Book Review: The Futurians by Damon Knight

The Futurians by Damon Knight

Hardcover, 276 pages

Published 1977 by John Day Company

This book is only for two narrow groups of people in the world. Absolute and total science fiction golden age fans and the scholars of the field. I consider myself in both camps however it is the later that pushed me to pick up this book. As co-host and resident historian of the Dickheads podcast, I am always researching the writing and editorial process that my man PKD went through with each and every title. Over and over we learned little tid-bits about the influence of his long-time editor (first at Ace and then at DAW) Don Wollheim.

I think Wolheim's influence on PKD's novels and ultimately his career is extremely underrated. From changing almost all his titles to rejecting Man in the High Castle and Martian-time Slip which pushed SMLA to send those novels to a bigger publisher. Recently we got a first-hand account from Barry Malzberg about how mand Wollheim was that PKD won a Hugo for a book he had not even considered Science Fiction. I had become very interested in any detail I could get about Don Wollheim whose lasting impact was mostly hidden as a behind the scenes editor.

While there are bigger more popular figures in the genre in this book from Asimov, Phol and Judith Merrill my interest was mostly in the who sat behind a desk in NYC and bought those early PKD novels. You know the guy who knew Solar Lottery was a better title than Quizmaster Takes All and that there was no way we would have a Mars colony by 1994. That was the reason he turned down one of PKD's most-loved novels Martian Time-Slip.

This book has all kinds of funny and uncomfortable stories about the sci-fi nerds of the 1930s. This is an important history and explains the lineage of the genre as we knew it in the 20th century. As a stand-alone history it misses a lot and is mostly from Knight's POV. I also read Lisa Yazek's Future is Female and Alec N. Lee's Astounding. As a trilogy, they really work. If you want to really understand the whole history of 20the century Sci-fi that is the way to go.

For me it was all about Wollheim, I learned about his earliest zines, and stories. The dramas of the early scene and how he rose to form ACe books and why he left. How he started DAW. Valuable info that will show up in our podcast in the future.

My Favorite Films of 2019

Ad Astra: It has some really stupid moments and everyone saying it is a cross between 2001 and Apocalypse Now. I kinda think 2001 comparisons are a little lazy, much like Interstellar it is far too grounded in my opinion to be compared to 2001. I liked the cosmic tone and the scale of the action. At times I knew too much the BS science. A ship going that fast, for example, is never slowing down for a mayday. Brad Pitt gives a simple but effective performance. The effects are amazing, and James Grey has a brooding cosmic drama that deserves to be experienced on the big screen.

Alita Battle Angel: Considered a domestic flop I hope the fact that it was a huge success overseas is enough to get us more movies. I don't see the problem with this movie. It is a fun popcorn Sci-fi adventure. I admit I stayed away because I am not a big Robert Rodriguez fan. I wish I had heard the interviews when he said he made a James Cameron movie. He certainly did.

Wandering Earth: This a super fun ridiculous movie. The special effects are mostly amazing. The action and drama are so over the top and silly. I loved seeing a huge budget sci-fi film like this coming from China. See it on the big screen if you can I know it is not playing in many theaters in the states but it is making Baaazillions in China. Based on the Cixian Liu (China's answer to Arthur C Clarke) novel they took a pretty insane sci-fi concept and threw as much rubble, earthquakes, giant waves and disaster as they could computer animate.

John Wick 3: I think it was better than chapter 2 but I think the surprise of the first one still leaves that as my favorite. This is the first Hollywood action movie to really get to the level of action that Asian action like Hardboiled, The Raid or The Villainess have reached. The levels of brutality and intensity are of course dialed to 11, the goofy ridiculous mythology is fun even though it gets cornier with each film. I think that is fine.

Doctor Sleep: Loved Doctor Sleep, I think I actually liked it better than the novel. partly because I always thought DS felt like two novels. I feel the film did a better job of smoothing everything into one story. Some of the Dan working at the hospice staff was rushed but holy hell was the casting perfect. Ewan was perfect as Dan Torrance, Rebecca Fergason was amazing as Rose the Hat. There were two incredible scenes that make this worth seeing on the big screen. there is much I want to say but I don't want to spoil. If you are a SK fan or of the movie The Shining you should see this on the big screen.

Shadow: The whole film is shot with blacks and greys giving it a feel like it was drawn. The contrast to the color of the actors remains breathtaking throughout the film. Yimou's use of nature in the form of water and rain is nothing short of Kurasawa like in execution. The story is super melo-dramatic royal court drama that will not hook everyone. It is a good 45 minutes before any really action happens. The last act is a bloodbath with bizarre weapons and it is all fantastically staged. I loved every second of this movie but I suspect it will not be for everyone.

This might be my favorite of the 5 Yimou Wuxia films. and I love four of them. If you like martial arts epics you can't go wrong!

Us: Jordan Peele's second horror film proves that Get Out was not a fluke. I promise I won't spoil any plot points. The movie is an impressive piece of horror that balances suspense, character and creepy tone. What is more impressive than all that is that there is Rod Serling level social-political allegory here. Get Out was about Racism, US is about privilege, the haves and the have nots. It is about the fear of the other coming to get US. A genius piece of work. Was it perfect? No there was at least one scene that I felt totally sucked and took me out of the movie. People who want everything to be explained and make perfect sense will waste their time nitpicking it. I like that some of them are unexplainable. Don't overthink it.

Apollo 11: This is the film made up of restored real-life footage of the mission that first put human beings on the moon. Edited together like a narrative of the 10-day mission is a goosebump-inducing emotional experience that makes you feel like you are part of history. The restored footage looks amazing good. I actually felt emotional during some of the most famous moments. It is a seriously powerful cinematic experience that left us all saying wow over and over. Saw it in the theater it is worth every dime. Last film I saw in the theater with my father.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Once upon a Time in Hollywood could've been called Hollywood Fantasia. I like the weird QT version of Hollywood. While not perfect I found it to be pretty darn close but hard to talk about without major spoilers. One of my favorite things in the film was something that went unanswered 99%.9 of writers would get notes from studios/editors saying that the scene needed to be ended or explained. None the less Leo and Pitt were great on screen together and the tiny details are pretty great for the most part. Lots of great cameos. 5/5 for me. But I am a sucker for QT.

Parasite: The amazing new Joon-Ho Bong movie! His first fully Korean production since Mother. While I liked Snowpiecer and Okja this is an equally bonkers but FAR better movie. It won the big prize at Cannes for good reason. This movie is beautifully filmed and acted but it is the story of classism at the heart that makes this movie so interesting.

(I have yet to see Knives out and The Lighthouse I suspect I will love them both)

My Top Ten Favorite Reads of 2019!

So this year I read 26,832 pages across 96 books. Many were classic and 60's Science Fiction but for this list I choose from the 40 new releases I read this year. So this doesn't really include any of the reading I did for the Dickheads Podcast, or the HUGO series we are working on. Just the new releases. Lots of cool books I think you should check out. Please check out these books and consider my latest science fiction novel Goddamn Killing Machines from Clash Books.

Number Ten:

Hazards of Time Travel by Joyce Carol Oates

This book is very much a reaction to modern political issues and the Trump era it is not as direct as some might suspect. If forced to make comparisons I would say it is part Handmaid's Tale and part Philip K Dick's Time out of Joint. It is easy at times reading this book to miss the sheer levels of genius at work, and this lends itself to thinking about it long after you close it for the last time. This is the first top ten read of the year contender and certainly a book I highly recommend it for my readers.

Number Nine:

Snow Over Utopia by Rudolfo A. Serna

a cool story that is the essence of why we need the small press. This is a novel that the major publishers would never touch, from the short length to the blacker than black tone it needed a smaller press. Without the co-sign of a gatekeeper like Apex publishing, I might not have bothered to check it out. Yeah, it sounded super cool but if it was self-published without the flag of Apex flying over it I might not have ever checked it out. I am super glad I did because holy hell this is a badass book. I not only suggest you buy/read it but I think you should make a play list of stoner and doom metal and putting it on shuffle while you read will greatly improve your experience.

