Book Review: Fires of Azeroth

Book Review: 'Fires of Azeroth' by C. J. Cherryh

3 / 5 Stars

'Fires of Azeroth' (236 pp.) is DAW Book No. 341, and was published in June, 1979. It features cover art by Michael Whelan. 

This is the final volume in the so-called ‘Morgaine’ trilogy from C. J. Cherryh. The first volume in the trilogy is ‘Gate of Ivrel’ (1976), and the second, ‘Well of Shiuan’ (1978). 

These three volumes are available in the Nelson Doubleday / Science Fiction Book Club omnibus 'The Book of Morgaine' (1979) and the DAW omnibus ‘The Morgaine Saga’ (2001).

My review of 'Gate of Ivrel' is here.

 

My review of 'Well of Shiuan' is here.

 

As 'Fires' opens, our heroes Morgaine, and her long-suffering man-at-arms Vanye, have traveled through yet another star gate, this time, from the wretched world of Shiuan to the idyllic forested world of Azeroth.  

Of course, the series' villain Roh, along with one hundred thousand Shiuan soldiers intent on committing violence and mayhem, also passed through the gate before Morgaine could deactivate it. Thus Morgaine and Vanye have but little time to admire the bucolic landscape of Azeroth; they must find the country's rulers, a race of elvish people known as the arrhendim, and convince them to mobilize against the menace of the horde. Only the defeat of the horde will allow Morgaine to access, and close down, the master star gate on Azeroth. 

But the leaders of the arrhendim have known nothing but peace for well over a thousand years, and they are mistrustful when a female version of Elric of Melnibone appears before them, warning of the destruction of Azeroth unless fell magic, long since abandoned, is revived and used as a weapon.

Even as Morgaine and Vanye embark on their desperate quest to deter the Shiuan invaders long enough to mount a defense, the cause may be lost........for Roh knows as much, if not more, than Morgaine about the powers of the gate. And Roh has no scruples about using any and all means necessary to fulfill his sordid ambitions...........

I gave 'Fires' a three-star rating. The initial third of the novel, much like 'Well of Shuian', suffers from indolent pacing, as the author focuses rather laboriously on world-building and documenting the interactions between Morgaine, Vanye, and various new supporting characters. A plot device used throughout the trilogy, in which a dim-witted Vanye is captured by adversaires and must rely on guile and stratagems (related using long-winded dialogue passages) to gain freedom, evoked some exasperation in me. Indeed, much of the book revolves around verbal fencing matches, in which the participants vie to use the most elliptical and oblique verbiage available to them.

The final chapters of the novel, which finally advance the confrontation with the Shiuan horde and the desperate struggle to gain the master gate on Azeroth, bring some much-needed momentum back to the narrative and with it, justification for the reader's patience. I won't give out any spoilers, save to say that the ending of 'Fires' signals that Cherryh had ambitions - which were realized with her 1988 book 'Exile's Gate' - to write at least one more entry in the 'Morgaine' saga.

Summing up, those with a willingness to read a deliberately paced science fantasy, where character interactions are given primacy over plot development, may find 'Fires of Azeroth' rewarding and by extension, the 'Morgaine' trilogy.

International Dateline from National Lampoon

International Dateline
from National Lampoon, March 1976

Well, it's Valentine's Day, and thus, a good a time as any for some snide humor about looking for love. This is the 'International Dateline' column from the March, 1976 issue of National Lampoon. 

The Editorial page doesn't provide attribution for the column, so I don't know who wrote it, but whoever did, intended to offend.......

Playboy magazine February 1972

Playboy magazine February 1972

Let's take a trip back in time, 51 years, in fact, to February 1972. The latest issue of Playboy magazine is on the stands.

This 232-page issue is of course thick with advertising. We have ads for liquor (I've never had a 'vampire gimlet' ?), cologne (endorsed by Joe Namath !), an automobile by Datsun, a flared suit set from Lee, and Brylcreem's 'soft hair' spray.

