Book Review: Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Scream Along with Me

Book Review: 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Scream Along with Me'

4 / 5 Stars

The 'Alfred Hitchcock' franchise was ubiquitous in the Baby Boomer years following World War Two. Something like 170 anthologies of short stories were issued in hardback, and mass market paperback, under the Hitchcock moniker. 

There also was a monthly digest, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, that was very successful (it was launched in December 1956, and still is published today).

Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, June 1967

Robert Arthur, Jr., the US author who edited much of the media in the Hitchcock franchise, even launched a series of mysteries for juveniles, using the Hitchcock affiliation as a marketing tool. From 1964 to 1987, 43 volumes of 'The Three Investigators' books were published. I read a number of these and found them to be entertaining, back in my junior high school days.

Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators in The Mystery of the Silver Spider, 1967

Of particular prominence among the franchise's enterprises were the 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' paperback anthologies from Dell. These were commonplace on store shelves during the 60s and 70s. According to the Dell wiki, the 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' series began in June 1958 with 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents: 12 Stories They Wouldn't Let Me Do on TV',  and ended in October 1979 with 'Alfred Hitchcock: Breaking the Scream Barrier'.  

I remember reading the Hitchcock anthologies, and even buying a few of them, as a teenager. I have five or six of them sitting in a box somewhere in my basement.........

Anyways, 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Scream Along with Me' (224 pp.) is an abridged version of the 1967 hardcover anthology 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories that Scared Even Me'. My copy of 'Scream' (above) was issued in September 1977. The first Dell edition (pictured below) was published in 1970. 

The stories in 'Scream Along with Me' all saw print in an eclectic assortment of various books and magazines, including the more popular 'slick' magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, in the interval from 1913 to 1967.

My capsule summaries of the contents:

Fishhead, by Irvin S. Cobb (1913): the eponymous backwoods resident isn't someone you want to mess with.

Camera Obscura, by Basil Copper (1965): a moneylender meets the intriguing Dr. Gingold.

A Death in the Family, by Miriam Allen deFord (1961): oldie but goodie about a man with peculiar habits.

The Knife, by Robert Arthur (1951): it's not just an ordinary utensil. I suspect most readers will see where the plot is going well in advance. I would argue that 'The Knife' ably prefigures two of the most provocative stories in Harlan Ellison's 1967 anthology Dangerous Visions.

Casablanca, by Thomas M. Disch (1967): a middle-aged American couple, self-absorbed and dismissive, find their vacation in Morocco abruptly upended. 

First published in New Worlds magazine, this is a very well-plotted and well-written story, with low-key sci-fi overtones. 'Casablanca' had me concluding that when Disch wasn't trying so hard to turn out 'speculative fiction' pieces (like 'The Squirrel Cage') for the New Wave movement, he was quite capable of writing very good, 'traditional' short stories.

The Road to Mictlantecutli, by Adobe James (1965): Morgan, a ruthless criminal, is travelling on a deserted road in Mexico. The strange sights and passions he encounters will lead him to change his life........for good, or for ill.

'Adobe James' was the pseudonym of American writer James Moss Cardwell (1926 – 1990), who had his short stories published in a variety of magazines and anthologies during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. 

'Road' first appeared in issue 20 of the Adam Bedside Reader, and went on to be a staple entry in many anthologies, including The Sixth Pan Book of Horror Stories (1965) and The Arbor House Treasury of Horror and the Supernatural (1981). It skillfully imbues supernatural gongs-on with a moral theme, and in my opinion, is one of the best horror stories of the sixties.

Guide to Doom, by Ellis Peters (1963): short-short tale of a chateau with a disturbing history.

The Estuary, by Margaret St. Clair (1950): another short-short tale, and perennial anthology favorite.

Tough Town, by William Sambrot (1957): a travelling salesman finds himself in the wrong kind of town.

The Troll,  by T.H. White (1935): mild tale about a creature from Scandinavian fable.

Evening at the Black House by Robert Somerlott (1964): this first appeared in Cosmopolitan magazine (?!). It's a tale with a twist at the end. Well done.

One of the Dead, by William Wood (1964): this story originally appeared in The Saturday Evening Post in October 31, 1964 (the illustration below is from that issue). While a bit over-written, it's one of the better psychological horror stories I've read. 

It adroitly combines the haunted house trope with insightful observations about the anomie of mid-century suburban life in Los Angeles. There is an undertone of creepiness that comes to fruition in the story's final sentence. I finished 'One of the Dead' thinking that this sole story from Wood is markedly superior to many stories originating from better-known 'quiet horror' practitioners like Robert Aickman, T. E. D. Klein, Dennis Etchison, and Charles L. Grant. 

Information about author Wood is scant. According to the Science Fiction Encyclopedia he may have been a UK author, who wrote a 1962 novel titled The News from Karachi.

