A fine double cover by Fred Gambino. I read the Kindle edition with a boring yellow cover.
From 1978 comes the 19th Dumerest book The Quillian Sector. It is 158 pages long. This story has it all--a miserable mining planet, the Cyclan giving chase (this time hiring a bounty hunter to capture Dumerest alive), a space ship adventure and a crash landing and grim survival on a hostile alien world. Tubb went all out on this one, and it shows. It's a great story, though he is no closer to finding Earth. Other than calling it his home, he never gives any reason why he wants to return to his planet of birth, even though everyone else thinks it's merely a legend. He left it because it was a planet of no hope, so go figure. One of the better books of the series.
*** stars.
It's time to restart my Delphi Classics project, normally back at the "A" authors. But Kindle placed a recent purchase up front (before Anderson), so I began reading their Medieval Poetry Collection. First up was a poem by Caedmon, a dude from the 7th C. He is the earliest English poet whose name is recorded. He cared for the animals at a monastery in what is now known as Whitby Abbey. He worked there during the abbacy of St. Hilda (657-680). He later became a monk and Christian poet. Hymn is his only known surviving work and it is a praise in honour of God. It is only 9 lines long, so it doesn't take a long time to read. The collection gives a translation and the original text, then both together one line at a time for comparison. Pretty neat.
Next came three longer poems, two anonymous but the middle one is by Cynewulf, active in the 8th C. Entitled Christ I, II and III they are also called The Advent, which deals with the virgin birth of Christ; The Ascension, by our poet, and Doomsday. The first two are not that long, but Doomsday really gets itself in a froth and runs on for a good while. The translation is in prose, which is easier to read and understand, but the original is also provided, with counted lines. I actually enjoyed reading these, as it brought back memories of my childhood Catholic upbringing, which I ended up rejecting at age 13. Most enjoyable are the dialogue segments. For example in "The Advent" we hear of Joseph's trials as he is mercilessly hounded by his neighbours. Mary patiently explains to him about the virgin birth, the angel Gabriel, and who it is in her womb. Still, the guys are razzing him a lot. "The Ascension" is the better written of the three, being concise and sticking to its subject without belabouring it. Yet again it all sounds like SF to me, with a spaceship, advanced science and medicine and alien beings stopping by for a chat with the locals. "Doomsday" does give both sides of the story, as we are introduced to what will happen not only to the bad guys at the end of the world, but also to the good guys. Based on what I read here I sincerely hope I am one of the good guys.
Next up in this series (many months from now) is the William Morris translation of Beowulf. Though I've read it twice before, I am looking forward to reading it again.
Next on my reading list was Sherwood Anderson's 1923 novel Many Marriages. It was one of the oddest books I have ever read, satisfying in some ways and quite disturbing in others. The main character is John Webster, who relates much of the text and dialogue to the reader. His wife Mary, his daughter Jane and his new girlfriend Natalie are important secondary characters. A lesser role is played by Katherine, the housekeeper. John Webster is a somewhat successful washing machine manufacturer in a small town in Wisconsin. According to him he has been sleeping through much of his life, partially dead. One fine morning he suddenly begins to notice things, details he had never seen before. For one thing he had never really looked at his secretary, Natalie, before. He begins an inner monologue, with occasional out loud conversation, which will last throughout the entire book. It's like he has awakened from a lifelong coma and begins to feel alive for the first time since he was in college. He quickly comes to realize that he does not love his wife, but he cares for Jane, his 17 year old daughter. He decides to leave them both, and most of the book is his own way of doing just that. His reasons are valid; if he truly wishes to come alive he will need to begin an entire new life. He wonders later on if he is suffering from temporary insanity (no doubt he is) and that he will soon regret his new direction in life. He and Natalie plan to sneak out of town on a 4 am train and never return. The night before the big day he manages to get his wife and daughter and himself in one room, and he talks mostly to his daughter about why he is about to do what he is about to do. She slowly awakens to him, not really having known him at all before now. By the end of the novel she has grown up and matured a lot, but the wife is shattered. This is the disturbing part of the book, as no one seems to really care about her at all. This might still be one of the best books about a male mid-life crisis (or a male undergoing a bout of temporary insanity, likely both linked together anyway). The writing is incredibly good, and simple enough to understand what is happening here. I'm not sure who I could recommend the novel to, but I do recommend it. A unique style of writing on a theme that could happen in any marriage.
