If U feel really brave & daring, I've started -- yes -- another blog, called THE GAS NAZI!, located at www.thegasnazi.blogspot.com/ -- in an effort 2 confront some of my work-related Issues thru the power of comedy.
Some of my whining about work had bn taking over here recently, so I thot I'd Xorcise my work frustrations by making fun of them -- elsewhere. + I guess I needed a new challenge. Or a new Xcuse 2 write. Or something.
I'd bn wanting 2 do this 4 awhile. I was gonna create a new identity 2 ("THE GAS NAZI!" -- couldn't wait 2 make comments w/ that name attached), but somehow I missed the boat on that 1.
NEway, I'm sure U'll all wanna play along. I THINK it's funny. That's what I've got in mind NEway. Either comedy or outrage. Real Life can B pretty funny & pretty outrageous sometimes. & I've got some pretty good stories 2 tell after 6+ yrs of putting up w/ where I work.
& meanwhile, I'll try 2 get back 2 reviewing more music & books here. Really. Whether the sun comes back out or not. Which apparently it has Dcided NOT 2 do....
I should also note that THE GAS NAZI! is written in something MUCH closer 2 Real English....
More soon! -- TAD.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
"You Should Have Listened to Al"
I got hooked on Scottish folkie/art-rocker Al Stewart pretty early in my album-buying addiction, back in the days when I was buying things like THE BEATLES '62-'70 & the WHITE ALBUM & ABBEY ROAD, & Boston's 1st & Kansas's LEFTOVERTURE & Queen's NIGHT AT THE OPERA & Blue Oyster Cult's AGENTS OF FORTUNE, etc.
In fact, a mix of Al's YEAR OF THE CAT & Kraftwerk's AUTOBAHN helped inspire me 2 write my 1st short-fiction piece that ever got rejected NEwhere -- the story was called "Highwaymen" & was written sometime in early 1977.... (The 1st short story I ever had published was partly inspired by Pink Floyd's live "Astronome Domine" & Happy the Man's "Wind-Up Doll Day Wind" -- the story was called "Waiting for the Wind," was written in early 1979 & published in early '80, & Good Luck finding it....)
NEway, I heard "Year of the Cat" on the radio & liked the cinematic sweep of it + the guitar & sax, & I bot the album after Cing the kinda cute cat-themed album cover -- that was back in the day when my friends & I sometimes bot albums just Bcos they had neat covers ... *SIGH* ... Gryphon's RED QUEEN TO GRYPHON THREE & Genesis's A TRICK OF THE TALE would B good Xamples.
NEway. Bot the album & discovered it wasn't that much like the title song at all. What I mainly heard in a lot of it was a sorta desolation ... appealing desolation, but everything Cmd rather cold & distant, especially on songs like the spooky "One Stage Before," the ominous "Broadway Hotel," & the Dtached "Midas Shadow." There were also greats like the dramatic, mysterious "Lord Grenville," & the cinematic "On the Border," which shoulda bn a bigger hit. I was a sucker 4 "Flying Sorcery," which I thot was about Amelia Earhart, but mayB it was just about a girlfriend of Al's who liked 2 fly.
The album wasn't all great. There was thin, silly stuff like "Sand in My Shoes" & "If it Doesn't Come Naturally, Leave It" -- which un4tun8ly Bcame sorta the wave of the future 4 Al. What I mayB didn't realize then was that some of that distant, spooky sound I reacted 2 mighta bn provided by Alan Parsons' production. But I barely noticed production or musicians' credits back then, & on YEAR OF THE CAT they were down inna corner in teeny tiny type....
Sometime after that I grabbed a cheap copy of Al's earlier 1974 concept album PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE, & I think the 1st time I ever heard it was in the living room of my friend Thom West's house around Xmas '77. I have never bn able 2 get in2 the 1st side of PP&F, but the 2nd side's amazing: "Roads to Moscow" is more gorgeous desolation, w/ a steely gray Nding that will send chills down yr spine. "Terminal Eyes" is a cute psychedelic takeoff. "Nostradamus" is 9 great, swirling mins of guitar & moodiness about the prophet's predictions 4 the Nd of the world, & tho I coulda done w/o the opera singer at the Nd, the rest of it's almost perfect.
I resisted TIME PASSAGES when it came out in '78, tho I bot it NEway. I remember Bing disappointed -- it was 2 smooth, 2 slick, 2 close 2 Adult Contemporary/EZ Listening. The title song wore-out real quick. So did the follow-up, "Song on the Radio." It was obvious Al was developing a hit 4mula -- 6-min-long epics w/ room 4 a semi-wild sax solo in the middle. Hits were fine, but I thot it was 2 bad Al was getting homogenized in2 a hit machine so quickly.
This disappointment made me overlook the good stuff on the album: "Valentina Way" has a great guitar lead & is as close as Al ever got 2 rock&roll. "Life in Dark Water" is spooky & hypnotic. The portrait "Almost Lucy" shoulda bn a hit; very nice choruses. "Timeless Skies" sums up Al's songs & approach in 3 mins. & "End of the Day" is a pretty nice closer. But: "Palace of Versailles" is boring & "Man for All Seasons" is WAY over-written & wears out its welcome.
Good Al was VERY good, so I kept Xploring. Found a cheap copy of his '75 album MODERN TIMES -- his 1st w/ producer Alan Parsons. If PP&F was only 1/2 a success, MODERN TIMES showed mayB what Al needed was the push toward commerciality provided by Parsons. I still think MODERN TIMES is Al's best, most consistent album, w/ a 2nd side as great as side 2 of PP&F. The 1st side is standard+ Al, w/ only the lead-off "Carol" really hitting 4-star levels. But "Sirens of Titan" is a nice nod 2 Kurt Vonnegut, & the other 3 songs R good portraits: "What's Going On?" Cms 2 poke fun at summa Al's friends, "Not the One" & "Next Time" R companion pieces about breakups & lonely lives.
But the 2nd side, whoo.... "Apple Cider Reconstitution" is Al's best-ever piece of silliness, w/ a great rolling melody & marvelous meaningless choruses. "The Dark and Rolling Sea" is its Xact opposite, a tale of pirates & Btrayal w/ a very dark Nding. The title song is an epic about Al meeting an old friend in a pub & reminiscing ... only the old friend doesn't want 2 reminisce. I have my theories about what happens at the Nd (it's not real clear from the lyrics), but there's some Xcellent western-style guitar work from Tim Renwick that the song rides out on. A superb side.
I kept looking. Picked-up the budget-priced THE EARLY YEARS, featuring songs from Al's 1st 4 albums, but Xcept 4 the folkie ditty "You Should Have Listened to Al" & the almost-good "Electric Los Angeles Sunset," I couldn't get in2 it. Tho I was impressed that stars like Jimmy Page & Rick Wakeman played on these tracks, the songs just didn't Cm FINISHED, somehow. Something Cmd 2 B missing....
Al ditched Parsons & co-produced 1980's 24 CARROTS. Some of it was even closer 2 EZ Listening than TIME PASSAGES -- the minor hit "Midnight Rocks" reverted back 2 the old hit-single-4mula. But there was good stuff here 2, like the dramatic opening spy saga "Running Man," & the gorgeous folkie "Rocks in the Ocean," which shoulda bn a hit. Most of the 2nd side was pretty great, even the overlooked closers "Paint by Numbers" & "Optical Illusions." & then there was a classic piece of silliness, "Mondo Sinistro," in which Al Cmd 2 B making fun of himself & his obsessions, in a rather-2-effeminate voice....
Al followed-up w/ a 2-disc set called LIVE/INDIAN SUMMER, 3 sides live & 1 side of pretty 4gettable studio trax. But it didn't sell much, Dspite including a rather good live version of "Nostradamus" which incorporated a new oil-shortage-era # called "The World Comes to Riyadh." Arista Records dropped Al soon after.
I've only heard bits & pieces of Al since then. RUSSIANS AND AMERICANS included a sad farewell 2 a dead friend called "Incident on 4th Street," & a dumb then-current-news/topical rewrite of the '60s hit "1-2-3." THE LAST DAYS OF THE CENTURY Cmd kinda tired, but included another classic piece of silliness, "Red Toupee" -- sorta a "Mondo Sinistro, Part 2."
Lost touch w/ Al after that. Last I heard, he still tours, per4ming in small clubs & adding 2 his wine cellar. His CD-best-of SONGS FROM THE RADIO was pretty well-chosen, but the liner notes almost told me more about the songs than I wanted 2 know. The package DID include "Roads to Moscow" & the live "Nostradamus," tho nothing from MODERN TIMES....
If U've never heard Al, he's worth a try. Tho not as deep as Nick Drake & definitely not heavy rock& roll, if U're an art-rock or British folk fan, a lotta Al's middle-period stuff will likely do its magic on U....
In fact, a mix of Al's YEAR OF THE CAT & Kraftwerk's AUTOBAHN helped inspire me 2 write my 1st short-fiction piece that ever got rejected NEwhere -- the story was called "Highwaymen" & was written sometime in early 1977.... (The 1st short story I ever had published was partly inspired by Pink Floyd's live "Astronome Domine" & Happy the Man's "Wind-Up Doll Day Wind" -- the story was called "Waiting for the Wind," was written in early 1979 & published in early '80, & Good Luck finding it....)
NEway, I heard "Year of the Cat" on the radio & liked the cinematic sweep of it + the guitar & sax, & I bot the album after Cing the kinda cute cat-themed album cover -- that was back in the day when my friends & I sometimes bot albums just Bcos they had neat covers ... *SIGH* ... Gryphon's RED QUEEN TO GRYPHON THREE & Genesis's A TRICK OF THE TALE would B good Xamples.
NEway. Bot the album & discovered it wasn't that much like the title song at all. What I mainly heard in a lot of it was a sorta desolation ... appealing desolation, but everything Cmd rather cold & distant, especially on songs like the spooky "One Stage Before," the ominous "Broadway Hotel," & the Dtached "Midas Shadow." There were also greats like the dramatic, mysterious "Lord Grenville," & the cinematic "On the Border," which shoulda bn a bigger hit. I was a sucker 4 "Flying Sorcery," which I thot was about Amelia Earhart, but mayB it was just about a girlfriend of Al's who liked 2 fly.
The album wasn't all great. There was thin, silly stuff like "Sand in My Shoes" & "If it Doesn't Come Naturally, Leave It" -- which un4tun8ly Bcame sorta the wave of the future 4 Al. What I mayB didn't realize then was that some of that distant, spooky sound I reacted 2 mighta bn provided by Alan Parsons' production. But I barely noticed production or musicians' credits back then, & on YEAR OF THE CAT they were down inna corner in teeny tiny type....
Sometime after that I grabbed a cheap copy of Al's earlier 1974 concept album PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE, & I think the 1st time I ever heard it was in the living room of my friend Thom West's house around Xmas '77. I have never bn able 2 get in2 the 1st side of PP&F, but the 2nd side's amazing: "Roads to Moscow" is more gorgeous desolation, w/ a steely gray Nding that will send chills down yr spine. "Terminal Eyes" is a cute psychedelic takeoff. "Nostradamus" is 9 great, swirling mins of guitar & moodiness about the prophet's predictions 4 the Nd of the world, & tho I coulda done w/o the opera singer at the Nd, the rest of it's almost perfect.
I resisted TIME PASSAGES when it came out in '78, tho I bot it NEway. I remember Bing disappointed -- it was 2 smooth, 2 slick, 2 close 2 Adult Contemporary/EZ Listening. The title song wore-out real quick. So did the follow-up, "Song on the Radio." It was obvious Al was developing a hit 4mula -- 6-min-long epics w/ room 4 a semi-wild sax solo in the middle. Hits were fine, but I thot it was 2 bad Al was getting homogenized in2 a hit machine so quickly.
This disappointment made me overlook the good stuff on the album: "Valentina Way" has a great guitar lead & is as close as Al ever got 2 rock&roll. "Life in Dark Water" is spooky & hypnotic. The portrait "Almost Lucy" shoulda bn a hit; very nice choruses. "Timeless Skies" sums up Al's songs & approach in 3 mins. & "End of the Day" is a pretty nice closer. But: "Palace of Versailles" is boring & "Man for All Seasons" is WAY over-written & wears out its welcome.
Good Al was VERY good, so I kept Xploring. Found a cheap copy of his '75 album MODERN TIMES -- his 1st w/ producer Alan Parsons. If PP&F was only 1/2 a success, MODERN TIMES showed mayB what Al needed was the push toward commerciality provided by Parsons. I still think MODERN TIMES is Al's best, most consistent album, w/ a 2nd side as great as side 2 of PP&F. The 1st side is standard+ Al, w/ only the lead-off "Carol" really hitting 4-star levels. But "Sirens of Titan" is a nice nod 2 Kurt Vonnegut, & the other 3 songs R good portraits: "What's Going On?" Cms 2 poke fun at summa Al's friends, "Not the One" & "Next Time" R companion pieces about breakups & lonely lives.
But the 2nd side, whoo.... "Apple Cider Reconstitution" is Al's best-ever piece of silliness, w/ a great rolling melody & marvelous meaningless choruses. "The Dark and Rolling Sea" is its Xact opposite, a tale of pirates & Btrayal w/ a very dark Nding. The title song is an epic about Al meeting an old friend in a pub & reminiscing ... only the old friend doesn't want 2 reminisce. I have my theories about what happens at the Nd (it's not real clear from the lyrics), but there's some Xcellent western-style guitar work from Tim Renwick that the song rides out on. A superb side.
I kept looking. Picked-up the budget-priced THE EARLY YEARS, featuring songs from Al's 1st 4 albums, but Xcept 4 the folkie ditty "You Should Have Listened to Al" & the almost-good "Electric Los Angeles Sunset," I couldn't get in2 it. Tho I was impressed that stars like Jimmy Page & Rick Wakeman played on these tracks, the songs just didn't Cm FINISHED, somehow. Something Cmd 2 B missing....