NumberEight:

Pax Americana by Kurt Baumeister

Baumeister is clearly influenced by another Kurt. The guy who wrote equally placed his tongue in cheek for speculative satire like Cat's Cradle. I know that is a very highly intense comparison but it is not made lightly. Fans of Vonnegut's humorous sci-fi, he may not have wanted to be called Sci-fi but let us not get snobby now. This will be a Dick Like Suggestion on Dickheads. PKD was underrated for his humor, and one of the things that makes this book fun is the moments that make you chuckle. This is not a book filled with jokes just plenty of weird offbeat things that will give you laughs. I mean the program in the book called Symmetra is not that far removed from the infamous pink laser beam. But the most PKD thing about this book is the America in this book is one that is just slightly different.

Number Seven:

A Dog Between Us By Duncan Barlow

A Dog Between Us is a novel soaking with emotional richness driven by raw and heartfelt prose. This is the type of novel that leaves you wondering how much of this is autobiographical? There are moments of gut-wrenching grief that is so powerful it is like an emotional knife's edge. The story jumps back in forth between touching and heartfelt love, clumsy disregard of youth and adult reflection. On the surface, this doesn't sound like my type of book. An experimental character-driven story with no genre elements but grief and a feeling of dread through-out.

Number Six:

Song for the Unraveling of the World by Brian Evenson

Evenson has quickly become one of my favorite working authors, and his work is a must-read, I mean all of it. I read a few of these before they were collected. There is something about reading Evenson stories collected. I hang on every word, each story is strong. If you are not reading Evenson you are missing one of the best weird fiction voices.

Number Five:

Unraveling by Karen lord

This is a fun read with magical portals, city-sized psychic labyrinths, Angels, shape-shifting immortal beings, killers and a murder mystery at the heart of journey through a universe with a Physics-based on memory opposed to what we think of as natural science. The weird landscape makes for a really inventive environment that plays with what is real in our memory and the flexible nature of time. In some ways, I thought of this book as a cross between Leguin Lathe of Heaven and the David Fincher movie Seven.

Number Four:

The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin: Edited by Lisa Yaszek

The concept is simple starting with Claire Winger Harris and a story called 'The Miracle of the Lilly' and ending with A Ursala K Leguin Story Called 'Nine Lives'. That takes the reader through the evolution of the pulp era from 1928 to 1969. Anyone interested in the classic pulp era and the history of women in it should read this book. The way it follows the progressive of the genre gives it an interesting edge. This book is more than just another anthology, it is an important historical document that happens to have more than 20 stand-out works of bold science fiction. It should be taught in MFA programs but sadly I think it will be overlooked just like the contribution of the many women in the genre. Check out my Dickheads podcast interview with Lisa about this amazing book.

Number Three:

The Song my Enemies Sing by James Reich

Many of this novel's most captivating moments are set on Mars, not the one in our solar system but the preserved in the amber of the imagination of the past. It might not be for everyone but if you love the genre I think there is a good chance you will dig this one too. During the war in Vietnam, a general was famously quoted as saying they had to burn down a village to save it. Did Reich destroy Science Fiction or honor it? I think he honored it. This book challenges modern science fiction embracing the traditions of the past. Many modern novels get compared to Ballard, Brunner, Leguin or Dick, but few embody those traditions like the Songs My Enemies Sing. It is a masterpiece. I don't say that lightly.

Number two:

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

This is How You Lose The Time War is a novel about two post-human women who are agents on the competing sides of a war being fought across space and time. Twists and turns remain but this book is equally romantic and beautiful as it is thought-provoking and jaw-dropping. The prose is lyrical and it often feels like you are getting to read love letters. While never losing the concept these beautiful letters are peppered with high concept and world-building nuggets. They are pretty but they drive the narrative every time. Give them all the awards. Except the PKD award that should go to my personal favorite of 2019...

Number One:

Unamerica by Cody Goodfellow

This novel explores religion, drugs, capitalism, social Darwinism, and probably more I didn't catch. It is a lot to take in but it is OK because Goodfellow fills the 436 pages with texture and swag.Goodfellow is one of the smartest writers of my generation and it is impossible for me to read his work without marveling at his skill, intelligence, and ability on page after page. Unamerica is the best thing I have read this year and I have read a few masterpieces already. This is a must-read for fans of weird fiction that lives on the border of science fiction and Horror. Goodfellow's most assured work is a dystopia not to miss. I hope the people behind the Philip K Dick award pay attention as it is worthy.

Book Review: Resistance Reborn (Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) by Rebecca Roanhorse

Resistance Reborn (Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker)

by Rebecca Roanhorse

Hardcover, 295 pages

Published November 2019 by Del Rey

Rebbecca Roanhorse is an author who I enjoy following twitter but has never managed to read before for whatever reason. I meant to read one of her original novels before this but the year got away from me. As I have with the last four Star Wars movies I read this movie prequel before seeing the film.

I wanted to like this more, I felt like this didn't set the next movie like Catalyst did for Rogue One or Aftermath did Force Awakens. That said this is more about the days after Last Jedi. I really respect this book's knowledge of the canon. I not just talking about the films, this book references Clone Wars, Rebels and effectively uses very good characters Chuck Wendig introduced in the Aftermath trilogy. Sometimes this comes off a little info-dumpy, but as a person who follows the canon, I did really enjoy this aspect of the novel.

This novel was mostly focused on Leia, Poe, and Finn. It was surprising to me how in the background Rey was but at the same time, I could understand how the author would be worried about stepping on the toes of the new film. considering that we didn't get a proper ending to the Leia storyline I was hoping to get more from her storyline. I know it sounds like I am complaining. I wanted to like this book more but I think this was a super basic follow-up to Last Jedi. My favorite aspects had to do with the Aftermath characters Snap and Norra who I was surprised to see again. I was happy about that.

This doesn’t add a thing to the story of Rise of Skywalker in the slightest. One of my least favorite things about the new film is that the story of the emperor felt rushed and underdeveloped. This is not the author’s fault but the story group should have considered that this was a perfect place to plant seeds about Darth Sideous still being in the picture even in small hints. There was no reason not too as he was in all the trailers and posters.

I liked this enough that I was not bummed I read it and I really want to read this author freed of the weight of this massive franchise.

Book Review:Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather

Sisters of the Vast Black

by Lina Rather

Paperback, 160 pages

Published October 29th 2019 by Tor.com

If I told you this was about space nuns I am not sure it would sell you but this is another great Tor novella. I have been waiting for this book since Tor first tweeted about it months before release. My first thought was that Lina Rather might be trying to walk in the hallowed footsteps of catholic science fiction like the Sparrow. While these two book are very different the ancient religion in the future colony thing is totally there. Unlike Mary Doria Russell it is clear that Rather is a true blue Science Fiction writer and not an author who would shy away from the label. I mean let me be clear weather Russel considers it sci-fi or not The Sparrow is 100% genre. Sorry, this not about the Sparrow but I think this novella is a great companion.

So the Tor novellas are almost always good so what are the strengths of Sisters of the Vast Black? The world-building in this novella is a strength and the story sounds more appealing if you explain that the Nuns travel inside a giant space whale to disease-ridden colony worlds no one else would set foot on. That sounds cool, right? I would have been more impressed if Nnedi Okorafor had not just used this form of space travel in a Tor novella Binti just a few years back. The setting and characters, however, are really compelling. I certainly would read more stories and novels about the Sisters of the Order of Saint Rita on Our Lady of Impossible Constellations.

While it sounds campy it is a pretty serious science fiction novel and one of the strengths for me was how simple but effective the prose was. The world feels lived in. I liked that there was some mystery about the earth and the war but it lives lots of room for more stories in this universe. I want to read more from this author and this universe.

