Book Review: Nebula Award Stories Four

Book Review: 'Nebula Award Stories Four' edited by Poul Anderson

2 / 5 Stars

'Nebula Award Stories Four' first was published in hardback in December, 1969. This Pocket Books mass market paperback edition (230 pp) was published in January 1971. The cover art is by Paul Lehr.

I have learned through experience that these 'Nebula Award' compilations, particularly those issued during the New Wave era, contain a lot of duds. So it is with this compilation, which features stories first published in 1968 and 1969 in anthologies such as Orbit, and magazines like Galaxy.

Reflecting the political tumult of the late 60s, in his Introduction, editor Anderson remarks on the conflict within the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) over two petitions that sought signatures: one for the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, and one against it. Anderson apparently was pro-involvement, but maintained goodwill with his other SFWA colleagues..........

This edition of 'Nebula' includes a Foreward from one Willis E. McNelly, a professor in the English Department at Cal State Fullerton. Back in the late 60s offering a course in sci-fi was the height of hipness for English Department faculty (well, almost as hip as a course in Afro-American Studies or Latino Studies). McNelly assures the reader that sci-fi, as showcased in the Nebula Award Stories collections, is gaining ground as a Legitimate Genre of Literature:

Indeed, if the editors of the Saturday Review or The New York Times Review of Books had read some of the Nebula nominee novels published during 1968, they might have discovered that the gap between so-called mainstream fiction and first-rate science fiction is narrowing.........even the case hardened iconoclasts who occupy the pages of the New Yorker might be unable to detect the gap at all. For example, John Barth's Giles Goat Boy is science fiction, but no reviewer bothered to mention that fact. Barth's McLuhanesque Lost in the Fun House was also science fiction - a non-novel, perhaps, or even an anti-novel, or a non-book, a piece of mclunacy, but science fiction nonetheless- a fact ignored by every reviewer who tried to make conventional, representational mainstream sense out of Barth's fragmented vision.   

(Claiming that 'fabulist' or 'unconventional' novels by authors like Barth, Barthelme, Vonnegut, and Pynchon represented science fiction, and by so doing bestowed upon the genre greater legitimacy as a Literary Endeavor, was a much-employed maneuver by the New Wave community.)  

Anyways, enough about tiffs in the world of Highbrow Literature......how do the stories in compilation Number Four stack up ? 

My capsule reviews of the contents:

Mother to the World, by Richard Wilson: Martin Rolfe, aged forty-two, is healthy, smart, and virile, and ready to repopulate the planet in the aftermath of World War Three. However, the Last Woman on Earth is a twenty-four year-old, mentally retarded housemaid named Cissy...........

While its 'provocative' nature has considerably lessened in the 51 years since it saw print in Orbit 3, this story remains a legitimate Nebula awardee for best novelette 1968. It is written in a straightforward style (devoid of New Wave affectations) and has an ending that avoids contrivance, while endeavoring to deliver a humanistic message. 

The Dance of the Changer and the Three, by Terry Carr: the planet Loarr is home to aliens composed of energy, who communicate via stylized movements and flashing colors. Three such aliens embark on an existential quest, which an observing Earthman cannot fully understand.

Carr plainly intended this story, with its 'far-out' aliens, as a rebuttal to those critics of sci-fi that claimed that the genre was all about space squids lusting for human females. Unfortunately, 'The Dance' is too overwritten, and too underplotted, to be anything other than yet another New Wave tale that tried too hard to say something Profound.......... and wound up saying nothing much at all.  

The Planners, by Kate Wilhelm: at a primate research facility in inland Florida, psychologist Dr. Darin researches a method for imparting enhanced intelligence to chimps. There is hope that the method can be used to aid humans.

This story won the 1968 Nebula for best Short Story, but it hasn't aged well (aside from describing human and animal experiments that would be considered cruel and unethical by contemporary standards). As with her other stories from this era, Wilhelm adopts the New Wave affectation of inserting text passages - that represent the personal fantasies of the lead character - into the narrative without demarcating these passages by use of italics, or offsetting with asterisks. Accordingly, it is left to the reader to sort what is 'real' from what is 'unreal'. This experimental approach to prose isn't helped by an underwhelming denouement that revolves around coming to terms with a loveless marriage......a favorite neurosis of the late 1960s ! 