Illustration for 'One of the Dead' in the Saturday Evening Post, October 31, 1964

The Real Thing, by Robert Specht (1966): short-short about the village simpleton, with a 'shock' ending.

Journey to Death, by Donald E. Westlake (1959): a sea cruise can be problematic.

The Master of the Hounds, by Algis Budrys (1966): strange things are happening in rural New Jersey. Another story that first saw print in The Saturday Evening Post (August, 1966; cover above). Who would have thought The Post published so many horror / suspense stories back in the day ?!

The Candidate, by Henry Slesar (1961): corporate competitiveness gets a new dimension. Another story that reinforces my belief that Slesar (1927 -2002) was one of the more talented short-short story writers of the second half of the 20th century. 

It, by Theodore Sturgeon (1940): old-school tale of the predecessor to the 'swamp monsters' of the 1970s (like the Man-Thing and the Swamp-Thing).

Summing up, when reading these Hitchcock anthologies during the mid-70s, I tended to regard them as rather fuddy-duddy. 

But when read nowadays, with the benefit of greater familiarity with the horror / suspense genre, it's very clear that, compared to anthologies such as The Year's Best Horror Stories or Whispers or Shadows, there often are better short stories in the Hitchcock volumes, even if these stories had previously been published in the 1960s (or even earlier). 

Accordingly, I recommend 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Scream Along with Me' to fans of horror and suspense literature.

3-D eyeglasses and 'The Illustrated Harlan Ellison'

3-D Eyeglasses and The Illustrated Harlan Ellison

The 3-D experiment with Steranko and “Repent, Harlequin, Said the Ticktockman”, whatever you may think of it, there are people I know, I swear, with very, very highly developed artistic sense, I mean, they are people who have hanging in their homes Mark Rothkos, Picassos, I mean, they know art, they are not dilettantes, and they look at the Steranko stuff and they say, “This is fine.” Other people say [in a weaselly voice]: “What the hell is this? I don’t understand it.” I have a beef on the plates in the special limited edition portfolio [of “Repent, Harle­quin, Said the Ticktockman”]: The Thoreau quote was cut. I mean, you can cut my words if you want to on those damn plates, but for Chrissake, you don’t cut Thoreau. You don’t edit Thoreau because the lines don’t fit. And we can’t really figure out whether it was Steranko who did because he didn’t like the art layout or if Byron allowed it… But it doesn’t matter. It happened. So, I have my minor beefs, my minor cavils.

But I really like that book. I am pleased and proud of it. And Byron Preiss did it. He was the one who did it, dammit. He ramrodded it, he put it together, he babysat the goddamn crazy artists, he sat with me through my crazinesses where I insisted on things. It’s a book that I’m pleased to add to my oeuvre. And I read these incredibly pompous, sententious, powder-pigeon martinet analyses by schmucks I never heard of. God knows what the fuck they do for a living. They pack ice cream at Baskin-Robbins or something and in their spare time they write you a review. And they sit there and judge those who are their betters. Because Byron Preiss is one of the best, man. You know why I think he’s one of the best? Because he takes the chances. Byron did the Weird Heroes series, Byron did Empire, Byron did The Stars My Destination, Byron did The Illustrated Ellison. Byron did all these things. Some of them may be failures, but goddammit, he did them! He didn’t just sit down and do fuzzy-footed little creatures for “Weirdworld.” And I think he is deserving of respect and deserving of respectful attention for the intent and for the execution. If he fails, it’s possible to say, “This was an attempt, it was an interesting attempt, it failed. It failed for these reasons.” That’s okay.

-interview of Harlan Ellison, conducted in 1979 by Gary Groth

Copies of The Illustrated Harlan Ellison (the Baronet Books 1978 trade paperback, not the Ace Books mass-market, abridged, paperback edition from 1980) still can be had for under $30, but are fast increasing in price.

One of the more imaginative chapters of the book is Jim Steranko's 3-D illustrations for the short story "'Repent, Harlequin !' Said the TickTockMan".

If you are going to invest in the book, I recommend you also get a pair of cheap, plastic 3-D eyeglasses from amazon for $10 a pair (the book provides its own pair of cardboard 3-D glasses, but they don't work nearly as well as the plastic pair). 

Once wearing the 3-D glasses of any kind, you have to gaze at the page for a bit before your eyes adapt to the meshing of the images (Steranko cleverly provided a tiny '3-D' cube in each of his illustrations to serve as a visual cue for the '3-D' effect). But soon the magic of 3-D will be revealed to you !

Of course, the 3-D glasses from amazon work just as well for those other eccentric books that feature 3-D artwork, such as Alan Moore's The Black Dossier (2007).