Al ditched Parsons & co-produced 1980's 24 CARROTS. Some of it was even closer 2 EZ Listening than TIME PASSAGES -- the minor hit "Midnight Rocks" reverted back 2 the old hit-single-4mula. But there was good stuff here 2, like the dramatic opening spy saga "Running Man," & the gorgeous folkie "Rocks in the Ocean," which shoulda bn a hit. Most of the 2nd side was pretty great, even the overlooked closers "Paint by Numbers" & "Optical Illusions." & then there was a classic piece of silliness, "Mondo Sinistro," in which Al Cmd 2 B making fun of himself & his obsessions, in a rather-2-effeminate voice....
Al followed-up w/ a 2-disc set called LIVE/INDIAN SUMMER, 3 sides live & 1 side of pretty 4gettable studio trax. But it didn't sell much, Dspite including a rather good live version of "Nostradamus" which incorporated a new oil-shortage-era # called "The World Comes to Riyadh." Arista Records dropped Al soon after.
I've only heard bits & pieces of Al since then. RUSSIANS AND AMERICANS included a sad farewell 2 a dead friend called "Incident on 4th Street," & a dumb then-current-news/topical rewrite of the '60s hit "1-2-3." THE LAST DAYS OF THE CENTURY Cmd kinda tired, but included another classic piece of silliness, "Red Toupee" -- sorta a "Mondo Sinistro, Part 2."
Lost touch w/ Al after that. Last I heard, he still tours, per4ming in small clubs & adding 2 his wine cellar. His CD-best-of SONGS FROM THE RADIO was pretty well-chosen, but the liner notes almost told me more about the songs than I wanted 2 know. The package DID include "Roads to Moscow" & the live "Nostradamus," tho nothing from MODERN TIMES....
If U've never heard Al, he's worth a try. Tho not as deep as Nick Drake & definitely not heavy rock& roll, if U're an art-rock or British folk fan, a lotta Al's middle-period stuff will likely do its magic on U....
Monday, May 24, 2010
Nothing 2 read while I'm eating....
I know this isn't Xactly a world-crisis-level topic or NEthing, but has NE1 Out There ever noticed what a shocking shortage there is of books U can read while sitting up in bed eating dinner?
MayB this isn't 2 worrisome a topic 4 those of U who stare at the TV while U eat. But I'm not that sort, much of the time.
Or if U actually have a dinner table U can plop yr plate of food upon. Which I don't.
Normal rack-sized paperbacks don't work 2 well while U're trying 2 eat yr dinner in bed. Unless U pull yr knees up & sorta balance yr plate on yr belly -- then U can hold the book in 1 hand while U fork-in the food w/ the other, & stabilize the plate with yr thighs.
But what if it's a really thick rack-sized paperback? It's just freakin awkward.
Of course just about NE book will work if yr just munching a sandwich, but 4 discussion purposes here let's say U actually warmed up something in the microwave & R trying not 2 spill it while U try 2 read.
Then it gets a little hairier.
Summa my faverite books ever R those I can prop across my lap or whatever while I'm trying 2 eat, & they don't fight me or make me wish I could grow another arm & hand 2 hold the book & turn the pgs while I eat.
Large-4mat art books & refrence-style books R great 4 this. Hipgnosis's WALK AWAY RENE book of album-cover art is very good grazing reading matter -- colorful, lively, & there's some great jokes ... long as U don't choke on yr food. Roger Dean's VIEWS is even more gorgeous (more album-cover art), but there's way fewer jokes.
John Clute & Peter Nicholls' SCIENCE FICTION ENCYCLOPEDIA works equally well 4 meal-time browsing -- lotsa good info, lively opinions, & U prop it open & it STAYS IN 1 SPOT while U read.
Dominic Priore's Beach Boys/SMILE-album scrapbook LOOK! LISTEN! VIBRATE! SMILE! is also good 4 mealtime browsing -- there's plenty in it, it's actually packed full of info, & the large 4mat guarantees U won't lose yr place Btween bites.
The SALON.COM GUIDE TO CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS also gets high marks in this area, 4 its wide pgs & sprawling layout, & 4 the massive quantities of info & lively opinions within. It doesn't get boring & leave U looking 4 something ELSE 2 read 1/2way thru yr meal.
Nick Logan & Bob Woffinden's original ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ROCK also got high marks in this area -- I've browsed thru it so much over the 30-some yrs I've had it around that my copy fell apart LONG ago. Nicholas Schaffner's Pink Floyd bio SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS also gets high marks in this most-discerning, most-discriminating area of literary criticism.
David Leaf's THE BEACH BOYS AND THE CALIFORNIA MYTH & Byron Preiss's THE BEACH BOYS also get high marks in this area. So does a hardback copy of Lester Bangs' PSYCHOTIC REACTIONS AND CARBURETOR DUNG, Robert Christgau's various CONSUMER GUIDE books (my softcover copy of the '70s book fell apart AGES ago), Dave Marsh's Who bio BEFORE I GET OLD & his huge collection of 45 reviews THE HEART OF ROCK AND SOUL, Robert Draper's ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE: THE UNCENSORED HISTORY, Donald Clarke's PENGUIN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POPULAR MUSIC, & just a very few others.
The 4mat is key here: The print hasta B big enuf so that even a blind guy like me can C it while peering over my dinner plate. MayB this is why art & photo books work better, but I'm more addicted 2 large-4mat non-fiction.
1 book that definitely does NOT qualify 4 this list is the ALL MUSIC GUIDE TO ROCK -- 4 1 obvious reason: The print's 2 freakin small! I can't C it from over my plate; I've gotta put my nose right in2 it 2 read the 8-point tiny type. (It IS stuffed w/ lotsa good info, tho....)
Looking at my bookshelves, I see I have NO large-4mat novels, so none qualify 4 this list. Course I don't know of 2 many novels that R published in a large, sprawling, fold-open 4mat. Not 2 many that R published 4 grown-ups NEway....
What brot all this up is I'm about 2 go warm-up some dinner, & I have no idea what I'm gonna B browsing while I eat. Nothing new, obviously.
So here's a vote 4 more large-4mat books, books that fold open & STAY THERE, books that even blind guys like me can read while trying not 2 spill dinner....
MayB this isn't 2 worrisome a topic 4 those of U who stare at the TV while U eat. But I'm not that sort, much of the time.
Or if U actually have a dinner table U can plop yr plate of food upon. Which I don't.
Normal rack-sized paperbacks don't work 2 well while U're trying 2 eat yr dinner in bed. Unless U pull yr knees up & sorta balance yr plate on yr belly -- then U can hold the book in 1 hand while U fork-in the food w/ the other, & stabilize the plate with yr thighs.
But what if it's a really thick rack-sized paperback? It's just freakin awkward.
Of course just about NE book will work if yr just munching a sandwich, but 4 discussion purposes here let's say U actually warmed up something in the microwave & R trying not 2 spill it while U try 2 read.
Then it gets a little hairier.
Summa my faverite books ever R those I can prop across my lap or whatever while I'm trying 2 eat, & they don't fight me or make me wish I could grow another arm & hand 2 hold the book & turn the pgs while I eat.
Large-4mat art books & refrence-style books R great 4 this. Hipgnosis's WALK AWAY RENE book of album-cover art is very good grazing reading matter -- colorful, lively, & there's some great jokes ... long as U don't choke on yr food. Roger Dean's VIEWS is even more gorgeous (more album-cover art), but there's way fewer jokes.
John Clute & Peter Nicholls' SCIENCE FICTION ENCYCLOPEDIA works equally well 4 meal-time browsing -- lotsa good info, lively opinions, & U prop it open & it STAYS IN 1 SPOT while U read.
Dominic Priore's Beach Boys/SMILE-album scrapbook LOOK! LISTEN! VIBRATE! SMILE! is also good 4 mealtime browsing -- there's plenty in it, it's actually packed full of info, & the large 4mat guarantees U won't lose yr place Btween bites.
The SALON.COM GUIDE TO CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS also gets high marks in this area, 4 its wide pgs & sprawling layout, & 4 the massive quantities of info & lively opinions within. It doesn't get boring & leave U looking 4 something ELSE 2 read 1/2way thru yr meal.
Nick Logan & Bob Woffinden's original ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ROCK also got high marks in this area -- I've browsed thru it so much over the 30-some yrs I've had it around that my copy fell apart LONG ago. Nicholas Schaffner's Pink Floyd bio SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS also gets high marks in this most-discerning, most-discriminating area of literary criticism.
David Leaf's THE BEACH BOYS AND THE CALIFORNIA MYTH & Byron Preiss's THE BEACH BOYS also get high marks in this area. So does a hardback copy of Lester Bangs' PSYCHOTIC REACTIONS AND CARBURETOR DUNG, Robert Christgau's various CONSUMER GUIDE books (my softcover copy of the '70s book fell apart AGES ago), Dave Marsh's Who bio BEFORE I GET OLD & his huge collection of 45 reviews THE HEART OF ROCK AND SOUL, Robert Draper's ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE: THE UNCENSORED HISTORY, Donald Clarke's PENGUIN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POPULAR MUSIC, & just a very few others.
The 4mat is key here: The print hasta B big enuf so that even a blind guy like me can C it while peering over my dinner plate. MayB this is why art & photo books work better, but I'm more addicted 2 large-4mat non-fiction.
1 book that definitely does NOT qualify 4 this list is the ALL MUSIC GUIDE TO ROCK -- 4 1 obvious reason: The print's 2 freakin small! I can't C it from over my plate; I've gotta put my nose right in2 it 2 read the 8-point tiny type. (It IS stuffed w/ lotsa good info, tho....)
Looking at my bookshelves, I see I have NO large-4mat novels, so none qualify 4 this list. Course I don't know of 2 many novels that R published in a large, sprawling, fold-open 4mat. Not 2 many that R published 4 grown-ups NEway....
What brot all this up is I'm about 2 go warm-up some dinner, & I have no idea what I'm gonna B browsing while I eat. Nothing new, obviously.
So here's a vote 4 more large-4mat books, books that fold open & STAY THERE, books that even blind guys like me can read while trying not 2 spill dinner....
Saturday, May 22, 2010
The $6-billion cyborg
It has Bcome necessary 2 tell U about Frederik Pohl's 1976 science-fiction novel MAN PLUS. It's pretty clever. We liked this novel. We liked the sly tone in which it was written. We liked the know-it-all 3rd-person-omniscient narrators. We liked the happy Nding.
MAN PLUS is the step-by-step story of how astronaut Roger Torraway gets molded in2 the 1st man who can live unaided on the surface of the planet Mars. The cyborg-ized Roger Bcomes the 1st step in establishing a human colony on the Red Planet.
But in order 2 do that, Roger undergoes a series of surgeries that leave him looking like some kinda gargoyle -- w/ big, bulging eyes & bat-like wings upon his back.
It's not EZ. But Roger's a good, solid, strong, tough guy. He can adjust. He can handle the pain & stress.
As it turns out, all his friends & co-workers on the Man Plus project R good, solid, strong people 2. They give him a lotta support. Even the guy who's secretly sleeping w/ Roger's wife.
This is an intresting novel in terms of texture. It's almost Dceptively simple, involving, strait-4ward, low-key, Blievable & realistic thruout. There R only a coupla places where Pohl mayB shifts in2 melodrama 2 goose the plot along just a little bit. The rest could almost B an episode from that old TV show "The Six Million Dollar Man." Only better.
& summa the lines R laff-out-loud funny. Like what the changed Roger says in response 2 his estranged wife's reaction after Roger unXpectedly climbs in thru her bedroom window.
Or when the President offers 2 kick any ass that gives Roger a hard time.
We had read this novel 2wice B4 & weren't that impressed -- when it 1st was serialized in THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION in early 1976 we were carried along but got kinda bored. We needed more action in R SF back then, more fireworks. We re-read the book in paperback in the early '90s & were impressed by the sly tone & by the strong characterization, but were still kinda unNthusiastic. + we didn't really "get" the Nding.
This reading, however, rang the bell. Perhaps it's taken us 30+ yrs 2 appreciate the subtleties at work here. MayB we've just read more.
We don't think this is Pohl's best novel -- his book GATEWAY, issued a yr after MAN PLUS, is still R choice 4 the author's best work, & is among the top dozen-or-so SF novels ever, we feel. But this is pretty impressive work, in its subtle, low-key, sly way.
The Science Fiction Writers of America musta thot so, 2 -- they gave MAN PLUS the Nebula Award 4 best SF novel of its yr.
We were just grateful 4 the happy Nding. & there's an Xtra kicker at the Nd when the know-all 3rd-person-omniscient narrators R finally revealed. + there's room 4 a sequel, which we assume Pohl was never planning 2 write....
Pohl here makes novel-writing look almost effortlessly EZ, which we trust it is not. But mayB we should give it a try....
MAN PLUS is the step-by-step story of how astronaut Roger Torraway gets molded in2 the 1st man who can live unaided on the surface of the planet Mars. The cyborg-ized Roger Bcomes the 1st step in establishing a human colony on the Red Planet.
But in order 2 do that, Roger undergoes a series of surgeries that leave him looking like some kinda gargoyle -- w/ big, bulging eyes & bat-like wings upon his back.
It's not EZ. But Roger's a good, solid, strong, tough guy. He can adjust. He can handle the pain & stress.
As it turns out, all his friends & co-workers on the Man Plus project R good, solid, strong people 2. They give him a lotta support. Even the guy who's secretly sleeping w/ Roger's wife.
