SO....what's a PorPor Book ?
'PorPor' is a derogatory term my brother used, to refer to the SF and Fantasy paperbacks and comic books I eagerly read from the late 60s to the late 80s.
This blog is devoted to those paperbacks and comics you can find on the shelves of second-hand bookstores...from the New Wave era and 'Dangerous Visions', to the advent of the cyberpunks and 'Neuromancer'.
July, 1984, and as I am driving from upstate New York down to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to go to graduate school at LSU. On the car radio, the single 'Boys Do Fall in Love' from Robin Gibb's new album 'Secret Agent', is in rotation.
'Boys' wound up being a modest hit that Summer, but it remains a great song, and epitomizes the synth-heavy, eletronic drum sound of mid-80s pop.
After the BeeGee's 1981 album 'Living Eyes' tanked, signalling the end of the disco era with crushing finality, it was Robin Gibb, as a solo artist (with some help from brother Maurice), who let the world know there was more to the band than the one-two disco beats and over-exposed Barry-Gibb-falsetto that had come to be associated with the band's music.
So 'Boys Do Fall in Love' is on the radio, and the latest issue of 'Heavy Metal' magazine is on the magazine racks, featuring a front cover by Dave Dorman, and a back cover by Ron Lightburn. The Dossier section is one of the more ludicrous to appear in the magazine, focusing on - likely enough - Heavy Metal music, and showcasing an up-and-coming singer named.....Thor.
Other bands in the spotlight include 'Manowar' and 'Slayer'. It's hard to tell if the HM staff ('Rok' critic Lou Stathis, along with Tim Sommer, Josh Ribakove, and Jess Schalles) who wrote the Dossier intended that their coverage be facetious, or if they were playing it straight, but only those who grew up in the 80s can truly treasure the wonderful awfulness of these bands and their clothing/ costumes.
Other sections of the Dossier review sf books, and there is an interview with aging comedian Jerry Lewis (!) about his genuinely awful movie, 'Slapstick of Another Kind.'
The graphic content of the July issue sees a new series from Jeronaton, titled 'The Great Passage'; ongoing episodes of Thorne's 'Lann', Druillet's 'Salammbo II', 'The Hunting Party' by Cristin and Bilal; 'The Railways' by Renard and Schuiten; and 'TexArcana' by FIndley. Among the better of the singleton strips is Alfonso Azpiri's 'Daymares / Nightdreams'. I've posted it below.
This Del Rey Books edition (345 pp) of ‘Legend’ was published in November, 1994. The cover artwork is by Mark Harrison.
The British writer David Gemmell (1948 – 2006) was a prolific writer of fantasy literature, with 31 books to his credit. ‘Legend’ (1984) was his first book; it became the first volume in what would come to be known as the ‘Drenai’ series, which grew to 11 books.
The story’s premise is simple and straightforward: a half-million strong horde of Mongol-type barbarians called the Nadir are intent on invading the peaceful lands of the Drenai Empire. The sole obstacle to their advance is the fortress of Dos Delnoch, a ‘Helms Deep’ -style construction designed to withstand a lengthy siege, built with multiple walls, gates, and redoubts.
Abalayn, the inept ruler of the Drenai, has neglected his armies, and as a result, only 10,000 men are available to hold the fortress. As the novel opens, Rek, a kind of less-heroic analogue to Strider / Aragorn, is debating whether to join the defenders and face certain death in a hopeless cause, or to simply light out for foreign territories and a safer existence.
In the course of making a decision to join the defense, he is influenced by the knowledge that Druss (the ‘Legend’ of the book’s title) has himself decided to come out of retirement to fight at Dos Delnoch.
Despite being in his 60s, Druss remains the match of any fighter half his age. Not only is Druss possessed of herculean strength and stamina, but when equipped with his axe ‘Snaga’ (unashamedly modeled on Elric of Melnibone’s magic sword ‘Stormbringer’), Druss is the combat equivalent of a score of fighting men.
As the opening chapters unfold....and continue unfolding.....the cast of characters, heroes and villains, is assembled and set on their paths to Dos Delnoch.
Will Rek, Druss, and other heroes (including several lady warriors) succeed in holding off the Nadir masses long enough for the Drenai to field an army to come to their rescue ? Or will they fall to the last man and woman, and leave their homeland exposed to destruction ?
While it is virtually impossible to look at any store’s shelving of new or used sf and fantasy paperbacks and not see at least one entry from Gemmell, up until now I have not read any of Gemmell’s works; ‘Legend’ was my first introduction to his writing.
‘Legend’ is not perfect, but it’s decent heroic fantasy, and capable first novel.
Needless to say the narrative takes its time arriving at the siege around which the plot is centered – it’s not until page 218 (!) that the fighting is joined between Nadir and Drenai, by which time my patience was starting to be tried.