A pictorial features the lissome blonde Angel Tompkins, who agrees to pose in a clear, running stream (that must have been freezing cold !).

Another blonde is the February Playmate, P. J. Lansing:

There is a short story by R. A. Lafferty, titled 'Rangle Dang Kaloof '.

There are the usual cartoons:

The 70s were known as the decade of self-absorption, and a feature in the February issue, titled 'Who Are We ?', certainly fits that paradigm........ a 'sensory awakening' to the accompaniment of bad, blank verse poetry.

We'll close with an ad for 8 track tapes from RCA. Surely there are some worthy selections in the mix........

And there you have it, magazine memories from long ago.........!

Stoner books, 1979

 Stoner books, 1979

'Yeah, man......that's a cool roach clip......thanks......<pffffttt>.........those are some trippy books, y'know ? I mean, how do you <pfffftttt> even pronounce, like, a word like, 'Mytho-', or whatever, I mean, man, how do you even pronounce it ? <pfffftttt>'

'I think 'Eschatus' is pronounced 'Ess-cat-USS', that's <pffftttt> what I think'.

'I think you're sp'osed to say <pffftttt> MYTH-O-PO-EE-KONN........yeah, that's how you say it'.

Book Review: Sos the Rope

Book Review: 'Sos the Rope' by Piers Anthony

5 / 5 Stars

'Sos the Rope' first appeared as a serial in the Summer of 1968 in the digest The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. This Pyramid Books paperback edition (157 pp.) was published in October, 1968, and features cover art by Jack Gaughan.

'Sos' is the first volume in the so-called 'Battle Circle' trilogy. The next volume in the series, 'Var the Stick', was published in 1972. My review is here. The third volume, 'Neq the Sword', was published in 1975. 

The first omnibus edition of Battle Circle was published by Avon Books in 1978, and features cover art of Sos by the UK artist Patrick Woodroffe:

'Sos' is set one thousand years after World War Three (referred to as 'the Blast') has devastated civilization. Nomadic tribes, enjoying a Bronze Age level of technology, wander what was the United States. A network of  technocrats, known as Crazies, maintain small settlements where nomads can, if they so desire, receive schooling, and take positions in maintaining the automated hostels that provide food, shelter, and clothing to the nomads.

The eponymous character is a sturdy young man who seeks status, and access to females, by engaging in combat in the battle circles that are scattered around the landscape. These have been established by the Crazies as a means of settling disputes through ritualized combat.

While he is dedicated to life as a nomad, Sos is considerably brighter than most of his peers, who are content to devote their earthly days to wandering, fighting, eating, copulating, and relieving themselves. Sos perceives that all is not quite what it seems, in terms of the maintenance of the post-apocalyptic society in which he is a participant. 

When Sos meets a talented warrior named Sol, the two form an alliance, one that seeks to fashion the nomad tribes into a nascent 'empire'. However, the alliance is complicated by the clandestine romance between Sos and Sol's wife, an alluring woman named Sola. 

When emotions come to a head, Sos find himself set upon a different path, one that will reveal to him the machinations underlying the world of the nomads and the Crazies.........and leave him as the deciding factor in whether that arrangement continues.........

By the standards of its time, 'Sos' was a five-star novel and it holds up very well today, more than 50 years after publication. The book's short length means the narrative has little room for digressions, the plot stays focused, characterizations are concise, and the portrayal of the postapocalyptic society of the battle circle provided in an economical, but adequate, manner.

It's interesting to compare 'Sos' with another of Piers Anthony's novels from 1968, 'Omnivore'. I found Omnivore to be an utter dud: turgid, self-indulgent, boring. It's hard to believe one author could produce two such different novels. My recommendation ? Skip Anthony's 'Of Man and Manta' novels, of which Omnivore is the first installment, and stick with the Battle Circle trilogy.

More paperbacks from the UK

More Paperbacks from the UK
February 2023

Here in Central Virginia, when a cold front moves through in the Winter, we tend to get temperatures in the mid - to - upper 30s F, and rain instead of snow. It makes for a dreary day best spent indoors, which means I have too much time on my hands to go online and order paperbacks from the UK. 

