Canavan’s Comments (group member since May 15, 2018)

Canavan’s comments from the Spells, Space & Screams: Collections & Anthologies in Fantasy, Science Fiction, & Horror group.

“The Horses of Lir”

(view spoiler)[A short fantasy story about “the family business”. Not much going on here; almost a mood piece. Good descriptive passages though. (hide spoiler)]

✭✭✭

“Our Lady of the Diodes”

(view spoiler)[A modern retelling of the Frankenstein story, I suppose. It’s pretty easy to sense the general direction in which Roger Zelazny is heading, although I’ll admit that the story didn’t end quite as I predicted. It leans a little heavily on some outworn tropes, but I still thought the tale was kinda cute. (hide spoiler)]

✭✭✭½

“And I Only Am Escaped to Tell Thee”

(view spoiler)[This is another Roger Zelazny “clever” short short. But unlike the last three I reviewed, I like this one in spite of the fact that the premise is a pretty transparent rip-off of “Lone Survivor”, a well-known episode from the original Twilight Zone series. (It’s probably not a coincidence that this story first appeared in an issue of Twilight Zone.) (hide spoiler)]

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In an author foreword, Roger Zelazny describes a trio of short shorts he wrote for a Robert Sheckley anthology, After the Fall . The first two represent Zelazny in what I think of as his “clever” mode, by which I mean they showcase his literary erudition, but may or may not be especially entertaining. I’m not sure that the last of the three fulfills the requirements set forth by the anthologist, but, okay, I kinda see what Zelazny was going for.

“Fire and/or Ice” ✭✭½
“Exeunt Omnes” ✭✭
“A Very Good Year…” ✭✭½

“The Force That Through the Circuit Drives the Current”

In the author’s afterword, Roger Zelazny notes that the ideas in this story would later be fleshed out in “Home Is the Hangman”. While interesting, those themes, as treated in this shorter version, are maybe too on the nose.

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I like Tony Shaloub, but for some reason could never get into this show. I had friends that adored it.

I re-read “Home Is the Hangman” and the other two novellas in that Roger Zelazny series.

“The Eve of RUMOKO” ✭✭✭✭½
“'Kjwalll'kje'k'koothaïlll'kje'k” ✭✭✭
“Home Is the Hangman” ✭✭✭✭✭

“A Hand Across the Galaxy”

(view spoiler)[A rather bleak and heartbreaking story about the seemingly inevitable result when a stronger culture crashes into a weaker one.This one stuck in my head for quite a while. (hide spoiler)]

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“But Not the Herald”

(view spoiler)[There’s scene in The Shawshank Redemption in which Morgan Freeman’s character says, “Hope is a dangerous thing.” Thought about that while reading this story. (hide spoiler)]

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“Go Starless in the Night”

(view spoiler)[In his preface to the story, Roger Zelazny writes that the intention was to craft an unconventional time travel piece. Not sure it really achieves that goal. The premise is interesting, but I thought Zelazny hit the stop button too quickly. (hide spoiler)]

✭✭½

Lena wrote: Home is the Hangman ★★★★½
Unexpectedly great.

This was the last and probably the best of the three “Nemo” novellas written by Roger Zelazny. “Home” won both the Hugo and Nebula in 1976. All three can be found in the author’s collection My Name is Legion .

When I first encountered Lee Child’s Jack Reacher, I thought about Zelazny’s character. Not because of any similarities in demeanor, but because both are unplugged from the greater society.

“Dismal Light”

(view spoiler)[A sort of Garden of Eden tale. It’s a decent story, but might have landed better if I had read Isle of the Dead. (hide spoiler)]

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Graeme wrote:

I remember 'Eye of Cat.'

Maybe not the best thing Roger Zelazny wrote, but there were definitely parts I liked.

“The Parts That Are Only Glimpsed: Three Reflexes”

I have observed that writers tend to not like writing about writing, and when they do so, the product is often unsatisfyingly vague. Zelazny talked about his writing process at least a few times during his life and I always found those essays illuminating.

✭✭✭½

“Recital”

(view spoiler)[A Zelazny writing experiment. Very Pirandello-esque. (hide spoiler)]

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“The Naked Matador”

(view spoiler)[Kinda interesting, but I didn’t really see where it was going until I got near the end of the story. A character from a Hemingway story has a chance meeting with a Greek demigod. Each is being pursued. (hide spoiler)]

✭✭✭½

“The Last of the Wild Ones”

(view spoiler)[There are a number of Zelazny stories that mourn the disappearance or passing into extinction of certain entities, even when those entities are dangerous (thinking here of Eye of Cat as an example). We see that tension between the desire to exterminate versus the admiration and wish to preserve throughout the story, culminating in Murdoch’s last actions. (hide spoiler)]

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That turned out to be pretty easy.

“Yes.”

Graeme said: My kindle edition is missing one of Martin's lines of conversation as Grend the Sasquatch has two lines in a row. Hmmm.

If you supply the Martin’s opening line, I can supply what’s missing.

“Unicorn Variation”

Lena describes in the thread opener the genesis of the first story in this collection. (view spoiler)[It’s an odd mix of light fantasy (maybe a bit like something Peter S. Beagle might have written) with dire pre-apocalyptic warnings. The banter between the two main characters is typical of Zelazny and reminiscent of that found in the closer to this collection, “The George Business”. “Unicorn Variation” won the 1982 Locus and Hugo awards for best novelette. (hide spoiler)]

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