July Books Read

 

From 1975 comes the 124 page SF thriller The Ghosts of Epidoris by E. C. Tubb.  For the third time Cap's old arch enemy Kaifeng is back and as bad as ever.  Kaifeng is the Fu Manchu of Cap Kennedy's galaxy, or the Master from Dr. Who's universe, a man who is evil through and through.  He loves to punish people who fail him, though in this story he admits that he failed at something yet doesn't mention any self punishment.  Could he be a hypocrite?  Once again the ancient Zeltyana race is at the forefront of Kaifeng's evil plan to rule the galaxy, as the evil one is using old alien technology to hide his doings from the rest of a planet's population.  Did I mention yet that he is evil?  Are there really ghosts wandering at night on Epidoris?  Or, is there a scientific explanation to what is happening and what people are seeing?  As usual, Tubb has a good SF premise and reasonable enough sounding explanation.  There is plenty of action, and even a bit of high culture talk between Cap and Kaifeng's equally evil female assistant, who harbours a bit of a crush on Cap.  My main complaint has to do with Tubb's ridiculous brief ending.  Less than half a page from the major climax the book suddenly ends.  No doubt the author wanted to bring back Kaifeng in a future story and didn't want to deal with his possible escape.  My secondary complaint is that any time relics of the ancient race are found, the bad guys get to it first and then Cap has to blow it all up at the end.  Seriously?

** 1/2 stars.

 

 

Original publication with cover by the great Jack Gaughan.

I read the Kindle edition. 

 

Next month I will return to Kenneth Bulmer's engrossing Dumarest Saga, but now it's time for more Delphi Classics reading.  Clark Ashton Smith was up next.  Smith has written some of the best horror and fantasy short stories I have ever read, so I always look forward to him when his turn comes around again.  This time its a collection of 14 stories published in 1948 under the title Genius Loci and Other Tales.  The first story is the title one, very much influenced by H P Lovecraft (Poe is another influence on this terrific writer).  A young artist visits a friend in the country and discovers a very dismal swamp.  He becomes fascinated by the atmosphere and strives to capture its likeness on canvas and in sketches.  Alas, the swamp has its own plans, not only for him but also his young fiancee.  Smith writes so much better than Lovecraft, even though many of his ideas are borrowed from him.

"The Ninth Skeleton" and "The Phantom of the Fire" are minor efforts but told well, though the skeleton story has some nice touches (no pun intended) and the fire story sounds like something supernatural that could actually happen to someone.

"The Eternal World" is almost a novelette, combining influences as disparate as H G Wells and Olaf Stapledon.  It is the story of a man who builds a kind of time machine and encounters two different kinds of intelligent life, a good kind and a bad kind.  It's the kind of story that Jack Williamson might have written back in the day.  Quite good reading for classic SF fans. 

"Vulthoom" is top notch Smith SF writing, as two men stuck on Mars encounter a much older and stranger being than the current Martians who trade with Earth.  In this novelette Vulthoom is a legendary god among the Martians, one who awakens every 1000 years, but as the two men discover, the godlike alien being is all too real.  As good as the story is, the ending is also one of the best.

"A Star Change" sees a depressed human approached by two aliens from Mlok while he is sitting on a mountain top.  They sense his depression and offer him a lift to their distant planet.  He refuses, but they later visit him in his San Francisco apartment.  He finally agrees.  On Mlok he has trouble adjusting to the new sensations.  Despite the friendliness of the aliens he spends much of his time shrieking in terror.  They perform some medical procedures on him and he is finally able to adjust.  Pangs of homesickness hit him, however, and he wishes to return to Earth.  He gets his chance when Mlok is invaded by a space born parasite, dooming the world and its people.  Meanwhile back on earth, his adjustments he received back on Mlok make him unfit for life on Earth.  Only Smith could come up with these bizarre but fascinating stories and their tragic endings.  Great stuff!

"The Primal City" is a great little horror story about two adventurers who trace down the location of a vast lost city in the mountains of northern India.  They and their guide trek for many days, at last coming to the ruins.  The city seems to have been made for giants, and was destroyed by some unknown force.  Soon, however, that force will make itself known once again. Only one man and one camel survive.

"The Disinternment of Venus" takes place in a Franciscan monastery in 1550, and is one of those stories that could easily have been a local legend.  A masterpiece of Roman sculpture is dug out from a monastery garden by two monks.  Afterwards, discipline breaks down and rules are constantly being broken.  Anyone who sees the statue is affected.  One non-viewing monk sets out to destroy it with a hammer.  He is found next day locked in the arms of the statue,  His body cannot be freed and he is buried forever with the statue and the garden is abandoned.  A terrific short story!

