Joseph Baneth Allen's Blog, page 26
November 3, 2024
Dark Piper
Just finished re-reading "Dark Piper" by Andre Norton, released by Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. back in 1968 as part of my "Great Re-Reading of Favorite Books from My Youth" Project.
I first read "Dark Piper" when it was re-released as a paperback book by ACE Books back in the mid-1970s in the Andre Norton section in the science fiction area of Michele's Bookstore at the Bryn Marr Shopping Center in Jacksonville, North Carolina. I got my reading copy, a discarded hardcover library book from Paxon Senior High School Library here in Jacksonville, Florida that was on the shelves in the science fiction section of Chamblin's Book Mine.
Andre Norton's science fiction universe spans thousands of years, and while I'm not sure of the time frame, "Dark Piper" is set among the collapse of humanity's star spanning civilization and may take place prior to the events chronicled in "The Last Planet, a.k.a. Star Rangers."
"Dark Piper" features her usual cast of likeable, self-reliant young men and women, who have to fight both inscrutable, powerful aliens and the evil mercenaries who attempt to erase all other human life on Beltane. There are hints of Norton's Forerunners, the mysterious beings who preceded humans into space, but this novel is mainly one of survival after the near-destruction of the Beltane colony.
Vere Collis, a young man from a military family, narrates in first-person the apocalyptic story of Beltane, a very remote Terran outpost whose human colonists are mainly scientists. As the Terran Confederation gradually disintegrates under the burden of interstellar wars, Beltane becomes more and more isolated--an easy target for mercenary soldiers who still possess the ships to travel between stars. Retired Sector-Captain Griss Lugard attempts to warn the colonists of their imminent danger. When this fails, he leads a group of youngsters (including the narrator, Vere) deep underground before a series of explosions seals them from all contact with the outer world.
Vere and his friends must return to the surface, in spite of mutants/monsters who have adapted to life underground. That which awaits them among the silent ruins of their home is even more shocking.
STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Piper-And...
I first read "Dark Piper" when it was re-released as a paperback book by ACE Books back in the mid-1970s in the Andre Norton section in the science fiction area of Michele's Bookstore at the Bryn Marr Shopping Center in Jacksonville, North Carolina. I got my reading copy, a discarded hardcover library book from Paxon Senior High School Library here in Jacksonville, Florida that was on the shelves in the science fiction section of Chamblin's Book Mine.
Andre Norton's science fiction universe spans thousands of years, and while I'm not sure of the time frame, "Dark Piper" is set among the collapse of humanity's star spanning civilization and may take place prior to the events chronicled in "The Last Planet, a.k.a. Star Rangers."
"Dark Piper" features her usual cast of likeable, self-reliant young men and women, who have to fight both inscrutable, powerful aliens and the evil mercenaries who attempt to erase all other human life on Beltane. There are hints of Norton's Forerunners, the mysterious beings who preceded humans into space, but this novel is mainly one of survival after the near-destruction of the Beltane colony.
Vere Collis, a young man from a military family, narrates in first-person the apocalyptic story of Beltane, a very remote Terran outpost whose human colonists are mainly scientists. As the Terran Confederation gradually disintegrates under the burden of interstellar wars, Beltane becomes more and more isolated--an easy target for mercenary soldiers who still possess the ships to travel between stars. Retired Sector-Captain Griss Lugard attempts to warn the colonists of their imminent danger. When this fails, he leads a group of youngsters (including the narrator, Vere) deep underground before a series of explosions seals them from all contact with the outer world.
Vere and his friends must return to the surface, in spite of mutants/monsters who have adapted to life underground. That which awaits them among the silent ruins of their home is even more shocking.
STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Piper-And...
Straight-Jacket
Just finished watching "Straight-Jacket" by SRO Pictures released by TLA Releasing back in 2004.
"Straight-Jacket" originally began life as on off-Broadway play before writer Richard Day adapted his popular play into a movie script and he also directed the movie based on the play.
"Straight Jacket" creates a farcical story about the problems & prejudices people of a different sexual orientation had to endure in the old days of Hollywood, circa the 1950's. The coyly illustrated "fifties" opening credits (with a jaunty, squeaky-clean theme song to match) set the tone for what's to follow. Mirroring the life & career of Rock Hudson, Matt Letscher is movie star Guy Stone, who is quite comfortable in his dual role of straight actor by day, and gay predator by night. Although closeted in the public eye, Guy is somewhat frivolous with his lifestyle, which gets him into deep trouble one night: The local gay bar he frequents is raided by police, and Guy's name is splashed across the front pages in a gay scandal. Panicked, the studio head and Guy's tough-as-nails agent dream up a "marriage of convenience" to squelch the gay rumors & throw the media off the trail. But can Guy survive the required twelve months of straight matrimony in order to get the film role of his dreams? That's the initial premise that soon branches into more thought-provoking questions the moment hot young writer Rick enters the picture. Plotting to seduce the young man as he's done with so many others, Guy is startled to discover that Rick is someone entirely different, and he finds himself attracted to him intellectually as well as physically. Guy begins spending more & more time with this intriguing person and less & less with his "wife", to her never-ending frustration. Secret rendezvous can only sustain the relationship between Guy and Rick for so long, and Rick begins making Guy think twice about the double life he's leading. Eventually, one of their meetings is exposed, and Guy is really outed this time. In a McCarthy-ism twist, a studio investigator puts Guy on the hot seat during a televised investigation with an ultimatum: Either confess as a homosexual communist & name names or never work again. Of course, Guy's response is noble, honest & selfless,
Of note, actress Carrie Preston; who was in the original stage play; is giddy fun as the "patsy wife" Sally who is clueless about what is going on with her marriage, and has the best moment in the movie when she sings "Two Kings of Love" where she expresses her feelings about being in a marriage where she loves her husband, but is not loved in return.