This is an intresting novel in terms of texture. It's almost Dceptively simple, involving, strait-4ward, low-key, Blievable & realistic thruout. There R only a coupla places where Pohl mayB shifts in2 melodrama 2 goose the plot along just a little bit. The rest could almost B an episode from that old TV show "The Six Million Dollar Man." Only better.
& summa the lines R laff-out-loud funny. Like what the changed Roger says in response 2 his estranged wife's reaction after Roger unXpectedly climbs in thru her bedroom window.
Or when the President offers 2 kick any ass that gives Roger a hard time.
We had read this novel 2wice B4 & weren't that impressed -- when it 1st was serialized in THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION in early 1976 we were carried along but got kinda bored. We needed more action in R SF back then, more fireworks. We re-read the book in paperback in the early '90s & were impressed by the sly tone & by the strong characterization, but were still kinda unNthusiastic. + we didn't really "get" the Nding.
This reading, however, rang the bell. Perhaps it's taken us 30+ yrs 2 appreciate the subtleties at work here. MayB we've just read more.
We don't think this is Pohl's best novel -- his book GATEWAY, issued a yr after MAN PLUS, is still R choice 4 the author's best work, & is among the top dozen-or-so SF novels ever, we feel. But this is pretty impressive work, in its subtle, low-key, sly way.
The Science Fiction Writers of America musta thot so, 2 -- they gave MAN PLUS the Nebula Award 4 best SF novel of its yr.
We were just grateful 4 the happy Nding. & there's an Xtra kicker at the Nd when the know-all 3rd-person-omniscient narrators R finally revealed. + there's room 4 a sequel, which we assume Pohl was never planning 2 write....
Pohl here makes novel-writing look almost effortlessly EZ, which we trust it is not. But mayB we should give it a try....
Monday, May 17, 2010
U never give me yr $$$....
Here's the flipside 2 Mark Shipper's PAPERBACK WRITER, which I reviewed here a few days back: Peter McCabe & Robert D. Schonfeld's APPLE TO THE CORE (1972) purports 2 B a book about the financial & bizness troubles that broke up the Beatles, centering on their mismanagement of the chaotic Apple Records label.
But it takes the authors 80 pgs 2 even talk about what happened at Apple. The 1st 1/3rd of the book recounts the Beatles' story & how central their late mgr Brian Epstein was 2 their early success. McCabe & Schonfeld's position is that 1nce the Beatles stopped touring in 1966 & Epstein died late in 1967, the Fab 4 Bgan 2 fragment & the troubles w/ Apple just made their breakup that much more inevitable.
The material on the chaotic day-2-day operations at Apple is actually pretty thin. Apple was a supposedly altruistic effort by the Beatles 2 discover & nurture talent they thot was Bing overlooked by the Ntertainment bizness. But instead Apple Bcame the best place in London 2 stop 4 free drinks & food, & sometimes more.
All this is Xplored in MUCH more hilariously shocking Dtail in Richard DiLello's screamingly funny THE LONGEST COCKTAIL PARTY (1972) -- in which U get a close-up look at all the drinking, drugging & theft that happened during an avg day at the Apple office. Typewriters, tape recorders, food, drinks, record albums, tin off the roof -- cars! All gone! & no1 knows where they went.
There's no question the Beatles got robbed blind -- that even the group w/ more $$$ than Ghod didn't have THAT much 2 give away.
There is brief discussion here about some of the talent that got away -- James Taylor, Mary Hopkin, both of whom eventually felt ignored by Apple. Un4tun8ly there is no mention of Badfinger -- 1 of the most tragic stories of the era, whose real story started long after this book was published.
The rest of the book follows the breakup of the Beatles partnership thru the English court system, & Dtails how people like music publisher Dick James, media mogul Lord Lew Grade & attorney Allen Klein in their various ways wrenched control of the Beatles' songs outta the group's hands. These R the early chapters in the story of how Michael Jackson Nded up w/ control of the Beatles' catalog & how John Lennon's "Revolution" wound-up Bing used in a Nike commercial.
Old Beatles friends & associates like John Dunbar (who introduced John 2 Yoko), Chris O'Dell (a 4mer Apple office assistant) & even 4mer Apple press officer Derek Taylor R quoted at some length, & don't come across very well, as if they still had some axe 2 grind yrs after the events. The authors Cmta almost have their own grumpy agenda, as if it's dirt-simple obvious 2 them that the Beatles needed strong, unified mgmt & that w/o it their eventual breakup was equally obvious.
This isn't Xactly an Njoyable book, if NE1 cares at this late date, but the business reporting is pretty clear, Dtailed & solid -- tho complicated. U may learn a few things about the Beatles U didn't know, but they'd all B from a business standpoint. The authors also may B among the few reporters who have good things 2 say about Allen Klein. I'd instead recommend THE LONGEST COCKTAIL PARTY, which is a LOT more fun 2 read....
But it takes the authors 80 pgs 2 even talk about what happened at Apple. The 1st 1/3rd of the book recounts the Beatles' story & how central their late mgr Brian Epstein was 2 their early success. McCabe & Schonfeld's position is that 1nce the Beatles stopped touring in 1966 & Epstein died late in 1967, the Fab 4 Bgan 2 fragment & the troubles w/ Apple just made their breakup that much more inevitable.
The material on the chaotic day-2-day operations at Apple is actually pretty thin. Apple was a supposedly altruistic effort by the Beatles 2 discover & nurture talent they thot was Bing overlooked by the Ntertainment bizness. But instead Apple Bcame the best place in London 2 stop 4 free drinks & food, & sometimes more.
All this is Xplored in MUCH more hilariously shocking Dtail in Richard DiLello's screamingly funny THE LONGEST COCKTAIL PARTY (1972) -- in which U get a close-up look at all the drinking, drugging & theft that happened during an avg day at the Apple office. Typewriters, tape recorders, food, drinks, record albums, tin off the roof -- cars! All gone! & no1 knows where they went.
There's no question the Beatles got robbed blind -- that even the group w/ more $$$ than Ghod didn't have THAT much 2 give away.
There is brief discussion here about some of the talent that got away -- James Taylor, Mary Hopkin, both of whom eventually felt ignored by Apple. Un4tun8ly there is no mention of Badfinger -- 1 of the most tragic stories of the era, whose real story started long after this book was published.
The rest of the book follows the breakup of the Beatles partnership thru the English court system, & Dtails how people like music publisher Dick James, media mogul Lord Lew Grade & attorney Allen Klein in their various ways wrenched control of the Beatles' songs outta the group's hands. These R the early chapters in the story of how Michael Jackson Nded up w/ control of the Beatles' catalog & how John Lennon's "Revolution" wound-up Bing used in a Nike commercial.
Old Beatles friends & associates like John Dunbar (who introduced John 2 Yoko), Chris O'Dell (a 4mer Apple office assistant) & even 4mer Apple press officer Derek Taylor R quoted at some length, & don't come across very well, as if they still had some axe 2 grind yrs after the events. The authors Cmta almost have their own grumpy agenda, as if it's dirt-simple obvious 2 them that the Beatles needed strong, unified mgmt & that w/o it their eventual breakup was equally obvious.
This isn't Xactly an Njoyable book, if NE1 cares at this late date, but the business reporting is pretty clear, Dtailed & solid -- tho complicated. U may learn a few things about the Beatles U didn't know, but they'd all B from a business standpoint. The authors also may B among the few reporters who have good things 2 say about Allen Klein. I'd instead recommend THE LONGEST COCKTAIL PARTY, which is a LOT more fun 2 read....
Friday, May 14, 2010
Some Bhind-the-scenes notes
IT'S GETTING BETTER: Spring has FINALLY arrived in Wash., apparently. The sun has bn out 4 over a wk, temps 2day R over 70, I'm waking up earlier & feel WAY better & more NRgetic, don't Cm 2 need as much coffee (only 2 big cups 2day). Cing the sun now & then sure makes a big diffrence. It's pretty amazing really. I thot the winter was never gonna Nd....
ON THE PHYSICAL PROCESS OF BLOGGING: 4 the past 7 mo's & 120-some posts I've bn thinking this is a great little laptop, if only I could actually type while it was on my lap. Haven't got10 there yet, but previously -- in order 4 the laptop 2 suck-up enuf Internet signals 2 actually transmit -- I've had 2 set the laptop up atop my old computer & type standing up. Which after some nites running my ass off at work WAS THE VERY LAST THING I WANTED 2 DO. But I did it NEway, Bcos 1nce I get in2 it I don't care if my feet & legs go numb as long as my brain & fingers keep working....
However, something's changed. MayB it's Bcos the weather's gotten much better, but the last few posts (since the review of PAPERBACK WRITER) have bn typed while SITTING AT MY DESK, which at least takes some stress offa my feet.... If this trend continues, now that I've gotten thru that massive science fiction-reading memoir, I might even try 2 condense summa my off-the-wall Air Force Xperiences, or even-more-off-the-wall Newspapering Xperiences. As long as the sun hangs around, look out. & speakin of memoirs....
ON PRESENTATION: 90-yr-old Frederik Pohl, 1 of the great writers & editors of SF, has bn writing a blog 4 awhile now, called "The Way the Future Blogs" (www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/). Fred calls it "an on-line memoir," since it's sorta a rough-draft 4 another autobiography he may write eventually, 2 follow-up his Xcellent late-'70s memoir, THE WAY THE FUTURE WAS.
Fred doesn't need NE publicity help from me -- his blog has already earned him a Hugo Award nomination 4 Best Fan Writer, 1 of the few awards he hasn't already won -- but I was impressed w/ his blog just cos he's so relaxed about it all. He's not worried about whether it's Great Art or even Deep & Meaningful, he's just having a good time w/ it, reminiscing about many of the writers he's worked w/ over the years (like Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke), & just writing whatever pops in2 his head on a particular day. It's pretty cool. I like his approach.
4 awhile I was all worried whether NE1 would read the babbling I do here, or share summa the same memries, or B able 2 relate 2 summa what I'm writing about -- or whether it was all just 4 mememe. It probly is. Ghod knows I don't have the material or Xperiences that Fred Pohl does. But I'm 2 the point now I'm just trying 2 get summa this stuff out while I still REMEMBER it. I figure NEthing that keeps me writing is probly a Good Thing. So: Full speed ahead....
COMING SOON, I PROMISE: More music....
ON THE PHYSICAL PROCESS OF BLOGGING: 4 the past 7 mo's & 120-some posts I've bn thinking this is a great little laptop, if only I could actually type while it was on my lap. Haven't got10 there yet, but previously -- in order 4 the laptop 2 suck-up enuf Internet signals 2 actually transmit -- I've had 2 set the laptop up atop my old computer & type standing up. Which after some nites running my ass off at work WAS THE VERY LAST THING I WANTED 2 DO. But I did it NEway, Bcos 1nce I get in2 it I don't care if my feet & legs go numb as long as my brain & fingers keep working....
However, something's changed. MayB it's Bcos the weather's gotten much better, but the last few posts (since the review of PAPERBACK WRITER) have bn typed while SITTING AT MY DESK, which at least takes some stress offa my feet.... If this trend continues, now that I've gotten thru that massive science fiction-reading memoir, I might even try 2 condense summa my off-the-wall Air Force Xperiences, or even-more-off-the-wall Newspapering Xperiences. As long as the sun hangs around, look out. & speakin of memoirs....
ON PRESENTATION: 90-yr-old Frederik Pohl, 1 of the great writers & editors of SF, has bn writing a blog 4 awhile now, called "The Way the Future Blogs" (www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/). Fred calls it "an on-line memoir," since it's sorta a rough-draft 4 another autobiography he may write eventually, 2 follow-up his Xcellent late-'70s memoir, THE WAY THE FUTURE WAS.
Fred doesn't need NE publicity help from me -- his blog has already earned him a Hugo Award nomination 4 Best Fan Writer, 1 of the few awards he hasn't already won -- but I was impressed w/ his blog just cos he's so relaxed about it all. He's not worried about whether it's Great Art or even Deep & Meaningful, he's just having a good time w/ it, reminiscing about many of the writers he's worked w/ over the years (like Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke), & just writing whatever pops in2 his head on a particular day. It's pretty cool. I like his approach.
4 awhile I was all worried whether NE1 would read the babbling I do here, or share summa the same memries, or B able 2 relate 2 summa what I'm writing about -- or whether it was all just 4 mememe. It probly is. Ghod knows I don't have the material or Xperiences that Fred Pohl does. But I'm 2 the point now I'm just trying 2 get summa this stuff out while I still REMEMBER it. I figure NEthing that keeps me writing is probly a Good Thing. So: Full speed ahead....
COMING SOON, I PROMISE: More music....
I 4got a few things.... (Part 5)
I probly would never have continued my addiction as a science fiction fan w/o doses of annual BEST SCIENCE FICTION OF THE YEAR short-story collections edited by people like Terry Carr, Gardner Dozois, David Hartwell, Donald A. Wollheim....
I got hooked by Carr's collections early. By late 1973 I was addicted 2 his BEST #2, which Xposed me 2 stories I might notta found NEwhere else, like Graeme Leman's hilarious "Conversational Mode" & James Tiptree Jr.'s spacey & disturbing "Painwise." Carr was a really reliable editor -- could always B counted on 2 include at least a coupla award-winning stories in his books, + some overlooked gems U might never find otherwise. Over the yrs summa the great stuff he reprinted included George R.R. Martin's "Meathouse Man," Bruce McAllister's "When the Fathers Go," Barry N. Malzberg's best story "La Croix (The Cross)," Connie Willis's shocking "All My Darling Daughters," Kim Stanley Robinson's great alternative-Hiroshima story "The Lucky Strike," Philip K. Dick's "Frozen Journey," William Gibson's "Burning Chrome," & many more. Carr wrote great story-intros & got chattier as he went on....