Sword Game, by H. H. Hollis: satirical tale of a nerdy, disheveled Professor of Mathematics who finds a nubile coed willing to sleep with him. After a while, this palls, and the Professor schemes of a way to get rid of her. 

This story has little, if any, merit as a sci-fi tale, but it is a telling symbol of the wish-fulfillment sought by the membership of the SFWA who, in 1968, were non-Woke, middle-aged white men consumed with the knowledge that the Sexual Revolution was raging all around them, and they were too old and hapless to fully indulge in its lubricious joys............

The Listeners, by James E. Gunn: a melodrama set in the near future about MacDonald, the project director of a program that uses an upgraded version of the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico to scan the galaxy for transmissions originating from alien civilizations. MacDonald's Latina wife Maria has taken to relying on sleeping pills to fall asleep; this is alarming. The story's major point seems to be that any human endeavor, if it is noble enough, is legitimate. 

This story has a rather pedestrian plot, which revolves around the bureaucratic and managerial aspects of maintaining a scientific endeavor of questionable worth. In order to impute a Literary Quality to his story, Gunn regularly inserts italicized excerpts from famous poems and plays and novels in their native Spanish, German, Italian, and Latin; the story has a two-page Appendix which provides English translations. I finished reading 'The Listeners' thinking that the text devoted to these quotations could have been deleted, in order to free up space to try and give the narrative a more impactful outcome.

Dragonrider, by Anne McCaffrey: somewhat awkwardly, in order to fill out the page count for this anthology, it incorporates part two of McCaffrey's novel (which won the 1968 Nebula for Best Novella). Part One, which was the novella 'Weyr Search', was published in Nebula Award Stories Three (Pocket Books, 1968). My thoughts on the whole 'Dragonriders of Pern' series are posted here.

In Memorium: this curious little Appendix contains small-font, half-page obituaries devoted to those science fiction writers who died in 1968 - 1969. Some of the more recognizable names include Anthony Boucher, Rosel George Brown, Groff Conklin, and Mervyn Peake. Some of these essays provide interesting little insights, often into the mindset of the obituary composer. For example, in his essay on Aaron Wyn, the publisher of Ace Books, Donald Wollheim states:

He was a man to be respected, of high intelligence, undoubted literary quality within strict limits, but always a tough, opinionated businessman for whom few ever acquired a warm affection.

Wolheim plainly detested Wynn, and this was Wollheim's chance to get in a posthumous dig !

Summing everything up, the blunt reality is that only the McCaffrey and Wilson entries have stood the test of time in the 50+ years since the publication of 'Nebula Award Stories Four'. I can't recommend this anthology to anyone, save those who are particularly drawn to the New Wave era and its content.

Tales from the Plague by Richard Corben

Tales from the Plague
cover art by Richard Corben
Eclipse Comics, 1986

The comic itself is something of a letdown; Corben's art has a loose, half-hearted quality and the text, contributed by Dennis Cunningham, suffers from trying to be too clever in its use of 'Ye Olde Quille Penne'  fonts. But Corben's cover art is brilliant.

Reckless by Chrissie Hynde

Celebrating Women's History Month 2020

'Reckless' by Chrissie Hynde

5 / 5 Stars

Here at the PorPor Books Blog, we celebrate Women's History Month by reviewing a book - fiction or nonfiction - that tells a story about a Woman or Women (or Womyn, if you prefer).

For Women's History Month 2020, we are reviewing 'Reckless: My Life As A Pretender' (324 pp) was published in hardbound by Random House in 2015.

Chrissie Hynde is of course best known as the founder and lead singer of the Punk / New Wave band 'The Pretenders'.

'Reckless' starts off, logically enough for an autobiography, with the birth of Chris Hynde in September 1951 in Akron, Ohio. Hynde relates growing up in Akron and other Ohio cities as a Baby Boomer who loved horses, and, as she grew older, rock n' roll.

