Joseph Baneth Allen's Blog, page 97
June 27, 2021
"Faraway Things" Dave Eggers, Kelly Murphy
Just finished reading "Faraway Things" by Dave Eggers, illustrated by Kelly Murphy. published by Little Brown.
I've always enjoyed reading "picture books" because the very best "picture books" relate great truths with a compelling story and great art. And yes, there have been quite a few times when I have been asked if I was getting this book for one of my children, and I always say no, for myself. You should see the looks I get. Remember Harry Potter fans, there was a version of the first book published with an "adult" cover so that adults who were reading the book wouldn't be embarrassed by being seen reading it.
A great truth is that a great story will resonate with everyone regardless of their age, and it's rather sad that people tend to forget that when they are older.
[Now if I can only find that picture book I read when I was younger about a young boy who goes on a quest for a great treasure which he finds that the morning dew is purer than holy water....]
"Faraway Things" is the story of Lucian, who lives by the sea at an abandoned lighthouse with his mother. After every storm he searches the beach for as his father used to say, "faraway things" that washed up on the shore, and after one such story, finds a cutlass which becomes his new toy and he goes on great imagined adventures with until the true owner of the cutlass, a ship's captain, comes ashore in a rowboat, his sailing ship got caught on a sandbar during the most recent story and offers Lucian a trade, he can choose any of the Captain's great treasures for the return of the sword, and the Captain cautions Lucian to choose wisely, for what he chooses may have a great impact. And Lucian does choose the one thing that reminds him of his father and from there...now that would be telling...go read this story.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Faraway-Things...
I've always enjoyed reading "picture books" because the very best "picture books" relate great truths with a compelling story and great art. And yes, there have been quite a few times when I have been asked if I was getting this book for one of my children, and I always say no, for myself. You should see the looks I get. Remember Harry Potter fans, there was a version of the first book published with an "adult" cover so that adults who were reading the book wouldn't be embarrassed by being seen reading it.
A great truth is that a great story will resonate with everyone regardless of their age, and it's rather sad that people tend to forget that when they are older.
[Now if I can only find that picture book I read when I was younger about a young boy who goes on a quest for a great treasure which he finds that the morning dew is purer than holy water....]
"Faraway Things" is the story of Lucian, who lives by the sea at an abandoned lighthouse with his mother. After every storm he searches the beach for as his father used to say, "faraway things" that washed up on the shore, and after one such story, finds a cutlass which becomes his new toy and he goes on great imagined adventures with until the true owner of the cutlass, a ship's captain, comes ashore in a rowboat, his sailing ship got caught on a sandbar during the most recent story and offers Lucian a trade, he can choose any of the Captain's great treasures for the return of the sword, and the Captain cautions Lucian to choose wisely, for what he chooses may have a great impact. And Lucian does choose the one thing that reminds him of his father and from there...now that would be telling...go read this story.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Faraway-Things...
June 25, 2021
"The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - The Calcutta Affair" by George S. Elrick,
Just finished reading "The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - The Calcutta Affair" by George S. Elrick, published by Whitman as the 11th book released in their 2000 Big Little Book Series back in 1967.
Now a cautionary tale - while I collect Big Little Books, I rarely read any of them unless I can find a reading copy from the 2000 series because these are the last of the "Modern Era" Big Little Books published and released by Whitman.
When I read and published my review of the "Tom and Jerry Meet Mister Fingers" Big Little Book a few years back here on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media sites, I was promptly banned from the Big Little Book Club of America and my membership was revoked. Keep in mind that any version of a Big Little Book I read will be in good-to-fair condition. I was never told the reason why my membership was revoked, so I can only assume it was because I dared to actually read a Big Little Book. Okay, so I now save $20 a year.
I found my reading copy of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - The Calcutta Affair" at Chamblins Book Mine - the best bookstore here in Florida and the entire Eastern Seaboard.
