Two paintings by Robert Williams

" Bedroom eyes, Party Gags, and Graveyard Demeanor"

"Strong Mezcal with Incendiary Chaser"

From Visual Addiction: The Art of Robert Williams, Last Gasp, San Francisco, 1989

Book Review: 'Space Viking' by H. Beam Piper

 1 / 5 Stars

‘Space Viking’ (243 pp.) was originally published in 1962 as a serial in the digest magazine ‘Analog’; this Ace paperback apparently was released in January 1977, and features a cover illustration by Michael Whelan.

In the far future, the Federation has collapsed, and the human-colonized worlds each stand and survive on their own. Some have loosely organized themselves into ‘Sword Worlds’, which send forth armed ships manned by ‘Space Vikings’ to raid and plunder other planets.

On the Sword World of Gram, Lucas Trask, an affable young man, looks forward to marrying his fiancée and living a comfortable life as a mid-level aristocrat. However, Andray Dunnan, a deranged former suitor of his wife-to-be, the Lady Elaine, crashes the wedding ceremony. Dunnan kills Elaine and seriously wounds Trask before escaping off-planet in a commandeered raiding ship.

Recovered from his wounds, Lucas Trask has thoughts only for revenge. He joins with Admiral Harkaman, an experienced Space Viking, on a quest to find Dunnan wherever he is hiding in the vastness of explored space. If that quest requires the plundering and destruction of hapless planets, so be it, for Lucas Trask is a man on a mission of vengeance. 

However, Andray Dunnan is not one to sit and wait for doom to come upon him…..and inevitably the fleets of pursuer and pursued will clash in battle.

Even by the rather forgiving standards of early 1960s SF, ‘Viking’ is a pedestrian effort at a space opera. The novel’s pacing starts to slow after the opening chapters as author Piper increasingly uses the standard-issue 'revenge' trope to fuel his labored musings on political theory and the decline and fall of civilization. 

The novel’s dialogue has the rather juvenile character of SF writing at the time. Damaged ships are ‘….leaking air and water vapor like crazy’, and more than a few passages can politely be called Wooden:

“I know, Prince Trask; you have no reason to think kindly of King Angus – the former King Angus, or maybe even the late King Angus, I suppose he is now- but a bloody-handed murderer like Omfray of Glaspyth….” 

‘Space Viking’ is best left forgotten as one of a large number of formulaic stories and fix-ups published by Analog during the late 50s and early 60s. 

Don't be fooled by the snazzy Star-Wars era packaging Ace books used to market this obsolete clunker as a masterpiece of modern SF.

'The Devil's Zombie' by Dick Ayers

according to Mike Howlett's 'The Weird World of Eerie Publications', this story is an adaptation of 'The Wage Earners', from Weird Terror No. 1, Sept., 1952. Its first appearance in a comic magazine from Myron Fass's and Carl Burgos's Countrywide / Eerie Publications line was in Tales of Voodoo Vol. 3, No. 3, 1970

'Report to the Plenary Council' 

from Starstream: Adventures in Science Fiction, issue No. 4, 1976

Book Review: Children of the Dragon

Book Review: 'Children of the Dragon' by Frank S. Robinson

4 / 5 Stars

Not to be confused with Frank M. Robinson (‘The Glass Inferno’, ‘Waiting’, ‘The Prometheus Crisis’), Frank S. Robinson apparently published only one novel in his time, this 1978 Avon paperback. The great cover illustration is, unfortunately, uncredited.

‘Children’ gives away most of its plot on the back cover, so I’m not disclosing any spoilers when I provide this brief outline:

Long ago, on an alternate earth, in the empire of Bergharra, rules the emperor Sarbat Satanichadh. 

Sarbat is a psychopath, fond of meting out the most hideous punishments for no other reason than because he can. When a notorious bandit named Jehan Henghmani is captured and imprisoned in the fetid dungeons beneath the emperor’s palace, Sarbat decides to take a look at this monster. For Jehan is indeed a monster: seven feet tall, surpassingly strong, and surpassingly ugly. 

When Jehan mocks the emperor as the ruler peers through the cell bars at him, Sarbat does not fly into a rage and order the bandit executed; instead, in a fit of perverse whimsy, he orders Jehan spared. Only to be continuously tortuted – but never to death – for the rest of his natural life. 

And to add to the torments to be inflicted on Jehan Henghmani, the prisoner is to be fed exclusively on human flesh – the legend of Jehan the ‘Man-Eater’ is to be made literal.