Carr started-out co-editing an annual Year's Best w/ Donald A. Wollheim 4 Ace Books back in the '60s. I tripped over these early in my addiction. Among the greats they reprinted were Roger Zelazny's "For a Breath I Tarry," Harlan Ellison's "A Boy and His Dog" (& mosta Harlan's other award-winners), Gerald Jonas's "The Shaker Revival," R.A. Lafferty's "Continued on Next Rock," Thomas M. Disch's "The Number You Have Reached," & more. Until the field opened up a little in the '70s, Carr & Wollheim Cmd like the place 2 go 4 the best stories. (Judith Merril had a wider range, but I didn't discover her Year's Best collections til much later.) But the team broke up in the early '70s. Carr carried on the high quality.
I thot Wollheim was a bit of a stick-in-the-mud on his own -- a good editor, but pretty conservative. Still, in his annual bests (started in 1972 w/ his own DAW Books company), Wollheim reprinted greats like Ellison's "The Deathbird" & "With Virgil Oddum at the East Pole," Michael Bishop's "Death and Designation Among the Asadi," Robert Silverberg's "Homefaring," Ted Reynolds' "Through All Your Houses Wandering," lotsa work by Tiptree, & more.
By the early '80s, Dozois was the man 2 go 2 w/ his HUGE Year's Best collections. These not only included TONS of stories (the series continues 2day), but a lengthy overview of the year in SF & a LONG list of Honorable Mentions. Among the greats he brot 2 my attn were Kim Stanley Robinson's "Green Mars," "Mother Goddess of the World" & "A History of the 20th Century with Illustrations," Lewis Shiner's "Love in Vain" & "Jeff Beck," Pat Cadigan's "It Was the Heat," William Gibson's "The Winter Market," Bruce Sterling's "Dori Bangs," Michael Swanwick's "The Dragon Line" & "The Edge of the World," Robert Silverberg's "House of Bones," Bruce McAllister's "Dream Baby," Karen Joy Fowler's "The Faithful Companion at 40," Gwyneth Jones's "Red Sonia and Lessingham in Dreamland," & many more.
A coupla yrs after Dozois got his big annual rolling, Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling adopted the same 4mat 4 the same publisher & started their annual YEAR'S BEST FANTASY & HORROR, which also featured lotsa great stuff. Tho they sometimes repeated summa Dozois's choices, they also reprinted lotsa Xcellent short work by Kathe Koja, Dan Simmons' stunning "Two Minutes Forty-Five Seconds," Michael Blumlein's "Bestseller," David J. Schow's "Not from Around Here," Greg Egan's "Scatter My Ashes," John M. Ford's "Preflash," Ian McDonald's "Unfinished Portrait of the King of Pain by Van Gogh," & many more.
I was also addicted 4 awhile 2 Karl Edward Wagner's YEAR'S BEST HORROR series 4 DAW Books, especially summa the later 1's where he got more adventurous, reprinting things like Gregory Nicoll's "Dead Air," twisted short pieces from tiny small-press magazines, & other off-the-wall stuff. But many of his choices never Cmd quite scary enuf, or I missed the point.
In the last decade, the place where I've bn turning 4 my short-fiction best-of fix is David Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer's YEAR'S BEST SF, now up 2 about #15 in the series. They sorta strike me as like the Dozois annuals only on a smaller scale: U can actually carry the book around w/ U. They've reprinted greats like Rick Moody's "The Albertine Notes," Cory Doctorow's "When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth," Alastair Reynolds' "Beyond the Aquila Rift," the Gwyneth Jones story listed above, & more. I keep looking 4 back issues -- which I had 1nce & stupidly sold-off when I needed $$$ a few yrs back -- but I don't C 2 many of the old Hartwell collections in used bookstores NEmore. MayB SF fans out there know how solid the books R.... I still look at the new annuals whenever they come out, at least long enuf 2 C who's on the contents pg ... even if I wait til they show-up at the 2nd-hand stores B4 I buy....
I got hooked by Carr's collections early. By late 1973 I was addicted 2 his BEST #2, which Xposed me 2 stories I might notta found NEwhere else, like Graeme Leman's hilarious "Conversational Mode" & James Tiptree Jr.'s spacey & disturbing "Painwise." Carr was a really reliable editor -- could always B counted on 2 include at least a coupla award-winning stories in his books, + some overlooked gems U might never find otherwise. Over the yrs summa the great stuff he reprinted included George R.R. Martin's "Meathouse Man," Bruce McAllister's "When the Fathers Go," Barry N. Malzberg's best story "La Croix (The Cross)," Connie Willis's shocking "All My Darling Daughters," Kim Stanley Robinson's great alternative-Hiroshima story "The Lucky Strike," Philip K. Dick's "Frozen Journey," William Gibson's "Burning Chrome," & many more. Carr wrote great story-intros & got chattier as he went on....
Carr started-out co-editing an annual Year's Best w/ Donald A. Wollheim 4 Ace Books back in the '60s. I tripped over these early in my addiction. Among the greats they reprinted were Roger Zelazny's "For a Breath I Tarry," Harlan Ellison's "A Boy and His Dog" (& mosta Harlan's other award-winners), Gerald Jonas's "The Shaker Revival," R.A. Lafferty's "Continued on Next Rock," Thomas M. Disch's "The Number You Have Reached," & more. Until the field opened up a little in the '70s, Carr & Wollheim Cmd like the place 2 go 4 the best stories. (Judith Merril had a wider range, but I didn't discover her Year's Best collections til much later.) But the team broke up in the early '70s. Carr carried on the high quality.
I thot Wollheim was a bit of a stick-in-the-mud on his own -- a good editor, but pretty conservative. Still, in his annual bests (started in 1972 w/ his own DAW Books company), Wollheim reprinted greats like Ellison's "The Deathbird" & "With Virgil Oddum at the East Pole," Michael Bishop's "Death and Designation Among the Asadi," Robert Silverberg's "Homefaring," Ted Reynolds' "Through All Your Houses Wandering," lotsa work by Tiptree, & more.
By the early '80s, Dozois was the man 2 go 2 w/ his HUGE Year's Best collections. These not only included TONS of stories (the series continues 2day), but a lengthy overview of the year in SF & a LONG list of Honorable Mentions. Among the greats he brot 2 my attn were Kim Stanley Robinson's "Green Mars," "Mother Goddess of the World" & "A History of the 20th Century with Illustrations," Lewis Shiner's "Love in Vain" & "Jeff Beck," Pat Cadigan's "It Was the Heat," William Gibson's "The Winter Market," Bruce Sterling's "Dori Bangs," Michael Swanwick's "The Dragon Line" & "The Edge of the World," Robert Silverberg's "House of Bones," Bruce McAllister's "Dream Baby," Karen Joy Fowler's "The Faithful Companion at 40," Gwyneth Jones's "Red Sonia and Lessingham in Dreamland," & many more.
A coupla yrs after Dozois got his big annual rolling, Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling adopted the same 4mat 4 the same publisher & started their annual YEAR'S BEST FANTASY & HORROR, which also featured lotsa great stuff. Tho they sometimes repeated summa Dozois's choices, they also reprinted lotsa Xcellent short work by Kathe Koja, Dan Simmons' stunning "Two Minutes Forty-Five Seconds," Michael Blumlein's "Bestseller," David J. Schow's "Not from Around Here," Greg Egan's "Scatter My Ashes," John M. Ford's "Preflash," Ian McDonald's "Unfinished Portrait of the King of Pain by Van Gogh," & many more.
I was also addicted 4 awhile 2 Karl Edward Wagner's YEAR'S BEST HORROR series 4 DAW Books, especially summa the later 1's where he got more adventurous, reprinting things like Gregory Nicoll's "Dead Air," twisted short pieces from tiny small-press magazines, & other off-the-wall stuff. But many of his choices never Cmd quite scary enuf, or I missed the point.
In the last decade, the place where I've bn turning 4 my short-fiction best-of fix is David Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer's YEAR'S BEST SF, now up 2 about #15 in the series. They sorta strike me as like the Dozois annuals only on a smaller scale: U can actually carry the book around w/ U. They've reprinted greats like Rick Moody's "The Albertine Notes," Cory Doctorow's "When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth," Alastair Reynolds' "Beyond the Aquila Rift," the Gwyneth Jones story listed above, & more. I keep looking 4 back issues -- which I had 1nce & stupidly sold-off when I needed $$$ a few yrs back -- but I don't C 2 many of the old Hartwell collections in used bookstores NEmore. MayB SF fans out there know how solid the books R.... I still look at the new annuals whenever they come out, at least long enuf 2 C who's on the contents pg ... even if I wait til they show-up at the 2nd-hand stores B4 I buy....
"Out in2 the Real World" (Part 4)
...So, while I may have slowly drifted away from the science fiction magazines, I didn't stop reading SF, I just turned more toward novels & short-story collections.
I read Robert Silverberg's brilliant THE BOOK OF SKULLS right after surviving Air Force basic training. While spending my 1st 3 yrs in the AF in San Antonio, Texas, I found 1 particular bookstore that had LOTS of old SF anthologies, & at 1 time I hadda pretty complete collection of old "issues" of ORBIT, NEW DIMENSIONS, UNIVERSE & some others.
ORBIT was pretty spacey, fairly Xperimental & obscure, not always understandable 2 yr avg high-school-educated fairly-intelligent frustrated-wanna-B-writer like me -- but ORBIT also printed occasional outstanding stories like R.A. Lafferty's "Continued on Next Rock," Kate Wilhelm's "Baby You Were Great," & Richard Wilson's "Mother to the World," along w/ pretty-good near-misses like Norman Spinrad's "The Big Flash." But folks who thot there was 2 much arty messin around in the avg ORBIT story hadda point.
NEW DIMENSIONS opened its 1st issue w/ Gardner Dozois's brilliant "A Special Kind of Morning," but I never read another story as good in NE other ish. Editor Bob Silverberg got all the stars -- Ursula K. LeGuin's "Vaster Than Empires and More Slow" (if U've seen AVATAR U should read this story 4 comparison) & "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," sevral above-avg stories by James Tiptree Jr., + Felix C. Gottschalk's best story "The Examination," Michael Swanwick's 1st story "The Feast of St. Janis," Barry N. Malzberg's "On the Air," Daniel P. Dern's "Yes Sir, That's My," & more. But there was never NEthing else w/ quite the awesome effect of that Dozois novella that set the series off.
Terry Carr's UNIVERSE was another Xample of his editing skill -- he started off editing Ace's "Specials" SF novel line in the late '60s. Carr found lotsa good stuff, including Lucius Shepherd's "Journey South from Thousand Willows," Harlan Ellison's "The Wine Has Been Left Open Too Long and the Memory Has Gone Flat," Howard Waldrop's silly "The Ugly Chickens," & lots more. I thot Carr was a lot more "playful" an editor than Silverberg or ORBIT's Damon Knight, but he could also make some really dark choices -- C if U can track down Carter Scholz's "In Reticulum."
Lou Aronica's later FULL SPECTRUM anthologies had greats like Norman Spinrad's "Journals of the Plague Years," Michael Blumlein's "The Thing Itself," Michael Swanwick's "The Edge of the World," & Kim Stanley Robinson's "The Part of Us That Loves," among other good stuff. But FS never had Carr & Silverberg's style of chatty author intros, & I missed that approach.
When not trying 2 collect anthologies, I was still grabbing novels that looked or sounded good -- Roger Zelazny's CREATURES OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS (1 of my faves Dspite a rough start & finish); James Tiptree Jr.'s BRIGHTNESS FALLS FROM THE AIR (really 2 Cute, but pretty moving); William Gibson's NEUROMANCER; John Brunner's THE SHEEP LOOK UP, an Nd-of-the-world/pollution novel which I read in clean, healthy San Antonio -- I shoulda read it in Ankara, Turkey, where I spent 2 yrs ('90-'91) & each smoggy winter I thot I was seeing a preview of the Real Nd of the world....
I read Silverberg's Xcellent THE MAN IN THE MAZE in 1991 while waiting 4 my daughter 2 B born in Adana, Turkey. In fact, I read more in Turkey than perhaps the whole rest of my life, cos there wasn't much else 2 do w/ my off-time, there was no American TV, & we were advised not 2 travel cos of the 1st Gulf War.
EVERYBODY on base hit the Stars and Stripes Bookstore 2 grab a newspaper or C what kinda new novels had made it over 2 us. & the bookstore was REALLY well-stocked 4 Bing 10,000 miles away from Home. We might not always have had electricity or running water or fresh milk, but we always had something good 2 read....
I drifted a bit from the SF while I was there, tho the bookstore hadda well-stocked SF section. After discovering her in the SF magazines, I grabbed a copy of Kathe Koja's stunning 1st horror novel THE CIPHER & knew I'd B a fan 4 life -- & a few yrs later she came out w/ an even better novel called SKIN, 4 me 1 of the best novels ever.
4 awhile I Bcame a big horror fan -- I'd had my moments B4, reading 6 Stephen King novels in a row while in San Ant, then tackling his epic THE STAND while in Turkey, & later the stunning IT while living in Wyoming. But I hadta give up on Uncle Steve after THE DARK HALF & NEEDFUL THINGS, Bcos somehow I just couldn't get in2 him NEmore. But there were other folks out there....
Read Thomas Harris's THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS while in Turkey (just days B4 the Jeffrey Dahmer case broke), then followed it up w/ Harris's RED DRAGON. Harris, Koja & Jack Ketchum (more about him later) pretty-much ruined my attn-span. 4 yrs my fave trick was 2 give up on a novel if it couldn't grab me in the 1st 50 2 100 pgs. RED DRAGON grabs U by the throat on Pg 1. Koja & Ketchum don't waste NE time either.
