Gene Phillips's Blog, page 89

NEUROMANCER: THOUGHTS

Though I reread NEUROMANCER recently, I don't feel moved to give it a "review" as such. 



The book deserves the credit it receives for having effectively launched the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction.  It's also generally well written, though I can't say as much for William Gibson's early short story "Johnny Mnemonic," which introduced one of NEUROMANCER's major characters, the bodyguard "Molly Millions." Both the short story and NEUROMANCER-- the first in Gibson's "Sprawl trilo...

REVIEW: HARPIST IN THE WIND

I finally found time to finish re-reading the last book in Patricia A. McKillip's "Hed trilogy," the first two parts having been reviewed here and here. 




I'm sure that I could have found time before this, of course, given that almost a year has passed-- that is, if I really wanted to.  But time and time again, I found myself not wanting to return to McKillip's fantasy-world, which as I noted before, was too often marred by soundalike characters and tedious journeys that ha...

THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (1898): THOUGHTS

I'd reread Wells' classic  WAR OF THE WORLDS within the last 3-4 years, and I remain impressed with its dark vision of Earth being "colonized" by superior powers, much in the way primitive Earth-tribes were victimized by advanced weapons.

I gave the novel a quick glance-through this week with one idea in mind: how much does Wells focus on the sheer spectacle of the Martian invasion, in contradistinction to the two famous film adaptations from 1953 and 2005 respectively.

The answer is prett...

THE ILLEARTH WAR: THOUGHTS

I had read the first six books in the CHRONICLES OF THOMAS COVENANT some time ago, and recently considered trying to work through the last four books in the series.  To refamiliarize myself with the series, I reread the first two books in the series, LORD FOUL'S BANE and THE ILLEARTH WAR, but then got distracted by other reading-demands and tabled that idea.

What still impresses me about Donaldson's epic-- spoilers ahead for anyone who doesn't want to see endings discussed-...

THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAU; THOUGHTS

I recently reread Wells' 1896 book THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAU, which many know best from its three major film adaptations, as well as about two dozen knockoff horror-films, mostly from the Philippines.



What I found most interesting is that in Chapter 14, that little old beast-maker Moreau relates his theory of human morality to the viewpoint character:

"Very much indeed of what we call moral education is such an artificial modification and perversion of instinct; pugnacity is trained into cour...

FIRST DREAM

In November 2012 I launched a blog entitled THE FANTASY FANE-- a pun-no-one-would-get, based on the name of an early science fiction fanzine edited by Jerry Siegel, THE FANTASY FAN.

At the time I had it in mind to devote the blog entirely to the topic of magical fantasy, since that's what I've most often written in the arena of fiction. FANTASY FANE would have been a site to set down my opinions or observations about that particular genre of what some call "the...

REVIEW: THE DRUID STONE (1967)

I first read THE DRUID STONE twenty or thirty years ago, and recalled it only as a rousing sword-and-sorcery throwaway.  Though the name on the cover is "Simon Majors" (as in the legendary occult seer "Simon Magus,") experts agree that the actual author was Gardner F. Fox, better known in this century for his comic book works (JUSTICE LEAGUE in particular) than for his novels.

Even in my younger days I recognized that Fox's novels were almost without exception simple and derivative, thoug...

HORROR U: DOING FINE PT. 2

        "One of these days, Big Daddy-- one of these days--"  He gripped the bat with emphasis.

From the far wall a thumping came from the adjacent dorm.  "Poore, you dickweed; SHUT UP!"Stan let the bat fall to the floor.  I know just how to get even, though.  This semester, I'll take only two courses, and finish up with incompletes. He didn't listen to the drone of the television as he went into his bathroom.   He was due to mee...

HORROR U: DOING FINE, PT. 1

        The week before orientation, the campus of Horowitz University was serene, for most of the students who normally resided on campus had not yet returned.  Still, there were a handful of long-time residents about, including the one who'd remained on campus so long that he'd outlasted Horowitz's last two deans.

      That morning Stanley Poore was hard at work sleeping off the effects of last night's bing...

FOCUS ON FICTION

I said in an earlier post that I thought I'd focus more on fiction, then changed my mind, deciding to see if I got any sizeable response to my FANTASTIC FOUR series.  I didn't, so there's no point in expending further work on the essays.

It's likely I won't get any particular response to my fictional pieces either, but it's better exercise to spend my time polishing some of my older works online.  In the event that I do decide to self-publish in the future, interested parti...