It was a foggy and mild New Year's Day here at the Homestead, and the ships along the Detroit River sounded mournful as they passed by. If one is looking towards hopeful new things for 2023, today's weather will not be very inspiring. Even so, this is typical weather for us at this time. We have seen more foggy New Year's Eves than any other type. Last weekend was the coldest and windiest it ever gets here, whereas this weekend it's been raining since Friday, not to mention quite dark.
We had an enjoyable party for two last night, with wood fire, lasagna, some music, and talk of Olaf Stapledon's writing. That led us on a search for a recent film of his novel Last and First Men, on a streaming channel with a 7-day free preview. So watch for that review soon! And we ordered the blu ray disc of Aniara from Amazon.
In reading news, I begin as usual with the seven remaining authors of the Avon/Equinox SF Rediscovery series. Incidentally, that blog site of mine remains very popular with readers. Lately, someone from Hong Kong has been delving into my Michael Moorcock page, though most hits seem to come from the USA. However, recent large numbers of hits also came from Netherlands, Portugal, and Switzerland. Reliable author Robert Silverberg got things started for me with his 1990 Letters From Atlantis. Written in epistle format, it tells of two time travelers visiting Atlantis, sharing the mind and bodies of two natives of that ancient time. The book is also a prequel of sorts to Silverberg's Star of Gypsies from 1986. Though the present book can be read unaccompanied, it makes a decent series with the original. Incidentally, the method of taking over an earlier mind goes back to Olaf Stapledon in his first two novels. It is a direct ripoff of the earlier author, who continues to influence SF writing to this day. Letters is not a particularly good book, and teenagers would likely have trouble getting through it (a lot of the short novel is description of buildings, rituals, daily life, etc. in Atlantis.
Next came Alien Plot, a 1992 collection of 17 short stories by Piers Anthony. None of the stories are great, but a few are worth reading. My favourite was called Soft Like A Woman, from 1988, about a woman crew member of a secret military mission who single handedly saves the day. Also fun to read was a half page story called To The Death, about a martial arts expert challenging an ascetic to a duel. This was the first of 3 stories that had to be 50 words or less, and this one is very good. Revise and Invent is a very funny tale about a writer trying to follow various editors' advice to get his story published.
Kenneth Bulmer's Fox series continues to entertain me, being one of the best sea faring adventure series ever conceived. Bulmer's sense of humour and deadly irony are ever present , as well as enough action to satisfy any pulp novel reader. In Fox #9: Cut and Thrust we again spend a long time on shore between missions. When he is recalled to active duty, he is given command of a gunboat, and ends up saving a disastrous mission against the French navy. Most of Bulmer's writing is very consistent and top notch, and this book is a great example of that.
Book 3 of E C Tubb's endless series about Dumarest, a planet-hopping adventurer, is called Toyman, and is a good entry in the series. Like Bulmer, Tubb is usually a very reliable writer. We
now have the goods on the series, with Dumarest's character (such as it
is) mostly predictable in most situations. Even his situations are now
mostly predictable (he will have to fight a lot; he will never stay in
one place; he keeps searching for Earth, his home planet). In this
adventure, which takes place entirely on the planet of Toy, Dumarest has
travelled there to use their famous main library computer to find out
anything he can about Earth. People always mock the name of Earth,
saying it is a quite ridiculous name, while in turn living on a planet called "Toy."
Go figure. There are a few neat plot twists near the end, and a final symbolic
kick in the teeth for Dumarest, as he finally gets his wish to ask the
library for information about Earth. The fight scenes are some of
Tubb's best, and the finale in the maze is also quite well done.
Overall a worthy pulp fiction read.
Next came the first half of a large hardcover compilation of early stories by Jack Williamson. Spider Island: Vol 4 of the Collected Stories contains 12 stories, 9 essays, and many images. I read the first half in December, and will finish the volume in January. The stories, all from the mid 30s, range from the ridiculous to the barely readable, suitable for a 14 year old in the 1930s, perhaps, but not many others. Considering what Olaf Stapledon was writing in the 30s..... The main problem here is the one dimensional character, both good and bad. The Blue Spot is probably the most readable of the lot, as it at least has two strong female characters (always called "girls" in SF from this time). There are also two stories that aren't too bad from a type where the final explanation has to have no supernatural cause, but during the story it might seem that such was the case. One of them, The Mark of the Monster, is very much in the Lovecraft tradition, and does provide some chills.