I recently got a set of Corgi and Sphere Books sci-fi ('Neq the Sword', 'Death Sport', 'The Himalayan Concerto'), some suspense / crime ('Harry's Game', 'The Glory Boys', 'The Marksman', and 'Target: Amin'), and even some vintage NEL Sleaze ('The First Victorian') on this go-round. 

And Spring still is a couple months away...............ahhhgggggg............

Book Review: Gentleman of Leisure: A Year in the Life of A Pimp

Celebrating Black History Month 2023

Book Review: 'Gentleman of Leisure' 

by Susan Hall and Bob Adelman

New American Library, 1972

Here at the PorPor Books Blog, we celebrate Black History Month by reading and reviewing nonfiction and fiction books that illuminate the black experience. We try to focus on books that are less well-known, and have lapsed into undeserved obscurity.

For Black History Month 2023, we're reviewing 'Gentleman of Leisure: A Year in the Life of A Pimp' (192 pp.), published by the New American Library in 1972. It's a hardbound book, printed on thick paper stock.

Robert Melvin Adelman (1930 – 2016) was a photojournalist who was best known for documenting the civil rights movement of the 1960s. He later expanded his coverage to professional sports and urban living, publishing photoessays on those subjects.

Coauthor Susan Hall, a filmmaker and author, is alive and well. Her books include 'On and Off the Street' (1970), 'Ladies of the Night' (1973) (which also deals with the urban demimonde) and 'Down Home, Camden, Alabama' (1974).

A 2017 interview with Bob Adelman, conducted shortly before his death, is available at the Rialto Report. The interview revealed that 'Silky', the star of the book, was still alive and hustling at that time.

'Gentleman' is a photoessay that deals with the day-to-day life of Silky, and some of the girls in his stable: Sandy, Kitty, Linda, Tracey, and Lois. The book intersperses its sections of photographs with text interviews with Silky, his fellow pimps, and the girls. 

We learn that Silky prefers to have white women in his stable because black women have too much drama, and are less pliable.

Silky is of course delighted to be the subject of attention and the book presents his philosophies regarding hustling, pimping, and life in general. 

Playing a major role in the pursuit of The Game are its physical accoutrements: the latest and flyest clothing, and the finest of rides. A pimp who does not Represent in style is on the downward curve.

Contrary to the usual trope of pimps keeping order in their stable through the direct application of force, Silky relies on financial rewards, and displays of affection, to persuade his girls to work for him. It seems that there is no shortage of women willing to take up prostitution; indeed, Silky is constantly cycling girls into and out of his stable and bemoans the effort required to tend to so many 'employees'.

The girls are enigmatic. It's not clear how much of what they tell Susan Hall is honest and forthright, but at least superficially, they have no regrets about their choice of profession and their reliance on Silky. It's the girls that offer observations on events carefully withheld by Silky; for example, we learn from them that he was serious injured in a fight with a rival pimp, to the extent of needing plastic surgery. 

'Gentlemen' closes with a Glossary, a vital source of information for anyone contemplating writing a novel or screenplay dealing with the street scene in New York City in the early 1970s:

'Gentleman' is an interesting look at an urban subculture in its heyday in the 1970s, a subculture mythologized in the novels of Iceberg Slim and referenced by modern-day rappers like Snoop Dogg. Understandably, because they wanted access to Silky and his stable, Hall and Adelman carefully avoid passing judgment on the pimping enterprise, and covering its more unsavory aspects. And no doubt, Silky and the girls presented themselves in the best possible light to Hall and Adelman. These aspects of the interaction between chroniclers and subject will of course need to be held in mind while perusing the pages of 'Gentleman'.

Copies of the book, in good condition, can be had for under $20. But if you are interested in obtaining a copy, I would act sooner, rather than later, as the price for even a marginal copy inevitably is going to rise.

