Book Review: Eric John Stark: Outlaw of Mars by Leigh Brackett

 

 

*Note I am on a couple of outlines for paying, and novel-length projects So If reviews are not as deep as normal…

Eric John Stark: Outlaw of Mars by Leigh Brackett

208 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published August, 1982 by Del Rey / Ballantine

Collection of novellas from the 40s and 50s.

The Queen of the space opera, Leigh Brackett is most often remembered for the last piece of writing she did before she died in 1978. The first draft of The Empire Strikes Back has many of the elements the second Star Wars film is known for. Her fingerprints on the saga are objective, but there is also a subjective influence. A young George Lucas has admitted Flash Gordan Serials inspired him but it is also clear he was reading the space opera of Leigh Brackett and her husband the equally famous writer (at the time) Edmond Hamilton. Their vibes are such that theories swirled for years that the SF power couple had ghostwritten the first Star Wars.

Brackett was a talented writer of many genres and formats. Co-writing the classic noir film The Big Sleep is her other famous Hollywood credit. She wrote excellent more ‘serious’ science fiction novels like the post-nuclear novel The Long Tomorrow and my personal favorite the SF horror hybrid The Big Jump. 

I know I read one of the books with this main character when I was a teenager, as I was investigating the author George Lucas felt he needed to hire for Star Wars. Despite being Charmin white on the cover of all the paperbacks Brackett has said Stark is a black man, and that separates him from the other Mars space rogue heroes of the era.  

This edition of the novel is a Del Rey 80s fix-up that took two short novels first published as serials, and secondarily as two halves of Ace doubles. Really it is two complete stories.

Eric John Stark is another thinly veiled homage/ spin/ rip-off of John Carter, with a Mars that feels more like the sword and sorcery setting of Robert Howard novels than Barsoom. LB wasn’t the only woman playing in that sandbox CL Moore a decade before Brackett was filling the pages of Weird Tales with Northwest Smith, an Indiana Jones/Han Solo hybrid who was also finding and fighting monsters while digging around ancient tombs on Mars. 

The influence on Han Solo might be a major reason LB got the Empire gig.

“Stark's reputation is known all over the system. There's no need to tell us that again.”

We are given the information that Stark has been on many adventures that we have never seen. He is a smart-ass, handsome rogue like Han Solo, but he wields a sword and confronts a variety of monsters and cults around Mars that are so Conan-influenced that you almost picture these stories in old issues of Weird Tales. 

One thing that makes this a different and better reading experience than most of those mid-century pulps is how well LB develops the Mars culture in small bits of world-building. 

“My people have just cause for war.  They go hungry and thirsty, while the city-states along the dry land border hog all the water sources and grow fat. Do you know what it means to watch your children die crying for water on a long march, to come to at last to the Oasis and find the well sanded and by a storm, to go again, trying to save your people and your herd? Well, I do I was born and bred in the dry lands, and many a time I cursed the border states with a tongue like a dry stick.”

Most of these tales started life as serials in magazines, or in the limited word counts of Ace Double paperbacks. When she stretches out a bit and gets into telling the story with style LB shines. Brackett is an excellent writer who elevated the pulps with powerful world-building and excellent descriptions. Her prose was good.

“Shattering the night, light and sound crashed up the grand stairway of Sinharat. First came massed torch bearers, holding their flaring brands high. Then the thundering skin drums measure windpipes, and then Canon and his new come allies, and after them the tribesman.

 As the procession climbed, the dark western face of the cliff-top city leaped into quivering light. The ancient cavern faces that had for centuries looked out on nothing but darkness and silence and desert, now glare triumphantly in the shaping red rays. And despite the proud, loud clamor of drums and pipes, the eyes of climbing tribesmen pointed with doubt as they looked up and beheld the old stone phases of the Ramas.”

It might be considered a SPOILER but in the second half story, Stark encounters another rogue. In a bit of a mirror of Leigh Brackett’s life, this rogue is mistaken for a man. She is however as badass on Mars, as Leigh Brackett was with a typewriter.