Book Review/Podcast: This Immortal by Roger Zelazny

This Immortal by Roger Zelazny

Paperback, 216 pages Published 1989 by Baen (NY) (first published 1966)

I don't know what took me so long to read Zelazny, but it was the Dickheads podcast series on the Hugo winners of the 60's that got me to finally do this. You see this book shared the 1966 Hugo award for best science fiction novel. I will have more detailed thoughts when we record the podcast. When that is released I will add it to this review.

Thanks to the shared award with Dune it is impossible not to compare the two. That is really too bad because no science fiction novel should have to be compared to one of the greatest masterpieces of the genre. I don't know what voters were thinking about this year but This Immortal does not hold a candle to Dune not then or ever. Is it better than some of the others that won that decade? Sure This Immortal is sneaky weird, and I think some of the merits of the novel are easy to miss. I mean this novel is certainly better than Fritz Lieber's The Wanderer but it came out the same year as Dune.

I mean Shawshank Redemption didn't win shit at the Oscars thanks to Forrest Gump coming out the same year, it happens.

I was not a huge fan of this book, to be honest, but that could've been that I just re-read Dune for this same series. There is a lot of cool stuff in this story. Taking place decades after a three-day war and decades-long occupation by aliens that came from Vega. That sets up all kinds of unintentional humor as the aliens are referred to as Vegans. In one sense it is cool that RZ had them coming from a real star you can see on any clear night but why would their species go by the name we have for their star?

The story is about a Vegan who wants a tour of the earth ruins so he can write a history of our species. Spies from many different worlds, assassins, mutants, genetically engineered monsters, and plenty of action. I think there are lots of classical references that went straight over my head. Some of my favorite moments came when you saw RZ stretch his imagination some of the descriptions the vegans or the alien landscapes.

This is short read so I think it is important for completionists and serious students of the genre but I am not sure I would recommend it for general readers. More thoughts coming on the podcast.

Book Review: Salvaged by Madeleine Roux

Salvaged by Madeleine Roux

Paperback, 352 pages

Published October 15th 2019 by Ace

This was an interesting read. I just picked it up when I saw it on the library's new releases and recognized the author from Twitter. So you see social media does pay off sometimes. I didn't read the many, many blurbs and I am kinda glad I went that way. In fact, I went into this novel totally cold not knowing a single thing about the plot just knowing it was science fiction from the super cool looking cover. Had I read multiple blurbs that all compared to ALIEN I might have spent the whole time waiting for the monster to show up. I think I benefitted from not having an idea of what the plot or comparisons were. That said I can't review this without crossing that line for you.

The opening pages drip with gruesome details and the writing is pretty great. The prose is not overly pretty but I enjoyed the fact that Roux is a simple but confident storyteller. We are pushed into this world and have to hold on for most of the experience. The characters are well developed but Roux gives lots of attention and detail to our main point of view character Roselyn. That said the narrative is a third person and we get many points of view. I think this effective and used for moments of suspense and character.

So Roslyn is a deep space salvager and that gives the book it's space truckers feel. She is sent to clean up ships that lost all the crew. She is a drunk and fuck-up with a very interesting past I won't spoil. She is close to losing her job when she has given one last chance a salvage gig with a partner no one can stand. Once they arrive at the ship they find the crew is not dead - not yet however they have come under the control of a sentient parasite.

The comparison to ALIEN is setting pure and simple. While ALIEN has psychological fear involved most of it comes from the characters being hunted. The thing that separates Salvaged is the paranoia at the heart of the story, in that sense this novel is almost more in the neighborhood of John Carpenter's The Thing. As a Phil K Dickian nerd I enjoyed that this novel puts the characters through their worst fears guided by the ones they most love. As a horror concept that is great.

I didn't find the story or the concept to be very groundbreaking and I felt like I had seen this story before. That said it was very well told even if the concept didn't totally hook me. I did, however, enjoy the writing enough to want to read more from the author. I enjoyed the book enough to give it a positive rating and most importantly I had fun reading it. Madeleine Roux is clearly talented and I will be reading more of her work.

Salvaged is highly recommended for those looking for deep-space horror you can't go wrong with this novel that is less cosmic than ALIEN but far more psychological.

Book Review: Unraveling by Karen Lord

Unraveling by Karen Lord

Hardcover, 304 pages Published June 4th 2019 by Daw Book

As I read this strange and esoteric fantasy novel I had a feeling that many of the readers out there on Good Reads would hate this book and boy was I correct. Reading many of the reviews I was confused. Did we read the same book? Because the book I read was pretty close to a masterpiece of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. I have not done the rankings but this book is easily one of my top ten reads of the year.

Karen Lord writes from a misty magical place, with an Afro-Caribbean feel she creates a fantasy world that is not easily digestible for a generation of readers honed on Harry Potter. It requires you to not rely on tropes and rehashed ideas. I mean there were times I thought things were going over my head but that is OK for me.

This is a fun read with magical portals, city-sized psychic labyrinths, Angels, shape-shifting immortal beings, killers and a murder mystery at the heart of journey through a universe with a Physics based on memory opposed to what we think of as natural science. The weird landscape makes for a really inventive environment that plays with what is real in our memory and the flexible nature of time. In some ways, I thought of this book as a cross between Leguin Lathe of Heaven and the David Fincher movie Seven.

The City labyrinth is populated by tricksters and undying immortals, there are moments of wild imagination that are balanced with the grim serial killer story. For a stand-alone book the mythology of the undying and the labyrinth were great examples of world-building. I learned after finishing this book that some of the settings and characters were in earlier work. So I am not sure how much I missed on stuff because I had not Read Redemption in Indigo.

The actual prose is beautifully composed and the story is well structured. The lead character Dr. Miranda Ecouvo is a forensic therapist and she is really well written. Some of the Angels and the Undying came off more vague to me but that in a sense worked. I liked that as characters they often pointed out how humans just couldn't grasp what their life is like or how it works.

I was first interested in this author because I heard her compared To Octavia Butler and Ursula K Leguin. I thought that high praise might be pure hyperbole but Unraveling delivered. I suspect that Karen Lord is an author I will continue to enjoy and I can see her work becoming a staple of mine. I got this because it was her newest work, but some of her older works seem even more up my alley.

Read Unraveling if you like powerful and grim fantasy with well written and stylish prose. One of the best books of the year in my opinion.

Book Review: Contagion and Other Stories by Brian Evenson

Contagion and Other Stories by Brian Evenson

Paperback, 138 pages

Published September 2011 by Astrophil Press (first published July 2000)

Anyone that follows my blog or podcast knows that I am a huge fan of Brian Evenson. This book, however, was released many years before I discovered his writing. I should have noticed when this was re-released by my old friend Duncan Barlow at Astrophil press in 2011. I have been meaning to go back and read some of Evenson's early work and thanks to this book I got a chance.

This collection includes the O.Henry award-winning short story, Two Brothers. It is a great example of Evenson who was already 19 years ago writing powerful and beautifully surreal tales. The opening story has moments of body horror but descends into surreal paranoia. This story is pure prose insanity and in the hands of a less accomplished writer, it would be a mess. This opening story is a statement and a good story to test your compatibility with this author.

I personally think Evenson is a genius and one of those authors that walks a perfect tightrope between high-class literature and badass genre. These days he writes full out horror and Science Fiction. I think this collection is more when he was dipping his toe in the genre pool. He probably wasn't aware he was doing it.

I know that Evenson didn't really consider himself a horror writer at the stage when these stories were written. That is surprising to me. The stories are bleak, the tone is fully horror but many of the stories had a western vibe or feel to them which I think is expressed on the cover. Personally, my favorite story was the one called A Hanging.

Evenson is one of the best short story writers we have. I know that sounds like hyperbole but he has mastered the short form and anyone who likes short stories needs to have and read all his collections.

Book Review/Podcast episode: The Crack in Space by Philip K Dick

The Crack in Space by Philip K. Dick

Paperback, 202 pages

Published January 2012 by Mariner Books (first published 1966) This PKD presents a multi-verse story long before that has become old hat. There are some clumsy outdated attempts to be progressive that 55 years later sound cringey. A few really good moments but not a stronger book in the PKD catalog.