Highly Recommended.
Four Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Straight-Jacke...
"Straight-Jacket" originally began life as on off-Broadway play before writer Richard Day adapted his popular play into a movie script and he also directed the movie based on the play.
"Straight Jacket" creates a farcical story about the problems & prejudices people of a different sexual orientation had to endure in the old days of Hollywood, circa the 1950's. The coyly illustrated "fifties" opening credits (with a jaunty, squeaky-clean theme song to match) set the tone for what's to follow. Mirroring the life & career of Rock Hudson, Matt Letscher is movie star Guy Stone, who is quite comfortable in his dual role of straight actor by day, and gay predator by night. Although closeted in the public eye, Guy is somewhat frivolous with his lifestyle, which gets him into deep trouble one night: The local gay bar he frequents is raided by police, and Guy's name is splashed across the front pages in a gay scandal. Panicked, the studio head and Guy's tough-as-nails agent dream up a "marriage of convenience" to squelch the gay rumors & throw the media off the trail. But can Guy survive the required twelve months of straight matrimony in order to get the film role of his dreams? That's the initial premise that soon branches into more thought-provoking questions the moment hot young writer Rick enters the picture. Plotting to seduce the young man as he's done with so many others, Guy is startled to discover that Rick is someone entirely different, and he finds himself attracted to him intellectually as well as physically. Guy begins spending more & more time with this intriguing person and less & less with his "wife", to her never-ending frustration. Secret rendezvous can only sustain the relationship between Guy and Rick for so long, and Rick begins making Guy think twice about the double life he's leading. Eventually, one of their meetings is exposed, and Guy is really outed this time. In a McCarthy-ism twist, a studio investigator puts Guy on the hot seat during a televised investigation with an ultimatum: Either confess as a homosexual communist & name names or never work again. Of course, Guy's response is noble, honest & selfless,
Of note, actress Carrie Preston; who was in the original stage play; is giddy fun as the "patsy wife" Sally who is clueless about what is going on with her marriage, and has the best moment in the movie when she sings "Two Kings of Love" where she expresses her feelings about being in a marriage where she loves her husband, but is not loved in return.
Highly Recommended.
Four Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Straight-Jacke...
Lifeforce
Just finished watching "Lifeforce" released by Cannon Films through MGM Studios.
"Lifeforce" primary is remembered for featuring the unabashed nudity of actress Mathilda May in her first starring role as an alien space vampire, which is a shame, because once you get past the full frontal nudity "Lifeforce" is a compelling British science fiction movie.
"Lifeforce" is based on the science fiction/horror novel "The Space Vampires" by author Colin Wilson, and first published in England and the United States by Random House in 1976. Wilson's fifty-first book, it is about the remnants of a race of intergalactic vampires who are brought back from outer space and are inadvertently let loose on Earth.
The titular space aliens are energy vampires, rather than the familiar undead bloodsucking revenants from Earth folklore. They consume the "life force" by seducing living beings with a deadly kiss and also have the ability to take control of the willing host bodies of their victims. Though the aliens initially appear to be humanoid bat-like creatures, they are subsequently shown to be squidlike, then ultimately revealed to be insubstantial energy-beings from a higher dimension. The novel's protagonist is Captain Olof Carlsen, the commanding officer of the space exploration vehicle that discovered the vampires' spacecraft drifting among the asteroid belt..
"Lifeforce" opens with astronauts unexpectedly encounter a 150-mile-long space vessel during an exploratory mission of Hailey’s Comet. The influence of H. R. Giger is undeniable as the vessel’s interior has an organic motif, as if the explorers were entering the anatomy (even the womb) of a leviathan being. The spaceship’s inhabitants are all deceased, and they resemble giant bats.
While most of the bat-like inhabitants are long dead, the explorers find three preserved, naked, uncannily human lifeforms in stasis chambers—two men, and a woman. Then…something mysterious happens and the mission returns home with zero contact for thirty days
It’s not until mid-story that Colonel Tom Carlsen who was on the original exploratory mission, is recovered as the sole mission survivor in an escape pod to inform the military that an alien vessel was encountered...and what happened on that ship. He comes back a changed man, and the only hope of hunting down the escaped female who is now wandering the streets of London and draining its inhabitants.
With clock ticking before NATO unleashes a nuclear bomb on London to prevent the "contagion" from going global, it becomes a high stakes race to kill the alien vampires before they destroy humanity.
"Lifeforce" was a box-office failure when it was initially released, but it has gained a strong cult following over the years for its original take on vampire mythology.
Highly Recommend.
Four Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Lifeforce-Blu-...
"Lifeforce" primary is remembered for featuring the unabashed nudity of actress Mathilda May in her first starring role as an alien space vampire, which is a shame, because once you get past the full frontal nudity "Lifeforce" is a compelling British science fiction movie.
"Lifeforce" is based on the science fiction/horror novel "The Space Vampires" by author Colin Wilson, and first published in England and the United States by Random House in 1976. Wilson's fifty-first book, it is about the remnants of a race of intergalactic vampires who are brought back from outer space and are inadvertently let loose on Earth.
The titular space aliens are energy vampires, rather than the familiar undead bloodsucking revenants from Earth folklore. They consume the "life force" by seducing living beings with a deadly kiss and also have the ability to take control of the willing host bodies of their victims. Though the aliens initially appear to be humanoid bat-like creatures, they are subsequently shown to be squidlike, then ultimately revealed to be insubstantial energy-beings from a higher dimension. The novel's protagonist is Captain Olof Carlsen, the commanding officer of the space exploration vehicle that discovered the vampires' spacecraft drifting among the asteroid belt..
