Book Review: The Best of Omni Science Fiction 1980

Book Review: 'The Best of Omni Science Fiction'
Edited by Ben Bova
1980

2 / 5 Stars

In 1973 Kathy Keeton, Bob Guccione's girlfriend, and later wife, asked / insisted on being the CEO of a magazine. Guccione assigned her to Viva, a new 'international magazine for women', and something of a knockoff of Playgirl (which had debuted that same year).

Viva ran through money without earning much in revenue, and folded in 1979. According to Gay Haubner, who worked at Viva as Keeton's secretary, Keeton - whose previous business experience was limited to Exotic Dancing - saw Viva as something of a dabble:

I reminded Miss Keeton of appointments with her hair dresser, dermatologist, astrologer, interior decorator, and jeweler. I fetched packs of Virginia Slims and made cups of tea. After Miss Keeton left for the day, I went into her office to remove and file every paper from her desk; she liked to start fresh every morning. I looked at that empty white desk and wished my mind were as blank.

...........But Viva was only kept alive because of the cascade of cash generated by Penthouse.

Even as Viva foundered, Keeton pressed Guccione to provide her with another outlet, this time, a 'science fiction / science fact' magazine called Omni. The first issue came out in October 1978, and revolutionized the slowly dying enterprise of science fiction periodicals. 

To Keeton's credit, Omni was an immediate success, and stayed in print into 1997.

'The Best of Omni Science Fiction', published in 1980, was an anthology of stories appearing in the first year of the magazine, at which time Ben Bova served as editor.

Interspersed with the stories are pictorial essays, several of which are excerpts from the illustrated novels produced by Harry Harrison in the late 1970s: Mechanismo and Planet Story. Another portfolio came from the art book Immortals of Science Fiction (1980). 

My capsule summaries of the contents:

Found, by Isaac Asimov: a computer, orbiting the Earth inside a customized spaceship, develops error messages. What the repair team discovers is unsettling. A decent enough tale from Asimov. 

Count the Clock that Tells the Time, by Harlan Ellison: Ian Ross lives a remarkably boring life, and as penalty, he finds himself trapped in a Limbo devoted to those who waste time.

This is yet another story where Harlan, in a very earnest and sensitive way, seeks to tell us something Profound about the Human Condition. I was bored.

Body Game, by Robert Sheckley: grandfather is decrepit, and in need of a new body. Could Dapper Dan's Living Model store have what he needs ? A satirical tale from Sheckley.

Unaccompanied Sonata, by Orson Scott Card: in a world where Art is outlawed, Christian Haroldsen risks life and limb to produce music.

This story won considerable praise from the critics and was nominated for a 1980 Hugo award for best short story. It has not aged well, and stands as an exemplar of how sci-fi, at the end of the 70s, simply was recycling themes and motifs (in this case, the lone rebel / holdout who defies Authority because that's what all good humanists must do).  

Iceback Invasion, by Hayford Pierce: the Russians decide to take over the USA by the simple expedient of illegal immigration. A comedic tale, with a political shading that probably would not pass editorial review nowadays.

No Future in It, by Joe R. Haldeman: a short tale about time travel. There is a twist at the very end.

Galatea Galante, by Alfred Bester: Dominie Mainwright decides to create a synthetic woman, a 'Perfect Popsy' that no man can resist.

This easily is the worst tale in the anthology. Bester clearly was trying to display his facility at writing comedic, New Wave sci-fi, but 'Galatea' is an overwritten mess. The adjective 'cringey' didn't exist in 1980, but if it did, it would have applied to 'Galatea Galante'.

Kinsman, by Ben Bova: our Editor decides to apply his Privilege, and prints an excerpt of his 1979 novel here in the pages of Omni. In this excerpt, astronauts training to be space shuttle pilots, annoyed by the hazing meted out by their superiors, decide to turn the tables.

Half-Jack, by Roger Zelazny: a slight tale about a cyborg who 'roams the stars, seeking fulfillment'. Sniff.

Sand Kings, by George R. R. Martin: the odious Simon Kress buys an 'alien ant farm' populated by an unusual species of insect. The so-called Sand Kings may not be quite as tractable as Simon expects them to be........

This is the best story in the anthology.

The anthology closes with an interview with Arthur C. Clarke, with Clarke touching on his 'retirement' from writing sci-fi following the publication of his 1979 novel 'The Phantoms of Paradise' (a clunker about a space elevator). Clarke also addresses UFOs, spoon-bender Uri Geller, and life in Sri Lanka.

The verdict ? 'The Best of Omni Science Fiction' sits quite comfortably in two-star Rating territory. Editor Bova, in an effort to establish that he new magazine was legit, preferentially sought out contributions from 'name' authors, and more than a few of those contributions were underwhelming. 