Peter Straub grabbed me w/ KOKO, THE THROAT & IF YOU COULD SEE ME NOW -- a book that Cms 2 get better, more Dtailed, more vivid every time I re-read it. It also Cms 2 ... change somehow....
Tripped over Gael Baudino's glorious GOSSAMER AXE while in Turkey -- it's a marvelous rock&roll fantasy. I've bn a sucker 4 rock novels ever since. Later there was Lewis Shiner's wondrous GLIMPSES, Nick Hornby's JULIET NAKED & Bruce Sterling's ZEITGEIST....
4 awhile I couldn't get thru an SF novel. Both Neal Stephenson's SNOW CRASH & Ian McDonald's DESOLATION ROAD required long breaks B4 I could get thru them -- & both were worth the trip. SNOW CRASH had everything I ever wanted from an SF novel Xcept 4 a good Nding....
I got thru Gene Wolfe's THE SHADOW OF THE TORTURER on 2nd reading but I couldn't get in2 THE CLAW OF THE CONCILIATOR, & I've given up ever reading the rest of Wolfe's BOOK OF THE NEW SUN series -- I'm afraid I might B about 20 yrs 2 old 2 B able 2 focus 4 that long. After reading J.R.R. Tolkien & Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series (not 2 mention much of King's work), I'm not really looking 4 NE more Ndless novels 2 eat up 3 mo's of my life. So I'm awaiting (much) more NRG B4 I try 2 get thru Kim Stanley Robinson's MARS TRILOGY....
...I like low-rent action-adventure/thriller Ntertainment as well, I've just never found that much. Edward Lee's COVEN (also read in Turkey) was good cheap, tacky over-the-top Ntertainment. Lotsa Jack Ketchum's work has Xcellent impact & drive, & U won't B kept up late pondering the Deep Inner Meaning of it -- I've Njoyed him since finding his chiller OFF SEASON 4 25 cents atta yard sale. U should also try Ketchum's HIDE AND SEEK, SHE WAKES, THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, JOYRIDE, THE LOST....
James Ellroy can also B very brutal & direct -- I've read his L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, THE BLACK DAHLIA & THE BIG NOWHERE multiple times & can guarantee they'll please detective/cop-thriller fans as well as horror fans....
I sometimes hava lotta fun w/ novels that Rn't Xactly masterpieces, 2. Edmund Cooper's SEED OF LIGHT (1 of the 1st SF novels I read way back in early 1974) is an Xcellent outline 4 an epic space novel some1 could write someday -- it's kinda sketchy, but there's just enuf in it 2 make it Njoyable. Mary Staton's FROM THE LEGEND OF BIEL never quite lives up 2 its cover or set-up, but if U like alien culture stories, it's pretty neat.
There's LOTS more -- it's a good thing I'm not doing a List. But I've 4gotten mosta the bad 1's....
...So I'm still reading this stuff. (Just finished Ian McDonald's Xcellent CHAGA last wk.) & still looking 4 more great stuff I mighta overlooked in my travels. NEthing great U'd like 2 recommend....?
I read Robert Silverberg's brilliant THE BOOK OF SKULLS right after surviving Air Force basic training. While spending my 1st 3 yrs in the AF in San Antonio, Texas, I found 1 particular bookstore that had LOTS of old SF anthologies, & at 1 time I hadda pretty complete collection of old "issues" of ORBIT, NEW DIMENSIONS, UNIVERSE & some others.
ORBIT was pretty spacey, fairly Xperimental & obscure, not always understandable 2 yr avg high-school-educated fairly-intelligent frustrated-wanna-B-writer like me -- but ORBIT also printed occasional outstanding stories like R.A. Lafferty's "Continued on Next Rock," Kate Wilhelm's "Baby You Were Great," & Richard Wilson's "Mother to the World," along w/ pretty-good near-misses like Norman Spinrad's "The Big Flash." But folks who thot there was 2 much arty messin around in the avg ORBIT story hadda point.
NEW DIMENSIONS opened its 1st issue w/ Gardner Dozois's brilliant "A Special Kind of Morning," but I never read another story as good in NE other ish. Editor Bob Silverberg got all the stars -- Ursula K. LeGuin's "Vaster Than Empires and More Slow" (if U've seen AVATAR U should read this story 4 comparison) & "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," sevral above-avg stories by James Tiptree Jr., + Felix C. Gottschalk's best story "The Examination," Michael Swanwick's 1st story "The Feast of St. Janis," Barry N. Malzberg's "On the Air," Daniel P. Dern's "Yes Sir, That's My," & more. But there was never NEthing else w/ quite the awesome effect of that Dozois novella that set the series off.
Terry Carr's UNIVERSE was another Xample of his editing skill -- he started off editing Ace's "Specials" SF novel line in the late '60s. Carr found lotsa good stuff, including Lucius Shepherd's "Journey South from Thousand Willows," Harlan Ellison's "The Wine Has Been Left Open Too Long and the Memory Has Gone Flat," Howard Waldrop's silly "The Ugly Chickens," & lots more. I thot Carr was a lot more "playful" an editor than Silverberg or ORBIT's Damon Knight, but he could also make some really dark choices -- C if U can track down Carter Scholz's "In Reticulum."
Lou Aronica's later FULL SPECTRUM anthologies had greats like Norman Spinrad's "Journals of the Plague Years," Michael Blumlein's "The Thing Itself," Michael Swanwick's "The Edge of the World," & Kim Stanley Robinson's "The Part of Us That Loves," among other good stuff. But FS never had Carr & Silverberg's style of chatty author intros, & I missed that approach.
When not trying 2 collect anthologies, I was still grabbing novels that looked or sounded good -- Roger Zelazny's CREATURES OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS (1 of my faves Dspite a rough start & finish); James Tiptree Jr.'s BRIGHTNESS FALLS FROM THE AIR (really 2 Cute, but pretty moving); William Gibson's NEUROMANCER; John Brunner's THE SHEEP LOOK UP, an Nd-of-the-world/pollution novel which I read in clean, healthy San Antonio -- I shoulda read it in Ankara, Turkey, where I spent 2 yrs ('90-'91) & each smoggy winter I thot I was seeing a preview of the Real Nd of the world....
I read Silverberg's Xcellent THE MAN IN THE MAZE in 1991 while waiting 4 my daughter 2 B born in Adana, Turkey. In fact, I read more in Turkey than perhaps the whole rest of my life, cos there wasn't much else 2 do w/ my off-time, there was no American TV, & we were advised not 2 travel cos of the 1st Gulf War.
EVERYBODY on base hit the Stars and Stripes Bookstore 2 grab a newspaper or C what kinda new novels had made it over 2 us. & the bookstore was REALLY well-stocked 4 Bing 10,000 miles away from Home. We might not always have had electricity or running water or fresh milk, but we always had something good 2 read....
I drifted a bit from the SF while I was there, tho the bookstore hadda well-stocked SF section. After discovering her in the SF magazines, I grabbed a copy of Kathe Koja's stunning 1st horror novel THE CIPHER & knew I'd B a fan 4 life -- & a few yrs later she came out w/ an even better novel called SKIN, 4 me 1 of the best novels ever.
4 awhile I Bcame a big horror fan -- I'd had my moments B4, reading 6 Stephen King novels in a row while in San Ant, then tackling his epic THE STAND while in Turkey, & later the stunning IT while living in Wyoming. But I hadta give up on Uncle Steve after THE DARK HALF & NEEDFUL THINGS, Bcos somehow I just couldn't get in2 him NEmore. But there were other folks out there....
Read Thomas Harris's THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS while in Turkey (just days B4 the Jeffrey Dahmer case broke), then followed it up w/ Harris's RED DRAGON. Harris, Koja & Jack Ketchum (more about him later) pretty-much ruined my attn-span. 4 yrs my fave trick was 2 give up on a novel if it couldn't grab me in the 1st 50 2 100 pgs. RED DRAGON grabs U by the throat on Pg 1. Koja & Ketchum don't waste NE time either.
Peter Straub grabbed me w/ KOKO, THE THROAT & IF YOU COULD SEE ME NOW -- a book that Cms 2 get better, more Dtailed, more vivid every time I re-read it. It also Cms 2 ... change somehow....
Tripped over Gael Baudino's glorious GOSSAMER AXE while in Turkey -- it's a marvelous rock&roll fantasy. I've bn a sucker 4 rock novels ever since. Later there was Lewis Shiner's wondrous GLIMPSES, Nick Hornby's JULIET NAKED & Bruce Sterling's ZEITGEIST....
4 awhile I couldn't get thru an SF novel. Both Neal Stephenson's SNOW CRASH & Ian McDonald's DESOLATION ROAD required long breaks B4 I could get thru them -- & both were worth the trip. SNOW CRASH had everything I ever wanted from an SF novel Xcept 4 a good Nding....
I got thru Gene Wolfe's THE SHADOW OF THE TORTURER on 2nd reading but I couldn't get in2 THE CLAW OF THE CONCILIATOR, & I've given up ever reading the rest of Wolfe's BOOK OF THE NEW SUN series -- I'm afraid I might B about 20 yrs 2 old 2 B able 2 focus 4 that long. After reading J.R.R. Tolkien & Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series (not 2 mention much of King's work), I'm not really looking 4 NE more Ndless novels 2 eat up 3 mo's of my life. So I'm awaiting (much) more NRG B4 I try 2 get thru Kim Stanley Robinson's MARS TRILOGY....
...I like low-rent action-adventure/thriller Ntertainment as well, I've just never found that much. Edward Lee's COVEN (also read in Turkey) was good cheap, tacky over-the-top Ntertainment. Lotsa Jack Ketchum's work has Xcellent impact & drive, & U won't B kept up late pondering the Deep Inner Meaning of it -- I've Njoyed him since finding his chiller OFF SEASON 4 25 cents atta yard sale. U should also try Ketchum's HIDE AND SEEK, SHE WAKES, THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, JOYRIDE, THE LOST....
James Ellroy can also B very brutal & direct -- I've read his L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, THE BLACK DAHLIA & THE BIG NOWHERE multiple times & can guarantee they'll please detective/cop-thriller fans as well as horror fans....
I sometimes hava lotta fun w/ novels that Rn't Xactly masterpieces, 2. Edmund Cooper's SEED OF LIGHT (1 of the 1st SF novels I read way back in early 1974) is an Xcellent outline 4 an epic space novel some1 could write someday -- it's kinda sketchy, but there's just enuf in it 2 make it Njoyable. Mary Staton's FROM THE LEGEND OF BIEL never quite lives up 2 its cover or set-up, but if U like alien culture stories, it's pretty neat.
There's LOTS more -- it's a good thing I'm not doing a List. But I've 4gotten mosta the bad 1's....
...So I'm still reading this stuff. (Just finished Ian McDonald's Xcellent CHAGA last wk.) & still looking 4 more great stuff I mighta overlooked in my travels. NEthing great U'd like 2 recommend....?
Thursday, May 13, 2010
"That old Sense of Wonder" (Part 3)
Tho we moved away from my fave used bookstore in less than a yr, there were other bookstores. & Bcos I'd Bcome addicted, I saved up my lawnmowing/allowance $$$ & took the plunge. I subscribed 2 my 1st science fiction magazine in the summer of 1975 -- starting w/ the Aug 75 issue of ANALOG, actually a real Nothing issue w/ no memorable stories.
But the Sept issue brot Karl Hansen's Xcellent "The Killers," Oct brot Spider Robinson's marvelous "Unnatural Causes or The Guy We Couldn't Help," & the Nov issue featured Roger Zelazny's "Home is the Hangman," which was nearly as brilliant & inventive as the poetic Zelazny short stories of the '60s ("For a Breath I Tarry," "The Doors of His Face, The Lamps of His Mouth," "The Man Who Loved the Faioli," etc). The Jan 76 issue brot a 4-part serial of Frank Herbert's CHILDREN OF DUNE, which was nearly as great as the original. Mar 76 brot Spider & Jeanne Robinson's wondrous "Stardance."
I didn't get around 2 subscribing 2 GALAXY & F&SF until a yr later, 1nce I hadda real full-time job. Under Editor Jim Baen, GALAXY had improved vastly, adding lotsa great art by people like Steve Fabian & some way-ahead-of-his-time guy named "Ames," Xcellent stories by big names, & a ton of great features like Spider Robinson's hilarious book reviews & Richard E. Geis's cynical looks at the current SF scene.
& a lotta the fiction was pretty great, including Frederik Pohl's marvelous novel GATEWAY, lotsa short work by John Varley ("Bagatelle," "The Phantom of Kansas, "Overdrawn at the Memory Bank"), Larry Niven's great "Down and Out," neat guest columns & lots more.
Over at F&SF, Editor Ed Ferman had bn the 1st 2 publish Varley & was now running summa his best work, like "In the Hall of the Martian Kings" & "The Persistence of Vision." There were other occasionally Xcellent stories, + a great revolving panel of book reviewers like Algis Budrys (his reviews in GALAXY were 1 of the best things about that mag in the '60s), John Clute, angry Joanna Russ, & Barry Malzberg -- at I think the top of his writing ability in the essay/review form.
All during this time I was still collecting back-issues. ANALOG in the '60s & early '70s still struck me as lost in time, Editor John W. Campbell way outta touch w/ current events -- by choice. Things improved amazingly after Ben Bova took over, willing 2 take a few chances & mayB run some stories that might piss-off longtime readers (Joe Haldeman's "Hero," George R.R. Martin's "A Song for Lya"), + there was great stuff like Roger Zelazny's "The Engine at Heartspring's Center," Terry Melen's "Whale Song," P.J. Plauger's "Child of All Ages," Gregory Benford's "Doing Lennon," Alfred Bester's wild novel THE INDIAN GIVER, George R.R. Martin & Lisa Tuttle's "The Storms of Windhaven," & more.