"Lifeforce" opens with astronauts unexpectedly encounter a 150-mile-long space vessel during an exploratory mission of Hailey’s Comet. The influence of H. R. Giger is undeniable as the vessel’s interior has an organic motif, as if the explorers were entering the anatomy (even the womb) of a leviathan being. The spaceship’s inhabitants are all deceased, and they resemble giant bats.
While most of the bat-like inhabitants are long dead, the explorers find three preserved, naked, uncannily human lifeforms in stasis chambers—two men, and a woman. Then…something mysterious happens and the mission returns home with zero contact for thirty days
It’s not until mid-story that Colonel Tom Carlsen who was on the original exploratory mission, is recovered as the sole mission survivor in an escape pod to inform the military that an alien vessel was encountered...and what happened on that ship. He comes back a changed man, and the only hope of hunting down the escaped female who is now wandering the streets of London and draining its inhabitants.
With clock ticking before NATO unleashes a nuclear bomb on London to prevent the "contagion" from going global, it becomes a high stakes race to kill the alien vampires before they destroy humanity.
"Lifeforce" was a box-office failure when it was initially released, but it has gained a strong cult following over the years for its original take on vampire mythology.
Highly Recommend.
Four Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Lifeforce-Blu-...
Inside Out 2
Just stopped watching "Inside Out 2" released by Disney/Pixar.
Hollywood, along with other entertainment mediums, loves a movie becomes an unexpected breakaway hit and rakes in the do-ray-me. The original movie in the "Inside Out" now franchise grossed $858.8 million worldwide, finishing its theatrical run as the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2015 when it was released. It should be noted that this figure does not include merchandise/DVD sales.
Eleven years later, "Inside Out 2" grossed $1.696 billion worldwide, breaking multiple box-office records, including becoming the highest-grossing animated film of all time. It also became the highest-grossing film of 2024 and the eighth-highest-grossing film of all time. Again, it should be noted that It should be noted that this figure does not include merchandise/DVD sales.
So why did I stop watching it?
Two years after her move to San Francisco, 13-year-old Riley Andersen is entering high school. Her personified emotions—Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger—now oversee a newly formed element of Riley's mind called her "Sense of Self", which houses memories and feelings that shape Riley's beliefs.
Riley and her best friends, Bree and Grace, are invited to a weekend ice hockey camp, where Riley hopes to qualify for her new school's team, the Firehawks. However, a "Puberty Alarm" goes off the night before camp, and a group of mind workers upgrade the emotion console, leaving Headquarters in disarray. The emotions find that Riley now overreacts to any inputs they make to the console. Four new emotions—Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui—arrive and clash with the original emotions over their approaches. In particular, Joy wants Riley to have fun at camp, while Anxiety focuses on winning a spot on the team and making new friends, especially after Riley learns that Bree and Grace will be attending a different high school.
To me, "Inside Out 2" simply didn't tell a compelling story and the animation seemed stale and lackluster with no vibrancy or originality.
Perhaps I will try re-watching it again in a few years, but I got 47 minutes in and I had hit eject on my blu-ray player because I was forcing myself to watch this movie.
Hopefully Disney/Pixar will learn the "Weekend At Bernie's 2" lesson - just because a sequel is widely acclaimed and makes even more money than the original doesn't mean a sequel needs to be made to ride the gravy train. Note to Disney/Pixar, "Weekend At Bernie's 3" never got beyond the thinking stage.
STRONGLY NOT RECOMMEDNED!
ZERO STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Out-Com...
Hollywood, along with other entertainment mediums, loves a movie becomes an unexpected breakaway hit and rakes in the do-ray-me. The original movie in the "Inside Out" now franchise grossed $858.8 million worldwide, finishing its theatrical run as the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2015 when it was released. It should be noted that this figure does not include merchandise/DVD sales.
Eleven years later, "Inside Out 2" grossed $1.696 billion worldwide, breaking multiple box-office records, including becoming the highest-grossing animated film of all time. It also became the highest-grossing film of 2024 and the eighth-highest-grossing film of all time. Again, it should be noted that It should be noted that this figure does not include merchandise/DVD sales.
So why did I stop watching it?
Two years after her move to San Francisco, 13-year-old Riley Andersen is entering high school. Her personified emotions—Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger—now oversee a newly formed element of Riley's mind called her "Sense of Self", which houses memories and feelings that shape Riley's beliefs.
Riley and her best friends, Bree and Grace, are invited to a weekend ice hockey camp, where Riley hopes to qualify for her new school's team, the Firehawks. However, a "Puberty Alarm" goes off the night before camp, and a group of mind workers upgrade the emotion console, leaving Headquarters in disarray. The emotions find that Riley now overreacts to any inputs they make to the console. Four new emotions—Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui—arrive and clash with the original emotions over their approaches. In particular, Joy wants Riley to have fun at camp, while Anxiety focuses on winning a spot on the team and making new friends, especially after Riley learns that Bree and Grace will be attending a different high school.
To me, "Inside Out 2" simply didn't tell a compelling story and the animation seemed stale and lackluster with no vibrancy or originality.
Perhaps I will try re-watching it again in a few years, but I got 47 minutes in and I had hit eject on my blu-ray player because I was forcing myself to watch this movie.
Hopefully Disney/Pixar will learn the "Weekend At Bernie's 2" lesson - just because a sequel is widely acclaimed and makes even more money than the original doesn't mean a sequel needs to be made to ride the gravy train. Note to Disney/Pixar, "Weekend At Bernie's 3" never got beyond the thinking stage.
STRONGLY NOT RECOMMEDNED!
ZERO STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Out-Com...
October 28, 2024
Zagor - 1000 Faces of Fear
Just finished reading "Zagor - 1000 Faces of Fear" by Ade Capone and Galieno, published by Epicenter Comics back in 2017.