But it's also important to note that one year after 'The Best of Omni Science Fiction' appeared on shelves, the magazine would publish William Gibson's short story 'The Gernsback Continuum', and in 1985, the cyberpunk classic 'Mozart in Mirrorshades' by Bruce Sterling and Lewis Shiner. So however unadventurous Omni may have seemed in 1980, ultimately the magazine was heading in the right direction.

Book Review: Bulman

Book Review: 'Bulman' by Robert Holdstock

4 / 5 Stars

'Bulman' (224 pp.) was published by Futura in 1984. It's a tie-in to the Granada television series, and is based on a character created by Kenneth Royce in his 1970 novel titled 'The XYY Man' (Bulman is the detective pursuing the burglar 'Spider' Scott).

Robert Holdstock also wrote the second tie-in novel for the series, titled, simply enough, 'Bulman 2'.

The Bulman TV series aired 20 episodes from June 1985 to August 1987. The tie-in novel presents, as best as I can tell, three of the first episodes of the series: Winds of Change, Pandora's Many Boxes, and Death of a Hitman. Several episodes of the series are available, somewhat grain-ily, at YouTube.

George Bulman is an eccentric, and in the initial chapter of the book, we learn he has decided to retire from his position as Detective Chief Superintendent with the Metropolitan C.I.D. (i..e, Scotland Yard). Bulman hopes to earn a living fixing clocks on the premises of an antique shop in the London East End, but his plans are complicated when looking after the welfare of an old friend renews his familiarity with the criminal element. These adventures lead a reluctant Bulman to decide that he has greater earnings potential by working as a private eye: G. Bulman. Private Investigations undertaken. Anything legal. No divorce work. Excellent service guaranteed.

A prominent theme in the pages of 'Bulman' is the strained relationship between ex-cops who go private eye, and the staff of their former employer, the Met. Bulman, while quite capable of being a hard man if the situation calls for it, prefers to use cunning and some measure of guile in working his contacts from his days with the force. Too, Bulman isn't all that put out if his endeavors happen to make his former colleagues with the Met look less than competent.

There are sufficient pop culture references in 'Bulman' to evoke Eighties Nostalgia and the London of that era; for example, Bulman's Gal Friday, Lucy McGinty, listens to Boy George on her Walkman. I did find some of the British idioms and slang and commercial terms mystifying: 

'It's only PG Tips, I'm afraid' (referring to some brand of tea ?)

"Why not ? Any ponce is better than no ponce." 

"It's because the first Brits in your country were all from across Offa's Dyke. It's the way they speak" (a conversation with an Indian immigrant; I have no idea who Offa is)

"I mean, why should people flock to this Godforsaken part of London to get their clocks mended by an out-of-work rozzer ?"

"Cor, these soggy chips are smashin'."

'Bulman' is not, as I had hoped, a gritty, noir-ish exploration of British crime, being in fact very much a procedural. Save for the final chapters in the novel it avoids any focus on explicit violence, presumably reflecting its origin as a television show. That said, author Holdstock's prose style is engaging enough, and for those who are fond of novels focused on the utilitarian aspects of crime investigation, the novel will be an entertaining read.

Battling Britons issue four

'Battling Britons'
Issue 4, November 2022

The UK's Justin Marriott continues to expand his empire of publications ('bookzines') devoted to pop culture ephemera.

A couple of years ago I reviewed 'Battling Britons', Marriott's foray into documenting the war comics published in the UK. A bookzine of the same name now is up to volume two, issue four. 

Like Marriott's other publications, 'Battling Britons' is Print On Demand, which means a copy can be printed in Middletown, Delaware, and delivered to you just a few days after ordering it - no need to wait for airmail delivery from the UK. 

'Battling Britons' issue four (162 pp.) is a 'future war' special, which I find appealing.

The contents of the bookzine are divided into 'Quick Hits', which are two-page summaries of various comic book - related events; Columns from dedicated contributors; and Feature articles. All of these incorporate photographs and scans, rendered in black-and-white, applicable to the material under discussion.

I'd like to think I have some fair degree of familiarity with the British comics scene of the 1970s on up to the present-day, so I found plenty of articles in 'Battling Britons' that were of interest.

For example, Jim O'Brien's 'Hell Drivers and No-Option Contracts' examines the 2000 AD comic 'Invasion !', and how its hero, the combative lorry driver Bill Savage, was derived from the UK character actor Stanley Baker. This, in turn, led me to investigate the noir films from the postwar era that featured Baker as the exemplar of the 'Hard Man' of British popular culture. And an article by Gary Dobbs, titled 'Savage by Name, Savage by Nature', takes an affectionate look at the history of the 'Invasion' franchise

Also entertaining was James Bacon's overview of the 2000 AD franchise, 'Rogue Trooper'.

