Book Review: The Song My Enemies Sing by James Reich

The Song my Enemies Sing by James Reich

Paperback, 236 pages

Published December 2018 by Anti-Oedipus Press

In the fifties through the swinging seventies, science fiction was going through some massive upheaval. While the early golden age was known for pew-pew lazer gun battles and space opera the new wave rejected that. While the mainstream think of Flash Gordan and your Star Treks and Wars the speculative fiction world was producing novels that challenged social conventions, traditions and even perceptions. One reason I was excited about reading Reich's novel is I knew he like myself had studied and read deeply in the genre of the past. We had spoken for Dickheads and I had read a bit of his non-fiction.

You see I LOVE retro out of date Science Fiction. It is easy to point to the science. Take the John Carter books or Bradbury's Martian Chronicles. We have robots on Mars and they have shown their are no canals, or cities dead or otherwise.It is easy to get a little sad that the progress of science has made the Mars of science fiction a thing of the past. on pages 209-10 writing about Mars Reich reaches heights of descriptive prose "...Mars was an Egypt of Amber ghosts, and colonized by Ants."

In the Song My Enemies Sing James Reich challenges that notion and in doing so challenges the entire genre Science Fiction with one of the most exciting novels I have read in some time. Many of the novels 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. You see that is another amazing element of retro sci-fi. When Philip K Dick sat down to write Martian Time-Slip, for example, he was sitting in an Oakland shack in 1962 dreaming about the future. Bradbury saw it from the fifties, all these writers were working from that moment in time.

Part of the genius of this novel is Reich doesn't appear to let his 21st-century existence take away from his experience tell a story that is like a bubble out of time. That is the first and most important element of what makes this novel amazing. Second is the Character of Ray Spector a drug using science fiction writer who was clearly a play on the man himself PKD. This is obvious on page 51 "He was about to become, briefly, quite rich; a fleeting presence on the reel of American life before the wax melted from his wings, and his cottage in Oakland would be littered with Benzedrine inhalers, unpaid bills, and rejected manuscripts."

The story has many settings and characters. At times it travels back and forth in space and time. Using beautiful and lyrical prose some of the best moments transport you to the Australian outback and a post-apocalyptic California. It will introduce you to vivid characters like Black Panther activist Eli Jones and Martian colonists. Look if you need me to I can list just some of the weird elements. This has monkeys who survive the end of the world in a barren California, Grey Aliens, Mars colonies drug using pulp writers and space-traveling Black Panther party activists. those things are all there tied together by elegant prose and ideas that challenge science fiction in 2019 by playing with the same toolkit as the classics. It makes this novel so strange and powerful.

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.

Book Review: Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones

Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones

Paperback, 112 pages

Published June 2017 by Tor.com Publishing

Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction (2017)

World Fantasy Award Nominee for Novella (2018)

“I was twelve the first time I saw my dead father cross from the kitchen doorway to the hall that led back to the utility room.”

I don't even know where to start this review. If you are not familiar with Stephen Graham Jones that might be the best place to start. I think often about authors who die never having been given the respect they deserve. It is a by-product of doing a Philip K Dick podcast I suppose but PKD died with a bibliography a mile long and a few awards but the respect for his genius didn't happen until years after his death. SGJ is the opposite. He is getting respect in awards and his continues to publish not just in the small presses but has had mainstream success with his amazing coming of age Werewolf novel Mongrels.

Mongrels worked for me because I laughed, I was disturbed and in the end, I floored by the ideas. When you combine all those elements you end up with a winner. It was on my year's best reads the year it came out but we are here to talk about the Tor novella Mapping the Interior. This story also has coming of age elements and kicks off when a young man - Junior sees a ghost of dead father late night in his kitchen.

Clocking in just over 100 pages this is a powerful and emotionally rich tale of a family haunting. It also involves the struggles of a native American family, struggling with sleepwalking and seizures. Junior has to step it up to take care of his brother because his mother is working multiple jobs to support them. He is desperate to get answers or to get close to his dead father. As I lost my mother at a young age I could relate and found these moments heartbreaking. The worst part is as Junior gets closer to his father it seems to have a painful effect.

This has been a good year for me and novels about grief. As with Duncan Barlow's soon to be released A Dog Between Us the elements of grief cut close for me and it appears it has worked other readers of this short but creepy book. SGJ has proven himself to one of the best most original dark voices in the post Stephen King/ Clive Barker generation. I have to admit his first novel that I read Demon Theory didn't work for me. Since then everything I read have all been masterpieces of dark fiction.

Sign me up for everything Stephen Graham Jones writes now.