"Zagor - 1000 Faces of Fear" collects the story arc from August-thru-October 1989.
Zagor is an Italian comic book created by editor and writer Sergio Bonelli (pseudonym Guido Nolitta) and artist Gallieno Ferri. Zagor was first published In Italy by Sergio Bonelli Editore in 1961.
Zagor's real name is Patrick Wilding, the son of Mike and Betty. He is a western-tarzanesque character living in a fictional forest named Darkwood, located in Pennsylvania, north eastern United States. His name Zagor comes from his Indian name "Za-Gor Te-Nay", whose fictional meaning is "The Spirit with the Hatchet". Though the writers do not mention exact dates, Zagor is supposed to be active during the first half of the 19th century, or around 1825–1830. Zagor fights to maintain peace all over his territory, protecting the Indian tribes and hunting down criminals regardless of their skin color.
Zagor is not a typical western character, as his stories mix horror and science fiction by side with a bit of humour coming mostly from his sidekick Chico, a short, fat Mexican man who became his best friend. His full name is "Don" Chico Felipe Cayetano Lopez Martinez y Gonzales.
It's important to note that Zagor, alongside Chico, do not always outright win victories and the "1000 Faces of Fear" highlights that sometimes the best Zagor and Chico can obtain is a standoff and coming back to the beginning of their adventure - which does happen here in the "1000 Faces of Fear."
Zagor is catching a nap in the forest of Darkwood, when Chico, who is out hunting, is startled by an Indian brave, who raises a knife. Chico cries out and Zagor, springs into action and disarms the brave, who turns out to be their friend Elusive Hare, an Osage, who came to Darkwood seeing Zagor's help. A U.S. Army Captain is set on establishing an outpost on a sacred medicine wheel that is containing an ancient evil from the stars that can assume the form of anyone or anything that is feared - which the building of the outpost has brought back. Hence the title, "1000 Faces of Fear."
A great Zagor story which highlights why sometimes only the best you can achieve is a "back-to-the-beginning" stalemate.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Zagor-1000-F...
"Zagor - 1000 Faces of Fear" collects the story arc from August-thru-October 1989.
Zagor is an Italian comic book created by editor and writer Sergio Bonelli (pseudonym Guido Nolitta) and artist Gallieno Ferri. Zagor was first published In Italy by Sergio Bonelli Editore in 1961.
Zagor's real name is Patrick Wilding, the son of Mike and Betty. He is a western-tarzanesque character living in a fictional forest named Darkwood, located in Pennsylvania, north eastern United States. His name Zagor comes from his Indian name "Za-Gor Te-Nay", whose fictional meaning is "The Spirit with the Hatchet". Though the writers do not mention exact dates, Zagor is supposed to be active during the first half of the 19th century, or around 1825–1830. Zagor fights to maintain peace all over his territory, protecting the Indian tribes and hunting down criminals regardless of their skin color.
Zagor is not a typical western character, as his stories mix horror and science fiction by side with a bit of humour coming mostly from his sidekick Chico, a short, fat Mexican man who became his best friend. His full name is "Don" Chico Felipe Cayetano Lopez Martinez y Gonzales.
It's important to note that Zagor, alongside Chico, do not always outright win victories and the "1000 Faces of Fear" highlights that sometimes the best Zagor and Chico can obtain is a standoff and coming back to the beginning of their adventure - which does happen here in the "1000 Faces of Fear."
Zagor is catching a nap in the forest of Darkwood, when Chico, who is out hunting, is startled by an Indian brave, who raises a knife. Chico cries out and Zagor, springs into action and disarms the brave, who turns out to be their friend Elusive Hare, an Osage, who came to Darkwood seeing Zagor's help. A U.S. Army Captain is set on establishing an outpost on a sacred medicine wheel that is containing an ancient evil from the stars that can assume the form of anyone or anything that is feared - which the building of the outpost has brought back. Hence the title, "1000 Faces of Fear."
A great Zagor story which highlights why sometimes only the best you can achieve is a "back-to-the-beginning" stalemate.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Zagor-1000-F...
Knight Owl and Early Bird
Just finished reading "Knight Owl and Early Bird," written and illustrated by Christopher Denise, published by Christy Ottaviano Books, Little, Brown, and Company.
Denise's first book, "Knight Owl," went on to become a Caldecott Honor Book, and he follows it up with a second book in a now projected "Knight Owl" series, which introduces Early Bird, who wants to follow in his hero's footsteps.
The story in this followup sequel is simple: Early Bird wants to be brave and protect the castle, just like Knight Owl. But she falls asleep on the job and then keeps her hero up during the day with her enthusiastic chattiness, well-meaning questions, and cheerful owl impersonations. But there are strange happenings in the forest, and soon Knight Owl and Early Bird find themselves in the throes of danger. Will these two learn to work together to keep themselves and the kingdom safe?
Denise's artwork aptly captures the struggle two diverse personalities have in coming together for a common goal and how each must prove themselves to the other through devotion to a cause and hard work.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Knight-Owl-Ear...
Denise's first book, "Knight Owl," went on to become a Caldecott Honor Book, and he follows it up with a second book in a now projected "Knight Owl" series, which introduces Early Bird, who wants to follow in his hero's footsteps.
The story in this followup sequel is simple: Early Bird wants to be brave and protect the castle, just like Knight Owl. But she falls asleep on the job and then keeps her hero up during the day with her enthusiastic chattiness, well-meaning questions, and cheerful owl impersonations. But there are strange happenings in the forest, and soon Knight Owl and Early Bird find themselves in the throes of danger. Will these two learn to work together to keep themselves and the kingdom safe?