The older GALAXY looked cheap but had lotsa great stories by Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg ("Hawksbill Station," DOWNWARD TO THE EARTH, DYING INSIDE & many more), Roger Zelazny & others, + Budrys' great book reviews.
The older F&SF had lots more great stories (Ellison's "The Deathbird," Silverberg's "Sundance" & "The Fangs of the Trees," Vance Aandahl's "An Adventure in the Yalla Bolly Middle Eel Wilderness," Michael Bishop's "Cathadonian Odyssey," Edward Wellen's wild "Deadpan"), + Judith Merrill, Avram Davidson & James Blish's Xcellent book reviews.
But GALAXY in the mid-'70s was the best of them -- it looked great, the writing talent was unbeatable, it always left U laffing & feeling good, it was the best, most Xciting & intresting mag in the field.
But there were problems Bhind the scenes. Even at the peak of its success (when it was running Pohl's GATEWAY), GALAXY started missing issues. It reportedly didn't always pay its contributors -- Varley, 4 1. Baen left at the Nd of '77 & the mag didn't survive past 1980.
Meanwhile, ANALOG kept getting better, running George R.R. Martin's DYING OF THE LIGHT & the 1st of GRRM's Haviland Tuf stories, & later Martin & Tuttle's Windhaven-sequel ONE WING, tossing in occasional brilliant suprises like John M. Ford's "This Too We Reconcile," & serializing Silverberg's last novel of his middle period, SHADRACH IN THE FURNACE. Rick Sternbach joined Kelly Freas, John Schoenherr & Vincent DiFate among the mag's superb artists. The good stories were really great, tho there was still some filler creeping in. Editor Ben Bova left at the Nd of '78 B4 he got stale -- I don't think the mag's bn as intresting since, tho there have bn occasional Xcellent stories like David R. Palmer's "Emergence." I haven't looked real closely at an issue in YEARS....
ISAAC ASIMOV'S SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINE came along slightly later, & I resisted it 4 a LONG time. In fact, it wasn't until Gardner Dozois took over as editor in the mid-'80s & I started noticing how many of the mag's stories were winning awards & appearing in best-of-the-year collections that I started reading it & later subscribed. The overall quality of the fiction in ASIMOV'S was high, & Norman Spinrad carried on the Budrys tradition in his book reviews. The best fiction included works by Kim Stanley Robinson ("A History of the 20th Century With Illustrations," "Mother Goddess of the World," "Escape from Kathmandu"), Johnathan Lethem ("The Happy Man"), Connie Willis ("The Last of the Winnebagos"), Ian McDonald ("Toward Kilimanjaro"), John Varley ("Press ENTER" & big sections of his novel STEEL BEACH), Ted Reynolds ("Through All Your Houses Wandering"), Silverberg ("We Are for the Dark") & many others.
Subscription copies of ASIMOV'S & F&SF followed me overseas & found me in Turkey in 1990-91, & I continued subscribing off&on 2 these up thru 2003, tho I had 2 drop them awhile back due 2 a tight living budget. The last issue of ASIMOV'S I saw had no interior artwork, usually not a good sign, & Dozois has left since then. SF mags' circulations have bn Dclining steadily 4 yrs, & I was 1 of the readers they lost, cos I couldn't afford or justify the cost.
But I haven't stopped reading....
...2 B Continued....
But the Sept issue brot Karl Hansen's Xcellent "The Killers," Oct brot Spider Robinson's marvelous "Unnatural Causes or The Guy We Couldn't Help," & the Nov issue featured Roger Zelazny's "Home is the Hangman," which was nearly as brilliant & inventive as the poetic Zelazny short stories of the '60s ("For a Breath I Tarry," "The Doors of His Face, The Lamps of His Mouth," "The Man Who Loved the Faioli," etc). The Jan 76 issue brot a 4-part serial of Frank Herbert's CHILDREN OF DUNE, which was nearly as great as the original. Mar 76 brot Spider & Jeanne Robinson's wondrous "Stardance."
I didn't get around 2 subscribing 2 GALAXY & F&SF until a yr later, 1nce I hadda real full-time job. Under Editor Jim Baen, GALAXY had improved vastly, adding lotsa great art by people like Steve Fabian & some way-ahead-of-his-time guy named "Ames," Xcellent stories by big names, & a ton of great features like Spider Robinson's hilarious book reviews & Richard E. Geis's cynical looks at the current SF scene.
& a lotta the fiction was pretty great, including Frederik Pohl's marvelous novel GATEWAY, lotsa short work by John Varley ("Bagatelle," "The Phantom of Kansas, "Overdrawn at the Memory Bank"), Larry Niven's great "Down and Out," neat guest columns & lots more.
Over at F&SF, Editor Ed Ferman had bn the 1st 2 publish Varley & was now running summa his best work, like "In the Hall of the Martian Kings" & "The Persistence of Vision." There were other occasionally Xcellent stories, + a great revolving panel of book reviewers like Algis Budrys (his reviews in GALAXY were 1 of the best things about that mag in the '60s), John Clute, angry Joanna Russ, & Barry Malzberg -- at I think the top of his writing ability in the essay/review form.
All during this time I was still collecting back-issues. ANALOG in the '60s & early '70s still struck me as lost in time, Editor John W. Campbell way outta touch w/ current events -- by choice. Things improved amazingly after Ben Bova took over, willing 2 take a few chances & mayB run some stories that might piss-off longtime readers (Joe Haldeman's "Hero," George R.R. Martin's "A Song for Lya"), + there was great stuff like Roger Zelazny's "The Engine at Heartspring's Center," Terry Melen's "Whale Song," P.J. Plauger's "Child of All Ages," Gregory Benford's "Doing Lennon," Alfred Bester's wild novel THE INDIAN GIVER, George R.R. Martin & Lisa Tuttle's "The Storms of Windhaven," & more.
The older GALAXY looked cheap but had lotsa great stories by Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg ("Hawksbill Station," DOWNWARD TO THE EARTH, DYING INSIDE & many more), Roger Zelazny & others, + Budrys' great book reviews.
The older F&SF had lots more great stories (Ellison's "The Deathbird," Silverberg's "Sundance" & "The Fangs of the Trees," Vance Aandahl's "An Adventure in the Yalla Bolly Middle Eel Wilderness," Michael Bishop's "Cathadonian Odyssey," Edward Wellen's wild "Deadpan"), + Judith Merrill, Avram Davidson & James Blish's Xcellent book reviews.
But GALAXY in the mid-'70s was the best of them -- it looked great, the writing talent was unbeatable, it always left U laffing & feeling good, it was the best, most Xciting & intresting mag in the field.
But there were problems Bhind the scenes. Even at the peak of its success (when it was running Pohl's GATEWAY), GALAXY started missing issues. It reportedly didn't always pay its contributors -- Varley, 4 1. Baen left at the Nd of '77 & the mag didn't survive past 1980.
Meanwhile, ANALOG kept getting better, running George R.R. Martin's DYING OF THE LIGHT & the 1st of GRRM's Haviland Tuf stories, & later Martin & Tuttle's Windhaven-sequel ONE WING, tossing in occasional brilliant suprises like John M. Ford's "This Too We Reconcile," & serializing Silverberg's last novel of his middle period, SHADRACH IN THE FURNACE. Rick Sternbach joined Kelly Freas, John Schoenherr & Vincent DiFate among the mag's superb artists. The good stories were really great, tho there was still some filler creeping in. Editor Ben Bova left at the Nd of '78 B4 he got stale -- I don't think the mag's bn as intresting since, tho there have bn occasional Xcellent stories like David R. Palmer's "Emergence." I haven't looked real closely at an issue in YEARS....
ISAAC ASIMOV'S SCIENCE FICTION MAGAZINE came along slightly later, & I resisted it 4 a LONG time. In fact, it wasn't until Gardner Dozois took over as editor in the mid-'80s & I started noticing how many of the mag's stories were winning awards & appearing in best-of-the-year collections that I started reading it & later subscribed. The overall quality of the fiction in ASIMOV'S was high, & Norman Spinrad carried on the Budrys tradition in his book reviews. The best fiction included works by Kim Stanley Robinson ("A History of the 20th Century With Illustrations," "Mother Goddess of the World," "Escape from Kathmandu"), Johnathan Lethem ("The Happy Man"), Connie Willis ("The Last of the Winnebagos"), Ian McDonald ("Toward Kilimanjaro"), John Varley ("Press ENTER" & big sections of his novel STEEL BEACH), Ted Reynolds ("Through All Your Houses Wandering"), Silverberg ("We Are for the Dark") & many others.
Subscription copies of ASIMOV'S & F&SF followed me overseas & found me in Turkey in 1990-91, & I continued subscribing off&on 2 these up thru 2003, tho I had 2 drop them awhile back due 2 a tight living budget. The last issue of ASIMOV'S I saw had no interior artwork, usually not a good sign, & Dozois has left since then. SF mags' circulations have bn Dclining steadily 4 yrs, & I was 1 of the readers they lost, cos I couldn't afford or justify the cost.
But I haven't stopped reading....
...2 B Continued....
"My love affair with science fiction" (Part 2)
In the fall of 1973 my family moved from Tacoma, Wash., back home 2 Boise, Idaho, & the house we rented (which was practically in downtown Boise) turned out 2 B 3 blocks from a pretty good used bookstore, back in the days when U could buy a 2nd-hand paperback 4 a quarter. I Nded up spending lotsa time there.
This tiny bookstore (whose name I've 4gotten, doesn't matter, it ain't there no more) also carried lotsa back-issue science-fiction magazines, so I could renew my addiction from a coupla yrs earlier. There I learned ANALOG magazine was still the best-looking SF mag around, & under new, more open-minded Editor Ben Bova, the mag was printing some occasional outstanding stories, like George R.R. Martin's "A Song for Lya," Joe Haldeman's "Hero," Roger Zelazny's "The Engine at Heartspring's Center," Cynthia Bunn's "And Keep Us from Our Castles," & others. The high-quality stories, the Xcellent artwork, the great graphics & flashy layout -- ANALOG was clearly the best of the mags, even if it sometimes printed some really lousy, boring stories as well. At least the mag had lightened-up since John W. Campbell had died....
I also started looking at GALAXY, & wasn't that impressed until Editor Jim Baen took over. Tho GALAXY printed some good stories (Lou Fisher's "Triggerman," James White's novel THE DREAM MILLENNIUM), it looked TIRED. Jack Gaughan had bn doing almost ALL the artwork from 1969 thru early 1974, & he mostly looked worn-out. After Baen took over, he raised the level of quality at GALAXY until it Bcame SF's best, most Xciting magazine Btween 1975-77. More about this later....
I also discovered THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, which at 1st boggled me completely. No interior art, the covers weren't all that great, it was printed on rather poor-quality paper, the book reviews were stuck-up & snooty, written by some self-centered so-called genius named John Clute (now my favrite active SF critic) who was WAY tougher & way more critical than P. Schuyler Miller over at ANALOG -- at 1st I thot the only good thing about F&SF was the chatty introductory blurbs that went along w/ the stories: Editor Ed Ferman always let U know what the writers had bn working on recently, what novels were due out, what awards the writers had won. Later on, I noticed the quality of the stories in F&SF was pretty high, & late in '74 the magazine started printing the work of John Varley, 1 of the best new SF writers of the '70s....
I also took home copies of AMAZING & FANTASTIC, which I always thot woulda worked better combined in2 1 mag. Editor Ted White was obviously working under a budget that wouldn't get U a cuppa coffee, but he still got some great artwork from artists like Steve Fabian, high-quality features & book reviews, & an occasional suprise like Harlan Ellison's "Somehow I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore, Toto," the hilarious & horrifying story of Harlan's immense & pointless work 2 create the hideous, 4got10, short-lived TV series THE STARLOST.
I only remember a few good stories ever appearing in AMZ or FANT, like Brian Stableford's rock&roll fable "Judas Story," or Dave Bischoff's odd "In Medias Res," R.A. Lafferty's "Been a Long, Long Time," Robert Silverberg's intense novel THE SECOND TRIP, mayB some leftovers from George R.R. Martin or Barry N. Malzberg -- it was obvious Ted White was picking up what no1 else wanted. The best things in both magazines were the features.
Around this same time I inherited a big box of old SF books & magazines from my distant cousin Dave when he went off 2 the Navy. Most of the box was filled w/ mid-level SF novels from the late '60s & early '70s; I can't even remember what mosta them were. There were also a few old issues of WORLDS OF IF magazine from around 1968. Almost everything in the box got traded-off at the used bookstore in Xchange 4 back-issue SF magazines. I was about 2 or 3 yrs away from appreciating what was in the box -- if it didn't look recent or intresting in some obvious way, I didn't need it. If I had that box back now it'd probly take me MONTHS 2 go thru it. Can't really remember what was in there, tho I'm sure a lot of it was standard adventure-SF (E.C. Tubb, A. Bertram Chandler, early Fred Saberhagen, a little early Larry Niven), but there were also some old Ace Double-novels & other obscurities, & I'm sure I probly let something priceless get away, like a paperback copy of HARLAN ELLISON PICKS OFFBEAT CLASSICS OF SF, or something....
Around this same time I started reading SF novels, reluctantly at 1st -- novels took 2 long 2 give me the same kick I got from short stories, but I musta run outta short stories 2 read. Can't remember what I read 1st, but by early '74 I was reading Frank Herbert's DUNE (brilliant after a rough & confusing opening), then John Brunner's STAND ON ZANZIBAR (ditto), slightly later Robert Silverberg's DYING INSIDE & DOWNWARD TO THE EARTH (both brilliantly written, tho a bit of a downer), Robert A. Heinlein's marvelous THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS, & Samuel R. Delany's THE EINSTEIN INTERSECTION & EMPIRE STAR.