“The woman wheeled her mount. Bending low, she caught up the axe from where it had fallen and faced her chieftains and her warriors, who were as dazed as stark. “I have led you well,” she said. “I have taken you Kushat will any man dispute me?” 

No man can dispute Leigh Brackett. She proves every time I read one of her works. She is a good writer, a good storyteller, and she will transport a reader ready to dive into her universes.  I don’t like it as much as her less pulpy work, but it has plenty of fun moments, and a couple of great writing and storytelling.

Book Review: The Long Result by John Brunner

 

The Long Result by John Brunner

190 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published July 1981 by Ballantine Books (1^st edition 1965)

After reading several new releases I was craving some old-school retro SF. I had some on my TBR but I thought I was a little overdue to read some John Brunner and decided to go with a shorter off-the-beaten-path title. Not considered one of his classics, The Long Result is considered a transitional novel between his more high-class masterpieces of the late sixties and early seventies. I don’t know his timeline like I do PKD, so I could be wrong. Squares of the City which was Hugo nominated and considered one of those border fine literature masterpieces was shopped around for four years in the SF marketplace before it was published the same year as the Long Result.

I suspect the LR was written after SOTC, and it was considered by Brunner to be a safer bet on getting published quicker.  My Dickheads out there take note that this is a very Dickian novel that balances message, a little satire, and high concept. Much will be made of this novel being a statement on racism, and that is true, but it is also about Colonialism and how humanity will interface with a wider universe.

Roald Vincent is our primary point-of-view character, who I mentally cast as a Paul Giamatti type rather than a square-jawed Brad Pitt type. He is a low-level government official deep in the bureaucracy, a character you find more often in the SF of Barry Malzberg. That said there is much about the put-upon government work that reminded me of more tongue-in-cheek SF of PKD like The Man Who Japed. This is John Brunner, so you don’t have to worry about it lacking a message and a strong expression of various opinions. 

The offices of the Bureau of Cultural Relations chapters early in the novel were some of my favorite parts and I wish Brunner had written more satire. I mean I like the blacker than black Brunner novels like The Sheep Look Up, but the tone here is refreshing.  I wanted way more BCR office and government work.  That faded a bit as the story went on. 

The agency is tasked with helping Aliens who crashed on Earth from Tau Ceti, and many are not happy about these new aliens. The dynamic of this growing human civilization is that the Starhome, a colony world has started to advance well beyond the people who remain on Earth. Divides started to grow including activist groups like “The Stars Are For Man League” pushing human supremacy. Earth in this novel appears to have a liberal government for the whole planet, of course, in this context, we only get a very Western concept of Democracy. Asia and Africa are ignored, a mistake Brunner avoided in Stand on Zanzibar.

Brunner was born in 1934 in England and grew up as Britian had started the post-WWII imperial decline, although sentiments that fostered colonialism were still a part of life at that time. The racism that was common in Anglo-controlled foreign countries is clearly on Brunner’s mind here. All too familiar immigration fears get transplanted in science fictional stand-ins of less technologically advanced species.  The humans appear past global war and conflicts but there is drama between conflicting political systems. Much like the inherited supremacist views of colonialist English, the two human colonies are organized on the principle that humans are superior to aliens. 

“Cultural survey missions are the next big step. Got to be doubly sure what is and is not safe to trade with them. In the way of information, I mean, for instance, the Sagittarians are completely cooperative, as I’m sure you know. Their psychology doesn’t include the concept of the competition, let alone violence. So we gave them radiotracers without hesitation, and they found techniques immensely useful. They have this big thing in silicon-oxygen genetics and tailor living creatures to their own specifications.”

I don’t believe Brunner as the author wanted to convey the idea humans were superior, only their technology. But there is an interesting reversal as one of the colonies, the Starhome develops faster and solves many problems that we on Earth just assume are the price of living. Now Starhome (explained off-camera in this novel) has developed an anarchist utopia. 

“True, we have a very stable society, and for the past two centuries, it's been damned nearly perfect. Now one stars; No one lacks work if he wants it, no one's forced to work if he doesn't want to; We have negligible crime, so our police go unarmed and so on. Any society that's stable and not utterly perfect is capable of being surpassed from the beginning star home has been dedicated to maximum utilization of its human resources. We shy away from that we say totalitarianism and run a mile.”