Dickheads Podcast episode recording soon. I will post here.

Book Review: Million Mile Road Trip by Rudy Rucker

Million Mile Road Trip by Rudy Rucker

Hardcover, 476 pages

Published May 2019 by Night Shade

The release of a new Rudy Rucker novel is always an exciting thing. Considering that this is his first one since 2013's amazing life after death novel Jim and the Flims I was super excited. Famous for his math and computer science Rudy Rucker is a founding of the original Cyberpunk gang and has been writing bizarro science fiction since before Bizarro was a genre. But this book is not all we have to be excited about. Nightshade is also doing matching cover editions for 9 other Rucker releases so you can collect the whole set.

If you are unfamiliar with Rucker's style he is a totally one of a kind author whose super intelligent and hype-weird fiction can not be compared to anyone. I know that sounds like Hyperbole but I promise you a Rucker novel can not be confused for anyone else. There is a level of weird creativity that has a flavor that can't be compared to any existing style. Rucker almost always has his tongue firmly planted in his cheek, also nothing is too weird or goofy.

Living and surfing in the Santa Cruz area for many years Rucker starts this novel in a town that is Rucker's NorCal fictional town, his Castle Rock. This from the beginning is a neat little look at this town and the odd-ball surf community that feels like it is based off people he knows. You hear the waves crashing on the shore, and almost feel the sand collecting in your shoes as you are giving a narrative tour of the setting.

The main characters Villy and Zoe are teenagers but this book is not a YA novel. Villy and Zoe make the decision they are leaving home and just want to travel. They are better than average fictional teenagers, they have the naturally annoying traits that come with a young brain, but it is clear they are special characters who you believe could go on this epic journey. They intend to just drive Villy's purple whale (Station Wagon) on a road trip with no real plan. Things change when Zoe uses her tuba to open a portal to a different dimension.

This is Mappyworld a flat land on millions of connected worlds inhabited by living flying saucers. All this is done in a station wagon jacked up on monster truck tires and alien technology. I have listened to and read many interviews with Rudy Rucker over the years and he often talks about playing with the power cords of science fiction. While there are hints of this, most notably in the alien invasion and flying saucers.

The journey is a fun one that will have you scratching your head wondering where Rucker goes to come up with these ideas. The writing of the strange stuff is one thing, but Rucker creates characters we care about and a journey we are invested in. The book felt a little long to me, but I have to admit that I was reading it during a trip home to Indiana for my father's funeral. I might not have been in the best state to read it. That said the humor was welcome and the distraction better.

I hope to get Rudy on Dickheads to talk about this book soon.

Book Review: Heaven, My Home by Attica Locke

Heaven, My Home(Highway 59 #2) by Attica Locke

Hardcover, 295 pages

Published September 2019 by Mulholland Books

I first heard about this book from a really good Fresh Air interview, once I was interested in the book I put a hold on the book at the library. I don't know how I missed the fact that the book was the second in a series. I probably would not have gotten this book if I had known that certainly, I would have made an effort to read the first book, but it came in my holds and decided to read it anyways. I suppose there could be an argument that I missed out on aspects of this book, so just consider that when reading this review.

Heaven, My Home is a mystery about the disappearance of Levi King. He is the 9-year old son of a white supremacist that I understand was a key figure in the first book. Our main character is a Texas Ranger Darren Matthews. He is coming off an investigation that left his career in jeopardy. His marriage is in tatters, his shady mother has the gun used in a (justified?) murder hidden from him. So when Levi's Dad, the man Darren put in prison asks for his help finding his boy that is when the mystery begins.

This novel is a very rich mystery with more levels than I expected when the book started. My experience with east-Texas fiction is entirely from Joe R. Lansdale - who is an author with a very serious distinct voice. He is just regional to that part of Texas as Stephen King is to Maine. It was nice to read another voice from the region. That weird off-beat humor of Lansdale is something I had begun to associate with the language of the region. That said Locke is a powerful writer who is very talented at characterization and timing. The reveals of the story are all handled perfectly.

There is one scene in prison when Levi's Dad begs Darren to help him and it is a very powerful dramatic scene that was my favorite moment of the whole book. Once the final act comes and the depth of the mystery is revealed you will be glad you picked up this book. A great socio-political mystery from an author I intend to read and follow despite mystery not being my main genre.

Book Review: The Last Astronaut by David Wellington

The Last Astronaut by David Wellington

Paperback, 400 pages

Published July 2019 by Orbit

This is only the second Wellington novel I read. I enjoyed Positive which I thought was pretty fresh as a Zombie novel can be at this point. That was almost four years ago and I told myself I was going to read more from the author but it wasn't till I saw this book on the shelf at the library that I did. I didn't read the back cover I went into it about as cold as I could. I knew generally that it was Science Fiction of course and assuming that Wellington was a horror guy I expected the book to go in that direction.

It is hard to talk about what I like about this book without getting into spoilers from late in the narrative. The Last Astronaut is going for a Gravity meets horror kinda thing but I don't want to be reductive about the things that I think are very creative and original. It is also firmly in the sub-genre of big dumb object science fiction most famously done in Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. As an entry in that sub-genre, this novel really goes cool places.

This is an interesting time to have a big dumb object novel as we just had our first in reality object named Oumuamua discovered traveling in and speeding out of our solar system. So give Wellington credit for having the first purely Oumuamua inspired novel that I am aware of. It is also interesting that Wellington is addressing the rise of the private space industry and presents a pretty negative view of the future of NASA - at least as a space flight program. Keep in mind NASA does a lot of other things. As a big space nerd, I really liked that Wellington took all this stuff very seriously and he clearly did his research.

He took liberties with the science a few times but nothing major and I was along for the ride for the most part. This novel is an entertaining cross-genre hybrid that I wasn't sure I was going to like early on. The narrative itself gets stronger as it goes. I thought the early pages felt rushed. The prologue about the Mars mission could have been something that was legendary and off-screen so to speak. It was funny after an entire chapter of building up how impossible and hard the training would be it is skipped over and never mentioned again. That was jarring for me and took me out of the story.

That is OK because the second half was much better and completely won me over. If you want to know nothing and trust me so far here is the part of the review that I am switching to spoilers.

It is the story of Sally Jansen a NASA astronaut whose life is thrown into turmoil when she fails and loses a crew member on an aborted Mars mission. Years later she is given the mission to quickly train and lead a crew to a huge alien object and make contact. All the mission stuff is exciting and suspenseful. All of it is taunt and well written. There are fun interplay and politics involving the government and the private space program.

The twist is well earned and what makes the book. OK, LAST WARNING. The object is not a spacecraft they enter but the body of a giant alien. This reveal is really well done and makes the horror moments really pop. I think the title and subtitle on the cover give a false impression, as this to me is a pure Sci-fi Horror novel. The strength is how the original of a horror concept is at the heart of the final act.

Overall I think this is a four out of five experience, that started off rough and got better. I am glad I read it and will continue to follow Wellington.

Book Review: This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

This Is How You Lose the Time War

by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Hardcover, 201 pages

Published July 2019 by Gallery / Saga Press

Sometimes when I review a book I have to give a hyperbole warning. I try to point out warts on near-perfect just to show I am still thinking critically, I mean some I am reviewing books by authors I know and like as people. I don't know either author of this outside enjoying some of their social media presence. I can certainly see reasons why someone would not enjoy this book but hot damn if I don't think this is one of the best books of the year genre or otherwise.

I mean this is a genre book. It is finely written enough to be enjoyed and loved beyond the genre ghetto as say China Mieville or Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow was. Not just as Science Fiction but as literature that said the concept is such that the genre bonfides are undeniable. That concept, by the way, is just the tip of the iceberg of cool gee-whiz ideas. Hemmingway's Iceberg theory of writing is put to amazing use here.

This is How You Lose The Time War is a novel about two post-human women who are agents on the competing sides of a war being fought across space and time. Red fights for a technotopia and Blue fights for Garden a purely organic nature-based force. Each side is fighting for their way of life and doing so across multi-verses.