"The Colossus of Ylourgne" is a novella detailing the doings of an evil dwarf wizard seeking revenge on all those who wronged him in a small area of France in the early 1200s.  This is by far the best story of conjuring a demon-like being that I have ever read.  The gripping tale is filled with violence, both as the beast is being formed from buried corpses, and after it goes on its countryside rampage.  First two monks fro ma nearby monastery attempt to deal with the conjurer, but are sent back dully punished.  What I love about Smith's writing in this genre is that religious beliefs hold no sway over evil magic; churches are destroyed, the monastery is destroyed and many monks die as they pray.  A one time student of the wizard decides to give it a go, and while he pays dearly for his attempt, his eventual success gives the novella's climax a ring of truth and lasting freedom.  An excellent story and, like many of Smith's tales, would make a great film.  Highly recommended for sword and sorcery fans.

"The Satyr" is a short horror story about two lovers accosted not only by the woman's husband, but by Pan.  The cuckolded husband is the least of the worries for the woman.  Ever since my dream about Pan several years ago (I actually met him and he is a very scary guy), I suspect that this story and others like it are true.  Once again a terrific ending, and not a happy one (unless you are Pan).

"The Garden of Adompha" is another dark tale of black sorcery, with quite a hideous theme.  With the King's permission his cruel wizard grafts human parts onto various trees and plants in the King's secret garden.  This is one garden door readers do not ever want to open.

"The Charnel God" is another one of those stories about strange gods and customs.  A young couple stop overnight in a strange town.  She is cataleptic and has an attack and is pronounced dead by a local doctor.  Anyone who dies in this city has their body given over to the god.  Her boyfriend tries his best to rescue her, and he is unwittingly aided by a trio of body thieves.  A very unusual tale.

"The Black Abbot of Puthom" is a tale that Fritz Leiber would have greatly enjoyed reading, as did I.  Two body guards and a eunuch are sent to fetch a girl for the harem.  Her beauty is renowned and is coveted by the king.  The trip home is fraught with danger and adventure, as the four people are kidnapped by an evil sorcerer and brought to his monastery.  He wants to have his way with the girl but the two loyal bodyguards stand in his way.  A great adventure with even a touch of humour at the end.

"The Weaver In the Vault" (such great titles on some of these tales) 

 

Cover of the first edition (1948) by Frank Wakefield.

 

From a 1974 edition, with cover by

Bruce Pennington.
 

Olaf Stapledon is a very strange SF writer, likely well into the spectrum for autism.  If he was an artist he probably would be drawing those incredible detailed maps and drawings produced by people with such gifts.  Darkness and Light (1942) presents his best and worst case scenario for humans on Earth.  In past novels he has taken on the entire universe, with Earth as a mere dust mote in the grand scheme of things.  Well, this time he devotes the entire book to this dust mote and the people who dwell upon it.  Like a good Tarot card reading, Stapledon is not making predictions.  He is providing a framework for some grand ideas to be played out.  In the first half of the book we get the bad stuff.  Try to imagine the world in the near future if more Trump-like leaders emerge in the world's most important countries.  He does, and it isn't pretty.  In the second half of the book he provides a vision for Utopia, a vision that very few people today would ever accept.  Joining together for a common cause?  Ya, right.  Growing until we rise above consumerism and then leading more spiritual (not religious!) lives?  I don't think so.  As grand and hopeful as the author is, his first scenario is much more likely to happen, and sooner than most of us would want.  Stapledon's books could spark endless discussion, and they lead off in so many directions that a person could spend his life tied to any one of his visionist novels.  Even his best case scenario is frought with problems that defy correcting.  Well worth reading, but don't wait around for any of the good stuff to happen soon.

*** stars. 

 

Rabindranath Tagore's Fruit Gathering is a collection of 86 short poems from 1916, mostly dedicated to nature or god.  While reading these peaceful lines it's difficult to believe that the Great War was in full swing.  Many of the poems are worth quoting in their entirety, while others produce lines that are truly heaven-sent.  Often meditative, never frivolous, this is poetry with some weight holding it up.  A few brief examples: "I throw away all that is not one with my life nor as light as my laughter.  I run through time and, O my heart, in your chariot dances the poet who sings while he wanders."  "Cling to this living raft, my body, in the narrow stream of my earthly years.  I leave it when the crossing is over.  And then?"  How about this one?  "Let me not look for allies in life's battlefield but to my own strength."  One more:  "Let the mantle of tender darkness cover me in its folds, and cover my pain awhile from the pressure of the world."  This is good stuff, with nearly every poem offering up something of worth.  Recommended.  **** stars.   