George S. Elrick wrote several of the original adaptations in Whitman's 2000 Big Little Book Series. I believe he also wrote the Star Trek Big Little Book story but alas for some reason while the original Star Trek novel in Whitman's TV Novel series of books geared towards older readers was written by Mack Reynolds - making it the first original Star Trek novel written, the Star Trek Big Little Book was never published, which is odd. Whitman may have never been able to work out the licensing agreement, and even though Whitman published Gold Key Comics and had the license to produce comics on Voyage To The Bottom of the Sea, Lost In Space, Land of the Giants, and the Time Tunnel - all Irwin Allen Productions - they never published any Big Little Books based on these shows, odd considering they had Irwin Allen by the short hairs since Whitman's own "Space Family Robinson" comic, which followed the adventures of a family with the surname of Robinson, who were "Lost In Space." Eventually both Whitman and Irwin Allen Productions did work out an agreement where "Space Family Robinson" was renamed "Lost In Space on Space Station One." Whew! And you think some of the titles of Japanese Magna are a mouthful!
Elrick successfully captured the flavor and the spirit of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E" in "The Calcutta Affair" which reads like an episode adaptation. Elrick stays true to the source material as U.N.C.L.E. agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kiryakin seek out the reason why a fellow agent has disappeared in Cacutta, India, only to run afoul of another T.H.R.U.S.H. plot to rule the world by spreading a modified and deadly plague.
GREAT FUN!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Man-U-N-C-L-Ca...
Now a cautionary tale - while I collect Big Little Books, I rarely read any of them unless I can find a reading copy from the 2000 series because these are the last of the "Modern Era" Big Little Books published and released by Whitman.
When I read and published my review of the "Tom and Jerry Meet Mister Fingers" Big Little Book a few years back here on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media sites, I was promptly banned from the Big Little Book Club of America and my membership was revoked. Keep in mind that any version of a Big Little Book I read will be in good-to-fair condition. I was never told the reason why my membership was revoked, so I can only assume it was because I dared to actually read a Big Little Book. Okay, so I now save $20 a year.
I found my reading copy of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - The Calcutta Affair" at Chamblins Book Mine - the best bookstore here in Florida and the entire Eastern Seaboard.
George S. Elrick wrote several of the original adaptations in Whitman's 2000 Big Little Book Series. I believe he also wrote the Star Trek Big Little Book story but alas for some reason while the original Star Trek novel in Whitman's TV Novel series of books geared towards older readers was written by Mack Reynolds - making it the first original Star Trek novel written, the Star Trek Big Little Book was never published, which is odd. Whitman may have never been able to work out the licensing agreement, and even though Whitman published Gold Key Comics and had the license to produce comics on Voyage To The Bottom of the Sea, Lost In Space, Land of the Giants, and the Time Tunnel - all Irwin Allen Productions - they never published any Big Little Books based on these shows, odd considering they had Irwin Allen by the short hairs since Whitman's own "Space Family Robinson" comic, which followed the adventures of a family with the surname of Robinson, who were "Lost In Space." Eventually both Whitman and Irwin Allen Productions did work out an agreement where "Space Family Robinson" was renamed "Lost In Space on Space Station One." Whew! And you think some of the titles of Japanese Magna are a mouthful!
Elrick successfully captured the flavor and the spirit of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E" in "The Calcutta Affair" which reads like an episode adaptation. Elrick stays true to the source material as U.N.C.L.E. agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kiryakin seek out the reason why a fellow agent has disappeared in Cacutta, India, only to run afoul of another T.H.R.U.S.H. plot to rule the world by spreading a modified and deadly plague.
GREAT FUN!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Man-U-N-C-L-Ca...
Fade-Out
Just finished reading "Fade-Out" by Patrick Tilley, first published by Dell Books back in 1975.
Yes, I re-read "Fade-Out" as part of my on-going "Great Re-Reading Of Favorite Books From My Youth" project. I first discovered "Fade-Out" on the shelves in the New Science Fiction Arrivals Section at Michelle's Bookstore located in the Bryan Marr Shopping Center in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Sadly Michelle's Bookstore closed its doors around 1996 I believe.