Next came the first half of an Elric volume by Michael Moorcock. Two sets of four novellas are collected under two umbrella titles. I read The Stealer of Souls, which actually contained two excellent Elric stories read previously. The Dreaming City and When the Gods Laugh are both from 1961, and are featured in the Elric collection Elric: Song of the Black Sword (see above). Next came two novellas new to me, both from 1962. Stealer of Souls is a decent story in which Elric seeks help from his homeless kinsmen in
taking down an evil wizard. At first he is hired by merchants to kill
the most successful merchant in the city, but plans evolve. Lots of
magic, some grim fighting, and some humour. In Kings In Darkness Elric and his friend rescue a girl and agree to lead her safely home,
after her family and guards were attacked and killed (though most of
the mercenary guards ran away). On the way they take a detour through a
creepy forest, and have dealings with the murderous king who dwells
there. A pretty dark adventure. Elric ends up marrying the young woman
they rescue.
There was one other good Elric story as well, from 1962. The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams has a barbarian hoard bearing down on the city where Elric lives with
his wife. Well now, did those barbarians ever pick the wrong city to
molest. With cats, dragons, magic, and bloodshed, this is a worthy
addition to the Elric chronicles.
Last in the Avon/Equinox authors read last month was a brilliant early novel by Barry Malzberg called In My Parents' Bedroom. From 1971, this 125 page non SF novel was the author's way of telling
some of his personal story to readers when he turned 30. And while the
tale is autobiographical, it is also so much more. Rather than tell a
straight forward story of what it was like growing up with his parents
and sister in the 1950s and early 1960s, he takes us on a guided tour of the former apartment where they all lived. The apartment is now a
National Historic Site, and the Westerfield family has become the
picture postcard of a bygone era. All of the family's rooms are
preserved as they were, as well as many of their personal belongings.
Though Michael, as a family member, is not supposed to visit the home,
he takes his girlfriend on the half day tour. There are no surviving
photos of him, so he is not recognized.
The
tour begins in the main living room, then proceeds to the kitchen,
bathroom, and three bedrooms upstairs. By the time we finally get to
the gift shop and restaurant (a totally hilarious experience), we have
come to know the small tour group and guide as well as we now know the
Westerfield family and how they lived. There are many priceless moments
along the way, though most people who don't get Malzberg's dark humour
and cast iron irony will be left thinking that the book is shallow, with
too much sex. I am so happy that Malzberg is being republished today. Virtually all
of his literary works are again in print and available on Kindle. I
came upon this author just in time for my reading project. This
particular novel had not been available again until very recently. It is a
small masterpiece of storytelling, and besides showing the banality of
life "back then", we read it today and ask ourselves, has anything
really changed much?
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With the 7 Avon/Equinox authors' works read before the middle of December, I had time to read 7 more books taken off the shelf and from my Kindle collection of complete works of certain authors. I begin with the 2nd novel of Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry Trilogy, called The Wandering Fire. Still an early work from 1986, there are nevertheless hints of what was to come forth from this incredible writer. This 2nd novel could also have been called "Everything But The Kitchen Sink," as the author throws the entire Arthurian mythology into the soup mix. At first I found it quite funny and more than a little off putting, but once the magic settles down for a little while the premise becomes acceptable and fun. Not a great fantasy novel by any leap of the imagination, but miles ahead of most people writing fantasy garbage today, who seem to have learned nothing from their predecessors. The final act of reaching the enchanted island and trying to defeat the evil wizard is worthy of the best of Fritz Leiber or Michael Moorcock. I am looking forward to the concluding book in the series, and then moving on through the rest of Kay's books.
Cover of the month goes to Ted Nasmith's wraparound painting for The Fionavar Tapestry.
Next came some poetry and a novel by Vita Sackville-West. She was born at Knole House, Kent, a calendar house. It had 365 rooms, 52 staircases, 12 entrances, and 7 courtyards. She grew up there, but the house went to her younger brother on the death of her parents, something which she was quite bitter about (eldest son gets the goods). Two early poetry collections yielded a few gems. Constantinople is a collection of 8 poems from 1915, of which "Muezzin" is noteworthy. From 1917 came a larger collection called Poems From East and West. Two of these stand out: "To Knole," a poem about growing up at her ancestral home; and "A Creed," a poem which immediately sets her apart from most of mankind at that time.
Then I read her first novel, Heritage, from 1919. Told in three parts, as many books were then, it follows the life and love of a young man from the city and a girl from Kent farm country. Not a great novel in any sense of the term, it is still readable and enjoyable in its small scale tale of love lost, and then won. There are memorable moments, and no doubt it would make a good PBS TV series.