Denise's artwork aptly captures the struggle two diverse personalities have in coming together for a common goal and how each must prove themselves to the other through devotion to a cause and hard work.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Knight-Owl-Ear...
October 27, 2024
The Lonesome Gods
Just finished reading "The Lonesome Gods" by Louis Lamour, which was first published by Bantam Books in hardcover back in 1983.
Now it may surprise frequent readers of my reviews here on Facebook, Goodreads, Linkin, and other social media platforms that I actually do read western novels. I don't see why since I will read just about anything except a Barbara Cartland romance novel.
And I would be extremely remiss if I didn't point out that Andre Norton wrote three western novels - "Stand To Horse," "Ride Proud Rebel," and "Rebel Spurs" - though her "Rebel" novels are considered historical novels as well since they deal with the adventures of a young man on the losing side of the American Civil War.
And yes, "The Lonesome Gods" was read as part of my Great Re-reading of My Favorite and Best Remembered Books for My Youth Project.
Back in 1984, I was in my senior year as a Physics Undergraduate at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville when I ran into a horrifying - well at least for me at that time - problem. I had ran out of books to ready. Yes, I could have checked out a few books from the Undergraduate Library, but I do like owning the books I read and oddly, at that time, the campus bookstore, only sold student text books. Now the off campus bookstore on the Strip - and for the life of me I can't remember the name of this bookstore and it no longer exists, did sell paperback books, so I ambled down there and there were no new science fiction novels on the shelves, but there was "The Lonesome Gods" by Louis L'Amour and there's nothing wrong with discovering a book by an author that you have never read before - though snobs in general tend to look down on people who write and read Western novels back then and even now.
I recall being intrigued/enticed by the cover, and if memory is serving me correctly, "The Lonesome Gods" was being marked as a historical novel - not a typical Western novel. Nor was it L'Amour's first historical novel as he had previously written "Fair Blows The Wind." But "The Lonesome Gods" was L'Amour's breakthrough novel which gained him a wider audience among readers - I know I became hooked on his books after reading "The Lonesome Gods."
Zachary Verne is a dying man on a desperate, insanely suicidal mission. Running out of time, Verne crosses the desert on his way to California in the hopes of securing a place for his five-year-old son Johannes, who is the narrator of the story, with his grandfather, a prideful Spanish Don who wants to murder Zachary for the crime of marrying his daughter and kill Johannes because he is a taint on his family's bloodline.
With his father murdered by his grandfather, Jonathan is left to die in the desert but is rescued by outlaws and raised by Indians and is eventually taken in by Miss Nesselrode, a woman he and his father met on the way to California, who has a mysterious past and agenda of her own.
L'amour successfully combined personal narrative with history and mystery to create a compelling tale.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Lonesome-Gods-...
Now it may surprise frequent readers of my reviews here on Facebook, Goodreads, Linkin, and other social media platforms that I actually do read western novels. I don't see why since I will read just about anything except a Barbara Cartland romance novel.
And I would be extremely remiss if I didn't point out that Andre Norton wrote three western novels - "Stand To Horse," "Ride Proud Rebel," and "Rebel Spurs" - though her "Rebel" novels are considered historical novels as well since they deal with the adventures of a young man on the losing side of the American Civil War.
And yes, "The Lonesome Gods" was read as part of my Great Re-reading of My Favorite and Best Remembered Books for My Youth Project.
Back in 1984, I was in my senior year as a Physics Undergraduate at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville when I ran into a horrifying - well at least for me at that time - problem. I had ran out of books to ready. Yes, I could have checked out a few books from the Undergraduate Library, but I do like owning the books I read and oddly, at that time, the campus bookstore, only sold student text books. Now the off campus bookstore on the Strip - and for the life of me I can't remember the name of this bookstore and it no longer exists, did sell paperback books, so I ambled down there and there were no new science fiction novels on the shelves, but there was "The Lonesome Gods" by Louis L'Amour and there's nothing wrong with discovering a book by an author that you have never read before - though snobs in general tend to look down on people who write and read Western novels back then and even now.
I recall being intrigued/enticed by the cover, and if memory is serving me correctly, "The Lonesome Gods" was being marked as a historical novel - not a typical Western novel. Nor was it L'Amour's first historical novel as he had previously written "Fair Blows The Wind." But "The Lonesome Gods" was L'Amour's breakthrough novel which gained him a wider audience among readers - I know I became hooked on his books after reading "The Lonesome Gods."
Zachary Verne is a dying man on a desperate, insanely suicidal mission. Running out of time, Verne crosses the desert on his way to California in the hopes of securing a place for his five-year-old son Johannes, who is the narrator of the story, with his grandfather, a prideful Spanish Don who wants to murder Zachary for the crime of marrying his daughter and kill Johannes because he is a taint on his family's bloodline.
With his father murdered by his grandfather, Jonathan is left to die in the desert but is rescued by outlaws and raised by Indians and is eventually taken in by Miss Nesselrode, a woman he and his father met on the way to California, who has a mysterious past and agenda of her own.
L'amour successfully combined personal narrative with history and mystery to create a compelling tale.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Lonesome-Gods-...
Shadow Of The Smoking Mountain
Just finished reading "Shadow Of The Smoking Mountain - The Chronicles of Hanuvar 3" by Howard Andrew Hones, published by BAEN books.
Jones has long established himself as one of the leading writers of the Sword and Sorcery genre from his time as the Managing Editor of Black Gate magazine. and as the editor of the sword-and-sorcery magazine Tales From the Magician’s Skull. He has also been diagnosed with brain cancer–multifocal glioblastoma, which sadly is terminal.
The Chronicles of Hanuvar is projected to be a five volume series and the fourth volume, which will be released in 2025, is titled, "Daughters of the Silver Tower."