**** stars.
I move back into the "B" authors next with J. M. Barrie's 1891 A Window in Thrums. The book is in 22 short chapters, each telling a short story without necessarily being linked, except by the characters, to the one before or after. They are like individual jewels in a small crown and are eminently worth reading. The narrator is a man who stays at the house atop the brae, overlooking the village of Thrums. His observations provide us with everything we need to know about Jess, the invalid woman who sits in her chair each day by a small window, observing life as it passes by.
From what she observes she pretty much knows everything that goes on in her environs. Her husband is Hendry, their daughter is Leeby and the living son is Jamie, a friend to our narrator. Jamie is way off in London finding his place in the world, but visits home for two weeks each summer. Joey, her first son, was killed when he was ten, run over by a cart. Jess never got over that loss. Many of the stories are humourous, a few are tragic and others get across everyday life in a way that I have never experienced before. Jess is wise and very observant, but also a bit too close to Jamie. The novel ends in a tragic manner, but by then we have experienced entire lifetimes of the folk being discussed. I really enjoyed reading this book. *** 1/2 stars.
J. K. Bangs' A Rebellious Heroine is from 1896. This is quite a fun romp through the world of 4th dimension writing. Bangs tells us of a writer who receives a badly needed commission for a romance novel and sets out to create his masterpiece. He soon has a big hurdle to overcome; his heroine is not one to take matters as they come. She comes to life from the page and makes things very difficult for the author, who has big plans for her, including marriage. She stands up for her rights and refuses many of the actions intended for her by the writer. For its time this is quite a good version of early women's rights, as the heroine does not buckle until the end. But by then she had got exactly what and whom she wants. A most amusing novel, quite short and easy and fun to read. *** 1/2 stars.
Next came the 3rd book in Asimov's Foundation trilogy. Second Foundation was published in 1953 and caps off the original series, though other books do follow. I really enjoyed reading the third novel, but beware. The ending is a bit like the solution to an Agatha Christie novel. The main plot concerns the continued search for the Second Foundation. At four different answers appear for this question, and all seem practical. The reader is led on a wild goose chase before the final final final answer is revealed. And it is a surprise! Not only where they are but who they are. The series still holds up pretty well today, and I can recommend it not only to lovers of classic Sf, but also to modern readers who may have been left more than confused by the Apple TV series of 30 episodes (so far). I think I liked the third book best of all. *** 1/2 stars.
Ann Hillerman's 2025 novel Shadow of the Solstice continues the story of Jim Chee and Bernadette Manuelito, two officers of the Navajo Nation police department. This adventure takes place mostly in New Mexico, centered around the mines in the northwest corner in and around Shiprock. A secondary story takes place in Phoenix, with Bernadette's sister getting involved in helping NM Navajos return home after being duped by a phony rehab scheme. The two stories running side by side make it seem like two different books are being read, as there is very little contact between people in Phoenix and back in Shiprock. Both adventures are okay, though not great, but are based on real problems facing the Navajo Nation. Uranium mining in the 40s and 50s not only desecrated the land but made many native workers very ill. Once it was known of the dangers of uranium, that information was not passed on to the native workers. Likewise, there are schemes today to gather alcoholic and drug addicted natives to Arizona, where they are enrolled in phony schemes. The enlisters get money from the government but never aid the sick people, even keeping them on alcohol and drugs so they don't cause a stir. Of course Bernadette gets knocked out and nearly killed, and Chee gets captured, tied up and gagged and given enough dope to kill him. Somehow they manage to survive and kill the bad guys, all without doing a whole lot of paper work or court appearances. Joe Leaphorn is barely mentioned in this story. Not one of the best in the series.
Lastly came more essays by Stephen J Gould from his collection called Leonardo's Mountain of Clams and The Diet of Worms. I began a four-chapter section called "Egolutionary Facts and Theories. #1 is called "Non-Overlapping Magisteria" and discusses the Pope and Catholic Church's views on evolution. Because of Pope John Paul's update on Pius' encyclical, apparently there is no longer any conflict between Catholic teaching and evolution. The Church believes in the presence of a soul in humans, and since science can neither prove nor disprove its existence, there is no conflict in teachings. The Church accepts evolution, thus does not meddle in things that are provable. It was actually a pretty good read. Gould casts off creationists as largely an American fringe group who believe in everything the bible says, literally. There is no reasoning with such people.
#2 is called "Boyle's Law and Darwin's Details," stressing again on a point that Darwin was able to clarify and eventually overtake. Boyle believed that evolution, via God, ultimately led to perfection, with the top most end of it all being human beings. Darwin proved that natural selection, not God, did the work, and perfection comes from many failures and dead ends. So far I have found every single essay in this book to be invaluable reading for those curious about Darwin and current progress on defining evolution.
See you all next month.
Mapman Mike