The concept is cool but it is narrative structure and style that really makes this book incredible. How two authors pulled this off working together seems like a magic trick to me. The story is told mostly in letters between the two spies who grow to fall in love with each other. As they cross space and time who else could understand what they are going through?

Twists and turns remain but this book is equally romantic and beautiful as it is thought-provoking and jaw-dropping. The prose is lyrical and it often feels like you are getting to read love letters. While never losing the concept these beautiful letters are peppered with high concept and world-building nuggets. They are pretty but they drive the narrative every time. Give them all the awards. It is not my favorite book of the year but it is probably the BEST book I read this year.

Book Review: City of Boom by Bonnie Bee

City of Boom by Bonnie Bee

Paperback, 120 pages

Expected publication: December 1st 2019 by Anti-Oedipus Press

I always look forward to books in the mail, but when they come from Anti-Oedipus the press edited by the author, professor and diabolical genius D Harlan Wilson I move stuff up to the top of the TBR. Any book he puts out I am interested in.

From the back cover:

A banished criminal. Two demons, a maiden, and a beast king. A holiday devoted to arson. Adventures in adult babysitting. Drugs, sex, and violence . . . In this innovative collection of short fiction, Bonnie Bee performs a delicate vivisection on pop culture and our collective unconscious to create myths out of common moments and legends out of unremarkable people. Through ancient allegory, modern celebrity, corrupted Shakespeare, and the shimmering oppression of West Texas, City of Boom reveals what we inherit from generations before us while showing how we cut out what’s dead to repair the living.

Let me start by saying that the events of the story didn't really matter to me during the experience of reading this book. Bonnie Bee is a talented writer, after reading this short novel I think her greatest strength is a strong voice. It is fitting that the book opens with a Kathy Acker quote, as I would have pegged her as an influence.

In many ways, City of Boom operates like a short story collection. Some of the experimental surreal tone of the paragraphs are so unsettling that reading this feels like swimming in the ocean. Bobbing to keep your head above water, just when you think you have a handle on what is going on a sentence, a genius turn of phrase dunks you under.

This makes sense as an AOP book, and from the binding genre title, Schiz-Flow Wilson is trying to create a sub-genre similar to the early days of Bizarro when the books came with "File Under Bizarro" on the back. I am here for Schiz-flow which makes for a fun and disorientating read.

If there was any negative it was a minor one. The last couple of pages got into what the back cover called a "vivisection on pop culture." This was the most entertaining part of the book, and I would have enjoyed more moments peppered through-out that were as razor-sharp as these moments towards the end. That said you should come to this book for wordplay and that happens on every page. Big thumbs up for fans of surreal and bizarro fiction.

Book Review: The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

Hardcover, 422 pages

Published September 2019 by Nan A. Talese

Booker Prize (2019)

Scotiabank Giller Prize Nominee (2019)

I first read Handmaid's Tale in the 90's when I was living in Syracuse. I have a very distinct sense of memory of reading it while waiting for a bus in freezing cold weather. Probably a fitting way to read the classic novel of this Canadian author. What is funny is I remember very little of that experience or the novel, when I watched the TV series a year or two back some of it came back to me the setting and broad strokes but few details. So I was kinda coming into this novel cold. I gotta be honest the TV didn't hook me past the first season.

I did, however, want to see how Atwood came back to the material and how a HT sequel written in the post Trump era turned out. Testaments is a fantastic dystopia but as to how it compares to the first book you'll have to ask a different reviewer I am basically going to talk to you about this book as it stands alone. The most important thing here is that it does.

Atwood might not consider herself a Science Fiction writer, as Ursala K Leguin famously refuted in 2013, but this novel is science fiction or speculative Dystopia whatever you want to call it. I mean there is no shame being in the same genre as Orwell's 1984 or Leguin's The Dispossessed for two really high-class examples. This takes place in an alternate America that has broken up into at least 4 nations, one of which is Gilead an ultra-conservative super sexist religious nation that is made up of bible-belt states.

The actual story follows two alternating first-person narratives, speaking directly to the reader. One is a free Canadian woman and the other is a woman in the Gilead breeding program. Atwood never cheats the form and normally I find the first person style to be the least effective of the three narrative styles. Many writers cheat the details but Atwood writes smoothly enough that I lost myself in the story, forgetting how it was written. I will say I sped through the 413 pages of the story very quickly. I did slow down a few times and about 60% of the way through the story took a turn that I really enjoyed but it is a major spoiler.

I think if this had come out during the Bush years it would have held an equal feeling of being relevant, but in the time when the supreme court is in danger of overthrowing Roe V Wade, this book feels extra powerful and needed. This book takes place at times on an underground railroad for women trying to get to Canada. You want to think that dystopias are out of reach but the painful process of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation is in our memory clearly.

Testaments is just as much horror as Science Fiction and I wish Atwood would embrace that. The tradition of using dystopia to exaggerate and clarify is an important one.

I do also think it is interesting that a book from a Canadian author that is so damning of America is popular in this country. I mean know of that bothers me as I don't have a Patriotic bone in my body. America needed the first novel and it needs this one. If you were thinking about it take the plunge and read this important work of speculative fiction.

Book Review: Vampiric: Tales of Blood and Roses from Japan Edited by Edward Lipsett

Vampiric: Tales of Blood and Roses from Japan Edited by Edward Lipsett

236 pages

Expected publication: December 2019 by Kurodahan Press

I am always excited when I get a new book by Kurodahan Press and very thankful to be sent an early promo copy of this book. If you are not familar they are an independent press that brings translations of otherwise obscure Japanese science fiction and horror to an American market. Very cool stuff! Just the basic concept of this one is something I am instantly sold on. A collection of Japanese Vampire tales is all you needed to tell me. I knew like all anthologies there would ups and downs, the good news is that it mostly ups.

As the author of a novel about Chinese vampires (my 2011 release Hunting The Moon Tribe), I have read and researched much about Chinese Vampires. I love hopping Chinese vampire movies but bloodsuckers from the island of Japan and their writers is something I was not familiar with. I assumed there is a tradition as in all other cultures as the vampire is the DNA of almost all cultural DNA.

So, in general, this is a well put together anthology the selection of stories is top notch even my least favorite of the stories had something to grasp on to. There were a few neat touches in the contributors' bios there were random characters from various important Vampire like Van Helsing and Robert Neville of I Am Legend. That was a fun touch. The stories all have excellent translations, that help bring out a Japanese feel despite being in English. The stories range from the early 20th Century to modern with two excellent essays on the impact of Vampire fiction in Japan. Those essays totally sold me on several of those novels and I Kurodahan brings us some of those - I mean Bloodlines of Stone sounds amazing, and the idea of Japanese feminist Vampire novel in Ephemera the Vampire by Mariko Ohara sounds fascinating.

The only weakness here are minor but things that could have really strengthened the book for me. One of my favorite stories in the collection was the odd story One Legged Woman by Okamoto Kido. By reading the bio in the back of the book I learned he was an early 20th-century playwright who was an actual Samurai early in his life. I started to think that I needed just a little more information with each story. Even just having the year of publication with the title would have given more context. I think I would enjoy having the bio with the title page of each story.

That is a minor detail I loved this book, besides the One-Legged Woman my other favorites the bizarro The Husk Heir by Kaijo Shinji, whose Science Fiction novels I really want to check out, and the cosmic "Crimson Cloak" by the Japanese Lovecraftian master Asamatsu Ken. Each story brought something. I think this is a must-read for serious vampire fiction fans, but also for readers who want to read speculative and horror fiction from other cultures. Kurodahan Press delivers another important cross-cultural bridge in the form of super entertaining vampire tales. Big thumbs up!

Book Review/Podcast: Dr.Bloodmoney by Philip K Dick

Dr.Bloodmoney by Philip K Dick

Paperback, 272 pages

Published October 2012 by Mariner Books (first published 1965)

Wow, I really loved this PKD book and I am surprised I had not read it sooner. This is a weird post-nuclear novel that is equally dark and sarcastic at times. Saving my thoughts for the next episode of Dickheads podcast recording soon.

