Todd Klein's Blog, page 185

Listening To: THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS by Robert Heinlein

I listened to this periodically over the last two weeks on Audible.com, through a new partnership with Amazon Prime. Heinlein is a favorite author, and I hadn’t read this one in some time. The audiobook is over 14 hours, unabridged, and read excellently by Lloyd James. I really enjoyed his Russian accent for the narrator, Manny, it brought home the melange of languages Heinlein created for the book, which takes place on our moon in the future, of course, when Earth has been using it as a penal colony and dumping ground for unwanted Earthlings. With inhabitants from many Earth areas and countries, it seems quite sensible that the common language would incorporate slang and words from many languages. Heinlein pulls this off admirably. Anything I didn’t understand was clear from context. James does other accents and makes all the characters reasonable distinctive. The only thing I didn’t care for was his handling of the female voices. Wyoming, the female lead, comes across a lot stronger in my head than in the reading. It would be great to have a woman doing the female voices in a situation like this.

“Moon” is a talky book, pretty late in Heinlein’s career, but the talk is mostly focused on the plot: the inhabitants of the Moon are being treated badly, their resources are being depleted by Earth, and Manny, Wyoming and a sentient computer called Mike come up with a solution: revolution and independence! Heinlein works out every detail beautifully, and it’s no easy task for the characters. Could they have done it without Mike, who has control over all the systems on Luna? Perhaps not, but given that, the logistics of revolution are believable and even exciting once the plan goes into action. Great book, and I enjoyed listening to it. I’m sure I missed details here and there, but much of the dialogue remains with me even now, so the Audible experience was a good one that I will try again.

Recommended.

Alaska 2001 Part 2

Concluding a selection of my favorite pictures from our Alaska trip slideshow, recently reconstructed on my laptop. Denali and central Alaska this time. From the final stop on the cruise in Juneau, we flew to Fairbanks, where we took a train to the entrance to Denali National Park. From there, we rode on this bus to the foot of the mountain.

While we stayed here near the base of Denali (Mount McKinley, America’s tallest mountain) for several days, only the lowest slopes of Denali were visible. The rest was above the cloud layer that persisted the entire time.

Yes, the mosquitos were bad. Head veils were a must. But hey, we’re from New Jersey. We’re used to mosquitos. We did several hikes in this area, which is beautiful.

This was so much fun, and the puppies were adorable. Ellen was in heaven.

This setup had a team of dogs running in a circle hauling their own houses for training.

As we drove south, Denali finally emerged from cloud cover, but looking ghostly in the heavy humidity.

This was the most exciting part of our second week, flying in a small plane up onto a glacier high on Denali. Amazing views!

Ellen does not like to fly, she gets airsick easily, so this was a brave decision for her. We loved it, though, an experience we’ll never forget.

After that, the rest of the trip was anticlimactic. We ended in Anchorage, then flew to Seattle where we had an overnight with time for a little sightseeing, then home. The trip of a lifetime!

Alaska 2001 Part 1

In June of 2001 Ellen and I went on a two week trip to Alaska, a group tour with Lindblad. The first week we were cruising the inland waterway on Alaska’s lower coast aboard the ship Sea Lion, above. The second week we were in interior Alaska mainly around Denali. In 2003 I put together a slide show with captioned pictures, about 160 of them, to show on my first laptop. In the years since, that show has become jumbled and some pictures went missing. The last few days I’ve been restoring it, and since the pictures are now back in order, thought I’d put some of my favorites up here. This post covers the first week, the second week will be in part 2.

Lindblad is a tour company that focuses on nature, and their small 62-passenger ships in Alaska are perfect for that. You get much closer to nature in a small ship, they have many expert guides and naturalists aboard, and we loved our experience with them. They’re very expensive, but we felt well worth it.

The cabins were small, but we didn’t spend much time in ours. Mostly we were on deck or doing off-ship expeditions when not eating excellent meals below.

We got close to Humpback Whales the first full day, very exciting.

Alaska in June meant it never got very dark for long. This is about 10 PM.

On the second day we were out on these inflatable boats to get close to icebergs.

Love the blue ice!

The third day we landed on an island to explore kelp beds and go for a hike.

Later we watched Salmon being caught in Chatham Bay, only allowed one day each year in these protected waters.

A voyage into Glacier National Park was a highlight of this week.

Even on a sunny and relatively warm day, the cold water kept us dressed like this.

Another day, another adventure!

That’s us, out on our own.

Our small ship could get closer to things than the big ones.

One last amazing iceberg. More tomorrow.

And Then I Read: THE BONESHAKER by Kate Milford

Illustration by Andrea Offerman.