Now as frequent readers of my reviews know, I usually get all the books in my "Great Re-Reading Of Favorite Books From My Youth" project from Chamblin's Book Mine - the greatest bookstore here in Jacksonville, Florida and the Eastern United States. After checking the shelves for several months, alas Chamblins never seemed to have a copy, so I simply obtained my reading copy on eBay. [Sometimes you have to get the book from the source that has it available.]
"Fade-Out" is a taunt tale that provides a cautionary tale about the dangers of First Contact while providing a rather unique twist on the FERMI Paradox - the simplest way for an alien species to prevent another one from venturing out in space may be to simply use the magnetic field of it's own planet against it in destroying any and all technology that depends on electricity. by creating and maintaining a continuous EMP.
Tilley hints that two of his protagonists, who were remotely enhanced by Crusoe - the code name given for the alien artifact first discovered in a trans-lunar orbit - to have a rather weird homoerotic telepathy that requires a non-consenting rapport may have realized the true intent of Crusoe and let it happen anyways.
"Fade-Out" is a tense read that still holds up as a cautionary tale of beware of silent Greeks and the gifts they may bring.
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Fade-Out-Patri...
Yes, I re-read "Fade-Out" as part of my on-going "Great Re-Reading Of Favorite Books From My Youth" project. I first discovered "Fade-Out" on the shelves in the New Science Fiction Arrivals Section at Michelle's Bookstore located in the Bryan Marr Shopping Center in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Sadly Michelle's Bookstore closed its doors around 1996 I believe.
Now as frequent readers of my reviews know, I usually get all the books in my "Great Re-Reading Of Favorite Books From My Youth" project from Chamblin's Book Mine - the greatest bookstore here in Jacksonville, Florida and the Eastern United States. After checking the shelves for several months, alas Chamblins never seemed to have a copy, so I simply obtained my reading copy on eBay. [Sometimes you have to get the book from the source that has it available.]
"Fade-Out" is a taunt tale that provides a cautionary tale about the dangers of First Contact while providing a rather unique twist on the FERMI Paradox - the simplest way for an alien species to prevent another one from venturing out in space may be to simply use the magnetic field of it's own planet against it in destroying any and all technology that depends on electricity. by creating and maintaining a continuous EMP.
Tilley hints that two of his protagonists, who were remotely enhanced by Crusoe - the code name given for the alien artifact first discovered in a trans-lunar orbit - to have a rather weird homoerotic telepathy that requires a non-consenting rapport may have realized the true intent of Crusoe and let it happen anyways.
"Fade-Out" is a tense read that still holds up as a cautionary tale of beware of silent Greeks and the gifts they may bring.
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Fade-Out-Patri...
June 20, 2021
Lassie and The Shabby Sheik
Just finished reading "Lassie and The Shabby Sheik," written by George S. Elrick and published by Whitman as the 27th title in it's 2000 series of Big Little Books published in hardcover back in 1968.
Now a cautionary tale - while I collect Big Little Books, I rarely read any of them unless I can find a reading copy from the 2000 series because these are the last of the "Modern Era" Big Little Books published and released by Whitman.
When I read and published my review of the "Tom and Jerry Meet Mister Fingers" Big Little Book a few years back here on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media sites, I was promptly banned from the Big Little Book Club of America and my membership was revoked. Keep in mind that any version of a Big Little Book I read will be in good-to-fair condition. I was never told the reason why my membership was revoked, so I can only assume it was because I dared to actually read a Big Little Book. Okay, so I now save $20 a year.
I found my reading copy of "Lassie and The Shabby Sheik" at Chamblins Book Mine - the best bookstore here in Florida and the entire Eastern Seaboard.
Lassie is in Australia with her master Forest Ranger Corey Stuart who is working on helping with a land management project in the land down under as part of a joint Australian/U.S. project designed to build ties and improve wildlife management in the region.
Stuart and Lassie are soon joined in their mission by Police Sergeant Woomboro, who is an aborigine. They soon run into ranchers who had been robbed by the Shabby Sheik - a two-bit criminal who garnered that nickname because he wears a sloppy turban.