Book Review/ Podcast 60's Hugo Winner series: Dune By Frank Herbert

Dune By Frank Herbert

Paperback, Special 25th Anniversary Edition, 535 pages

Published 1990 by Ace/Berkley Books (first published 1965)

Hugo Award for Best Novel (1966)

Nebula Award for Best Novel (1965)

Seiun Award for Best Foreign Novel (1974)

Dickheads Podcast bonus episode coming soon.

I know this is not exactly a hot take as Dune is considered one of the greatest classics of Science Fiction but it is really amazing. Like many, I read it first when I was 14 years old and know much of it flew straight over my head. The last time I "read it" was by audiobook shortly after watching the Sci-fi channel mini-series.

The skill with which it was written is only outmatched by the impact it has had on the genre as a whole. World Building, adventure, mysticism, environmentalism and politics. The Themes are not over-explained but perfectly woven into the story. Dune does all these elements with skill that has few peers before except Lord of the Rings and maybe The Foundation books. A reader in this day and age might recognize many of the elements here, they may be tropes now, but remember Star Wars and most of the Space Opera you have read in your life came after Dune.

The story is not a simple one, and I admit I was daunted to jump back into all the royalty and fantasy stuff. Now that brings me to a key point. This book has a lot in common with high fantasy, and while it is fair to say Star Wars is not true Science Fiction, but Dune is at home in both. The ecology of the planet Arrakis alone is enough to qualify as science fiction. OK enough let's get to the story.

The main character of this story is the planet Arrakis, the desert world that is important to the power of everything in the universe is a not so subtle analogy for the middle East. This story set in our far future (we only know this because of one tiny reference to an ancient bible) where families contest for control of the various planets. This is a space-faring era, but thousands of years in the wake of a great war between humans and machines. Thus it gives the world an odd sci-fi midevil feel.

The main characters are the Duke, lady Jessica and their son Paul of the house Atreides. The Space guild has just given them this important planet after years of brutal rule by House Harkonnen. Paul is being trained by his mother who is a priestess of a mystical order known as the Bene Gesserit who believes he might be the Kwisatz Haderach a great leader foretold in prophecy. Once on the planet Paul and Jessica survive an assassination attempt by going native.

The power of this story is in the rich world-building, the attention to detail and the interesting characters and universe. This novel is considered one of the best all-time and it may still be underrated. I will save some of my deeper thoughts for the podcast but I really loved this book all over again.

I also want to add that many reviews online talk about the sequels as not matching this first book. I disagree. Dune Messiah was an unfortunate sequel as it was not meant to stand alone. It is not until the third book that many of the major political themes until the later books, certainly not until book three. Certainly, Herbert took great effort to the first book that was written without expectations.

Book Review: Skinwrapper by Stephen Kozeniewski

Skinwrapper by Stephen Kozeniewski

Paperback, 81 pages

Published August 2019 by Sinister Grin Press

My two favorite genres are Science Fiction and Horror so when I first heard about The Hematophages I was stoked. The Hematophages is a blend of horror and science fiction. Kozeniewski had been most well known for his zombie detective bizarro novel Brain-eater Jones. The Hematophages is clearly Aliens worship and that is OK because it was awesome. Without standard tropes, it is a space vampire novel that was overflowing with ideas. I had it as a 'Dick like suggestion' on an episode of the Dickheads podcast and reviewed that novel here.

I said: "The Hematophages is one of the best books I have read so far this year. It is bold and weird science fiction that feels old school and insane at the same time. It is bizarro, dark sci-fi and horror in equal measure. A super neat book that I am glad I picked up. It is a little bit a parallel of Aliens, A reversal of Carpenter's The Thing (paranoia with all women) and with a world-building that reminded me of Neal Asher's The Skinner. That is a good mix."

Why have I spent so much time talking about that book? Well, Skinwrapper is a prequel and expansion of one of the coolest ideas found in The Hematophages was Cancer-ridden mutant mummy-like pirates that are forced to live in Zero-G called Skinwrappers.

Yes, you read all that correctly. The characters in the first book that introduced the Skinwrappers was so powerful that I thought they deserved their own book. They only had one chapter in the first book. So thank you Mister Kozeniewski because you delivered more texture to a universe I already enjoyed. Now an 81-page novella is fun but I still could have lived with a whole novel with this story, in this universe. I didn't read the back cover and went in spoiler-free and I suggest you do that. I hope I sold you on the bat-shit crazy bizarro space opera that has tons of ideas per page. Both books are super recommended. Anyhoo Spoiler warning has been given.

So this book is a prequel and gives an effective back story to one of the Skinwrapper pirate characters from The Hematophages. SK uses vivid description and characterization to make this world feel lived in. I think the story benefits from the first book but I suppose it could stand on its own. The descriptions of the Skinwrappers and their lives are pretty powerful. It is funny because I thought this was almost a perfect novella. Almost, except for two things, the major problem is it was painful realizing that I only had 60 pages left as soon as I was totally invested. Damn you Kozeniewski I am going to end up reading The Hematophages again. The other complaint is silly and might just be me but for some reason, a character described herself as falling on her butt, and later the word butt was used and it just kinda amused me and took out of the story for a moment. I know that is a silly complaint after reading such a neat book.

Alright Kozeniewski you are hereby ordered to write a dozen more books in this universe. I am a fan.

Book Review: The Institute by Stephen King

The Institute by Stephen King

Hardcover, 561 pages

Published September 2019 by Scribner

A new Stephen King book is still an event even though he is probably in the triple digits in releases at this point. I put this book on hold at the library the day it was ordered and was in the first round of people who got it and I managed to stay spoiler free. I am glad I read it that way. I have a very mixed feelings when it comes to Stephen King. As an author and figure in the genre and the tradition of story tellers I love him. I think he has written more than his share of masterpieces. I think he is a better short story and novella writer, but when he is firing he is one of the best.

The thing is I have not liked many of his 21st century novels as our styles are a bit like oil and water. King overwrites and without a plan, in lesser hands those are cardinal sins to me, but he is one of the few I come back too who does that stuff. That said I generally feel his novels are 200/300 pages too long. Dr. Sleep and 11/22/63 is my favorite of the last few years but when I read and reviewed The Outsider I was pretty disappointed as the novel started well and fizzled out. That said I quickly read it so I was very willing to read this new one.

When you have a half century of very productive writing under your belt as SK does it should not be a surprise that he recycles ideas. This has some of the Firestarter DNA, The Institute is pretty much The Shop from that novel. Here we have a secret government off shoot that is kidnapping kids. The kids are being developed for remote viewing experiments. Unlike the earlier novel this one hits at a global conspiracy. In that sense it reminded me he 70's horror classic The Fury by John Farris.

The first 75 pages SK flexes his story-telling muscles by fully developing a character that we become very invested in quickly. It is clear King wanted us to forget about him, and be surprised when he shows up again. Maybe it is because I am a writer and I was looking for the narrative connection, or maybe he wrote him so clearly I spent 300 pages wondering when we would see Tim again.

Our main character is Luke Ellis a gifted child who is already taking the SAT at 12 years old.It is interesting his intelligence is not what he is wanted for but it is the thing that makes him dangerous. The cast of young characters are well written kids which is not a surprise considering this book was written by the guy who wrote The Body) Stand by Me and IT.

The characters are all good and surprisingly King stuck the landing, ending his 500 plus page novels are often a problem. My biggest problem is the plot. The story with psychic kids doesn't really break any ground. This concept is pretty-ho-hum and only works because King characters are always good enough to keep the pages turning. No agent would touch this story from a unknown or starting author. There is very little there, there.

None the less I enjoyed it enjoy but nothing much stood out. SK constant readers will enjoy it but if you are looking for a King book I can think of two dozen titles that I would consider a priority over this one.