O'Brien also contributes 'Argentina Invaded !', a six-page overview of the comic strip 'The Eternaut', published in Argentina from 1957 - 1959. 'Eternaut' is considered a classic sci-fi action tale. O'Brien's article reminded me that I have on my bookshelf, covered in dust, the 2015 Fantagraphics hardcover English translation of the entire comic...........! 

Well, 'The Eternaut' now is out of print, so I'm glad I have my copy to hand.

In the closing pages of bookzine, editor Marriott recalls the 1988-1989 six-issue comic book 'The Light and Darkness War', published in the USA by Marvel's Epic imprint. The comic was illustrated by the UK's Cam Kennedy, a veteran of British war comics.

Summing things up, if you're a fan of postwar, Anglophone comic books - and war-themed titles in particular - then you'll probably find some very readable pieces in 'Battling Britons' Issue 4, available from amazon.com for $7.99.

Book Review: Fell of Dark

Book Review: 'Fell of Dark' by Reginald Hill

4 / 5 Stars

British author Reginald Hill (1936 – 2012) was a prolific author of crime fiction, with his ‘Dalziel and Pascoe’ series of novels his best-known works. He did write novels in other genres, including thrillers, suspense, and science fiction, of which ‘Albion ! Albion !’ (written under the pseudonym 'Dirk Morland" is an example).

‘Fell of Dark’ (192 pp.) was published by Fontana Books in 1972. 

(In British vernacular, a ‘fell’ is a hill, particularly a hill situated in a moorland).

This book has one of the most lurid cover illustrations I’ve ever seen for a paperback. Are the contents as intriguing as the cover would seem to imply ?

The novel is set in the early 1970s. Its first-person protagonist is a thirty-three year-old businessman named Harry Bentink. Harry’s marriage is under some strain, and Harry decides it’s a good idea to take a lengthy vacation in the Lake District, hiking the paths in the sublime and wholesome summer weather. Accompanying Harry is his fast friend from college days, Peter Thorne. Psychologically troubled, and ‘queer’ to boot, Peter at times requires special handling. But Harry remains dedicated to their friendship.

The hiking vacation is fully as rewarding as Harry hopes it will be. He and Peter even have a brief exchange with two attractive young women, who also are out on the trails. But on the following afternoon, when Harry and Peter descend the fells to the rail station at Ravenglass, they discover two policemen waiting to take them into custody. The bodies of the two girls have been discovered in a gully, and the police have concluded they were strangled and raped. 

Initially confident that his innocence easily will be established, Harry discovers that there are eyewitnesses to his and Peter’s encounter with the girls on the fell. When Superintendent Melton dissects Harry’s clumsy alibis with distressing ease, Harry makes a fateful decision to escape the police and take his chances as a fugitive. But the moorlands of the Lake District offer no kind shelter for a fleeing felon........

I wrestled a bit with my choice of stars in rating 'Fell of Dark'. The novel is slow to start, and the early chapters in which an insouciant Harry engages in verbal fencing matches with Superintendent Melton are over-written and tedious. But on page 62 the narrative, which seems to be heading into courtroom drama territory, takes an abrupt and unexpected turn and transitions into a chase drama. This is engaging and reflects the author's familiarity with, and affection for, the landscape of the Lake District. There are sufficient plot twists and turns to keep the chase sequence from getting too stale. 

In the opening pages of 'Fell of Dark', Harry Bentink is depicted as something of a twit. He is very much the self-centered everyman, who finds himself suddenly thrust into traumatic circumstances, and as a result, his personal attitudes and complacencies get a much-needed overhaul. In this sense, the novel is a something of a discourse on personal redemption through hardship.

The novel's penultimate chapter, which discloses Whodunit, is well-composed and avoids the overly complicated rationale that dooms many mystery novels. 

Summing up, those who persevere through the rather banal initial chapters of 'Fell of Dark' will find the novel becomes more engaging, and takes full advantage of its picaresque, uniquely British setting. It's deserving of a Four-Star Rating.

The Time Eater

'The Time Eater'
by Jack Butterworth (story) and Paul Neary (art)

from Galactic Wars Comix (Warren magazines, December 1978)

In the aftermath of the success of Star Wars, James Warren had no problem with taking previously printed material and repackaging it to take advantage of the craze for all things sci-fi. So we have Galactic Wars Comix, a reprint compilation from the end of 1978.

This said, Galactic Wars Comix reprinted 'The Time Eater', which first appeared in Vampirella No. 40 (March 1975). 'The Time Eater' has a rather far-out plot (pass the roach clip, please......), but it's the artwork by Paul Neary that really makes this piece memorable. It's unfortunate that the magazine printing process used by Warren really was inadequate to properly display what Neary was trying to do with his intricate Zip-A-Tone and oil painting.

Indeed, in just one panel, Neary uses something like three or four different Zip-A-Tone patterns.....for the woman's hair and clothing, he overlaid one pattern over another. It must have taken him day(s) of X-acto knife cutting and pasting to assemble this panel (in those days, there was no Photoshop).

