Synchronicity

Synchronicity

The psychologist Carl Jung coined the term synchronicity in the early 20s to describe those times when the word 'coincidence' seems inadequate. Over time the concept has acquired a pop culture significance, and implies some sort of quantum physics-based connection underlying all things in the universe.

After being introduced to the concept via Arthur Koestler's book The Roots of Coincidence, Sting adopted the word as the title for the Police's 1983 album.

I personally though the whole concept was nonsense. Until March 26, 2004, when I opened up the Washington Post and saw a picture of two people attending a rally in Virginia for gay marriage. The appearance of one of these people, Dale Dugger, provoked some subconscious meme from my memory.

I'd seen that person before, somewhere, sometime...that distinctive hair style...the facial features, the horn-rimmed glasses.....

.......and then I knew. I had indeed seen that person before. But in a painting of Jim Morrison done by the Belgian artist Guy Peellaert in his 1973 book Rock Dreams !

The person standing right beside Jim bears an uncanny resemblance to Dale Dugger !

So, I no longer am a 'Synchronicity Skeptic'. 

Maybe there is some underlying aspect of the quantum structure of the universe that ties everything, everywhere together, and every now and then we get a glimpse of that underlying interconnectedness.....

Here is The Thievery Corporation's remix of 'Strange Days'.

Blob by Philippe Druillet

'Blob' by Philippe Druillet

from the October 1978 issue of Heavy Metal

 

Book Review: Pig World

Book Review: 'Pig World' by Charles W. Runyon

4 / 5 Stars

Charles W. Runyon (1928-2015) wrote a sizeable number of short stories and novels in the mystery, private eye, and sf genres during the 60s and 70s. Some of these saw publication under the house name 'Ellery Queen'. An interview with Runyon and a bibliography of his works, featuring scans of the paperbacks and hardcover editions, is available here.

According to his entry in the online Science Fiction Encyclopedia, Runyon wrote 16 stories for the sf digest market during the 50s though the 70s. His sf novels other than 'Pig World' include 'Ames Holbrook, Deity' (1972), and 'I, Weapon' (1974)

‘Pig World’ (190 pp.) was first released in 1971 as a hardcover volume in the SF Book Club; a Lancer paperback was issued in March 1973, with a cover illustration by Ron Walotsky.

The novel is set in the ‘near future’, i.e., around the year 2000. In the opening chapter we are introduced to protagonist Marvin Ross, an inmate in a particularly brutal maximum security prison in the Southwest. It transpires that the US is in a state of utter anarchy; the central government has collapsed, and the country divided into lawless territories infested with bandits and thugs; large tracts of land are too radioactive, or laden with nerve gas, to be habitable; and foreign armies contest for ownership of the Pacific and Canadian borders.

The novel then segues into an extended flashback, and we learn how Marvin Ross went from being a up-and-coming young businessman to a Weatherman –style revolutionary devoted to the violent overthrow of the ruling powers. However, circumstances intervened to deny Ross his opportunity, and now, as a condemned prisoner, he awaits the firing squad.

I won’t disclose any spoilers, but it’s safe to say that Marvin Ross will escape his prison and embark on a dangerous quest to regain control of the revolution from the despot who rules what remains of the USA. But time is running out; if Ross can’t enlist the aid of the Oppressed Proletariat, then the ‘Pig World’ of the book’s title will become a reality……

‘Pig World’ is a strange and interesting sci-fi take on the youth movement, and its revolutionary politics, of the early 70s (think of John and Yoko posing for a photograph while wearing army fatigues and berets). 

Runyon asks ‘what if ?’ the movements of the Weathermen and the SDS somehow gained sufficient traction to have led to an overthrow of the government, and then mixes in a full load of sf tropes.

The first half of the novel moves rather slowly, but the second half – dealing with Ross’s travels and travails in the southwest US – reads like ‘Damnation Alley’, or the 'Radioactive Rambo' genre of survivalist fiction. It is also rather graphic in terms of depicting violence - readers will want to prepare for some Splatterpunk leanings.

Runyon’s female characters are stock ‘Swingin’ 70s’ young nubiles, perpetually aroused, and ever-ready to ‘give it up’ for the ideals of the revolution. His descriptions of pubescent girls, in particular, while not that unusual for the 70s fiction, will seem creepy and unsettling to modern readers.