Mickey Rat

Mickey Rat

by Robert Armstrong

from Mickey Rat, No. 3 (1980)

The horror of coming home from vacation to find that, in your absence, you've had a most unwanted visitor..........

Alternative Comics in 1970s New York City

'A Personal Journey Through the World of Alternative Comics in 1970s New York City'

by Michael Gonzalez

A very entertaining article at the 'CrimeReads' website. 

Michael Gonzalez was 13 years old when, in 1977, he bought his very first issue of Heavy Metal magazine, an action that, over the ensuing two years, inspired him to try and publish his own sci-fi comic magazine. Gonzalez touched base with many of the comic world's illuminaries in his journey (he even telephoned and talked with Leonard Mogel !).

A great reminiscence of an important era in American comics and graphic art. Even though some of the art stars Gonzalez dealt with were pricks...........!

(link to CrimeReads courtesy of the 'We Are the Mutants' Twitter feed)

Book Review: Berserker's Planet

Book Review: 'Berserker's Planet' by Fred Saberhagen

2 / 5 Stars

'Berserker's Planet' (173 pp.) is DAW Book No. 147 and was published in April, 1975. The cover illustration is by Jack Gaughan.

This is one of a substantial body of novels and short stories that made up Saberhagen's very successful 'Berserkers' franchise, which began in 1967 with the eponymous novel. Additional books in the series were published well into the new century, with 'Rogue Berserker' released in 2005, just two years prior to Saberhagen's demise.

'Berserker Planet' consists of two narratives that eventually coalesce. In one narrative, a space ship, the Orion, whose passengers are three men and three women, all of them thrill-seekers in one sense or another, makes landfall on the planet Hunter. There the male passengers are to engage in hunting the native wildlife, an exercise by which they hope to inflate their machismo, and thus enjoy the favors of the women, who are to play the role both of cheerleaders and concubines. 

The space ship is piloted by the wealthy and very self-assured Oscar Schoenberg. Carlos Suomi, a business acquaintance of Schoenberg, is the one hunt participant who has misgivings about its purpose, a stance which does not elevate him in the eyes of Schoenberg.  

The other narrative deals with a uniquely brutal competition being held by the priestly caste of Hunter's mountaintop Holy City, Godsmountain. Sixty-four men, originating from the various districts of the planet, have been invited to participate in a tournament involving edged weapons. The one-on-one matches are to the death, and with each succeeding round, the combat arena moves closer to the summit of Godsmountain, where, the contestants are assured, the solitary victor will sit beside Thorun, the God of the Warriors, in a kind of Hunterian version of Valhalla.

The contestants, all fighting men with what could charitably be called limited educational backgrounds, eagerly risk death in the hopes of gaining their empyrean reward. Early in the tournament, the crew of the Orion arrives at the site and its passengers are intrigued, and excited, to witness the spectacle of men slicing, dicing, and bashing each other into oblivion. 

What the contestants, and the crew of the Orion, don't know is that a Berserker not only is residing on Hunter, but has plans to manipulate the parties to bring about the planet's subjugation. And after that, the galaxy awaits...........

'Berserker Planet' was not a particularly strong entry from Saberhagen, and I am comfortable with giving it a two-star Rating. 

Its construction suggests that Saberhagen may have taken two independent draft novels, or novelettes, and merged them to make a sellable novel. The forced fusing of the narratives of the tournament-to-the-death contest, and the adventures of the crew of the Orion, gives the book a strained character. Although Saberhagen imbues the myriad fight scenes with due intensity (the winner never is assured), and the final chapters feature some disturbing splatterpunk imagery, as a whole, 'Berserker Planet' lacks the quality that was apparent in the franchise's entries from the 1970s.

It's true that Saberhagen was an author who wrote to earn a living, and it's unreasonable to suppose that everything he produced would be exemplary. However, 'Berserker Planet' fails to do much that is novel or imaginative with the 'killer robot' concept, and I can't recommend it to anyone other than Saberhagen enthusiasts.