Book Review: Seven Steps to the Sun

Book Review: 'Seven Steps to the Sun' by Fred Hoyle and Geoffrey Hoyle

3 / 5 Stars

'Seven Steps to the Sun' first was published in the UK in 1970. This Fawcett Crest paperback edition (160 pp.) was published in the U.S. in January, 1973 and features cover art by Jerome Podwil. This was one of a number of science fiction novels authored by the father-and-son team of the Hoyles.

As the novel opens, it's June 6, 1969, and our protagonist, a young writer named Mike Jerome, is travelling the streets of London in search of new ideas for television programs (er, 'programmes'). Jerome arranges to talk to a physics professor, who describes how time travel into the future could be made possible. Excited with the idea of time travel as a theme for a television show, while crossing the street, Mike notes a strange set of lights coalescing around him and distractedly steps in front of a taxicab. Everything goes dark...........

When Mike awakens, it is in a hospital, and his body is intact. Indeed, Mike is treated for carbon monoxide poisoning, rather than vehicular trauma, and released. He finds the London outside to be strangely unfamiliar. When he arrives at his apartment, he is astonished to find someone else living there. Things only get more confusing when Mike looks at a newspaper and discovers it's dated June 6, 1979.

As Mike Jerome is about to discover, he is an unwilling participant in an experiment to travel forward in time, by ten-year intervals. The places and people Mike will encounter will test his ability to survive. As to when and where his journey will end, Mike has no idea.........

Penguin Books edition, 1981

'Seven Steps' starts out on a strong note, and maintains this well into the final third of the novel. The protagonist, while not particularly imaginative, has a practical-mindedness that serves him well as he finds himself abruptly inserted into scenarios that either are accommodating, or quite dangerous. The narrative avoids New Wave era mannerisms (the Hoyles never were ardent practitioners of the New Wave approach to prose) and moves along at a good pace. 

'Seven Steps' also delivers some understated messaging, in the form of warnings that the failure of the political class to deal with overpopulation in the 60s, will lead to increasing economic and social travails in the succeeding decades.

Where 'Seven Steps' deflates is in its denouement, a failing also handicapping the novels 'Ossian's Ride' and 'October the First is Too Late'. I won't disclose spoilers, but having put much effort into constructing an action-centered plot about time travel, the Hoyles close the novel with some unconvincing gimmickry. It's a shame, because I believe with a bit more effort on their part the novel could have been one of the better ones on the subject.

The verdict ? 'Seven Steps to the Sun' is a three-star novel. It's entertaining, but be warned that the ending may not justify the time you put into reading the book.

Alien Vault

Alien Vault

The Complete Story and Legacy
by Ian Nathan

Epic Ink, 2019

Alien Vault first was published in 2011 by Voyageur Press. In 2019, publisher Epic Ink acquired the rights to issue a more elaborate 40th anniversary edition, also titled Alien Vault.

I recently came across the 40th anniversary edition on the shelves of a 'bargain' outlet for less than $10, so I decided to purchase it and provide an overview here at the PorPor Books Blog.

Author Nathan has written 'Vault' books for other franchises, such as The Terminator, as well as books on noted directors such as Ridley Scott, Tim Burton, the Coen Brothers, and the Coppolas. 

At 10.25 x 19 inches, Alien Vault is a thick, well-made book with a slipcase cover. The inside covers of the book are fitted with pockets, within which lodged bits of Alien ephemera, such as stickers, placards, and facsimiles of Ridley Scott's shooting script. It's a nice little exemplar of a multimedia presentation, and indicates that the author and the publisher took this chance to capitalize on the 40th anniversary quite seriously.

Among copious pictures, author Nathan provides an overview of the film. His prose style is relatively smooth and engaging, save for the chapter devoted to Ripley, where he goes into an overly labored exegesis on the innovative nature of the character in terms of the depiction of women in sci-fi films. There's nothing here that hasn't been said before in many other analyses of Alien. 

Elsewhere in Alien Vault Nathan provides anecdotes and observations about the genesis of the film, the cast and crew, the process of filming, and its reception (at a test screening in Dallas in the Spring of 1979, audience members reportedly lurched out of their seats and headed to the restrooms to vomit).

Nathan makes clear that during the filming, none of the actors saw the film as being anything more than a large-budget 'B' movie, and that is how most critics saw the film upon its release in May, 1979. So it's interesting to see how, over the years, the film has come to be seen as one of the greatest films of the 1970s, a touchstone of artistic cinema, and a pop culture icon.

As a 40th anniversary edition, Alien Vault devotes its final chapter to the sequels and prequels of the franchise, including insider anecdotes about Prometheus and an account by the author of an on-site visit to the studio in Australia where Ridley Scott was shooting Alien: Covenant.

The book closes on a note of some uncertainty, as Fox has not green-lit Scott's anticipated third entry in the Prometheus series. It does appear that an Alien TV series is in preproduction, but whether it actually makes to to the small screen remains to be seen.