Book Review: Exploring Dark Short Fiction #4: A Primer to Jeffrey Ford

Exploring Dark Short Fiction #4: A Primer to Jeffrey Ford

by Jeffrey Ford, Michael Arnzen, Eric J. Guignard

Paperback, 234 pages

Published September 2019 by Dark Moon Books

I am always excited to see a book of this series in my mailbox, the first three books in this series confirmed to me Eric Guignard was really on to an excellent format to highlight authors. I trust Guinard to find the right authors for this series but let me make a few suggestions for who I think would be great in this series. John Shirley, Maurice Broddus, Cody Goodfellow, Lisa Morton, Silvia Moreno Garcia...Damn it I wish every author could get this treatment and this one of the best things I can say about this series. I mean it does such a wonderful job of highlighting an author and showing many sides of their skills. I really do wish every writer could get this kind of treatment. What do I mean by this treatment?

• Six short stories.

• Author interview.

• Complete bibliography.

• Academic commentary on each story by Michael Arnzen, PhD.

It is not just the variety of stories by each author in the series which are all carefully chosen by Guinard. Ford delivers six traditional dark fiction stories that are by themselves a powerful example of excellent writing. Add to it that you have the Arnzen commentary. The interview gives more personal insight compared to the academic insight of Arnzen. Now that we have four books in this series I could see this series being used for a teaching prompt and you bet your ass it would be a great way to teach the art of the horror short story.

As for Jeffery Ford, he comes the apology, I can't say I have read more a short story or two before. Not sure why he had not caught on with me before. That said is why this series exists, because I got a great introduction to a fantastic author. All six stories were well written and it is clear that Ford is an excellent writer whose influences go far beyond the genre ghetto. He has a great style that feels classical at times, conversational at other times.

My favorite stories were Boatman's Holiday and The Night Whiskey. That said I really loved the Japanese setting of the opening story. The most powerful piece by a country mile was the Boatman's Holiday. Hell and the river Styx is a really tricky subject to write about. There is a balance between not being dark enough and being goofy that is really hard to strike. There is a dark beauty to this piece that is worth the whole book. I loved every word that dripped with vivid humidity and pain. Ford gave the Boatman and the setting of Styx a painful reality and I loved it.

The Night Whiskey showed Ford's skill for characters. Boatman's holiday and A Natural History of Autumn showed off his ability to use the setting. As this series tends to do there is a little bit to learn about every aspect of the horror short story. The book succeeds in the sense that I am now primed to read more Jeffery Ford and it will happen.

Book Review: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

Paperback, 288 pages

Published March 14th 2005 by Hodder & Stoughton (first published April 1966)

Hugo Award for Best Novel (1967)

Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novel (1966)

Prometheus Hall of Fame Award (1983)

In my journey of reading all the Hugo winners for best novel in the '60s for the podcast, I have read some amazing and terrible books. This is my third Heinlein book. I read many Heinlein books in the '90s when I was really discovering Science Fiction and like everyone else, I loved his work and considered him a master of the genre. Somehow I never read this one before. Strange because it is a little more up my alley than Stranger or some of the others I read at the time.

I am a fan of revolutionary science fiction and certainly, Heinlein is not the only author to discuss ideas of Anarchism, in fact, I have a shelf on good reads just for Anarchist themed Sci-fi. Authors ranging from L.Ron Hubbard in the Final Blackout (1940)to Leguin's Dispossessed and Always Coming Home. The Moon is Harsh Mistress is not an anarchist novel but it plays with ideas of what Heinlein's stand-in character called "Rational Anarchism" which is basically his on brand libertarianism. We need government only because people are not ready to live without it.

The story of a late 21st-century moon colony that has become somewhat of a breadbasket for post-nuclear earth. In many ways, the revolution that is at the center of this novel kinda glorifies and mirrors the US revolution. While this looks and feels awfully familiar to some of the events in PKD's Time out of Joint Heinlein is more focused on deepening and world-building the lunar colony. For that reason, I would say the novels are not too similar.

Heinlein packs the books with neat ideas and it is well thought-out for the time. Some of Heinlein's ideas of poly-marriages are introduced with cringe-worthy awkwardness based on the society being dominated by more men than women. Lunar culture has its own version of the language that lacks certain connecting words like the Russian language, this is a result of how ethically and culturally diverse the Moon is. Cool idea but it does make for some awkward moments reading.

The revolution in the book is made possible by a small cell anchored by an AI who runs much of the colony. This is a very forward-thinking concept for 1966. As a work of science fiction, I wish a tad bit more attention was paid to how the science of the Moon colony worked. There were times that this could have been set on an island and nothing would be lost. RAH was inconsistent about keeping track of this aspect.

I enjoyed that the book explored issues. I didn't enjoy the book as much as some books I read in the past, and my initial reaction was negative. I will say this that the more I thought about the book the more it grew on me. Mostly because I spent a lot of time thinking about the ideas long after I finished reading it. I couldn't go higher than three stars. There are still some flaws for me with the characters and the views expressed. Heinlein is offering some new political ideas but is not really looking in deep to the aftermath of this transformation. Ultimately I can live with that as a reader.

I liked it better than Stranger in a Strange Land and I certainly agree with more of the politics with this than Starship Troopers. Yeah, let's talk about that for a moment. How in the hell is this written by the same right-wing pro-war hawk that wrote Starship Troopers? It makes no sense. That said it should make for an interesting podcast. Stay tuned...

Dickheads Podcast episode coming soon!

Book Review: Venus Plus X by Theodore Stugeon

Venus Plus X by Theodore Sturgeon

Paperback, 224 pages

Published October 5th 1999 by Vintage (first published 1960)

Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel (1961)

I read this book in part because I heard it came in second in the voting for the Hugo's in 1960. Losing to Canticle for Lebowitz is no shame. When I saw the concept I was interested to see how a straight cis gender sci-fi writer of 60 years ago handled this topic. In many ways, this book very forward-thinking especially when you consider that it was written before the Women's rights movement.

Sturgeon is a giant of 20th-century science fiction and I certainly have enjoyed his work before. The story follows Charlie Johns your typical 60's man who is pulled through time travel into the far future. Venus Plus X is a narrative split between two times and two societies. One is the world as we knew it in 1960 and the is Lodem a far future Utopia where gender, war, and hunger are things of the past. It is exciting that this book views so many of our civilization's problems to the dynamic created by gender and gender inequality.

At first, I was annoyed that all the characters in Lodem were giving the He/him pronoun but 72 pages Sturgeon does address this issue pointing out that the pronoun confusion is a result of the point of view character Charlie being wrong. "The personal pronoun-there was only one! In Ledom was like that; personal without gender. That Charlie had told himself it was "He" was Charlie's own mistake."

That is pretty forward-thinking for a book written in 1960 and it is clear several times no matter how clumsy TS has tried to write a feminist book. “It's a team, that's what I mean. There's a lot of yammering going on about the women taking over. They're not taking over. They're moving in.” That is not all “The patrists poison themselves. The matrists tend to decay, which is merely another kind of poison.”

It is a mixed bag, in some ways better than I expected but I didn't enjoy the story much. The 1960's storyline is important to the story but it takes so long to get there that it just feels a diversion from the good stuff. Those parts of the story were boring to me and didn't hook me. I just wanted to get back to Lodem parts of the story. The functions of this society and how even the biology works presents lots of interesting dynamics

As a piece of progressive old school science fiction, I am glad I read to add to my knowledge of the genre. I respect Sturgeon for what he was trying to do, but I can't help compare it to the book it lost the Hugo award to. Canticle for Lebowitz holds up very well and doesn't seem dated at all. This one is a completion recommendation at best. Sci-fi readers who are interested in genre works that focus on gender like Left Hand of Darkness must read this one. I liked but did not love this one.

Book Review: The Chain by Adrian McKinty

The Chain by Adrian McKinty

Hardcover, 357 pages

Published July 2019 by Mulholland Books

Well I had not read a crime thriller in awhile and this book came with high praise on twitter from Stephen King and Don Winslow, I put a hold on at the library knowing nothing about the plot. At first, when the plot was quickly revealed I was not sure I would enjoy this but I was very interested in how the story was structured so I kept reading.