In a bid to protect Corey and Woomboro from a Dingo, Lassie soon gets lost in a sandstorm and runs afoul of the Shabby Sheik who wants to kill her and almost succeeds in doing so..
George S. Elrick wrote several Big Little Books in Whitman's 2000 series and here he wrote a rather gripping tale that still holds up despite the passage of time.
Strongly Recommended
Ten Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Lassie-Shabby-...
Now a cautionary tale - while I collect Big Little Books, I rarely read any of them unless I can find a reading copy from the 2000 series because these are the last of the "Modern Era" Big Little Books published and released by Whitman.
When I read and published my review of the "Tom and Jerry Meet Mister Fingers" Big Little Book a few years back here on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media sites, I was promptly banned from the Big Little Book Club of America and my membership was revoked. Keep in mind that any version of a Big Little Book I read will be in good-to-fair condition. I was never told the reason why my membership was revoked, so I can only assume it was because I dared to actually read a Big Little Book. Okay, so I now save $20 a year.
I found my reading copy of "Lassie and The Shabby Sheik" at Chamblins Book Mine - the best bookstore here in Florida and the entire Eastern Seaboard.
Lassie is in Australia with her master Forest Ranger Corey Stuart who is working on helping with a land management project in the land down under as part of a joint Australian/U.S. project designed to build ties and improve wildlife management in the region.
Stuart and Lassie are soon joined in their mission by Police Sergeant Woomboro, who is an aborigine. They soon run into ranchers who had been robbed by the Shabby Sheik - a two-bit criminal who garnered that nickname because he wears a sloppy turban.
In a bid to protect Corey and Woomboro from a Dingo, Lassie soon gets lost in a sandstorm and runs afoul of the Shabby Sheik who wants to kill her and almost succeeds in doing so..
George S. Elrick wrote several Big Little Books in Whitman's 2000 series and here he wrote a rather gripping tale that still holds up despite the passage of time.
Strongly Recommended
Ten Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Lassie-Shabby-...
June 10, 2021
Entangled Life
Just finished reading "Entangled Life - How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures" by Merlin Sheldrake, released by Random House.
Ecologist Merlin Sheldrake has written a epic and wide-ranging sweeping tome about how fungi has shaped life on Earth and its contributions to human life in the 21st century. Perhaps the most intriguing revelation is that fungi actually may have a central nervous system that is comparable to humans.
Perhaps the most intriguing revelation Sheldrake made that caught my attention is that there is a bio-luminescent fungi that is powerful enough to light your way on a dark night and read by.
How fungi also creates zombie ants was intriguing too.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Entangled-Life...
Ecologist Merlin Sheldrake has written a epic and wide-ranging sweeping tome about how fungi has shaped life on Earth and its contributions to human life in the 21st century. Perhaps the most intriguing revelation is that fungi actually may have a central nervous system that is comparable to humans.
Perhaps the most intriguing revelation Sheldrake made that caught my attention is that there is a bio-luminescent fungi that is powerful enough to light your way on a dark night and read by.
How fungi also creates zombie ants was intriguing too.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Entangled-Life...
Axiom's End
Just finished reading "Axiom's End" by Lindsay Ellis, released by St. Martin's Press.
For her first novel, Lindsay Ellis has written a rather compelling take on the Fermi Paradox and a cautionary tale about the pit falls of First Contact and human expectations.
"Axiom's End" is a alternative history set in 2007, where Cora Sabino is trying to recover from the wreckage that her whistle-blower father has made out of her life when she discovers her worst paranoid fears her true - she is being followed by government agents and oh, yes, it seems her rather was right about aliens landing on Earth - only not for the tea-cosy reasons that he could have imagined.
Intelligent life is rare in the universe and Humanity is in danger of being made extinct by a race that sees it nothing more than a threat to it's existence by merely existing. Against her will and in a desperate bid to learn the fate of her mother, brother, and sister, Cora becomes an interpreter for her alien captor/savior who just may hold the key to Humanity's survival - if first she can survive being a bridge between both worlds.
A deft novel.
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Axioms-End-Nov...