The siege narrative itself is layered with frequent expository passages, in which the various characters ponder their fates and reasons for facing death (or dishonor), deep emotional interludes between lovers, morale-boosting speeches by Druss, superficial jests and jokes that cover up the deep-seated fear gripping each and every combatant, etc.
But the novel avoids a contrived ending, and left me willing to try the additional entries in the ‘Drenai’ saga.
As July, 1984 gets under way, MTV is airing a new video from California musician - and former keyboardist for the band 'Rainbow' - Tony Carey. The video, for the song 'First Day of Summer', is a great one, with plenty of 80s culture on display, as well as being a great song in its own right. 'First Day of Summer' was one of the tracks on Carey's 1984 album Some Tough City, which contains a number of other noteworthy tracks, too, such as 'A Fine Fine Day'.
Even today, some Midwest radio stations will put the song into rotation as Summer gets underway......
Well, the kid and me Were the team to beat We could stand with the big boys Generate some heat
And we never thought nothing 'Bout living on the street back then
Yes, and we lied a little And we maybe stole some Saying, Southern California Here we come
And we took off Down the highway saying Never going back again
It was on the First day of summer We were the number one Out front runner
On the first day of summer Nothing feels the same And it feels so good
It was on the first day of summer On the first day of summer On the first day of summer The whole world knows your name And it feels so good
Now the kid was driving And I rode shotgun We were splitting up the money From our number ones
Beating time to the radio Yes, I'm gonna be someone
Camping by the road Out in Santa Fe The kid stole the keys And then he drove away
And I wound up washing dishes In a Holiday Inn Sometime I wonder What became of him
It was on the First day of summer We were the number one Out front runner
On the first day of summer Nothing feels the same And it feels so good
It was on the first day of summer It was on the first day of summer On the first day of summer The whole world knows your name Don't it feel good
It was on the first day of summer On the first day of summer On the first day of summer The whole world knows your name
In this third issue, our hero, Brian Chester, finds himself the bodyguard - with added benefits - to the beautiful daughter of one of New York City's corporate kingpins. However, he soon discovers that corporate 'warfare' in NYC means much more than lawsuits and nasty memos....
Book Review: 'The Madness Season' by C. S. Friedman
1 / 5 Stars
‘The Madness Season’ (495 pp) was published by DAW Books in October, 1990. The cover painting is by Michael Whelan.
I got to page 236 of the book’s 495 total pages before boredom overcame me, and I abandoned ‘The Madness Season’.
‘Season’ certainly has an interesting premise: for three hundred years, Earth has been in subjugation to the Tyr, a race of reptilian aliens who communicate telepathically and adhere to a caste-based social structure.
The Tyr ensure Earth’s continued vassalage by rapidly identifying anyone who could be a potential rebel or troublemaker, and either summarily executing them, or exiling them to colony planets in deep space.
Daetrin, the hero of the story, is a vampire, with vamparism here defined as a metabolic disorder that requires the acquisition of vital nutrients from human or animal blood. The mutation has the benefit of bestowing immortality, superhuman strength, and superhuman sensory awareness to those who carry it.
Since the advent of the Tyr victory over Earth, Daetrin has entered into a kind of waking sleep, deliberately forgetting his past, forgoing ambition, and shielding any and all hopes for the future, with the goal of cloaking his true nature from the Tyr.
As the novel opens, however, Daetrin is discovered and sentenced by the Tyr to exile on a colony planet. Once aboard the Tyrran starship, deprived of nutrients, under surveillance, and aware that any misstep on his part will result in death, Daetrin struggles to survive. For despite his exile, he has one overwhelming goal: discover the Tyrran’s carefully-hidden weakness, and use it to defeat their empire……
‘Season’ starts off promisingly with its 'one-vampire-against-the Evil-Empire' motif, but unfortunately, once Daetrin finds himself aboard the Tyrran starship, author C[elia] S. Friedman diverts from the major plot thread in order to use overwrought, heavily descriptive text to belabor the psychological and emotional traumas through which Daetrin will come to terms with his true nature.
As these psychodramas – usually manifested in the form of lengthy internal monologues, and flashbacks using a different font to signal to the reader how profound and important they are to Understanding Our Character – accumulate in length, the main narrative – how to overthrow the aliens ? – recedes into the background.
It doesn’t help matters when the author starts to insert several subplots into the storyline; one of these, involving a female representative of a shape-shifting alien race called the Marra, is designed to lend a note of romance to the narrative. But these subplots really do nothing more than pad the novel.....and at 495 pp., ‘Season’ is simply too long, and could have benefited from being edited down to half its length.
I can’t recommend ‘The Madness Season’ to anyone except those who yearn for a character-driven story that puts forth the well-worn trope that defeating the aliens requires that our heroes first come to terms with Understanding Their Humanity before the fight can be taken to the enemy.
