any sense, but a blow by blow description (highlights only) of life in the galaxy, in all of its myriad forms.  He imagines any kind of life that is even remotely plausible, bringing it into our minds as a done deal.  He explains the many pitfalls that doomed civilization after civilization on world after world, and how gradually the galaxy somehow (he explains how, don't worry) banded minds together and began a vast collective.  The author leads us by the hand as he gradually increases the scale of discovery until we have galaxy minds contacting other galaxy minds, and as the galaxies' lives come to their inevitable end, finally reach a state of total understanding.  

 

Stapledon goes on to then to describe the creator, the Star Maker, from his (he uses the masculine but by now we know what he means) own creation from pure matter, on to his juvenile creations, to his later masterpieces as he reaches his prime.  His final definition of the Star Maker did not please a lot of people, C. S. Lewis for one.  To this reader it is a totally brilliant concept, so far beyond and removed from the simplistic version of god held by most religious doctrines as to make it seem more than a possible answer.  Of course the author is limited to what was known about astrophysics in 1937 (stellar evolution is all wrong here, for one thing), but I think he can be forgiven this.  Considering this is fiction, his facts are pretty secure.

 

Stapledon influenced virtually every serious SF and fantasy writer, from E. R. Eddison, Jack Williamson, James Blish, Frank Herbert, Iain M. Banks, and on and on.  From this volume comes every story ever told, every story that will ever be told, and stories by the trillions that will never get told, due to a shortage of time remaining for our universe to exist.  The book, like his earlier Last and First Men, is all-encompassing.  Like it or not, Stapledon has given us a comprehensive and plausible history of everything that ever was or ever will be.  Rich reading.  A masterpiece.

 

Cover by Bip Pares.  I read the Kindle edition by Delphi Classics. 

 

Gitanjali is a set of 103 verses by Rabindraneth Tagore.  Written in Bengali in 1910, Tagore did his own translation into English in 1912.  He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 largely due to these amazing verses.  Ideally a person would read one of these a day for 103 days, and meditate on them.  Many are similar, though, and can be read carefully over a few days, as I did.  They can and should picked up at whim and opened to any verse.  Most of them deal with a human being trying to see and communicate with his god.  The verses made a nice follow up to Star Maker, placing human endeavour fairly high on the scale of evolution.  It's always nice to know that a few humans have made a significant spiritual journey during the short time allotted to us.

Prior to this came the short poem "My Golden Bengali," written in 1906 shortly after Bengal had been divided into two different religious states.

 

Mapman Mike