 

Josephine Tey (1896-1952) was a Scottish author known best for her Inspector Grant murder mystery novels.  She has two of her books in the top 100 best mystery books of all time, including the #1 position! (The Daughter of Time).  The Man in the Queue is from 1929 and was her first in the Grant series, and her second novel ever.  She has a highly detailed style, always told from one perspective by the narrator.  The story is actually a police procedural, as we tag along with the inspector to try to solve a seemingly unsolvable murder.  Clues and witnesses are few and far between, and along the way the highly intelligent inspector makes several large errors, not entirely his fault.  This is one of those mystery stories where the evidence is so stacked against one man that we wonder all along if he did do it, and if not, then who?  Does the inspector solve the case?  Actually, no he doesn't.  But he has enough of a bad feeling about the arrested man to keep digging for evidence that might help him.  No luck there.  He strongly feels that the wrong man was arrested and will likely be hung for the crime.  To find out how it all turns out, read the book.  Tey has a witty style of writing also, and brings in some uncanny but perfect small details along the way.  There are even a few Holmes and Watson jokes.  Well worth reading for mystery fans.

*** stars. 

Brain Fruit by Stephen Oram was a gift from a friend following a recent visit to London, UK (thank you again, Caroline).  From 2025 it is a SF/Fantasy novelette published in hardcover format, something one does not see very often.  A limited edition, mine is 104 of 500.  The story concerns a bee, a bug and a piece of fruit trying to make peace with a village of androids, to the mutual benefit of everyone.  The closest thing to it that I have read before is T. H. White's The Book of Merlin, where readers get inside the lives of wild geese and later an ant colony.  I think that very often individual short stories and novelettes can get lost in 'collections' of same.  Publications like this one are not cheap and likely have very limited numbers of buyers.  But it is refreshing to see original short works receive what one might term royal treatment.  Worth reading, but good luck finding a copy.

*** 1/2 stars. 

 

After recently watching 30 episodes of Apple TV's Foundation series, it was finally time to reread the books (it's been decades).  The first novel, Foundation, is from 1951.  I read this series as a teen and remembered very little of it, except that music plays a major role somewhere.  Not in book 1.  There are two main flaws with this first novel.  The first is that it's not really a science fiction novel.  It's mostly a political story, with traders and phony priests mixed in.  The second problem is an almost complete lack of female characters.  The only woman with speaking lines is a shrewish wife after more riches and more power, and she is a very minor character.  The TV series at least made the story more science fiction than the novel, and they did add several important female characters, badly needed.  However, they totally destroyed Asimov's story.  They muddled it badly.  After watching 30 episodes I can honestly say that I don't know what the hell is going on, or who is who or why this happens.  It's a great series to look at, but it has very little skill at telling a story.  Asimov's book is very clear cut and makes perfect sense, at least.  I somewhat enjoyed the book, more than the series.  *** stars.  

 

I am reading the Kindle editions. 

 

I finished off the month with two more evolution essays by Stephen Jay Gould, finishing a 3-chapter section called Human Prehistory.  "A Lesson From the Old Masters" refers again to prehistoric cave painting, specifically a few depictions of a giant deer, and how the discovery of this art helped bolster evolutionary theory and tie up a loose end or two.  In "Our Unusual Unity" Gould takes on biases that insist that evolutionary progress is linear, something the author consistently argues against.  In a linear theory only one type of humanoid can exist at any one time, like today.  Gould argues that today's unity is not the norm, but the exception, showing how bias can affect a scientist's theory even when evidence strongly suggests otherwise.  Bush theory says that several types of early man once existed at the same time, and may have interacted in some ways. 

 

See you in a month (or perhaps two) or so.  My reading time is slowly being reduced so I don't get through as many books as I once did.  We'll see how things go, but if you don't see an August summary, there will be one in September for sure.

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

 

 

Books Read June 2026

 

 I only read one book per month now from my Avon/Equinox SF Rediscovery series, alternating between Kenneth Bulmer and E. C. Tubb, though a few other related authors may still trickle in now and again.  In addition I read four books from my Delphi Classics collection and then one more not related.  I finished up with two essays by Stephen Jay Gould.  So, six books and two essays.