For her first novel, Lindsay Ellis has written a rather compelling take on the Fermi Paradox and a cautionary tale about the pit falls of First Contact and human expectations.
"Axiom's End" is a alternative history set in 2007, where Cora Sabino is trying to recover from the wreckage that her whistle-blower father has made out of her life when she discovers her worst paranoid fears her true - she is being followed by government agents and oh, yes, it seems her rather was right about aliens landing on Earth - only not for the tea-cosy reasons that he could have imagined.
Intelligent life is rare in the universe and Humanity is in danger of being made extinct by a race that sees it nothing more than a threat to it's existence by merely existing. Against her will and in a desperate bid to learn the fate of her mother, brother, and sister, Cora becomes an interpreter for her alien captor/savior who just may hold the key to Humanity's survival - if first she can survive being a bridge between both worlds.
A deft novel.
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Axioms-End-Nov...
June 1, 2021
Tunnel Through TIme
Just finished reading "Tunnel Through Time" by Lester Del Rey, published by Scholastic Book Services back in 1966.
Now this will probably comes as a bit of shock the frequents readers of my reviews associated with my "Great Re-Reading Favorite Books of My Youth" Project. I did not buy my reading copy from Chamblin's Book Mine - the greatest bookstore here in Florida and the Eastern United States. I actually had to buy my reading copy off of eBay.
I first read "Tunnel Through TIme" when Mom gave me the money to buy it from the Weekly Reader Book Club. I think I can honestly say that I would always receive anywhere between six and ten books when my teachers would distribute out the books that had come in. Keep in mind that all the books were usually under a dollar. And keep in mind that my teachers greatly disapproved of all the science fiction books I would buy and read. Oh, there were a few science books in the mix from time-to-time.
Now because the current "Woke Culture" that is so whiny and pervasive currently - if the thought of reading about two heterosexual cis-gendered teenage young
men who travel through time with actual guns to rescue a missing scientist lost 80 million years in the past is going to trigger you, perhaps you should not read this review, let alone the book.
When Bob Miller discovers that his father - a physics professor at the university - has invented a time machine that bridges the past and present through means of an artificially generated rainbow doorway, he tries to sneak along when Dr. Tom, a paleontologist and multimillionaire, who funded the research and development of the rainbow doorway time machine into the past to see dinosaurs. Dr. Miller stops his son, but is soon forced to send Bob and Pete - Dr. Tom's son - back into the past in order to rescue or recover Dr. Tom.
Lester Del Rey wrote a thrilling adventure story about the perils of time travel and does touch upon the impact time travel can have. Curiously enough, I had forgotten - SPOILER ALERT - that Bob actually uses his gun to kill a man who was about to attack and kill him, Pete, and Dr. Tom. Bob rightfully has no regrets about his actions. It was either kill or be killed.
Curiously, Bob believes that after his adventure traveling through time will never happen again. It's just to dangerous and filled with too many unknowns - and he's a bit haunted by the knowledge of the young girl he knew 20,000 years in the past has been dead for countless centuries.
"Tunnel Through TIme" has held up very well and is only a tiny bit dated.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Tunnel-Through...
Now this will probably comes as a bit of shock the frequents readers of my reviews associated with my "Great Re-Reading Favorite Books of My Youth" Project. I did not buy my reading copy from Chamblin's Book Mine - the greatest bookstore here in Florida and the Eastern United States. I actually had to buy my reading copy off of eBay.
I first read "Tunnel Through TIme" when Mom gave me the money to buy it from the Weekly Reader Book Club. I think I can honestly say that I would always receive anywhere between six and ten books when my teachers would distribute out the books that had come in. Keep in mind that all the books were usually under a dollar. And keep in mind that my teachers greatly disapproved of all the science fiction books I would buy and read. Oh, there were a few science books in the mix from time-to-time.
Now because the current "Woke Culture" that is so whiny and pervasive currently - if the thought of reading about two heterosexual cis-gendered teenage young
men who travel through time with actual guns to rescue a missing scientist lost 80 million years in the past is going to trigger you, perhaps you should not read this review, let alone the book.