Summing up, if you're a fan of the film, and you can find Alien Vault for an affordable price, then you may want to pick it up. While it lacks the in-depth nature of J. W. Rinzler's The Making of Alien (2019), it is a serviceable history of the film and franchise.

Nortoncomputerforpeace

Doris Norton
Nortoncomputerforpeace

1983

I don't think Lou Stathis, the hipster 'rok' music critic for Heavy Metal magazine in the early 1980s, ever was so hip as to reference Doris Norton when it came to New Wave sounds. And so, Stathis perhaps was not quite as hip as he imagined himself to be. 

Let's face it, when it came to being hip, Doris Norton made Fad Gadget look like a mainstream act. Although, truth be told, there were times when Stathis was somewhat underwhelmed by Fad Gadget.....

In the early 1980s, Italian musician Norton began recording music made with synthesizers and, later, Apple computers, and nowadays is considered one of the pioneers in the genre of techno. 

if you want to make the New Wave hipster scene, then Norton's 1983 album, Nortoncomputerforpeace, can be listened to in its entirety here. Its cover is a great example of New Wave imagery.

Norton's Facebook page hasn't been updated in a couple years, but it contains information and links to more of her musical adventures.

National Lampoon July 1974

National Lampoon
July, 1974

In modern vernacular, the July, 1974 issue of the National Lampoon can safely be labeled as one of the most 'transgressive' yet issued, although back in '74 it simply would've been regarded as another instance of 'sick' humor from editors Henry Beard, Tony Hendra, Brian McConnachie, and Sean Kelly.

The issue's major theme was food, or more precisely, the lack of it. The main feature is Famine Circle, a satire of the venerable magazine Family Circle. The articles in Famine Circle make fun of starving Indians and Africans. Definitely not politically correct humor !

Things really take a turn for the grotesque with the 'Doggie-Wogs' article by Bruce McCall.

The article showcases a portfolio of fake correspondence from the advertising firm of Yessman, Flummox, and Bolt, Inc., with Aggravated Foods, an American pet food company, that proposes to convert starving Indians ('wogs') into dog food (!). 

Along with the comic content, we get advertisements to remind us that Kris Kristofferson is a gritty and true-to-life singer-songwriter. And there's a new band on the scene, called 'Kansas', made up of six 'Topeka Jayhawks'.

There you have it. Transgressive humor that would certainly not ever see print nowadays....... 

Book Review: Earth in Twilight

Book Review: 'Earth in Twilight' by Doris Piserchia

2 / 5 Stars

'Earth in Twilight' (156 pp.) was published by DAW Books as Book No. 458. The cover art is by Wayne D. Barlowe.

This is the first time I've read a novel by Doris Piserchia (1928 - 2021), who was quite prolific during the 1970s and 1980s.

'Twilight' is a comedic homage to Brian Aldiss's 1962 novel 'Hothouse' (aka 'The Long Afternoon of Earth'). It's unclear if Aldiss was aware of this, or gave it his approval. Having read 'Hothouse', I found the plot of 'Twilight' to be a bit more intelligible than if I was unfamiliar with Aldiss's novel.

'Twilight' is set on the far-future Earth of 'Hothouse'. The entire terrestrial surface is swathed in vegetation, including trees miles high. A small population of mutant humans, relying on stone-age weapons, struggles for survival against the hostile plants and animals infesting the jungles. Protruding from the forests are immense, miles-high 'spires' that once housed the Earth's 'genuine' humans, who moved to the stars eons ago. Now the spires, once the repositories of an advanced civilization comprised of millions of people, lie abandoned and coated with dust.

As the novel opens an astronaut named Ferrer Burgoyne lands atop one such spire; he has been sent from the colony world of Laredo with instructions to survey the state of the planet. Things do not go well for Burgoyne and he finds himself stranded on this steaming and fecund Earth, reliant on the aborigines for his life and welfare.

But Burgoyne can't wallow in self-pity, for Laredo, intent on colonizing the Earth, is going to spray the entire planet with a potent herbicide. Can Burgoyne and his allies stop the insidious plan for global extinction ? Time is running out............and the journey to the communications spire will be a hazardous one........

I'm not a fan of comedic sci-fi, so I found 'Earth in Twilight' to be underwhelming. In the novel's favor it's only 156 pages in length, which makes for a very quick read. But the need by the author to keep the gags and chuckles coming at a high rate of speed means that the plot has a frenetic quality, and I never felt much of a connection with any of the characters, the most interesting of which is a sentient amoeba (!?) with a nihilistic mindset (!?). When the story's denouement arrives, it is reasonably satisfying, but I finished 'Twilight' with no great desire to read Pichercia's other novels, particularly if they, like 'Twilight', are excursions into humor.

Summing up, if you are a fan of Robert Sheckley, Ron Goulart, and Douglas Adams, then you may find 'Earth in Twilight' entertaining. All others can pass on this novel.