I am glad I did, when you have spent the majority of the year reading the fucking weirdest books of the 60's science fiction new wave it collars a book like this. This felt like a very mainstream thriller to me. That is more a result of the reading pattern I have this year. I kept waiting for time loops, or androids copies to show up and that is on me. While The Chain is not as focused on gender themes as as say Gone Girl, this intense crime thriller fits nicely with that book or the recent novels of Sarah Pinborough.

The novel is anchored in a strong female lead in Rachel but the vulnerability of the family is at the heart of this novel. The concept follows a dark web network that is called The Chain. Your child has been kidnapped, not only do you have to pay the ransom but you are responsible for taking the next kid and keeping the cycle going. The novel opens on the kidnapping of Kylie the young daughter of a divorced cancer survivor who is about to start her first year as a philosophy professor. Much of the suspense and tension builds from the concept of what would you do to protect your child.

I will try to do this without spoilers but it should not be too much of a surprise that the novel eventually looks into the lives of the people behind the chain. The structure of the novel was the most interesting thing to me. The novel has two distinct parts and where the story is devided and and at the half way mark it appears that the story could end. I like how the story is organized, and I think the story is well told for the most part. I can see why crime thriller readers will eat up this concept. It would make a great movie with the right director and cast.

That said there were a few times I wish McKinty had slowed it down just a bit. A few characters like a MIT professor in the second half comes in and out a little to fast for me. There was also a single sentance that was so cheezy in the final 20 pages that made me laugh. Marty Rachel's ex actually points out the window and says basically "Hey is that my wife out there running in the show." A book published at this level should have an editor say "hey show don't tell the dude."

Over all, I recommend this for thriller readers and honestly, I read this in two days, it is a quick read for sure. I didn't love this but I did really like it.

Podcast/ Book Review: The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick

Paperback, SF Masterworks, 231 pages

Published 2010 by Gollancz (first published January 1965)

Re-read this one for the next episode of Dickheads, I consider this to be one of PKD's best novels, but I admit the first time much of it went over my head, not this time. I feel like I understood what was happening much clearer than 15 years ago. Podcast review coming up soon. For thoughts listen to the podcast...

What'll it be? Can-D or Chew-Z? Both are quite a trip but watch out for the side effects.

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch is considered one of the MUST read novels in the PKD library. Here the DickHeads along with special guest J. David Osborne find out for themselves if this is true or not. Plus: Jailbreaking Twitter. Willy Eldritch and the Chew-Z factory. And a stigmata fleshlight.

Book Review: Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

Hardcover, 800 pages

Published July 2019 by Del Rey Books

It is clear when you dead-lift this massive hardcover for the first time that Wendig was trying to write a book that would feel like McCammon's Swan Song or King's The Stand. He admits as much in the acknowledgements so the comparisons are unavoidable. It is unfortunate in my opinion because I enjoyed this book and experience but it was anchored to a big of unrealistic expectations. There are very few books that I think should be 800 pages. Those two classics are in rare territory. I personally am not a huge fan of the massive epic 20-pound books. I feel most stories don't need to be bloated to that kind of length. So I admit to that bias right at the front.

As much as I liked this novel it didn't quite feel as epic as those other novels. Wanderers while an end of the world novel has a very tight character-based focus. The president and world leaders are not ignored but they are not characters. They are mentioned but smartly Wendig keeps that story off-screen to focus on the characters. At the center of the novel is a cast of characters who are connected to a group of people who mysteriously begin to sleep walk. They can't be stopped, or harmed. Their walk appears to supernatural and nothing can stop them.

The POV shifts mostly between Shana whose sister is a walker, and Benji who is a former CDC scientist recruited by AI Black Swan that is using advanced predictive technology to respond to the situation. There is also Pete an aging rock star, Matthew a right religious radio talk show pastor, and few others.

The narrative and structure in the first half will have you wondering why anyone would compare to the Stand. The Sleepwalkers present a mystery that is very different more in common with say the Leftovers than Swan Song. Without spoiling the mystery the answers come about 400 pages into the book. I couldn't help feeling that would have made a great cliffhanger/ reveal to end a part one of two. I really enjoyed this book but I couldn't help feeling that there were two separate books here. If we as readers got to the reveal and had to wait a year for the conclusion it could have provided suspense and discussion.

As it stands Wanderers is a great read. The characters are engaging and well written. The mystery fills the first half with questions that are answered with well-woven science fiction and horror elements. It combines all the things that make a Wendig book worth reading, realistic character dynamics, well-researched science and executed structure. So before I get into spoilers let just say that if you are up for a 800 epic this one is a very worth reading.

The Stand holds up today but it is very much a product of the time when it was written. Wanderers is a very modern work of speculative messaging. Some of the best moments of Wendig reflecting his dark mirror on America are found in subtle chapter intros that are fictional tweets, tumblr posts or quotes from cable news anchors. Inside the narrative, Wendig never sacrifices the story to message but it is there for the savvy reader. If you don't want a message with your end of the world story relax because you can just ride with it fine.

SPOILERS:

The comparisons to the Stand are fair mostly in the second half of the novel. It is revealed that the long journey the sleepwalkers are taking is ending up in Colorado where they will ride out the plague killing off the human race. That said the first half is very different, and the source of the plague is quite modern and different. The source of the plague is a twist inside of twist. Black Swan the super computer AI is revealing to be saving a small number of the human race by turning them into Sleepwalkers using Nano-tech. Towards the end, it is revealed that he also unleashed the plague and the novel is revealed to be Cli-fi. I liked these twists and thought it gave a very modern feel to the book.

Book Review: Caves of Steel by Issac Asimov

Caves of Steel by Issac Asimov

Mass Market Paperback, 12th Edition, 206 pages

Published 1997 by Voyager (first published February 1954)

Retro Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel (2004)

I read this series of novels decades ago, but decided now was the time to re-read them. As a grown-up reader of sci-fi Asimov is not really on the top of my list but growing up he was my first sci-fi love. The Caves of Steel is an Asimovian spin on the detective noir that introduces the characters of Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw. They will be the main characters of three more books that take place in the same universe but hundreds of years before the Foundation series. While Asimov spent much of his career exploring the artificial human the Baley and Olivaw books are not only some of his best robot novels but some of his best Asimov novels period, end of story.

Part of the charm is the simple premise, but for a novel written in 1954 it has fantastic sci-fi world-building. That is not a surprise for Asimov readers, his world-building has never been a problem. It is at the core of this story because the massive over-populated earth which has turned to crowded domed cities is constantly in conflict with the Spacers, the people spread over 50 worlds with an economy that depends on robot labor. What helps this stand apart from the other books in the Asimov catalog are the characters. That aspect is often a weaker part of Asimov stories.

Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw are both excellent characters and their interplay is very rewarding to follow. Without trying to give away the many twists and turns in the book I will say that COS works before the human drama parallels the galactic conflict. We have seen plenty of cop movies and books where two partners are thrown together and hate each other. Of course they grown to understand each other. In this case, the cops in question are a human Baley and Olivaw a robot. The understanding is not so simple. It is a trope we have seen, but remember this book is 70 years old.

Speaking of the age of this book, the one real bummer of this novel is how women are depicted. Made more complicated by the fact that Alec Lee's biography Astounding pointed out the fact that Asimov while a genius writer was a creep with women in this era. Baley's wife in this novel is a poorly conceived and offensive character that will have you cringing as you read it. It is not OK for any era.

This does really hurt the book for me, it lost a star in my rating entirely for that one flaw. I could have looked past it if it also didn't affect the plot, sadly it did. That said the majority of the themes and the story are very, very strong. It is also a great introduction to a series. This series certainly could be updated with a few changes and work every bit as it did all those years ago.

I listened to the audiobook, and intend to read the next two at some point. The performances were good but I am not a big audiobook person.