When Bob Miller discovers that his father - a physics professor at the university - has invented a time machine that bridges the past and present through means of an artificially generated rainbow doorway, he tries to sneak along when Dr. Tom, a paleontologist and multimillionaire, who funded the research and development of the rainbow doorway time machine into the past to see dinosaurs. Dr. Miller stops his son, but is soon forced to send Bob and Pete - Dr. Tom's son - back into the past in order to rescue or recover Dr. Tom.
Lester Del Rey wrote a thrilling adventure story about the perils of time travel and does touch upon the impact time travel can have. Curiously enough, I had forgotten - SPOILER ALERT - that Bob actually uses his gun to kill a man who was about to attack and kill him, Pete, and Dr. Tom. Bob rightfully has no regrets about his actions. It was either kill or be killed.
Curiously, Bob believes that after his adventure traveling through time will never happen again. It's just to dangerous and filled with too many unknowns - and he's a bit haunted by the knowledge of the young girl he knew 20,000 years in the past has been dead for countless centuries.
"Tunnel Through TIme" has held up very well and is only a tiny bit dated.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Tunnel-Through...
May 29, 2021
Morlac - The Quest Of The Green Magician
Just finished reading "Morlac - The Quest Of The Green Magician" by Gary Alan Ruse, first released by Signet Books back in August 1986,
For those who came in late, I started what I have been calling my "Great Re-Reading of Favorite Books From My Youth" project several years ago. "Morlac - The Quest Of The Green Magician" naturally fell into this project because I liked it when I first read it and I remembered it since I first discovered it in the New Arrival section on the shelves of Michele's Bookstore in Jacksonville, North Carolina. [Sadly Michele's Bookstore closed its doors sometime after 1992 - I'm not sure of the exact date because when my family and I returned for a visit to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, we discovered that our favorite bookstore back then had closed it's doors and nobody could tell us exactly why.]
As with most books associated with this project of mine, I obtained my reading copy at Chamblin's Book Mine - the greatest bookstore here in Florida and the Eastern United States. Now for the record, I actually BUY all books, movies, and music I review here on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media. While I have received some audio dramas to review in the past, I make a very prominent note that I was given a copy to review.
Normally I really didn't read a lot of Sword and Sorcery novels back then - though I did read everything by Andre Norton which had sword and sorcery elements in her Witch World novels - more sorcery than swords. And Gary Alan Ruse was a new writer to me whose work back then I had never read before.
I had been intrigued by Ruse's Morlac - who essentially was a sea turtle that had been captured by the minions of the Green Wizard and transmuted into a human and imprinted with the memories of the dead swordsman Calrom in order to command an army of his fellow transmuted sea creatures against a deadly army bent on the slaughter of everyone in the Green Wizard's hold and surrounding village. Morlac's army fails and most of his men are killed with just about everyone else, and after the Green Wizard escapes, Morlac goes on a long quest in order to locate the wizard who created him and confront him.
Even after 35 years, Morlac's journey is a compelling one and stays with the reader long after the final page has been turned.
Fortunately, Ruse's novel is still in print and is worth the price of admission.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Morlac-Quest-G...
For those who came in late, I started what I have been calling my "Great Re-Reading of Favorite Books From My Youth" project several years ago. "Morlac - The Quest Of The Green Magician" naturally fell into this project because I liked it when I first read it and I remembered it since I first discovered it in the New Arrival section on the shelves of Michele's Bookstore in Jacksonville, North Carolina. [Sadly Michele's Bookstore closed its doors sometime after 1992 - I'm not sure of the exact date because when my family and I returned for a visit to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, we discovered that our favorite bookstore back then had closed it's doors and nobody could tell us exactly why.]
As with most books associated with this project of mine, I obtained my reading copy at Chamblin's Book Mine - the greatest bookstore here in Florida and the Eastern United States. Now for the record, I actually BUY all books, movies, and music I review here on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media. While I have received some audio dramas to review in the past, I make a very prominent note that I was given a copy to review.