With her graduation from high school in 1969, and her subsequent enrollment at Kent State University, Hynde's love for rock, when combined with the sociocultural ferment of the late 60s, kicked off the long journey that would see her becoming a 'punk', a singer, a guitarist, and the leader of a band. 

These chapters of the book offer an engaging account of this period in American society (I won't give away spoilers, save to say that Hynde Was There at the Kent State Shooting on May 4, 1970).

Baby Boomers are going to recognize - and even submerge in nostalgia - when reading about Hynde's experiences during this period of time. Her references to Zap Comics, S. Slay Wilson (Hynde bestowed the name 'Star-Eyed Stella' on a friend), Quaaludes, and polyester shag carpets call to mind the time and place as well as any 70s memoirist. 

And Hynde discloses some gems of pop culture that I was unfamiliar with, among them the Hallelujah The Pill ! poster - ?!

It's during these middle chapters that the implications of the title 'Reckless' come into play. Hynde relates how her embrace of the counterculture during the early 70s often led her to do things that, nowadays, would give Helicopter Parents, and sexual assault counselors, white hair. Again, I don't want to disclose spoilers, but Hynde makes clear that the inspiration for the classic Pretenders song 'Tattooed Love Boys' came from an unforgettable night spent in the company of some bikers:

'SHUT UP OR YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE SOME PLASTIC SURGEON RICH !'

Readers will have to draw their own conclusions about the controversy that enveloped Hynde in 2015 with the publication of 'Reckless', and her remarks in a Sunday Times interview about rape and responsibility. However, Hynde points out that she suffered from depression in her younger days, which undoubtedly played a role in some of her actions during that time:

"...........if you go into the club house of the world’s most notorious bikers, it’s not going to be for a Bible reading," she tells The [Washington] Post.

The final third of 'Reckless' starts with Hynde travelling to Britain in 1973; from her perspective as an 'outsider', she offers amusing insights into the British way of life. Over the next six years Hynde drifted from one job to another, while she became a member of the emerging punk rock scene. There are lots of insider anecdotes about such famous figures as the members of the Sex Pistols and The Clash.

Hynde describes how her ambition to be in a rock band came to reality (after many false starts) in 1979, when The Pretenders were formed. She details the pivotal role of lead guitarist James Honeyman Scott in the band's 'sound' and success, something that, as a Pretenders fan, I was not truly aware of.

The closing chapters of 'Reckless' cover the years 1980 - 1983, and the deaths of both Honeyman Scott and Pete Farndon. This is where the book gets a bit disappointing; the reformation of the band following the deaths of two of its members, and the success of the 1984 album 'Learning to Crawl' (as well as all subsequent Pretenders accomplishments) don't get covered (in interviews done at the time 'Reckless' was released, Hynde stated that she considered the interval between the albums 'Pretenders II' and 'Learning to Crawl' to be the stopping point for the book).

Summing up, if you are interested in The Pretenders; the pop culture and sociology of America and Britain in the 1970s; or the early days of the punk rock movement, then you will find 'Reckless' a quick and engaging read.

The Holy Mountain (trailer)

'The Holy Mountain' by Alejandro Jodorowsky
movie trailer, 1973

'The Holy Mountain' (in Spanish, La Montana Sacra) was intended to be a surrealist treatment of 'heavy themes' and a further exploration of the experimental (some might say ultra-pretentious) style of film-making Alejandro Jodorowsky pioneered in his 1970 film 'El Topo'.

'Mountain' caused a stir at its premiere at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival. It thereafter had a limited circulation in 'art house' theatres in the U.S., mainly because it was considered too avant-garde (and sacrilegious) to be picked up by the establishment film distributors of that era. 

Jodorowsky wrote, produced, and directed the film, as well as playing the role of 'The Alchemist'. Jodorowsky is of course best known to sci-fi and Heavy Metal magazine fans for his scripting of the comics The Incal and The Metabarons (among others).

I remember seeing 'El Topo' once, back at college in the early 80s, and finding it dull. I haven't seen 'The Holy Mountain', but the trailer seems to give a pretty good sense of its vintage, early 70's Weirdness. 