Place: the small Missouri town of Arcane. Time: 1913. Just outside town is a crossroads where very strange things happen, but strange things are coming to Arcane as well: a traveling show run by Jake Limberleg and his four Paragons of Medicine. Natalie Minks has her own problems including a bicycle she can’t seem to master, but her mother’s illness has her worried, too. When the Medicine Show limps into town with a missing wagon wheel, Jake Limberleg turns to Natalie’s father, Ted, the best woodworker in town, to replace it. Soon Natalie and her friends and family are deeply involved with the sinister goings-on at the show, and around town. There’s a worrying plague in the town where the show came from. Could there be some connection? Why do Jake and others seem to know more about Natalie’s own family history than she does? What’s really in all those improbable medicines and medical machines everyone is turning to for help? Is the Devil involved, as some say,  or are they truly miracle cures that are happening? Midnight expeditions into the heart of the maze-like carnival show bring truly frightening moments, and soon Natalie is faced with a race to get help for her mother and the whole town, but she can only do that if her ornery bicycle can be conquered at last.

This book is a gem of a first novel for younger readers. The characters are fascinating, many with unusual origins and histories that play out through the story. The plot is creative and original, full of thrills and magic, revelations and horrors. At times it reminded me a bit of Ray Bradbury’s “Something Wicked This Way Comes,” but there are plenty of unique ideas here. I will definitely seek out the other books by Milford, including a prequel to this one.

Highly recommended.

And Then I Read: THE FLASH #2

Image © DC Comics.

Barry Allen’s friend and fellow police officer Detective August Heart seems to have acquired speed force powers through a lightning strike similar to the one the created The Flash. (Guess the chemical stew was not important this time?) Barry is testing and training August to see what his powers are and help him learn to use them. When Barry is called to save reporter Iris West from kidnappers, August tags along and tries to help. The kidnappers have used Iris as bait, and have a surprise for The Flash that he won’t like. As the issue ends, more lightning is striking all over town. Will this create more new speedsters?

An interesting idea, but I’m not sure I like having lots of super-speedsters in this book. I’ll see where it goes. Writer Joshua Williamson is keeping me guessing and reading, while the art of Carmine Di Giandomenico is getting more appealing to me as I see more of it.

Recommended.

And Then I Read: SAMUEL BLINK AND THE FORBIDDEN FOREST by Matt Haig

Cover illustration by Peter Ferguson.

Samuel and his younger sister Martha’s lives change suddenly when a car accident kills their parents right in front of them. Martha is so traumatized that she stops speaking. Before they know it they are sent to live with their closest relative, Aunt Eda, in faraway Norway. Aunt Eda welcomes them warmly, but the small village where she lives on the edge of a mysterious forest does not. Aunt Eda’s husband, Uncle Henrik, disappeared into that forest years ago and never returned. He was not the first.

Despite all Aunt Eda’s worries and warnings to stay out of the forest, before long both children are enticed into it by the magical creatures there, first Martha, then Samuel. Once inside they cannot find their way out, or find each other. They are among terrifying magical creatures. Only a book that Samuel has brought along has some clues about how to deal with the forest inhabitants, and he soon loses it. At the heart of the forest is another human, the author of the book, Professor Tanglewood, who has taken control of the forest and its magic through evil and cruel methods. He calls himself The Changemaker because he has made what was once beautiful into a place of terror. His servant is the Shadow Witch, and soon she is after the human children. If she is able to steal their shadows they will be changed for the worse, like so many others.

I enjoyed this book. The characters are mostly well-developed and believable. Only Professor Tanglewood is somewhat two-dimensional, though his background and reasons for being the way he is are detailed. The magic and creatures are built around Norse legends, which adds depth. The plot is complex and something of a thrill ride that at times stretches credulity, but generally it kept me reading.

Recommended.

Weekend Getaway Photos

This past weekend we did spent two nights on the upper Delaware River in northeastern Pennsylvania, staying at the 1870 Roebling Inn, above, a very fine bed and breakfast. The weather was not great, cloudy and with some rain, but we had fun anyway.

The inn has property right next to the river, and from there you can see the aqueduct bridge built in the 1840s by John A. Roebling, most famous for his design of the Brooklyn Bridge. This is the oldest Roebling bridge still standing, in Lackawaxen, PA.

A closer look at the bridge showing the stone abutments intended to fend off ice in the winter and some of the wood beams holding the roadway.

Ellen and I on the walkway, a composite of two photos that don’t quite line up.

The most interesting thing about the bridge is that it was built for canal boats, and was originally filled with water and part of a canal system following the Delaware and other rivers connecting the coal mines of Pennsylvania and navigable parts of the Delaware further south. It’s now open as a one-lane car bridge from PA to New York State. The original woven wire cables made by Roebling are still supporting the weight of the bridge. We enjoyed walking across and back and reading all the informational signs.