Jones has turned to real history in his worldbuilding in the Hanuvar Chronicles and used the Punic Wars between the Roman Republic and the North African empire of Carthage as the foundation of his world-building. Jones turned to Hanuvar is directly inspired by Hannibal of Carthage, the renowned statesman and general who led the war against Rome during the Second Punic War as his inspiration for his classically inspired altruistic hero Hanuvar.
The parallels between the Punic Wars and the fantasy world of the Hanuvar Chronicles are evident starting with the map at the beginning of the book. Hanuvar’s homeland of Volanus is a fictionalized version of Carthage after it had been decimated at the conclusion of the Third Punic War, all its people either killed or enslaved by Rome, which is represented by the Dervan Empire in The Chronicles of Hanuvar.
Hanuvar does finally learn the fate of his long lost daughter and where she is and Izivar, Antires, and Emperor Enarius really all stood out on their own in their story arcs. Also of note, Hanuvar meets a friendly enemy, Calenius, who has an agenda of his own and seems wiling to help Hanuvar, until the Volani general figures out the magician's true intent.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
And thoughts and prayers to Howard Andrew Jones and his family.
https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Smoking...
Jones has long established himself as one of the leading writers of the Sword and Sorcery genre from his time as the Managing Editor of Black Gate magazine. and as the editor of the sword-and-sorcery magazine Tales From the Magician’s Skull. He has also been diagnosed with brain cancer–multifocal glioblastoma, which sadly is terminal.
The Chronicles of Hanuvar is projected to be a five volume series and the fourth volume, which will be released in 2025, is titled, "Daughters of the Silver Tower."
Jones has turned to real history in his worldbuilding in the Hanuvar Chronicles and used the Punic Wars between the Roman Republic and the North African empire of Carthage as the foundation of his world-building. Jones turned to Hanuvar is directly inspired by Hannibal of Carthage, the renowned statesman and general who led the war against Rome during the Second Punic War as his inspiration for his classically inspired altruistic hero Hanuvar.
The parallels between the Punic Wars and the fantasy world of the Hanuvar Chronicles are evident starting with the map at the beginning of the book. Hanuvar’s homeland of Volanus is a fictionalized version of Carthage after it had been decimated at the conclusion of the Third Punic War, all its people either killed or enslaved by Rome, which is represented by the Dervan Empire in The Chronicles of Hanuvar.
Hanuvar does finally learn the fate of his long lost daughter and where she is and Izivar, Antires, and Emperor Enarius really all stood out on their own in their story arcs. Also of note, Hanuvar meets a friendly enemy, Calenius, who has an agenda of his own and seems wiling to help Hanuvar, until the Volani general figures out the magician's true intent.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
And thoughts and prayers to Howard Andrew Jones and his family.
https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Smoking...
October 25, 2024
"Zagor - Voodoo Vendetta"
Just finished reading "Zagor - Voodoo Vendetta" by Mauro Boselli and Mauro Laurenti, published by Epicenter Comics in 2016.
Zagor is an Italian comic book created by editor and writer Sergio Bonelli (pseudonym Guido Nolitta) and artist Gallieno Ferri. Zagor was first published In Italy by Sergio Bonelli Editore in 1961.
Zagor's real name is Patrick Wilding, the son of Mike and Betty. He is a western-tarzanesque character living in a fictional forest named Darkwood, located in Pennsylvania, north eastern United States. His name Zagor comes from his Indian name "Za-Gor Te-Nay", whose fictional meaning is "The Spirit with the Hatchet". Though the writers do not mention exact dates, Zagor is supposed to be active during the first half of the 19th century, or around 1825–1830. Zagor fights to maintain peace all over his territory, protecting the Indian tribes and hunting down criminals regardless of their skin color.
Zagor is not a typical western character, as his stories mix horror and science fiction by side with a bit of humour coming mostly from his sidekick Chico, a short, fat Mexican man who became his best friend. His full name is "Don" Chico Felipe Cayetano Lopez Martinez y Gonzales.
What is notable about "Voodoo Vendetta" is that it is the first time Zagor kisses a woman in the comic book and it's suggested that they had a "romantic interlude."
Zagor, Chico, and Digger Bill are lost in a forrest/swamp as they are walking to Abbeville, when they seek refuge in an abandoned house and discover a beautiful blonde by the name of Miss Gambit who is about to be attacked by a vengeful mob when they rescue her and she temporarily aligns herself with Zagor, Chico, and Digger Bill on the way to Lafayette, Louisiana when they soon encounter a tarot card reader at a party by the name of Marie, who happens to be a Voodoo priestess who has plans to destroy Lafayette for a past betrayal and she also has plans for Zagor to become her slave/prince.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/165487057486...
Zagor is an Italian comic book created by editor and writer Sergio Bonelli (pseudonym Guido Nolitta) and artist Gallieno Ferri. Zagor was first published In Italy by Sergio Bonelli Editore in 1961.
Zagor's real name is Patrick Wilding, the son of Mike and Betty. He is a western-tarzanesque character living in a fictional forest named Darkwood, located in Pennsylvania, north eastern United States. His name Zagor comes from his Indian name "Za-Gor Te-Nay", whose fictional meaning is "The Spirit with the Hatchet". Though the writers do not mention exact dates, Zagor is supposed to be active during the first half of the 19th century, or around 1825–1830. Zagor fights to maintain peace all over his territory, protecting the Indian tribes and hunting down criminals regardless of their skin color.
Zagor is not a typical western character, as his stories mix horror and science fiction by side with a bit of humour coming mostly from his sidekick Chico, a short, fat Mexican man who became his best friend. His full name is "Don" Chico Felipe Cayetano Lopez Martinez y Gonzales.
What is notable about "Voodoo Vendetta" is that it is the first time Zagor kisses a woman in the comic book and it's suggested that they had a "romantic interlude."