Normally I really didn't read a lot of Sword and Sorcery novels back then - though I did read everything by Andre Norton which had sword and sorcery elements in her Witch World novels - more sorcery than swords. And Gary Alan Ruse was a new writer to me whose work back then I had never read before.
I had been intrigued by Ruse's Morlac - who essentially was a sea turtle that had been captured by the minions of the Green Wizard and transmuted into a human and imprinted with the memories of the dead swordsman Calrom in order to command an army of his fellow transmuted sea creatures against a deadly army bent on the slaughter of everyone in the Green Wizard's hold and surrounding village. Morlac's army fails and most of his men are killed with just about everyone else, and after the Green Wizard escapes, Morlac goes on a long quest in order to locate the wizard who created him and confront him.
Even after 35 years, Morlac's journey is a compelling one and stays with the reader long after the final page has been turned.
Fortunately, Ruse's novel is still in print and is worth the price of admission.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Morlac-Quest-G...
May 16, 2021
Excalibur
Just finished re-reading "Excalibur" by Sanders Anne Laubenthal, first published as part of Ballantine's Adult Fantasy series back in 1973.
Created by editor and science fiction and fantasy author Lin Carter, the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series focused on publishing and reintroducing long lost fantasy classics to readers in the late 1960s and early 1970s in an attempt to cash in on the popularity of the unauthorized editions of The Lord of The Rings that had been published ACE books in the 1960s.
While the series' primarily focus was to reprint out-of-print fantasy classics that were in the public domain, the series did publish a few original novels like Joy Chant's classic "Red Moon and Black Mountain." In his introduction to "Excalibur" Carter stated that he first learned of Laubenthal's Arthurian novel when she wrote him a letter about it and subsequently sent it to him for consideration. He snapped it up and it was one of the last novels published in Ballantine's Adult Fantasy Series.
Now a word about Ballantine's Adult Fantasy Series, It was not x-rated by any stretch of the imagination. Back in the 1960s and 1970s was considered to be literature only for children.
"Excalibur" is part of my "Great Re-Reading of Favorite Books From My Youth" project, and I got my reading copy from Chamblin's Bookmine - the best bookstore here in Florida and the Eastern United States.
Sanders Anne Laubenthal was a military technical writer who had previously published a volume of poetry before her brilliant take on Arthurian Legend.
"Excalibur" opens with Linette Silverthorne longing for something other to do than wait out a thunderstorm, when archaeologist Rhodri Meyrick arrives to begin his hunt for a lost British colony that brought the legendary sword Excalibur to Mobile, Alabama centuries ago.
What follows is a brilliant and unique exploration of Arthurian mythos as Rhodri and Linnette become involved in a centuries old battle between the forces of light and darkness as Rhodri reveals that he is a descendant of King Arthur and is seeking to reclaim Excalibur as his birthright. Only Morgause has survived through the centuries through an unholy alliance and is determined to bring a final end to her half-brother's legacy. Yet Rhodri has not learned from his legacy's past and makes a mistake that only Linnette's fiance can rectify by going on a quest for the Holy Grail that has been hidden away somewhere in Alabama.
Sadly Sanders Anne Laubenthal passed away before writing any more novels.
"Excalibur" is a classic Arthurian fantasy novel and well worth the effort and reward of reading in seeking it out and reading it.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Excalibur-Adul...
Created by editor and science fiction and fantasy author Lin Carter, the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series focused on publishing and reintroducing long lost fantasy classics to readers in the late 1960s and early 1970s in an attempt to cash in on the popularity of the unauthorized editions of The Lord of The Rings that had been published ACE books in the 1960s.
While the series' primarily focus was to reprint out-of-print fantasy classics that were in the public domain, the series did publish a few original novels like Joy Chant's classic "Red Moon and Black Mountain." In his introduction to "Excalibur" Carter stated that he first learned of Laubenthal's Arthurian novel when she wrote him a letter about it and subsequently sent it to him for consideration. He snapped it up and it was one of the last novels published in Ballantine's Adult Fantasy Series.
Now a word about Ballantine's Adult Fantasy Series, It was not x-rated by any stretch of the imagination. Back in the 1960s and 1970s was considered to be literature only for children.