Scorpio Ablaze is #41 in the Dray Prescott series of fantasy novels by Kenneth Bulmer, who writes as Alan Burk Akers.  This is one of the poorer entries in the series, as Dray attempts to unify the rest of Paz against the evil fish heads. The fish heads are the Daleks of this world, mostly one-dimensional mass murderers.  This reader is growing quite sick of them.  Once again there are epic battles, including a pretty decent air ship versus airship one.  The highlight of the book is the reunification of Dray with Delia and the rest of his main buddies, an invincible group of allies if ever there was one.  But Bulmer once again relies on yet another evil wizard to thwart Dray's plans, as if the fish heads weren't enough.  How many times has Dray had to defeat an evil sorcerer or sorceress in this series, one who is backing the bad guys?  It grows thin after six or seven times.  And, unashamedly, there is no ending to this book.  Dray is once again captured by the Star Lords and whirled out of his most recent crisis--Delia has been captured by the fish heads and he was giving chase.  Really?  Yawn. ** stars. 

Next up came another ten stories by Edgar Allen Poe, one of them a novella.  Many of these stories from the 1830s aren't that famous, though a few are and a few more should be.  Several of them show Poe's predilection for humour at the time, though a few are very serious from beginning to end.  Lionizing was a quite funny account of a man born with a unique nose, which he puts to his advantage during his life.

  

Henry Clarke's illustration for Lionizing.  

 

There follows a SF adventure novella in what would inspire Jules Verne.  Using junk science of his day Poe writes The Unparalled Adventures of One Hans Pfall, a humourous account from 1835 of a man's journey to the moon via balloon.  Filled with some very funny parts, the more serious science bits often resembles Verne's later writing.  I enjoyed this story a lot!

The finest story of the ten came next.  King Pest is a macabre tale of two sailors, one extremely tall and thin and the other very short and stout.  They stumble into a meeting of a very unique society, barely escaping with their lives.  Part horror and part fantasy, we again see a direct connection between Poe and a future writer: this story could be called the origin of Fritz Leiber's Faffrd and Gray Mouser tales, among the best fantasy every written.

The Shadow is a very short story about the shadow of death visiting a group of carousing friends.  Yet again we can see from this tale Poe's influence on yet another future writer: Lord Dunsany.

Four Beasts In One is a very funny tale of a time and place long ago (Antioch), in which the king in full giraffe costume parades for his people.  Elsewhere, the tame lions and panthers stroll among the people without causing alarm or harming anyone.  Until they spot that prancing giraffe...

Mystification is classic Poe showing his wit and humour to great effect.  The writing is high level.  When a certain Baron Ritner is insulted by a fool of a guest, he gets back at him in a most unique and refined way.  Rich reading.

Silence is the tale told by a Demon to the narrator about a dreary region in Libya where he watched a man amidst the solitude.  The description of what occurs there stirs the narrator greatly, but he incurs the anger of the Demon by not laughing at the tale.  Strange but very atmospheric.

 

 

 From Poe's Silence, by Henry Clarke. 

 

Ligeia is from 1838 and is one of Poe's most famous tales.  It is a true horror story, and as I read it I could clearly hear the voice of Vincent Price.  This helped rather than hindered the reading. The final few pages are still among the best horror events ever written.

 

  

  Original Ligeia illustration by Harry Clarke, included in my Delphi Classics Kindle edition. 

 

Finally come two linked stories, both very funny.  How To Write A Blackwood Article is followed by the article itself, called A Predicament. An enterprising young woman, very well dressed and highly educated, talks with Mr. Blackwood about getting an article published in his magazine of strange events and occurrences.  He is very specific about how this should be handled, and the woman dutifully takes hasty notes, not always accurate.  This meeting is very funny in itself, as the things that Mr. Blackwood indicates would make for a successful article include the writer having to die some strange and original horrible death.  In the follow up story the woman does indeed die (in her article, at least) in a most strange way.  This is very original writing, however, it is also very racist as there is a black servant involved in the woman's escapade.

 

Swallowdale is from 1931 and is the second book in the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome.  John, Susan, Titty (Titania) and Roger are back for another summer vacation at the lake.  They waste no time returning to their beloved island to camp out and rough it in the wild.  Roughing it in England is a bit different than in Canada.  These kids would likely be eaten by a bear on their first night camping in Ontario, but on an island in England's Lake District they are free to store their food near their tents, and even travel each day a short distance across the water for fresh eggs and milk.  Roughing it indeed.  Nancy and Peggy, the two pirate girl friends of the children, are back, too.  What is amazing about this story, which is over 400 pages long and would likely take a child the entire summer to read (unless it rained a lot) is that there are no robbers or criminals of any kind.  Just six kids having fun and small adventures during their summer holiday.  While parts of the story might seem quite dull to older readers, the book does teach children all about camping, cleaning up after yourself and leaving your campsite as if no one had ever been there, responsibility towards one's siblings, and even quite a bit about sailing a small boat.  My favourite parts of the book had to do with the foggy day adventures the children had, including Roger's foot injury.  The injury is turned into pure gold for Roger, and he has his own adventure.  The children discover a cave, climb a mountain, have a sailing boat race and eat a lot of food.  It sounds like the perfect summer holiday.  Remember those?  *** stars.