This very progressive ideal is in a blink and you’ll miss dialogue scenes but it is one example of deeper asides in this novel. This is a utopia colony to a point, but as tightly organized as they are this freedom comes with sacrifices. It is enough to push Starhome past Earth in development. This is the most interesting idea in the novel, and it is a throwaway line that is hardly developed. Although it is interesting how Earth just accepts Starhome’s system as better. Could you imagine America just admitting that Europe has a better health care system, much the entire system of government? Our country wouldn’t so the idea of Earth accepting that the colonies are better run is something that I wish Brunner explored deeper.

 The Long Result is largely dismissed as one of Brunner's lesser pulpy works, but it is peppered with moments of inventive Sci-fi and political ideas while not progressive by today’s standards are good points. It is a good Brunner novel but not in the top tier of his canon.

I am not sure I would consider a must-read for everyone, but John Brunner fans it is. For readers interested in the New Wave I would not put it high on the list. There are 5 or 6 Brunner titles I would give priority to. That said you could do worse. 

Book Review: A Primer to Gemma Files Written by Gemma Files, (Exploring Short Dark Fiction Series edited by Eric J. Guignard)

 

 

A Primer to Gemma Files Written by Gemma Files, edited by  Eric J. Guignard

Michael Arnzen (Contributor), Michelle Prebich (Illustrator)

 

220 pages, Paperback

Published February, 2025 by Dark Moon Books

I am long overdue for reading Gemma Files. I have enjoyed much of her commentary on movies, and always wanted to check out her work. Sadly, I have  had a copy of Experimental Film on my TBR for almost two years, I am going to have to push it up soon. That said, I am glad that I got my introduction in this way. This is the intention of this series, which has provided Primers for authors as different as Kaaron Warren and Han Song. 

This is the 7th book in the “Exploring Dark Short Fiction” series and I have reviewed all of them. This is a truly underrated series that deserves more attention than it is getting. The format is simple but perfect.

• Six short stories, most are reprints, best of material and most of the series has at least one written exclusively for this book, sometimes more. Also Files wrote an excellent essay herself.

• Author interview done by series editor and publisher  Eric J. Guignard. Eric brings an understanding of the short form that makes these interviews very educational.

• Biography and bibliography (I don’t really look at but I think it needs to there)

• Academic commentary by Michael Arnzen, PhD (Who I learned in the press release was the professor of the year, Seton Hill University once). This commentary comes in the form of short notes on each story, plus a longer form essay about why each author “matters.”

Gemma Files is a writer of sharp prose, you can’t skim pages because the details are important and there are few wasted words. She attacks high concept stories with daring prose. This stories have a gravitas of storyteller that is not worried about appealing to everyone. This is horror fiction of a literary leaning toward dark art. It is entertaining, but her style feels like it is more art than entertainment.

A highlight of this collection is the essay on found footage story telling. Of great interest to me because it is a narrative device I am not a fan of. I thought it was not convincing to as an argument for the subgenre, but it explained many of the strengths of the form. I admit I tend to focus on what I see are weaknesses so I enjoyed that.

Probably the strongest story for me was Sown from Salt, the western themed story that had an excellent opening paragraph. Venio was a weird one that hooks you and closes in on the reader like a knot being pulled taunt. It is a very tight story. Reader not familiar with the King In Yellow Mythos might find Slick Bone and Soft Black Stars to be the weirdest ride in the book, and the prose is delicious and fun.  

The interview was great and really solidified for me that I want to read more Gemma Files. There is a story involving an infamous Canadian character actor that made me laugh and I will now think of when I see him. 

Once again this series delivers. 7/7 incredible books in this series.

Book Review: I Contain Multitudes by Christopher Hawkins

 

I Contain Multitudes by Christopher Hawkins

301 pages, Paperback

Expected publication April 30, 2025 by Coronis Publishing

I don’t mean to sound like I know everyone and everything, but it is rare for an author to be a surprise to me at this point. Many times, even debut authors, I have come across short stories or seen their names pop up on social media, so I was surprised when I was offered an arc and I had not heard of Christopher Hawkins, who appears to be active with the Chicago HWA, and published another interesting looking novel in the past. Then I realized that I just read and liked a story of his in the anthology Fragile.