Next came George Bernard Shaw's earliest play, but preceded by two even earlier fragments of plays. The longer of these fragments is from 1878 (he was 22), called Passion Play, and is a very funny look inside the house of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph during his early years. Totally sacrilegious in its vocabulary and unstinting take-down of the great myth of Jesus (and especially Mary), it's a shame this was never completed. Of course it would have never been performed anywhere anyway, and he likely realized that at a certain point and just stopped writing. Well worth seeking out. Next came a short play fragment from 1889 called The Cassonne. There isn't much distinctive about this later work, of which only a few pages were written. Then comes his first completed play, called Widows' Houses, from 1892. It is a social commentary play, and tackles the tricky subject of housing the poor, and making money from the suffering of others. Parts of it are very well done, but the final outcome is rather unsatisfactory, as there is no easy answer to the problem. Still, it likely got people talking.
The Double Shadow and Other Fantasies is a 1933 collection of stories by Clark Ashton Smith, a writer who is much better than Lovecraft at certain types of tales, and far surpasses Robert E Howard. Lin Carter published most of his stories in his own made up thematic collections throughout the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, and Smith was one of the best discoveries I made at that time. So I am now reading the stories in the order they were published. The first three stories are among the best fantasy tales ever put to paper, equal to the very best Jorkens stories by Lord Dunsany. "The Voyage of King Euvoren" shows the influence of the Arabian Nights tales on a young Smith, especially the Sinbad tales. "The Maze of the Enchanter" turns the typical Conan story on its head, and the ending is so brilliant that I won't even discuss it. Let's jsut say that Roberet E. Hoard wold not have approved, though he might have laughed a lot. One of the finest tales of sorcery ever written. Likewise "The Double Shadow,"a story that pits a sorcerer and his apprentice against the oldest and most feared magic ever imagined. A horror tale like no other. Of the remaining three stories, only "The Willow Landscape" is worth mentioning. This is a much more gentle tale of magic and sorcery.
Stargazer is a 2021 Navajo mystery novel from Anne Hillerman, and it takes place in parts of New Mexico with which we are very familiar. It involves astronomy, too, so I enjoyed it even more. My one complaint about the main character, a female Navajo police officer, is that she is essentially given the characteristics of a child, rather than an adult. She drinks too much pop, eats burgers, doesn't eat any fruit or veg, and only takes pepperoni on her pizza. Her day to day thoughts are usually so mundane as to be almost scary, mostly concerned with her aging mother and somewhat wild younger sister. However, there are times in this book when looking up at the night sky seems to ground her a bit, and lift her thoughts to the more spiritual aspects of living.
Olaf Stapledon's second novel was written two years after his first, and has a direct connection to it. Called Last Men In London, it is from 1932 and perfectly complements his first one, called Last and First Men. Stapledon's works are worth seeking out for those of us looking for spiritual gratification in our reading. His books read much like what a documentary film is to viewers, and do not necessarily follow any traditions of what a novel, especially a SF one, should be. In this book, a future human from 2 billion years in the future returns to explore the mind of a man from London in the years before, during, and after the First World War. I eventually had to stop bookmarking pages, as I would have ended up bookmarking virtually every page. As much philosophy, ethics, and spiritual guidance as it is fiction, it is a must read book (though one reading will not be satisfactory). One does not rush through a Stapledon book, and I highly recommend keeping a notebook handy. One of the highlights, among many, is the section or chapter that has to do with the birth of a child, and following it through its early years. Priceless and unforgettable.
Lastly read was Jules Verne's 3rd novel (his 2nd was not yet available for my Delphi Collection), one of his most famous and entertaining ones. I first read Journey To The Center of the Earth (1864) as a young high school student, perhaps age 15. The title is a bit of a misnomer, as the professor, his nephew, and Hans never make it to the center, but the adventure is great fun anyway. There is a lot of humour in the story. The professor is a madman, and reminded me a lot of Beethoven (I also read a long chapter of his biography by Swafford this month). The book heavily influenced Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose Pellucidar series takes place beneath the Earth. Even as a boy, I liked how the book was slow to start, gradually building up to the trip to Iceland, then across the barrens to the mountain they would climb, and then descend within. Once underground, things happen more quickly, and the ending is one of the great ones from adventure writing at its best.
I'll be back soon with a film update, and any other news that's fit to print.
Mapman Mike