Jodorowsky (who now is 90 years old) has a reputation for being a professional bullshitter, so I don't have an overwhelming desire to watch the DVD of 'The Holy Mountain'. But if you have, feel free to Comment on your reaction to it.............?!

Ax by Ernie Colon

Ax
by Ernie Colon
Marvel Graphic Novel No. 44
1988

'Ax' (48 pp) is Marvel Graphic Novel No. 44, published in 1988. Veteran comics artist Ernie Colon (1931 - 2019) did both the story and art.

As the book opens, an emissary of Prince Hafton has come to the medieval village wherein our hero, Ax, lives. The emissary seeks a poacher named Alia Cruz, and upon finding him, makes arrangements to have Cruz executed. When Ax intervenes, it sets in motion a series of events, some involving a tribe of Africans, others, the residents of a far-future sci-fi world. 

All of these events somehow are linked to Ax, who may be the Savior........the One predicted to save the world.

Of the more than ten Marvel Graphic Novels I have read to date, 'Ax' is the worst. 

It's hard not to conclude that Colon 'leaped before he looked' with this effort. I imagine that, having gotten the green light from Marvel editor Tom DeFalco, Colon found himself obliged to deliver a book......and rather than devoting time and care to its execution, perhaps due to deadline pressures, he made it up as he went along.

Colon was capable of producing quality artwork for his comic book assignments, but in 'Ax' his drawing has a cartoony, makeshift quality. And the plotting is utterly incoherent. Its main goal seems to have been communicating a humanistic message about redemption and the Brotherhood of Man, but that's just a guess on my part................

Even the most die-hard fans of Colon and his artwork are going to find this effort to be a disappointment. 'Ax' is a Marvel Graphic Novel that can safely be passed by. 

Book Review: The Dragonriders of Pern

Book Review: 'The Dragonriders of Pern' by Anne McCaffrey

3 / 5 Stars

This hardcover Omnibus (751 pp) was published by Doubleday under the Science Fiction Book Club imprint in October of 1978. The cover illustration is by Ron Dilg. It contains 'Dragonflight' (1968), 'Dragonquest' (1971) and 'The White Dragon' (1978).

The 'Pern' franchise now consists of over 25 novels and short story collections, some of which have been written by McCaffrey's son Todd, and her daughter Gigi (Anne McCaffrey died in 2011).

I never read any of the Pern novels when they first appeared, because I thought they were cheesy - I mean, people riding around on pet dragons ? Weren't dragons supposed to be menaces to health and welfare ?

(For a less-than-complimentary review by sci-fi blogger M. Porcius of 'Dragonflight', the first entry in the Pern series, readers are directed here. Pern enthusiasts may be offended.) 

But, after the passage of 50 years, what with the Pern novels falling within the period of time (1968 - 1988) that this blog covers, I thought that I was obliged to sit down and read through at least the first three volumes in the series.........a task that took me a good seven weeks to accomplish.

The books have an interesting premise: over the centuries, the Terran colony on the planet Pern has regressed to a medieval level of civilization. But Pern remains threatened by its twinned planet, known as the Red Star, whose orbit periodically (every 200 years or so) brings it close to Pern. At such times, a fungus known as the Thread launches its spores from the Red Star, across interplanetary space, to Pern. As the spores descend through the atmosphere of Pern they convert to hyphae; should these land in the soil, they will consume all organic matter. If left unchecked, the Thread can convert an entire continent into a sterile wasteland.

Fortunately, the colonizers of Pern bioengineered the planet's small, indigenous flying lizards into 'dragons' capable of breathing fire and teleportation, as well as telepathic contact with their human riders. With the advent of Thread, together the dragonriders of Pern and their mounts rise to the skies and immolate the hyphae before they can land and take root. This is a struggle (the 'Pass') that lasts for as long as fifty years, before the Red Star's orbit moves the planet too far a distance for the spores to reach Pern.

The 'Dragonriders' trilogy recounts how, in the centuries with an absence of the Thread, the landholders of Pern have become increasingly resentful of having to support the dragonriders. The landholders have come to see the dragonriders as a caste of parasitic aristocrats who have outlived their usefulness. 