'The Time Eater' was scanned and posted to the internet in 2011 at the 'Diversions of the Groovy Kind' blog. I've gone and scanned my own copy of Galactic Wars Comix at 300 dpi and fiddled with the contrast  to hopefully provide a bit better presentation........

National Lampoon April 1971

National Lampoon
April, 1971

Let's take a trip back in time again, to April, 1971, and the latest issue of National Lampoon, which features a fine cover by Frank Frazetta.

There's some interesting advertising in the magazine. 

Psychology Today offers an intriguing array of games for adults, including one - 'Blacks and Whites' - that promised that players will 'find out what it's like to be black and poor'. The game resonated quite profoundly with white liberals.

There are advertisements for record albums from Ian McDonald and Michael Giles, who were British musicians; their album is available at YouTube, although I don't think it's very good. 

Two albums originate from members of the Taylor family: Kate Taylor and Alex Taylor, who were brothers and sisters of Livingston, Hugh, and James Taylor. The albums from Kate and Alex offer decent early 70s folk tunes, nothing earthshaking, but nothing awful, either. 

Two Years On was the Bee Gees reunion album, recorded after Robin rejoined the band. It yielded the hit 'Lonely Days'.

Lampoon editor and founder Doug Kenney stars in the 'Foto Funnies'.

The best feature in this April issue is a parody of the men's 'sweat' magazines, titled Real Balls Adventure. It's a dead-on satire of the genre.

Considerably more acid in its tenor is a parody of baseball and football cards. 'Booblegum Cards' features professional athletes who got in trouble for a variety of things. It's a sign that back in the day, more than 50 years ago, the transgressions of professional athletes very much were the stuff of pop culture discourse.

There you have it..........satire from the long-ago year of 1971.

Book Review: The Marksman

Book Review: 'The Marksman'
by Hugh Rae

2 / 5 Stars

Hugh Rae (1935 – 2014) was a Scottish author who, during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, published novels in a wide variety of genres, including crime, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. Using the pseudonym ‘Jessica Stirling’, from 1974 to 2014 he published over 50 books, which were very popular, in the historical romance genre.  

The area did not have the air of a Glasgow suburb, but rather that of a small mining community. Damp November darkness swallowed the far horizons so that Weaver could easily sustain the illusion that nothing lay out there but fallow pastures and the ochre heaps of shale dumps. 

The men walked side by side along the pavement. It was cracked and pot-holed and mud-flecked like a newly excavated relic of the Roman period. The open acres adjacent to it were planted with surveyors’ stakes and construction dumps, tarns of mud and sour surface ash, foundation pits like mass graves and long bunkers of flung clay………

‘The Marksman’ first was published in 1971. This Sphere books paperback edition (269) is a 1987 printing. It is a tie-in to the BBC miniseries based on the novel, that aired the same year.

The novel is set in Glasgow in the early 1970s. Its protagonist, Donald Weaver, is a Glaswegian ‘hard man’ and felon, who has been living in comfort in Spain on the proceeds from a successful armed robbery. When Weaver gets a letter from the elderly Vincent Doyle, telling him that Weaver’s estranged son Gordon was brutally murdered in Glasgow almost a year ago, Weaver returns to his old haunts on a mission of vengeance.

Weaver has little love or sentimentality for his hometown, but doggedly makes the rounds of the neighborhoods in the early Winter darkness and drizzle. It's no easy task; the police closed the case after making a cursory effort to solve it, and the Glasgow demi-monde are less than helpful in responding to Weaver’s inquiries. 

To maintain his short-term stay in Glasgow Weaver is obliged to procure more money, and despite misgivings, teams up with a fellow thief for what seems to be a straightforward job. But a crooked cop is in on the take, and when alliances go bad, Weaver discovers that even as he pursues his son’s murderers, he himself is pursued by parties who prefer to dispense their justice in as unpleasant a manner as possible. For Donald Weaver, time is running out, and with each passing day, the operatives in the Glasgow underworld come closer to putting a bullet in his brain…….

‘The Marksman’ starts off well, benefitting from its setting in Glasgow and the author’s familiarity with that milieu. Weaver’s misadventures take place against a backdrop of gritty, threatening landscapes and supporting characters. 

Unfortunately, as the novel progresses, it becomes very slow going, heavily padded with lengthy philosophical and psychological expositions that indicate author Rae wanted 'The Marksman' to be a 'literary' work, one that transcended the crime genre. 

The final confrontation between Weaver and his adversaries relies on a series of improbable actions that, after dutifully plodding through 255 pages of plot set-up, I found deflatingly contrived.

'The Marksman' is a two-star Brit Crime novel. Recommended only for those with the patience for a dilatory narrative preoccupied with character development, mood, and atmosphere over plot.