 I went into this novel cold, not reading any of the press material, and honestly knowing zero about the plot or concepts. I am not sure that added to the experience, as once we are dropped in Hawkins does a great job of building up the concept. Thanks to a long bus ride I read the first 150 pages in one sitting. 

ICM is a readable, quick-moving science fiction novel with elements of horror mixed in throughout. I enjoyed with only one hesitation, on recommendations but I prefer to focus on the positives first. 

Our point of view character is Trina, a woman who is a victim of “The Turning.” Every time it happens she shifts across the multiverse to another reality. It is always a horrific reset, where the world changes and no one remembers her. Each world is different, and she has to adjust every time. One of the best aspects of the novel is Trina’s growing despair, it is something as a horror writer myself I enjoyed watching this escalation. This couldn’t work on a reader unless Hawkins had created a connection between Trina and Colin. He is the first person to remember her. 

“Her words died in her throat, because as she turned, she saw another Shadow approaching them, a dark nothing in the shape of an old woman. It moved between the bookshelves at the far end of a long aisle, pulling itself forward with its finally arms, arms that seemed too long for its bent and narrow body.”

Hawkins can write the heck out of a good horror scene. One of the aspects I wanted more of was the Shadows that creeped Trina through the story.  Tiny details that paint a picture like the curled tiles and bent tubs in this next passage.

“There was a tremble in Sweet's voice as the Shadows approached. The instruments on the cart rattled as he stumbled back into the safety of the electric lights. The Shadows fanned out around him as their passage curled the tiles and bent the tubs aside, Trina could feel their vibrations on the air, like the low rumble of a passing train.”

Doctor Sweet and Colin become interesting parallels for Trina. The two characters become like anchors for her. You PKD’ers out there may be wondering if the novel has any Dickian themes. Hawkins doesn’t come off to me as playing with the pink beam, but I could be wrong. The closest hint came here…

“She remembered again what Doctor Sweet had told her, a new thought emerged, more terrible than the others. What if this place was just some product of her mind, some construct of her imagination? What if there were no answers? What if the light was only here because she had put it there herself?”

I would have enjoyed it if Trina doubted herself a bit more. She had a little too much belief that she it was real, and happening to her. A bit more doubt would have gone a long way for me. That said Colin remembers in way that is like hearing the echo of song, not the actual song. That assured Trina and those moments were fantastic.

“Collin's mouth fell open. He stared at her, his eyes searching, as if there was something about that he could not quite place. He lingered there for a moment, but every time that he seemed on the verge of understanding, his eyes would lose focus. At last, he seemed to come back to himself as recognition spread across his face so did his smile.

“Trina,” he said, though his voice was little more than a croaking whisper. “Trina Bell.”

So what are the negatives? I said I had one issue with the book. There are a billion vampire novels, but the ones who break through do something different with the concept. In 1949 when Fredric Brown released What Mad Universe the multiverse was a revolutionary SF device. Eight years later PKD escalated the concept with alternate realities that were a private cosmos in Eye in the Sky. 75 years later multiverse films have won Best Picture, and Marvel has built a film saga in the multiple dozens of films on it. There have been animated Spiderman series…

This novel is well written, and the story is well told but I kept thinking about Dark Matter which I watched on AppleTV, I know it was based on Blake Couch novel. I felt the stories were similar, and I liked how patiently that story was told.  It is not this novel’s fault but I am very over multiverse stories and my bar is pretty high. Two years ago M.R. Carey’s Infinity Gate knocked my doors off with an insanely elaborate multiverse story that rivaled Dune and Star Wars in world-building scope. I think multiverse stories need that at this point to separate themselves.  

Thankfully Hawkins is a talented writer who never bored me. This is a well-executed novel, Hawkins is a talented writer and I want to read more but I was hoping for a bit more higher concept. That said this is a recommendation, and the ending did get a smile out of this reader.