 

 

I read the Kindle edition, which included all of the author's original art.

In the bottom right corner Roger (the youngest) is not being spanked.  He is having his

pants sewn from wearing them out sliding down a rock. 

 

I haven't had the best of luck with the novels of Vita Sackville-West.  Her Grey Wethers, from 1923, is a romantic novel in the tradition of Wuthering Heights, though far less effective.  Clare and Nicholas Lovel are the two main characters.  She is above his class.  He is a gypsy and has the reputation of being a bit of a rogue.  They have always got along, though they realize that their class difference stands in the way of their being together and living happily ever after.  She is 19 and he is in his late twenties.  He is a shepherd, among other things, and they spend days and days together on the Downs.  We are led to believe that they have a platonic relationship, sharing a love of nature and the openness of the country around their village, which lies within a prehistoric stone circle (the grey wethers).  Nicholas has a brother, Olver, who is simple-minded and devoted to him.  Clare lives in the manor house with her father, a doddering scholar who seldom ventures outdoors.  A nearby gentleman, Calladine, is at least 50 and has eyes only for young Clare.

The novel is divided into two books, the first one being quite long and mostly expository.  Book Two contains the main events, including life after marriage for Clare to Calladine, a meek indoors type who prefers reading by the fire to wandering the Downs, and also the marriage of Nicholas to village girl Daisy.  She is madly in love with him and gets him to marry her under a false pretence.  Neither marriage works in any way, shape or form, and eventually the two true lovers abscond to live a rustic life on the Downs, as they were meant to do all along.

Likely written for an audience of young ladies, hopefully it steered a few of them away from unhappy marriages.  Though readable, the book is hardly great romantic literature.  ** 1/2 stars.

 

Next came a Shaw play, Arms and the Man from 1894, first published in 1898.  It is a dated play, attempting to teach audiences at the time that war was not a glorious event, and that bravery in battle was something entirely different than what was thought then.  And yet, though we learned the truth about war the hard way two decades later, we still treat soldiers as heroes and believe that they don't really feel fear the same way as we normal human beings.  I feel at least as admiring of inner city school teachers, police and firefighters.  That is not to say that I have no respect for all the war veterans who saw action and suffered greatly, mentally and physically, but their profession is not the only one to be thankful for.  Anyway, Shaw's play remains a gem, and the fact that he can get such a serious message across through humour makes him one of my favourite writers.  **** stars.

 

Paul Aster's The Locked Room from 1986 is the third novel of his New York Trilogy.  While I liked the first one of the series, I did not like the 2nd one at all.  The third one is readable but I did not find any of it enjoyable.  The writing and story is very claustrophobic, like an annoying dream from which one cannot awaken.  It is also humourless.  Someone who is much better at this kind of thing (losing a grip on oneself) is Barry Malzberg, who, like Shaw, can have us rolling with laughter while digging deep into human psyche and psychosis.  Malzberg never achieved the recognition he so deserves.  I was also reminded in this novel of the superb writing and stories of Patricia Highsmith, especially the Ripley novels.  Now there is some great storytelling, again about losing one's personality by taking over someone else's.  Auster's way of telling a story seems to dull my mind as I read, whereas the other two authors mentioned above make me want to keep reading.  At this point I doubt I will pick up any more of Paul Aster's novels.  There is so much better to be found.  ** 1/2 stars.

 

I finished the month with two more essays by Stephen J. Gould's book of essays on evolution.  Pick up any one of his ten books of essays and read any essay and one will instantly be more aware of the reasons that evolution is important for us to know about.  I read the final essay in his section on biographies, about Vladamir Kovelevsky (and about his more famous wife, Sophia, a mathematician).  Vladamir contributed good science towards solving the problem of the evolution of the horse, a thorny issue back in the day.  As it turns out the horses of Europe were simply a branch of horse development, with the main activity going on in the New World.  It makes fascinating reading.  

Next came the first chapter in a section Gould calls Human Prehistory.  The first essay was about prehistoric cave paintings in France and Spain, and how early interpreters of the art, while agreeing on the extremely high quality of the wall art, tried to organize a chronology based on more primitive drawing becoming more and more realistic as time went on.  Gould points out the flawed thinking in presenting such a theory, especially when even earlier cave art was discovered later and proved to be the best art of the bunch.  This was a really good chapter!  The book I am reading the essays from is Gould's 1998 essay collection called Leonardo's Mountain of Clams and The Diet of Worms.

Mapman Mike