There were disappointments along the way: Arthur C. Clarke's dull RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA (serialized in GALAXY), Alexei Panshin's boring RITE OF PASSAGE, Ursula K. LeGuin's mostly cold & distant THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS, Silverberg's A TIME OF CHANGES, Heinlein's STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND & STARSHIP TROOPERS, Roger Zelazny's anticlimactic LORD OF LIGHT & THIS IMMORTAL, Samuel R. Delany's thin BABEL-17 & rushed NOVA.... I Bcame quite a little critic at an early age.
But I kept going. The bug had bitten me & I wasn't stopping now.
...2 B Continued....
This tiny bookstore (whose name I've 4gotten, doesn't matter, it ain't there no more) also carried lotsa back-issue science-fiction magazines, so I could renew my addiction from a coupla yrs earlier. There I learned ANALOG magazine was still the best-looking SF mag around, & under new, more open-minded Editor Ben Bova, the mag was printing some occasional outstanding stories, like George R.R. Martin's "A Song for Lya," Joe Haldeman's "Hero," Roger Zelazny's "The Engine at Heartspring's Center," Cynthia Bunn's "And Keep Us from Our Castles," & others. The high-quality stories, the Xcellent artwork, the great graphics & flashy layout -- ANALOG was clearly the best of the mags, even if it sometimes printed some really lousy, boring stories as well. At least the mag had lightened-up since John W. Campbell had died....
I also started looking at GALAXY, & wasn't that impressed until Editor Jim Baen took over. Tho GALAXY printed some good stories (Lou Fisher's "Triggerman," James White's novel THE DREAM MILLENNIUM), it looked TIRED. Jack Gaughan had bn doing almost ALL the artwork from 1969 thru early 1974, & he mostly looked worn-out. After Baen took over, he raised the level of quality at GALAXY until it Bcame SF's best, most Xciting magazine Btween 1975-77. More about this later....
I also discovered THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, which at 1st boggled me completely. No interior art, the covers weren't all that great, it was printed on rather poor-quality paper, the book reviews were stuck-up & snooty, written by some self-centered so-called genius named John Clute (now my favrite active SF critic) who was WAY tougher & way more critical than P. Schuyler Miller over at ANALOG -- at 1st I thot the only good thing about F&SF was the chatty introductory blurbs that went along w/ the stories: Editor Ed Ferman always let U know what the writers had bn working on recently, what novels were due out, what awards the writers had won. Later on, I noticed the quality of the stories in F&SF was pretty high, & late in '74 the magazine started printing the work of John Varley, 1 of the best new SF writers of the '70s....
I also took home copies of AMAZING & FANTASTIC, which I always thot woulda worked better combined in2 1 mag. Editor Ted White was obviously working under a budget that wouldn't get U a cuppa coffee, but he still got some great artwork from artists like Steve Fabian, high-quality features & book reviews, & an occasional suprise like Harlan Ellison's "Somehow I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore, Toto," the hilarious & horrifying story of Harlan's immense & pointless work 2 create the hideous, 4got10, short-lived TV series THE STARLOST.
I only remember a few good stories ever appearing in AMZ or FANT, like Brian Stableford's rock&roll fable "Judas Story," or Dave Bischoff's odd "In Medias Res," R.A. Lafferty's "Been a Long, Long Time," Robert Silverberg's intense novel THE SECOND TRIP, mayB some leftovers from George R.R. Martin or Barry N. Malzberg -- it was obvious Ted White was picking up what no1 else wanted. The best things in both magazines were the features.
Around this same time I inherited a big box of old SF books & magazines from my distant cousin Dave when he went off 2 the Navy. Most of the box was filled w/ mid-level SF novels from the late '60s & early '70s; I can't even remember what mosta them were. There were also a few old issues of WORLDS OF IF magazine from around 1968. Almost everything in the box got traded-off at the used bookstore in Xchange 4 back-issue SF magazines. I was about 2 or 3 yrs away from appreciating what was in the box -- if it didn't look recent or intresting in some obvious way, I didn't need it. If I had that box back now it'd probly take me MONTHS 2 go thru it. Can't really remember what was in there, tho I'm sure a lot of it was standard adventure-SF (E.C. Tubb, A. Bertram Chandler, early Fred Saberhagen, a little early Larry Niven), but there were also some old Ace Double-novels & other obscurities, & I'm sure I probly let something priceless get away, like a paperback copy of HARLAN ELLISON PICKS OFFBEAT CLASSICS OF SF, or something....
Around this same time I started reading SF novels, reluctantly at 1st -- novels took 2 long 2 give me the same kick I got from short stories, but I musta run outta short stories 2 read. Can't remember what I read 1st, but by early '74 I was reading Frank Herbert's DUNE (brilliant after a rough & confusing opening), then John Brunner's STAND ON ZANZIBAR (ditto), slightly later Robert Silverberg's DYING INSIDE & DOWNWARD TO THE EARTH (both brilliantly written, tho a bit of a downer), Robert A. Heinlein's marvelous THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS, & Samuel R. Delany's THE EINSTEIN INTERSECTION & EMPIRE STAR.
There were disappointments along the way: Arthur C. Clarke's dull RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA (serialized in GALAXY), Alexei Panshin's boring RITE OF PASSAGE, Ursula K. LeGuin's mostly cold & distant THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS, Silverberg's A TIME OF CHANGES, Heinlein's STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND & STARSHIP TROOPERS, Roger Zelazny's anticlimactic LORD OF LIGHT & THIS IMMORTAL, Samuel R. Delany's thin BABEL-17 & rushed NOVA.... I Bcame quite a little critic at an early age.
But I kept going. The bug had bitten me & I wasn't stopping now.
...2 B Continued....
"The Golden Age of SF is 12"
I've written about this stuff B4, but what the heck: My parents had No Idea what they were doing when they tossed me a stack of old science fiction magazines back in the summer of 1971, when I was 12 years old.
Along w/ writing & music, reading science fiction has bn 1 of the main addictions of my life, & the addiction continues -- just read Ian McDonald's Xcellent CHAGA last wk, probly about the 800th SF novel I've managed 2 get thru.... Don't read quite so many novels these days, but I still look at short stories pretty regularly, & I'm still fairly religious about seeking more Good Stuff I mighta overlooked over the yrs....
Back in '71 I was much less picky. Those 1st issues my folks gave me were a Whole New Thing. Included were a coupla fairly recent issues of ANALOG magazine, then the best LOOKING mag in the field, w/ Xcellent graphics & clear EZily readable type & lotsa really Xcellent artwork by Kelly Freas, Vincent DiFate, John Schoenherr & others. But mosta the stories were ... kinda boring. Howard L. Myers' "Polywater Doodle" was pretty great, just cos it had some HUMOR & action. P. Schuyler Miller's book reviews were Xcellent, clear, modest, down-2-earth. But Editor John W. Campbell Cmd awfully cranky....
The package also included an issue of FANTASTIC magazine, edited by Ted White. The mag was CHEAP, obviously put-2gether on a 20-cent budget, but there was some good stuff in it, OK art, good features & book reviews, & some pretty good fiction, like R.A. Lafferty's hilarious tall tale "Been a Long, Long Time," & 1 of Barry N. Malzberg's better self-pitying cries of anguish, "The New Rappacini."
The same folks who published FANTASTIC also put-out a reprint magazine called SF GREATS, a couple copies of which were also included in the stack. Some of those stories were from the early '60s & grabbed me more than the then-current stuff ANALOG was publishing: Norman Spinrad's haunting "A Child of Mind," Henry Slesar's moving "Beside the Golden Door," Robert F. Young's "Boarding Party," a hilarious re-telling of "Jack and the Beanstalk."
That kept me busy 4 a little while. My folks followed it up w/ a huge book: Raymond J. Healy & J. Francis McComas's monster anthology ADVENTURES IN TIME AND SPACE. With almost 1,000 pgs & over 30 stories, this book kept me busy 4 months. Inside were wonders from SF's 1930's/'40s "Golden Age" like Henry Hasse's "He Who Shrank," Isaac Asimov's "Nightfall," Frederic Brown's cute & silly "The Star Mouse" (which would still make a great movie 4 Mickey Mouse), R. DeWitt Miller's "Within the Pyramid," P. Schuyler Miller's "As Never Was," Eric Frank Russell's "Symbiotica," Ross Rocklynne's "Quietus," & tons more.
Then my friend Barry Anderson stuck my nose in2 Ray Bradbury's THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES, & I knew I was hooked 4 life. Bradbury's control of mood & setting, his poetic Dscriptions, his eerie aliens, his encounters Btween human & alien in the middle of the nite next-door 2 a ruined Martian chess-game city -- the amazing ancient atmosphere of the book.... Ah, I was scarred 4 life. & I still hava copy of the paperback on my bookshelf.
It was a coupla yrs B4 I dove-in head-1st & started reading all the SF novels I could grab hold of, all while collecting cheap, 2nd-hand back-issues of the magazines. & it was a couple MORE yrs B4 I started subscribing 2 the magazines, but I'll get 2 all that as this SF memoir continues....
Coming Soon: More music....
Along w/ writing & music, reading science fiction has bn 1 of the main addictions of my life, & the addiction continues -- just read Ian McDonald's Xcellent CHAGA last wk, probly about the 800th SF novel I've managed 2 get thru.... Don't read quite so many novels these days, but I still look at short stories pretty regularly, & I'm still fairly religious about seeking more Good Stuff I mighta overlooked over the yrs....
Back in '71 I was much less picky. Those 1st issues my folks gave me were a Whole New Thing. Included were a coupla fairly recent issues of ANALOG magazine, then the best LOOKING mag in the field, w/ Xcellent graphics & clear EZily readable type & lotsa really Xcellent artwork by Kelly Freas, Vincent DiFate, John Schoenherr & others. But mosta the stories were ... kinda boring. Howard L. Myers' "Polywater Doodle" was pretty great, just cos it had some HUMOR & action. P. Schuyler Miller's book reviews were Xcellent, clear, modest, down-2-earth. But Editor John W. Campbell Cmd awfully cranky....
The package also included an issue of FANTASTIC magazine, edited by Ted White. The mag was CHEAP, obviously put-2gether on a 20-cent budget, but there was some good stuff in it, OK art, good features & book reviews, & some pretty good fiction, like R.A. Lafferty's hilarious tall tale "Been a Long, Long Time," & 1 of Barry N. Malzberg's better self-pitying cries of anguish, "The New Rappacini."
The same folks who published FANTASTIC also put-out a reprint magazine called SF GREATS, a couple copies of which were also included in the stack. Some of those stories were from the early '60s & grabbed me more than the then-current stuff ANALOG was publishing: Norman Spinrad's haunting "A Child of Mind," Henry Slesar's moving "Beside the Golden Door," Robert F. Young's "Boarding Party," a hilarious re-telling of "Jack and the Beanstalk."
That kept me busy 4 a little while. My folks followed it up w/ a huge book: Raymond J. Healy & J. Francis McComas's monster anthology ADVENTURES IN TIME AND SPACE. With almost 1,000 pgs & over 30 stories, this book kept me busy 4 months. Inside were wonders from SF's 1930's/'40s "Golden Age" like Henry Hasse's "He Who Shrank," Isaac Asimov's "Nightfall," Frederic Brown's cute & silly "The Star Mouse" (which would still make a great movie 4 Mickey Mouse), R. DeWitt Miller's "Within the Pyramid," P. Schuyler Miller's "As Never Was," Eric Frank Russell's "Symbiotica," Ross Rocklynne's "Quietus," & tons more.
Then my friend Barry Anderson stuck my nose in2 Ray Bradbury's THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES, & I knew I was hooked 4 life. Bradbury's control of mood & setting, his poetic Dscriptions, his eerie aliens, his encounters Btween human & alien in the middle of the nite next-door 2 a ruined Martian chess-game city -- the amazing ancient atmosphere of the book.... Ah, I was scarred 4 life. & I still hava copy of the paperback on my bookshelf.
It was a coupla yrs B4 I dove-in head-1st & started reading all the SF novels I could grab hold of, all while collecting cheap, 2nd-hand back-issues of the magazines. & it was a couple MORE yrs B4 I started subscribing 2 the magazines, but I'll get 2 all that as this SF memoir continues....
Coming Soon: More music....
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
It was almost 50 yrs ago 2day....
So, think U know the Real Story of the Beatles? Who DOESN'T, 4 that matter? Think U got the inside info cos U read Hunter Davies' Authorized Biography, which was pretty solid 4 1968? Or mayB U read Bob Spitz's massive 1,000-pg bio that added Basically Nothing 2 the story when it came out in the early '00's?
Well, here's 1 U may have missed in yr travels, like I did: Mark Shipper's PAPERBACK WRITER (1978) -- sit down w/ this fast, breezy, funny, EZ-2-read alternate history of the Fab 4 & wonder if NE1 will ever know the Real Story. Including the members of the band....
Did U know Beatles mgr Brian Epstein was a plumber B4 he begged 2 manage the Fab 4? That he never woulda got10 in2 mgmt if he hadn't bn called 2 Liverpool's Cavern Club 1 nite in the early '60s 2 fix a plugged-up toilet? Of course U didn't....
Did U know 1 of the songs the Beatles recorded 4 their auditions 4 EMI & Decca was "Happiness is a Warm Gun"? Of course U didn't....
Did U know about the ugly argument George got in2 w/ classic rocker Del Shannon about how "My Sweet Lord" sounded just a LITTLE bit 2 much like "He's So Fine" ... back in 1964? Of course U didn't....
Did U know about the MOR/crooner-style solo album Paul McCartney recorded B4 he joined the Beatles? Of course U didn't....