F'lar, a young and ambitious dragonrider, chafes at the indifference to the threat of the Thread exhibited by his caste's leadership. But when ancient astronomical sites reveal the approach of the Red Star and the advent of the Thread, F'lar and his supporters realize that the fate of the planet now rests in their hands......but will they and their depleted forces of dragons be able to stop the onslaught ?

It's difficult to provide an in-depth, critical review of an Omnibus without disclosing spoilers, so I'll simply say that 'The Dragonriders of Pern' has its strengths and weaknesses. 

Strengths: although writing during the heyday of the New Wave movement, McCaffrey keeps her prose direct and unencumbered by the myriad literary devices that many authors of that era were fond of indulging in. 

For example, when the dragons and their riders teleport from one location to another, a procedure known as going between, McCaffrey avoids recounting these events in lengthy passages of figurative prose designed to communicate the psychological and physical turmoil associated with displacement in time and space (as Roger Zelazny was fond of doing with his 'Amber' novels).

Another strength of the trilogy are the characters of the dragons themselves; McCaffrey succeeds in giving these reptiles personalities and behaviors (that often make them more appealing than the human characters).

The Pern trilogy suffers from a major weakness: the concept of dragons flying around and burning up a fungus isn't exactly conducive to an action-packed narrative. Accordingly, 90% of the narrative in the trilogy is devoted to chronicling inter- and intra- group melodramas between the dragonriders and the landholders. These melodramas often are presented through lengthy passages of dialogue, and within the first few chapters of 'Dragonflight', become both tedious and unavoidable, as they are the main features of all three novels. 

My eyes often glazed over with the effort of trying to keep track of yet another passage in which F'lar and Lessa (or was it F'nor and Brekke ?) are debating yet another political crisis involving T'ron and T'gor and Kylara, during which they are joined by N'ton and Lytol and Jaxom, who are aggravated by another transgression on the part of Lord Fax or Lord Meron or Lord Toronas................mix in telepathic observations on the part of the nearby dragons (rendered in italic font), and you can see how trying to follow these rhetorical excursions can be troublesome.

However, in summing up, there's no getting around the fact that 'The Dragonriders of Pern' compiles three of the most successful sci-fi novels of the decade between 1968 - 1978 and no survey of the genre is complete without acknowledging this. Given that other trilogies from the same period that were given a favorable critical reception - and here Asimov's 'Foundation' books comes readily to mind - were pretty mediocre in comparison, a three-star score for the 'Dragonriders' is appropriate.

Arts Unknown: the Life and Art of Lee Brown Coye

Arts Unknown
The Life and Art of Lee Brown Coye
by Luis Ortiz
Nonstop Press, 2005

'Arts Unknown' (176 pp) is one of a number of overviews of fantasy / sci-fi art edited by Luis Ortiz and published by the Greenwood, Delaware publisher Nonstop Press.

Like many devotees of sci-fi and fantasy literature and art, I was aware to some extent of Lee Brown Coye (1907 - 1981), mainly though his distinctive artwork for the classic Weird Tales pulp magazine, his cover art for Arkham House hardbound books, and, in the late 70s and early 80s, his collaboration with Whispers magazine writer Karl Edward Wagner and editor Stuart David Schiff.

'Arts Unknown' provides an in-depth overview of the artist, his works, and his times.

Coye was born in the small town of Tully and spent most of his life in upstate New York, in locales such as Syracuse, Cazenovia, and Hamilton; anyone who lived or lives in that area will find many informative anecdotes in 'Arts Unknown' about the region in the days when it was prosperous and thriving (as opposed to nowadays being a depressing landscape emblematic of the Rust Belt).

'Arts Unknown' chronicles Coye's life and art in chronological order, assessing his work within the trends and fashions of the art world during the pre- and post- WWII eras. As a self-taught artist, without a network of contacts and patrons, Coye nonetheless was able to gain a degree of appreciation in his homeland of Central New York and, as his career progressed, a measure of notice among the established art community of New York City.

One thing that emerges from 'Arts Unknown' is that Coye was something of an erratic personality, which, when combined with a poor business sense, regularly left him in a state of financial insecurity. 