In summary, ‘Pig World’ is a fast-moving, sometimes quite engaging, example of early 70s pulp sf, one that incorporates themes and political stances echoed only hollowly by today’s ‘Occupy’ movement. 

The well-written action scenes, and the novel's clipped, declarative prose style (which in some ways prefigures the style of Cyberpunk authors like Gibson and Sterling)  make up for the rather contrived final chapter. 

This one is worth searching out.

'The Manhunters' 

from Eerie No. 60 (September 1974)

writer: Gerry Boudreau  artist: Wally Wood

Book Review: The Dakota Project

Book Review: 'The Dakota Project' by Jack Beeching

 1 / 5 Stars

‘The Dakota Project’ was published in hardcover in 1968; this Dell paperback (280 pp.) was issued in July 1971. The cover artwork is by Robert (Bob) Foster.

Foster illustrated many paperbacks in the 60s and 70s and used Steve Holland as a model, as the male figure on the cover of ‘Project’ reveals. Holland, of course, was the model for James Bama’s 'Doc Savage' covers for Bantam.

‘The Dakota Project’ is a first-person narrative on the part of a middle-aged British writer named Richard Conroy. As the novel opens, Conroy has arrived in North Dakota, where, logically enough, the Dakota Project is located.

Conroy is not overly impressed with the location of the project – a village surrounded by security fencing and mine fields, in the middle of the windswept prairie – but the vague thrill of working on a semi-clandestine endeavor, as well as a handsome salary, have induced him to sign on for a multi-year stint.

Conroy gets to work writing propaganda tracts, befriends a lesbian couple, and acquires a harelipped Mexican domestic (!) as a mistress. His superiors are pleased with his work, and as Fall turns to Winter, Conroy is promoted to the inner circle, where he learns of the Project’s true mission.

Conroy accepts this disclosure with some equanimity, reasoning that after his hitch is up, he can depart and re-enter civilian life without a backward glance. But when a high-ranking member of the Project recruits him for a possible coup, events start to lurch out of control. 

Will Conroy side with the usurper and see his friends subjected to a dire fate ? Or will he rebel, and risk his life for a chance to escape the Project ?

Such a dilemma sounds like the ingredient for a good thriller, but unfortunately, ‘The Dakota Project’ is a dull and unimaginative read.

Author Beeching awkwardly tries to take the self-centered narrative peculiar to middle-aged white men, the same narrative that John Updike successfully mined with his ‘Rabbit’ novels, and meld it to a satirical thriller along the lines of ‘Dr Strangelove’.

Much of the novel is centered around long stretches of dialogue, in which the author shows to us his command of witty repartee. As well, there are plentiful monologues, during which Conroy muses about various frat-boy topics, such as how he best can get the lesbians into his bed, or how best to impress the Project directorship during administrative meetings. 

The end result of these excursions into middle-aged male psychology is……… tedium. 

‘The Dakota Project’ is unimpressive both as a near-future sf novel, and as a thriller. You’re better off passing on this title.

Wonderworks by Michael Whelan

'Wonderworks'

Science fiction & fantasy art by Michael Whelan

 

‘Wonderworks: Science Fiction & Fantasy Art by Michael Whelan’ was published in 1979 by The Donning Company.

Starting around 1975, publishers of sf, and the growing genre of fantasy, began to turn from the abstract, figurative artwork of the New Wave era, towards a more ‘realistic’ and painterly style of illustration, for their book covers.

There were a number of talented artists whose work was seminal to this transition, among them the Brothers Hildebrandt, Chris Foss, Patrick Woodroffe, Darrell K. Sweet, Tim White, and Michael Whelan. 

The latter’s work was plentifully evident in many paperbacks released from 1975 – 1979, the interval covered by this book.

‘Wonderworks’ is divided into several chapters devoted to the genres of sf, heroic fantasy, romantic fantasy, horror, heroines, and aliens. Whelan's paintings for mass market paperbacks and hardbound books in these genres all are reproduced in large-scale, full-color format. 

Each of these chapters features an introductory essay by a well-known author or editor whose work employed a painting by Whelan, such as Poul Anderson, Michael Moorcock, Gerald W. Page, Ann McCaffrey, and Alan Dean Foster.