The first 100 pages of ‘Children’ detail, in prose not for the squeamish, the agonies inflicted on our hapless bandit hero. Even hard-core splatterpunk readers may be turned off by the atrocities detailed in the prison segment of the book. Things get a little more 'gentle' in the remaining pages, but not by much. Author Robinson takes a proto-Splatterpunk approach to things that was more than a little transgressive for a mainstream work of fiction produced in the late 70s.

Of course, Jehan ultimately escapes his prison, and the remainder of the book deals with his rise to power and his pursuit of revenge.

‘Children’ has the strengths and weaknesses of its genre, the 70s ‘epic’ adventure that served as the primary (and financially successful) creative output for authors such as James Clavell, John Jakes, and James Michener. The world of Bergharra and its peoples is drawn with depth and detail; the plot expands in time and space as the narrative unfolds; and each chapter brings new twist and turns to the overall storyline. 

However, the middle sections of the novel tend to drag, and the reader may find himself or herself having to persevere in order to arrive at the final chapters.

‘Children’ has a downbeat, cynical tenor that reflects its late 70s conception, and this may make it worthwhile to readers who are looking for an epic ‘barbarian’ fantasy with a flavor different from contemporary novels and series like ‘The Name of the Wind’, ‘The Game of Thrones’, and 'The Warded Man’.

Dangerous Curve

'Dangerous Curve' by Caza

from the April 1981 issue of Heavy Metal

a little more text-heavy than usual from Caza, but still an entertaining strip....

Book Review: Star Gate

Book Review: 'Star Gate' by Andre Norton

  4 / 5 Stars

‘Star Gate’ was originally published in 1958 in hardback by Harcourt, Brace, & Company. This Ace paperback (188 pp.) was published in February 1974. The cover artist is uncredited, but may be John Schoenherr.

In the far future, Terrans, as a race of 'Star Lords,' have spread throughout the galaxy, often taking up permanent residence among worlds settled by less advanced, humanoid races. For a small civilization of Terrans housed on the planet Gorth, where the aboriginals eke out a living using medieval-era technology, there is debate among the Star Lords as to the wisdom of raising up their adopted home's culture to a Space Age level. 

Do the Star Lords have the right and duty to interfere in the development of a culture not their own ? 

A decision is made: the Star Lords will depart, and let the native Gorthians evolve without interference.

Kincar s’Rud, the orphaned son of a Star Lord and a Gorthian woman, finds himself bereft of land and title by a usurper. Hearing rumors of a Star Lord encampment where spaceships are heading to distant planets, he sets off across the wilderness to find the camp, and perhaps a new career among the Terrans.

After some violent encounters with outlaws amid the mountain passes, Kincar joins a group of Star Lords, and their half-breed progeny, in the midst of fleeing an attack by a bandit army. 

The Star Lords pass through a hastily erected ‘Star Gate,’ which leads them to an alternate universe...... and an alternate Gorth !

On this version of Gorth, the Star Lords rule as cruel despots, abusing and enslaving the native population. The Star Lords of Kincar’s party are determined to bring down their evil doppelgangers.

Kincar is dispatched to find a weakness among the corrupt rulers of the alternate Gorth, a dangerous task made even more complicated by the fact here, the counterpart of his father is alive and well…..and quick to order the death of any half-breed that comes into his clutches.

‘Star Gate’ (the book apparently has no relation to the 1994 MGM film, or the subsequent television series), like much of Norton’s fiction, was aimed at a young adult audience, but I think older readers will find it worthwhile as well. The prose is clear and direct, and the while the plot is fast-moving, the world of the alternate Gorth, its rogue Star Lord masters, and their fearful slaves, is portrayed with depth sufficient for a novel of short length. 

Reading ‘Star Gate’ as I did, after digesting yet another early 70s New Wave anthology, was a nice change of pace. This Norton novel is worth picking up.

'Heavy Metal' magazine April 1981

'Heavy Metal' magazine, April 1981, featured a front cover by Esteban Maroto titled 'Sybil', and a back cover by Les Edwards titled 'Woof !'.

Ongoing series installments dominated this issue, with Corben's 'Bloodstar', Howarth's 'Changes', 'Ambassador of the Shadows' by Christin and Mezieres, and 'What Is Reality, Papa ?' by Ribera and Godard.

Among the better of the singleton comics was 'Good-bye, Soldier !', written by Ricardo Barreiro, with distinctive black and white art by Juan Giminez. 

In its style of illustration, setting, and pacing, 'Good-bye' calls very much to mind contemporary shooter video games like 'Killzone' and 'Halo', although back in April 1981 the idea that a video game would be technologically capable of rendering anything more than rudimentary images would have been considered impractical, if not wildly ambitious..........

'The Bus' by Paul Kirchner