Also revealed in the pages of 'Arts Unknown' is the breadth of Coye's artistic skills, which included the assembly of meticulously crafted dioramas; metalsmithing; and medical illustration.

Although much of the pieces Coye created have been lost over the years, author Ortiz does a commendable job in compiling as much material as could be found. Readers hoping to see Coye's works for Weird Tales and Arkham House will find examples here.

Ortiz does relate some interesting anecdotes behind Coye's famous illustrative motif of crossed sticks, and how this motif came to the attention of Karl Edward Wagner and Stuart Schiff, and the memorable short story 'Sticks' by the former that appeared in Whispers magazine in the March, 1974 issue. 

If you're not familiar with this phenomenon of late 70's horror fiction, and its referencing in the 1999 'found footage' film The Blair Witch Project, then this blog has some details (but beware - it also has Spoilers). Another, more lengthy, examination of 'Sticks', Wagner, and Coye is available here.

Summing up, 'Arts Unknown: The Life and Art of Lee Brown Coye' will be of interest to fans of horror and fantasy literature; graphic art; American art of the early 20th century; and even those with an interest in the history and culture of the arts scene in upstate New York in that same time interval. Copies, priced at about $40, can be had from your usual online vendors. 

Swords of the Swashbucklers

Swords of the Swashbucklers
by Bill Mantlo (story) and Jackson Guice (art)
Marvel Graphic Novel No. 14 (1984)

'Swords of the Swashbucklers' (64 pp.) is Marvel Graphic Novel No. 14, and was released in 1984.

As 'Swords' opens, it's the morning after a major storm off the South Carolina coast. A teen-aged girl named Domino is wandering the beach to see what has washed ashore.

Among the dunes, Domino comes across a strange piece of machinery that has become uncovered by the storm. The machinery emits a signal pulse.

The action then shifts to another part of the galaxy, where ships 'sail' the depths of space thanks to enwrapping force-fields that retain a bubble of breathable air for the crew.

We are introduced to the pirate ship 'Starshadow', her crew of alien scum, and the captain, a red-headed woman with horns (?!) named Raader. 

Without giving away spoilers, I'll simply say that Raader and her ship are the scourge of the spaceways, and the sole opponent of the rapacious Colonizers. And there is a connection between Raader and Domino, a connection that stretches back hundreds of years and across light-years of space.......

'Swords of the Swashbucklers', needless to say, is an attempt to infuse a sci-fi adventure narrative with the theme of the pirates of historical fact. In this, Mantlo's script does a reasonably adequate job, although the presence of a lot of hanging plot threads at the book's conclusion signals that the creators were hoping to launch a franchise from this Graphic Novel. This of course came to pass, with the 'Swords' series of 12 comic books that were released, under Marvel's Epic imprint, from March 1985 to March 1987.

Jackson Guice's artwork is the major selling point for this Graphic Novel, as it represents his customary level of high quality. Alfred Ramirez's colors at times overwhelm Guice's penciling, but this is simply a reflection of the limitations of the color reproduction processes Marvel employed for its Graphic Novels in the early 80s.

Summing up, 'Swords of the Swashbucklers' is another of those 80s sci-fi Graphic Novels that sets out to be a fun and entertaining read, no more, no less. It has a lighter quality than the overwritten, weighty sci-fi comics one sees nowadays (like Saga, Descender, Bitch Planet, and Invisible Republic) and if this is appealing to you, then acquiring a copy is recommended (used copies of 'Swords' can be found for under $10).

Robert Palmer: You Are In My System

Robert Palmer
'You Are In My System'
October 1983

'You Are In My System' first was released in August 1982 as a single by the U.S. band The System. 

English singer Robert Palmer heard the song and was eager to record his own version, which in turn became a track on his 1983 album Pride. Palmer released a single of 'You Are In My System' in October 1983; the single reached number 73 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 

Like the version released by The System, Palmer's take on the song stayed true to its New Wave / Electropop aesthetic, with an emphasis on synthesizer and electronic drums. The accompanying video is noteworthy for its proto-Cyberpunk imagery: Palmer dons a leather trench coat; there are computers; Tron-style vector graphics; neon lights; and noir-style lighting.