Zagor, Chico, and Digger Bill are lost in a forrest/swamp as they are walking to Abbeville, when they seek refuge in an abandoned house and discover a beautiful blonde by the name of Miss Gambit who is about to be attacked by a vengeful mob when they rescue her and she temporarily aligns herself with Zagor, Chico, and Digger Bill on the way to Lafayette, Louisiana when they soon encounter a tarot card reader at a party by the name of Marie, who happens to be a Voodoo priestess who has plans to destroy Lafayette for a past betrayal and she also has plans for Zagor to become her slave/prince.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/165487057486...
The Voyage of the Space Beagle
Just finished reading "The Voyage of The Space Beagle" by A.E. Van Vogt, published by Manor Books back in 1976.
Yes, Van Vogt's "The Voyage of The Space Beagle" is one of the books in my "Great Re-Reading of all the Favorite Books from my Younger Days" Project.
I originally bought "The Voyage of The Space Beagle" when it first appeared on the shelves of the new arrivals section in the Science Fiction section near the font door of Michele's Bookstore in the Brywn Marr Shopping Center in Jacksonville, North Carolina. [It closed a few years after we moved to Jacksonville, Florida. I remember being intrigued by the cover art and the synopsis on the back cover of the paperback book because it promised a story of interstellar exploration.
"The Voyage of the Space Beagle" is an example of space opera sub-genre, the novel is a "fix-up" compilation of four previously published stories:
"Black Destroyer" (cover story of the July 1939 issue of Astounding magazine—the first published science fiction story by A. E. van Vogt) (chapters 1 to 6)
"War of Nerves" (May 1950, Other Worlds magazine) (chapters 9 to 12)
"Discord in Scarlet" (cover story of the December 1939 issue of Astounding magazine—the second published science fiction story by A. E. van Vogt) (chapters 13 to 21)
"M33 in Andromeda" (August 1943, Astounding magazine, later published as a story in the book M33 in Andromeda (1971)) (chapters 22 to 28)
As the novel begins, Coeurl is prowling his desolate planet looking for food. The arrival of beings in a spaceship, beings who can be his food, inspires ravenous hunger.
The beings are humans on a scientific expedition. They are curious about this vaguely cat-like alien and carefully bring the caged alien into their ship. On board, the alien proceeds to kill as many of the humans as it can, and to take over the engine room. The ship is saved only after one of the crew, the Nexial Science department head Elliot Grosvenor, devises a plan to trick Coeurl into stealing a lifeboat. The alien is fooled into following the ship instead of returning to his own planet, and commits suicide rather than be destroyed.
The Space Beagle is a ship staffed with nearly a thousand men, travelling from Earth on a deep exploration mission through our Milky Way galaxy and beyond it. The crew intend to spend four or five years travelling before eventually returning to Earth, but only half of these exploration missions return. Grosvenor is the first Nexial scientist to be sent on this type of mission, in hopes that his integrated knowledge of all sciences may improve the odds for survival.
The attrition rate may be understandable, not only because of internal politics but also because the number of dangerous alien races seems particularly high. It's mentioned that 50% of all interstellar and intergalactic missions failed to return. While Grosvenor is coping with a rival science department head, the ship must cope with what appears to be a mental attack from telepathic aliens. Grosvenor has to invent a way to communicate with the aliens, who are actually friendly and peaceful, and tell the Riim to quit sending these confusing telepathic images—or else the captain will steer the spaceship into a star to keep it out of the hands of the scientists fighting him for control.
The humans have barely settled their dispute over who will be director of the mission when they meet another alien. Ixtl (as it calls itself) has been marooned in intergalactic space for an immeasurable amount of time. This tough, strong alien has survived unprotected in space, and one of the crew calls it a "blood-red devil spawned out of a nightmare." When the crew traps the alien Ixtl and brings it into the ship to be examined, Ixtl moves freely through the ship, walking at will through bulkheads, decks and everything but the dense outer shell of the ship. Ixtl kills some crew members and takes others as host incubators for its eggs. The humans' only hope is to follow Grosvenor's plan: to evacuate the ship and irradiate it. Ixtl escapes the radiation to drift once again in intergalactic space, unaware that the humans have returned to their ship.
On arrival at the next galaxy, M31, the crew becomes aware of the Anabis, a planet- changing alien which modifies planets so that they will be covered with dense jungles of living plants and animals. The alien, in the form of a gaseous cloud suffusing the entire galaxy, then envelops the planet and consumes all the life. It wishes, driven by the tropism of hunger, to follow the humans' spaceship to their own galaxy and graze there. Grosvenor devises a plan to trick it into following them in the direction of an impossibly distant galaxy until it starves; then the humans will return to their own galaxy in about five years. He applies all the persuasions of his Nexialist training, and not only is given his way, but begins a successful series of lectures teaching the Nexialist methods to his fellow scientists, including the department head who used to be his rival and enemy.
Van Vogt's fictional Nexialism is interesting because it requires different fields of science to work together to expand scientific horizons and find innovative solutions - something that does currently exist nowadays, but there is still some resistance to the idea in scientific fields.
I also found the mention that the entire crew of the Space Beagle, all men, are given doses of chemicals in their daily food to effectively chemically castrate them - something that was done to gay men during this time in human history 1930s-1960s as punishment for their crime of "homosexuality" and their is a rather odd few paragraphs where Grosvenor is steering a meal conversation about the attributes of women, very odd, as if Van Got had to add it for the editor. Again, at this time, there were moral codes in American entertainment and publishing and "homosexuals" could not been portrayed in a positive light if hinted at in written literature and an all male crew would have hinted at homosexuality during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.