"Excalibur" is part of my "Great Re-Reading of Favorite Books From My Youth" project, and I got my reading copy from Chamblin's Bookmine - the best bookstore here in Florida and the Eastern United States.
Sanders Anne Laubenthal was a military technical writer who had previously published a volume of poetry before her brilliant take on Arthurian Legend.
"Excalibur" opens with Linette Silverthorne longing for something other to do than wait out a thunderstorm, when archaeologist Rhodri Meyrick arrives to begin his hunt for a lost British colony that brought the legendary sword Excalibur to Mobile, Alabama centuries ago.
What follows is a brilliant and unique exploration of Arthurian mythos as Rhodri and Linnette become involved in a centuries old battle between the forces of light and darkness as Rhodri reveals that he is a descendant of King Arthur and is seeking to reclaim Excalibur as his birthright. Only Morgause has survived through the centuries through an unholy alliance and is determined to bring a final end to her half-brother's legacy. Yet Rhodri has not learned from his legacy's past and makes a mistake that only Linnette's fiance can rectify by going on a quest for the Holy Grail that has been hidden away somewhere in Alabama.
Sadly Sanders Anne Laubenthal passed away before writing any more novels.
"Excalibur" is a classic Arthurian fantasy novel and well worth the effort and reward of reading in seeking it out and reading it.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Excalibur-Adul...
May 15, 2021
Reach For Tomorrow
Just finished reading "Reach For Tomorrow" by Arthur C. Clarke, released by Ballantine Books back in October 1972.
I first stumbled upon this collection of stories by the late Arthur C. Clarke back at Twice Told Tales, a popular used bookstore in Jacksonville, North Carolina across the street from the New River Shopping Center in the early 1970s. So yes, I re-read this book as part of my "Great Re-Reading of Favorite Books from my Youth" Project.
Now for those who may be to young to remember, the Weekly Reader used to have ads on it's back cover that asked what type of job would you be best suited for if it took you 32-times of re-watching to figure out the story behind "2001: A Space Odyssey." Somehow I don't think that dogged determination would be appreciated in today's climate - I'm speaking from personal experience with the Mayo Clinic when they kept entering in Dad's medications incorrectly.
As always, I got my reading copy of "Reach For Tomorrow" from Chamblin's Bookmine, the best bookstore here in Florida and the Eastern United States.
My favorite short stories in the collection are: "Rescue Party," "Time's Arrow," "Trouble With The Natives," and "Jupiter Five."
"Rescue Party" is perhaps the best short story in this collection because it deftly postulates a rescue mission by aliens to a Earth doomed to be destroyed by the Sun going nova. "Time's Arrow" is a cautionary tale of how time itself with set up circumstances to prevent any time travelers from changing the course of history.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/TOMORROW-STORI...
I first stumbled upon this collection of stories by the late Arthur C. Clarke back at Twice Told Tales, a popular used bookstore in Jacksonville, North Carolina across the street from the New River Shopping Center in the early 1970s. So yes, I re-read this book as part of my "Great Re-Reading of Favorite Books from my Youth" Project.
Now for those who may be to young to remember, the Weekly Reader used to have ads on it's back cover that asked what type of job would you be best suited for if it took you 32-times of re-watching to figure out the story behind "2001: A Space Odyssey." Somehow I don't think that dogged determination would be appreciated in today's climate - I'm speaking from personal experience with the Mayo Clinic when they kept entering in Dad's medications incorrectly.
As always, I got my reading copy of "Reach For Tomorrow" from Chamblin's Bookmine, the best bookstore here in Florida and the Eastern United States.
My favorite short stories in the collection are: "Rescue Party," "Time's Arrow," "Trouble With The Natives," and "Jupiter Five."
"Rescue Party" is perhaps the best short story in this collection because it deftly postulates a rescue mission by aliens to a Earth doomed to be destroyed by the Sun going nova. "Time's Arrow" is a cautionary tale of how time itself with set up circumstances to prevent any time travelers from changing the course of history.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/TOMORROW-STORI...