Trip back in time & remember how the Fabs changed the face of popular music w/ stunning albums like WE'RE GONNA CHANGE THE FACE OF POP MUSIC FOREVER, and MONEY -- THAT'S WHAT I WANT. Learn the incredibly complicated True Story about how the concept Bhind SGT. PEPPER came about.... Learn what happened Bhind-the-scenes that led 2 the creation of the Fabs' album HELP! -- when they actually took out trade-paper ads begging 4 new songs, & Nded up releasing an album full of rock oldies.... & re-live the events that led up 2 their momentous, highly-publicized Reunion....
...Actually, it's pretty amazing how this story Bcame so much a part of pop culture that a writer could launch funny little comedy riffs off of it, even back in the late '70s when Beatle-reunion-mania was at its absolute peak.
Probably not Literature For The Ages, or even A Work Which Will Endure, but it's fairly funny & it'll make U giggle 4 a coupla hrs. MayB the funniest parts R the fake album covers, the fake reviews, the way the story gets twisted 4 just a few more silly jokes. There's also a sorta bittersweet happy Nding, which is more than U can say 4 Real Life.
An obvious Must 4 NE remaining Beatlemaniacs. & 4 NE1 out there who's intrested in more alternate Beatles history, I recommend Gregory Benford's "Doing Lennon" (1975)....
Well, here's 1 U may have missed in yr travels, like I did: Mark Shipper's PAPERBACK WRITER (1978) -- sit down w/ this fast, breezy, funny, EZ-2-read alternate history of the Fab 4 & wonder if NE1 will ever know the Real Story. Including the members of the band....
Did U know Beatles mgr Brian Epstein was a plumber B4 he begged 2 manage the Fab 4? That he never woulda got10 in2 mgmt if he hadn't bn called 2 Liverpool's Cavern Club 1 nite in the early '60s 2 fix a plugged-up toilet? Of course U didn't....
Did U know 1 of the songs the Beatles recorded 4 their auditions 4 EMI & Decca was "Happiness is a Warm Gun"? Of course U didn't....
Did U know about the ugly argument George got in2 w/ classic rocker Del Shannon about how "My Sweet Lord" sounded just a LITTLE bit 2 much like "He's So Fine" ... back in 1964? Of course U didn't....
Did U know about the MOR/crooner-style solo album Paul McCartney recorded B4 he joined the Beatles? Of course U didn't....
Trip back in time & remember how the Fabs changed the face of popular music w/ stunning albums like WE'RE GONNA CHANGE THE FACE OF POP MUSIC FOREVER, and MONEY -- THAT'S WHAT I WANT. Learn the incredibly complicated True Story about how the concept Bhind SGT. PEPPER came about.... Learn what happened Bhind-the-scenes that led 2 the creation of the Fabs' album HELP! -- when they actually took out trade-paper ads begging 4 new songs, & Nded up releasing an album full of rock oldies.... & re-live the events that led up 2 their momentous, highly-publicized Reunion....
...Actually, it's pretty amazing how this story Bcame so much a part of pop culture that a writer could launch funny little comedy riffs off of it, even back in the late '70s when Beatle-reunion-mania was at its absolute peak.
Probably not Literature For The Ages, or even A Work Which Will Endure, but it's fairly funny & it'll make U giggle 4 a coupla hrs. MayB the funniest parts R the fake album covers, the fake reviews, the way the story gets twisted 4 just a few more silly jokes. There's also a sorta bittersweet happy Nding, which is more than U can say 4 Real Life.
An obvious Must 4 NE remaining Beatlemaniacs. & 4 NE1 out there who's intrested in more alternate Beatles history, I recommend Gregory Benford's "Doing Lennon" (1975)....
Saturday, May 8, 2010
My petition 4 better weather, & other stuff....
Well now, this feels just like starting over.... The sun has been out a lot more the past few days & I'm feeling a lot better. On Fri, temps actually got up 2 around 60 on the front porch. I hear that in some parts of the country (tho not the West) it's bn Spring 4 weeks -- sunny, temps in the 60s, 70s, even 80s. This wknd's sposta B nice -- I hope this time Spring is here 4 Real & this isn't just the weather softening us up 4 more clouds, rain & cold. 2 yrs ago it rained until mid-June, so who knows? Cms like I otta B able 2 complain 2 somebody about this -- the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, perhaps? U don't think NOAA does Weather Control? Don't kid yrself -- Global Warming is a hype, invented by those gov't weather boffins at NOAA. Just remember the X-Files Theory Of Reality: Whatever's going on is just a put-on 2 distract U from What's Really Going On....
...That's an OK opening, I guess. Meanwhile, I'm still thinking about going back home 2 Idaho where the sun shines a lot more often. The girlfriend & I hadda long talk about this & she thinks I should go. B4 I really go nuts. My Dad has bn welcoming enuf, but the job situation is a little unsettled, as it is everywhere. Won't do me NE good 2 go Back Home & have no way 2 pay my bills. That'll just give me something else 2 get Dpressed about.
Dad's gonna keep his eyes on the want ads & sez he'll send me a copy of the 1st worthwhile Sun paper. He & the girlfriend also think me catching a bus down there & checking-out the situation in-person when I get some vacation time in June is also a good idea. Want 2 B fairly sure about something B4 I jump & risk financial ruin....
...Hung out w/ the girlfriend 4 a coupla days, watched movies (AVATAR, THE BLIND SIDE, etc.), relaxed & soaked up some sun, & sat out in the yard while the wind blew 2 40 mph & the GF's youngest daughter cracked jokes & the GF's potential future-son-in-law worked on his car. My roommates R OK people but I needed 2 get outta here 4 awhile. So I did. & I'm grateful 2 the GF 4 bailing my ass out yet again. Thank Ghod she cares & she never gives up. I might even start checking my e-mails again....
Oh, & I've bn reading. Ian McDonald's CHAGA (1995, in the US it was called EVOLUTION'S SHORE) was, 4 mosta its length, the best science-fiction novel I've read in years -- vivid, involving, awe-inspiring, even funny. But the Nding was disappointing, sidetracking from an alien/sense-of-wonder-type story 2 a sorta replay of Arthur C. Clarke's RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA, even tho the Nding was vivid & well-told as well.
CHAGA is a sequel of sorts 2 2 earlier McDonald short-stories, the brilliant & disturbing "Toward Kilimanjaro," & the vivid tho inconclusive "Recording Angel." The chaga itself is an alien life-form, a biological package that crashes like a meteor atop Africa's Mt. Kilimanjaro, then starts ... eating the continent of Africa, replacing all the native plants w/ an environment of its own. People who venture in2 the chaga R changed -- they start mutating. They grow Xtra arms & legs, can communicate w/ animals, can alter their environment.
The book follows the adventures of reporter Gaby McAslan as she follows & tries 2 Xplain 2 the world what the chaga is like & what it does 2 people. Meanwhile, the UN cordons-off the chaga, & the country of Kenya is slowly Bing evacuated as the chaga advances by 50 feet per day. More chagas crash 2 earth in other parts of Africa, & in Ecuador, Venezuela, the Indian Ocean. When another package appears in space & Cms 2 B on a course 2 blot-out India, the UN's space program moves 2 Xplore the newest bio package up-close.
Much of this is brilliantly handled. McDonald wisely does not Xplain 2 much about the chaga, even tho the middle of the book features a long trek thru the alien forest. That environment is Dscribed vividly & colorfully, but McDonald doesn't make the mistake of Xplaining 2 Much & ruining the awesome mystery at the center of his novel. He resists NE attempt 2 Xplain What the chaga is doing & Why. & the book is more powerful as a result.
Bsides, there R some great mysteries here. There R apparently humans living -- thriving -- inside the alien forest. The chaga appears 2 B adapting 2 humans, Cms 2 want 2 help us Bcome more than we R. & Xposure 2 the chaga apparently cures the AIDS virus.
There R some problems w/ the book: The British Vista paperback I got cheap has a lotta typos in it, more as U get farther in2 the story, & toward the Nd words R dropped making it difficult 2 concentrate. There's a section in the last 100 pgs where Bad Things Happen that didn't necessarily need 2, & it Cms like McDonald was in sorta a bad mood when he wrote it. Summa this stuff is brutal. Gaby herself is Dpicted as rather selfish & irresponsible, tho probly no moreso than NE other reporter I've ever met.
But there's a happy Nding 4 just about everybody, U learn what happened 2 the characters in the previous stories in the series, & I've since learned the book has a sequel called KIRINYA that I'm now gonna havta track down. CHAGA is also WAY better & way more controlled than McDonald's 1st novel DESOLATION ROAD. At no point in this book does the plot machinery overwhelm the story -- it all Cms 2 flow pretty naturally. & at the center of the story is a pretty awesome vision. Mosta the characters U get 2 know R pretty great 2.
Somebody musta read the book -- it apparently won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award 4 best SF novel of its year, even tho 4 awhile I couldn't even tell if it was ever published in the US (I had the wrong title).
McDonald's got 1/2 a dozen other novels out there. The 1st 1/2 of DESOLATION ROAD's pretty amazing 2. I couldn't get in2 OUT ON BLUE SIX, but I might havta give it another try. & there's KIRINYA 2 track down as well....
Nice talkin 2 ya again. More soon....
...That's an OK opening, I guess. Meanwhile, I'm still thinking about going back home 2 Idaho where the sun shines a lot more often. The girlfriend & I hadda long talk about this & she thinks I should go. B4 I really go nuts. My Dad has bn welcoming enuf, but the job situation is a little unsettled, as it is everywhere. Won't do me NE good 2 go Back Home & have no way 2 pay my bills. That'll just give me something else 2 get Dpressed about.
Dad's gonna keep his eyes on the want ads & sez he'll send me a copy of the 1st worthwhile Sun paper. He & the girlfriend also think me catching a bus down there & checking-out the situation in-person when I get some vacation time in June is also a good idea. Want 2 B fairly sure about something B4 I jump & risk financial ruin....
...Hung out w/ the girlfriend 4 a coupla days, watched movies (AVATAR, THE BLIND SIDE, etc.), relaxed & soaked up some sun, & sat out in the yard while the wind blew 2 40 mph & the GF's youngest daughter cracked jokes & the GF's potential future-son-in-law worked on his car. My roommates R OK people but I needed 2 get outta here 4 awhile. So I did. & I'm grateful 2 the GF 4 bailing my ass out yet again. Thank Ghod she cares & she never gives up. I might even start checking my e-mails again....
Oh, & I've bn reading. Ian McDonald's CHAGA (1995, in the US it was called EVOLUTION'S SHORE) was, 4 mosta its length, the best science-fiction novel I've read in years -- vivid, involving, awe-inspiring, even funny. But the Nding was disappointing, sidetracking from an alien/sense-of-wonder-type story 2 a sorta replay of Arthur C. Clarke's RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA, even tho the Nding was vivid & well-told as well.
CHAGA is a sequel of sorts 2 2 earlier McDonald short-stories, the brilliant & disturbing "Toward Kilimanjaro," & the vivid tho inconclusive "Recording Angel." The chaga itself is an alien life-form, a biological package that crashes like a meteor atop Africa's Mt. Kilimanjaro, then starts ... eating the continent of Africa, replacing all the native plants w/ an environment of its own. People who venture in2 the chaga R changed -- they start mutating. They grow Xtra arms & legs, can communicate w/ animals, can alter their environment.
The book follows the adventures of reporter Gaby McAslan as she follows & tries 2 Xplain 2 the world what the chaga is like & what it does 2 people. Meanwhile, the UN cordons-off the chaga, & the country of Kenya is slowly Bing evacuated as the chaga advances by 50 feet per day. More chagas crash 2 earth in other parts of Africa, & in Ecuador, Venezuela, the Indian Ocean. When another package appears in space & Cms 2 B on a course 2 blot-out India, the UN's space program moves 2 Xplore the newest bio package up-close.
Much of this is brilliantly handled. McDonald wisely does not Xplain 2 much about the chaga, even tho the middle of the book features a long trek thru the alien forest. That environment is Dscribed vividly & colorfully, but McDonald doesn't make the mistake of Xplaining 2 Much & ruining the awesome mystery at the center of his novel. He resists NE attempt 2 Xplain What the chaga is doing & Why. & the book is more powerful as a result.
Bsides, there R some great mysteries here. There R apparently humans living -- thriving -- inside the alien forest. The chaga appears 2 B adapting 2 humans, Cms 2 want 2 help us Bcome more than we R. & Xposure 2 the chaga apparently cures the AIDS virus.
There R some problems w/ the book: The British Vista paperback I got cheap has a lotta typos in it, more as U get farther in2 the story, & toward the Nd words R dropped making it difficult 2 concentrate. There's a section in the last 100 pgs where Bad Things Happen that didn't necessarily need 2, & it Cms like McDonald was in sorta a bad mood when he wrote it. Summa this stuff is brutal. Gaby herself is Dpicted as rather selfish & irresponsible, tho probly no moreso than NE other reporter I've ever met.
But there's a happy Nding 4 just about everybody, U learn what happened 2 the characters in the previous stories in the series, & I've since learned the book has a sequel called KIRINYA that I'm now gonna havta track down. CHAGA is also WAY better & way more controlled than McDonald's 1st novel DESOLATION ROAD. At no point in this book does the plot machinery overwhelm the story -- it all Cms 2 flow pretty naturally. & at the center of the story is a pretty awesome vision. Mosta the characters U get 2 know R pretty great 2.
Somebody musta read the book -- it apparently won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award 4 best SF novel of its year, even tho 4 awhile I couldn't even tell if it was ever published in the US (I had the wrong title).
McDonald's got 1/2 a dozen other novels out there. The 1st 1/2 of DESOLATION ROAD's pretty amazing 2. I couldn't get in2 OUT ON BLUE SIX, but I might havta give it another try. & there's KIRINYA 2 track down as well....
Nice talkin 2 ya again. More soon....
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