Back at the Roebling Inn, this pair of Bald Eagles were our neighbors the first day we were there, sitting on a dead tree not far from the Inn. This area supports many Bald Eagles in the winter, where they can catch fish in the river unless it freezes over.

Just down the street on the river is the Zane Grey Museum, which we enjoyed touring, also an information center for the Upper Delaware preserve. I read a few Zane Grey novels as a teenager, and enjoyed them, but was never a big western fan. It was interesting to learn that Grey, like many successful creators, was obsessed with his work, often writing around the clock in his study to finish one of his many novels. He was also quite a good artist. Illustrations he did for his first book (not a western) were on display. Grey was also a worldwide traveler-explorer, fisherman and travel writer, as well as the initial author of the newspaper strip “King of the Royal Mounted” based on one of his books. Comic book versions of the feature were on display. Grey only lived here a few years, but owned the house all his life and is buried here.

About a half hour drive north is the Museum at Bethel Woods, site of the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival, with lots of great exhibits and video clips about the festival, its creators, the musicians who played, and the 1960s in general.

Forty-seven years later, I finally made it to Woodstock! Where is everybody? In the summer of 1969 I had just graduated from high school and was preparing for my first year of art school. I had a summer job that was needed to provide money for school, and I didn’t know anyone who was going to Woodstock. When I saw the film a few years later, I felt like I’d missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but looking back at it now, I’m guessing I wouldn’t have had such a great time if I did get there between the crowds, lack of food and facilities, torrential rain, and other hazards, but I still kind of envy those who were present.

After our sightseeing we spent some time visiting Ellen’s family near Wilkes-Barre, PA, and stayed overnight with her sister Ann’s family in Newton, NJ, where I’m writing this. We’ll be home and back to work tomorrow after our fun and too-brief getaway.

Incoming: NEIL GAIMAN’S MIDNIGHT DAYS

Cover art by Dave McKean.

Just received, a new trade paperback edition of this collection of otherwise uncollected Vertigo work written by Neil Gaiman (with Matt Wagner on one story). Essentially, all his Vertigo work that wasn’t Sandman. This was first issued as a trade paperback in 1999, then a deluxe hardcover in 2012, now a new trade paperback edition. Stories are from SWAMP THING ANNUAL #5, HELLBLAZER #27, WELCOME BACK TO THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY and SANDMAN MIDNIGHT THEATRE (concerning the Golden-Age Sandman, and co-written by Wagner). All good stuff, some lettered by me. Out soon.

Pulled From My Files #44: PUMA Logo

Images © Marvel.

I have this set of five logo sketches for the Marvel character Puma in my files with no information about them. They are probably from the early 1990s. I think they are from before 1995 when I started doing most logo sketches on my first Apple desktop computer. Puma debuted in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #256 dated Sept. 1984, but I couldn’t have worked on a logo for him before late 1987 when I left staff at DC Comics. Early 90s seems right, when Marvel was greatly expanding their output. The style of this sketch is overlapping slabs.

Here’s a very curvy one that I still like, though probably not the right approach for the character. Would have been better if he was a magic-user rather than a fighter.

Something a bit more subdued with lower-case letters.

The furry look in case that appealed to the editor, though probably too retro. Lots of energy here, but not enough space between the U and M. That could have been adjusted.

Another slab approach, which could signify that version 1 was liked best and they wanted to see a variation of it. Or not. Can’t recall anything about this work at all, frankly. Obviously the proposed Puma series never happened, and I must have been paid a kill fee for my work.

And Then I Read: ALCHEMY AND MEGGY SWANN by Karen Cushman

Cover art © Bagram Ibatoulline.

Meggy Swann has had a difficult childhood in a rural village in 14th century England. She was born with crippled legs that make walking difficult for her, even with her walking sticks. Her grandmother took care of her for some years, but has died, and Meggy’s mother doesn’t seem to want her around. Everything changes when Meggy is summoned to London by her father, Master Ambrose, who she has never met and knows nothing about. When Meggy arrives at the dusty and unkempt alchemist’s shop and home, her father seems taken aback by her handicap, and doesn’t want her either. Only Meggy’s pet goose remains a friend and solace, but she is determined to stay on and try to help her father with his work and home, even though he shows no gratitude, barely gives her enough money to feed them, and can’t even remember her name. Gradually Meggy begins to make new friends in London, and through the errands her father sends her on, learns to make her way through the city and its melting pot of people. When Meggy overhears talk by clients of her father that they want him to provide poison for the assassination of a powerful government official, she is torn as never before. Should she try to stop the plot, possibly putting her father in prison?

Karen Cushman writes with great knowledge and perception about Elizabethan England, and has won the Newbery Medal for one of her books. This one is equally good. Recommended.