And as fans of the original "Alien" movie that was released back in 1979, Van Vogt successfully sued and received a settlement from Fox Studios for copyright infringement on his novella, "Discord in Scarlet." There are very strong similarities between the story and the movie. Van Vogt received a settlement of around $40,000.00 if I am remembering correctly.
A classic science fiction novel that ends on a potential hopeful note, but implies that the crew of the Space Beagle may be on an endless voyage.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Voyage-Space-B...
Yes, Van Vogt's "The Voyage of The Space Beagle" is one of the books in my "Great Re-Reading of all the Favorite Books from my Younger Days" Project.
I originally bought "The Voyage of The Space Beagle" when it first appeared on the shelves of the new arrivals section in the Science Fiction section near the font door of Michele's Bookstore in the Brywn Marr Shopping Center in Jacksonville, North Carolina. [It closed a few years after we moved to Jacksonville, Florida. I remember being intrigued by the cover art and the synopsis on the back cover of the paperback book because it promised a story of interstellar exploration.
"The Voyage of the Space Beagle" is an example of space opera sub-genre, the novel is a "fix-up" compilation of four previously published stories:
"Black Destroyer" (cover story of the July 1939 issue of Astounding magazine—the first published science fiction story by A. E. van Vogt) (chapters 1 to 6)
"War of Nerves" (May 1950, Other Worlds magazine) (chapters 9 to 12)
"Discord in Scarlet" (cover story of the December 1939 issue of Astounding magazine—the second published science fiction story by A. E. van Vogt) (chapters 13 to 21)
"M33 in Andromeda" (August 1943, Astounding magazine, later published as a story in the book M33 in Andromeda (1971)) (chapters 22 to 28)
As the novel begins, Coeurl is prowling his desolate planet looking for food. The arrival of beings in a spaceship, beings who can be his food, inspires ravenous hunger.
The beings are humans on a scientific expedition. They are curious about this vaguely cat-like alien and carefully bring the caged alien into their ship. On board, the alien proceeds to kill as many of the humans as it can, and to take over the engine room. The ship is saved only after one of the crew, the Nexial Science department head Elliot Grosvenor, devises a plan to trick Coeurl into stealing a lifeboat. The alien is fooled into following the ship instead of returning to his own planet, and commits suicide rather than be destroyed.
The Space Beagle is a ship staffed with nearly a thousand men, travelling from Earth on a deep exploration mission through our Milky Way galaxy and beyond it. The crew intend to spend four or five years travelling before eventually returning to Earth, but only half of these exploration missions return. Grosvenor is the first Nexial scientist to be sent on this type of mission, in hopes that his integrated knowledge of all sciences may improve the odds for survival.
The attrition rate may be understandable, not only because of internal politics but also because the number of dangerous alien races seems particularly high. It's mentioned that 50% of all interstellar and intergalactic missions failed to return. While Grosvenor is coping with a rival science department head, the ship must cope with what appears to be a mental attack from telepathic aliens. Grosvenor has to invent a way to communicate with the aliens, who are actually friendly and peaceful, and tell the Riim to quit sending these confusing telepathic images—or else the captain will steer the spaceship into a star to keep it out of the hands of the scientists fighting him for control.
The humans have barely settled their dispute over who will be director of the mission when they meet another alien. Ixtl (as it calls itself) has been marooned in intergalactic space for an immeasurable amount of time. This tough, strong alien has survived unprotected in space, and one of the crew calls it a "blood-red devil spawned out of a nightmare." When the crew traps the alien Ixtl and brings it into the ship to be examined, Ixtl moves freely through the ship, walking at will through bulkheads, decks and everything but the dense outer shell of the ship. Ixtl kills some crew members and takes others as host incubators for its eggs. The humans' only hope is to follow Grosvenor's plan: to evacuate the ship and irradiate it. Ixtl escapes the radiation to drift once again in intergalactic space, unaware that the humans have returned to their ship.
On arrival at the next galaxy, M31, the crew becomes aware of the Anabis, a planet- changing alien which modifies planets so that they will be covered with dense jungles of living plants and animals. The alien, in the form of a gaseous cloud suffusing the entire galaxy, then envelops the planet and consumes all the life. It wishes, driven by the tropism of hunger, to follow the humans' spaceship to their own galaxy and graze there. Grosvenor devises a plan to trick it into following them in the direction of an impossibly distant galaxy until it starves; then the humans will return to their own galaxy in about five years. He applies all the persuasions of his Nexialist training, and not only is given his way, but begins a successful series of lectures teaching the Nexialist methods to his fellow scientists, including the department head who used to be his rival and enemy.
Van Vogt's fictional Nexialism is interesting because it requires different fields of science to work together to expand scientific horizons and find innovative solutions - something that does currently exist nowadays, but there is still some resistance to the idea in scientific fields.
I also found the mention that the entire crew of the Space Beagle, all men, are given doses of chemicals in their daily food to effectively chemically castrate them - something that was done to gay men during this time in human history 1930s-1960s as punishment for their crime of "homosexuality" and their is a rather odd few paragraphs where Grosvenor is steering a meal conversation about the attributes of women, very odd, as if Van Got had to add it for the editor. Again, at this time, there were moral codes in American entertainment and publishing and "homosexuals" could not been portrayed in a positive light if hinted at in written literature and an all male crew would have hinted at homosexuality during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.
And as fans of the original "Alien" movie that was released back in 1979, Van Vogt successfully sued and received a settlement from Fox Studios for copyright infringement on his novella, "Discord in Scarlet." There are very strong similarities between the story and the movie. Van Vogt received a settlement of around $40,000.00 if I am remembering correctly.
A classic science fiction novel that ends on a potential hopeful note, but implies that the crew of the Space Beagle may be on an endless voyage.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Voyage-Space-B...