Many of these illustrations will evoke nostalgia among readers of the PorPor era, and probably will move them to seek out copies of the paperback for which the cover artwork was used.

I’ve posted some images from 'Wonderworks' below, along with some of the relevant paperbacks, to give you an idea of how the original images were cropped or obscured to meet the confines of paperback cover layout and sizing.

Michael Whelan continues to be active in fantastic artwork and illustration; his website is: http://www.glassonion.com/.

Brother Assassin by Fred Saberhagen, Ace Books, 1978

The Night Face by Poul Anderson, Ace Books, 1978

The Year's Best Horror Stories: Series V, edited by Gerald Page, DAW Books, 1977

 

The Year's Best Horror Stories: Series IV, edited by Gerald Page, DAW Books, 1976

Dying for Tomorrow by Michael Moorcock, DAW Books, 1978

Swords and Ice Magic by Fritz Leiber, Ace Books, 1977

Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock, DAW Books, 1977

World Without Stars by Poul Anderson, Ace Books, 1978

Gate of Ivrel by C. J. Cherryh, DAW Books, 1976

The Planet Savers by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Ace Books, 1976

'Orion' by Gray Morrow

from the March 1978 issue of Heavy Metal

'Orion' debuted in the March, 1978 issue of Heavy Metal magazine and ran in succeeding issues throughout the remainder of that year.

A compilation of the 'Orion' series is being released as a trade paperback by Hermes Press in mid-2012, and is available for pre-order at online retailers.

Book Review: 'The Winged Man', by E. Mayne Hull and A. E. Van Vogt

1 / 5 Stars

‘The Winged Man’ first appeared in print in 1944 in Astounding Science Fiction, with Edna Mayne Hull – Van Vogt’s first wife - as the sole author. An expanded version was published in 1966 with Van Vogt as a co-author; seeking to fill its early catalog, DAW Books re-issued the novel in 1980 as book No. 378; the luminous cover art is by Douglas Beekman.

The novel starts with a US Navy atomic submarine, the Sea Serpent, cruising in the darkness of the South Pacific. Officer Kenlon espies what appears to be a very large bird flying past the ship; the ‘bird’ soon turns out to be a winged man, who attaches devices of unknown design and purpose to the sub’s surface.

Kenlon and his crew succeed in capturing the winged man; no sooner is he imprisoned below decks, than the submarine is somehow transported to the Pacific Ocean of the far, far future: the year 24,999, to be exact.

It transpires that the Sea Serpent is one of a number of vessels from various centuries, all brought into the future by the winged men. It seems the winged men are losing a war being waged against an aquatic subspecies of Homo sapiens, and they believe the firepower of the submarine, and the other vessels in their unusual armada, can destroy the undersea city of their adversaries.

But as office Kenlon soon discovers, there is more to the story than a war among two races of a future mankind. He and the crew of the Sea Serpent will find themselves forced to make a decision with consequences for the fate of the entire galaxy….

Aware that ‘Winged’ originated as a pulp novel, I had no major expectations upon reading it. Even so, it was a chore to finish.

It’s difficult to tell if Van Vogt’s contribution to the expanded version made the original story worse, or better. But as it stands, ‘Winged’ spends the greater part of its narrative belaboring the interactions between the crews of the various ‘kidnapped’ sea vessels. Indeed, not until the final 11 pages of the book, does the battle promised in the back cover blurbs come to fruition. 

As a novel, ‘Winged Man’ is tedious and unremarkable, particularly for a novel re-written in 1966, by which time the prose skills of  Van Vogt, at least, should have showed some signs of advancement.

Starting in 1956 with Damon Knight’s essay ‘Cosmic Jerrybuilder’, Van Vogt became the target of increasing disparagement by other sf writers. 

I can’t say if the limited set of Van Vogt fiction that I’ve read over the years is of sufficient magnitude to allow me to agree with Knight, particularly in light of the fact that an awful lot of the New Wave content I’ve waded through has represented sf at its worst. 

But ‘The Winged Man’ is easily forgettable.

'Surprise Party' by Brenda Jackson and Serge Clerc

from Heavy Metal, March 1982