Book Review: Proof of Concept Gwyneth Jones

Proof of Concept by Gwyneth Jones

Paperback, 144 pages

Published April 2017 by Tor

Let me be clear about something I was rooting for this novella. I have enjoyed ALL of the Tor novellas I have read before. They have all been great high-quality fiction. There is much to like here in this high concept Cli-Fi story, but ultimately I found it to be a mess that was kinda hard to figure out. It is not a good sign that I went to read other good reads reviews just to see if I understood what I read. I am still not sure I understood what happened. That is not always bad, sometimes you can read a story that is so bizarro that you know there are levels in the story that is beyond easy comprehension. In this case, I think there are too many elements for the 144 pages.

This story takes places in a post-climate change apocalyptic future where much of the globe is Dead Zones. The story followers a group of scientists trying to solve long distance faster than light space travel. You see the overpopulated humans live in underground hives, and our species needs to get the hell out of dodge to survive.

Now it has been a few days since I read it but a bad sign is that all I remember is setting and plot points and nothing about the characters. In fact, I had to go back and look just to see who any of them were. Once I did I remembered Kir she was a pretty interesting character who is home to the interface with the starship AI once they launch. There is a mission to deep space I think, maybe it is a ruse, that is some of the stuff I couldn't really make sense of towards the end.

There are lots of interesting moments and world building but the confusion I felt reading this short novel was a disappointing experience. It felt to me like it needed double the length and another draft. That said this is my first time reading Jones who is has a shelf full of genre awards. I didn't like this book but I saw enough that has me interested to read more of her work.

Book Review: Golden State by Ben H. Winters

Golden State by Ben H. Winters

Hardcover, 319 pages

Published January 2019 by Mulholland Books

This is my third Winters book I read the first of his Last Policeman trilogy and the controversial Underground Airlines. I liked both of those books enough that I picked this up from the library without knowing anything about the plot. I am glad I went into this blind and I was pretty excited about this one. I think I liked this best of the three books of his I had read. This continues the bold path that Winters is taking with these daring concepts. Underground Airlines is a really intense alternate history that examined a modern world where slavery was still legal in parts of the United States. While this novel doesn't deal with hot button issues like racism and slavery it does deal with one of the major issues we as Americas right now.

It is easy to induce eye-rolling when the issue of "fake news" comes up since President Agent Orange uses it so often. The idea of what is fake or reality is at the heart of this strange dystopia. This takes place in a post-apocalyptic California that is hanging on by a thread on the edge of a wasteland. One of the things that holds this society together is lying is illegal. A specialized police department (Speculative Service) has been formed to protect the "Objectively So." Our main POV is a member of this law enforcement team named Laszlo. His brother Charlie was basically a psychic lie detector and was killed on the job. Now Laszlo has a rookie cop for a partner that gives this a great Training day aspect to the narrative.

The plot really kicks into gear when they are sent to look for foul play in the case of a dead roofer. Did he fall or was he pushed? As you can imagine looking into the man's life leads to interesting details. The investigation goes to his apartment where Laz finds a novel called The Prisoner. As you can imagine fiction doesn't have its own category in the Golden State bestseller list. Laz is drawn to the novel that is when things get weird as he and his brother are both characters in this novel "The Prisoner."

I really enjoyed this weird meta-cop novel that was very PKD in concept and tone. You can bet this will be my Dick Like Suggestion in the next episode of Dickheads. This book feels like other stories you have read or seen before so comparisons will be made to classics like 1984 and Fahrenheit 451. Personally it reminded of recent works like Nick Cutter's The Acolyte or the film Equilibrium. The comparisons will be made because this is a weird high concept dystopia, but there is plenty to like here.

I think this novel does a good job of addressing important themes for our time while delivering in all the genres it has its hand in for. It is a good cop novel, it is a cool weird crime mystery and most importantly it is throught provoking science fiction. It is good, objectively so.

Book Review: Your Place in the Universe: Understanding Our Big, Messy Existence by Paul M. Sutter

Your Place in the Universe: Understanding Our Big, Messy Existence

by Paul M. Sutter

Hardcover, 288 pages

Published November 2018 by Prometheus Books

There are lots of books out there that attempt to explain life the universe and everything. This book is organized with the purpose of explaining the most massive of concepts - the working of the universe. I believe idea was to craft a book in Dr. Sutter's very sarcastic and unique voice.

I was not just talking about of his writing "Voice" but his actual voice. Dr. Sutter not only hosts his own podcast "Ask a Spaceman" but more importantly to me he is on one of my favorite podcasts "Weekly Space Hangout." I know his actual voice well enough when I woke up in the middle of the night (We often fall asleep with the radio on) and Dr. Sutter was on Coast to Coast promoting this book I recognized him right away.

I am not sure how someone who is a total novice would feel reading this book but as someone with lots of basis I enjoyed this book. The chapters are broken to various topics I know basics about. When and how the universe was formed, the basics of gravity, dark energy and more. What made this an experience for me is learning the details of who the outer space probes and telescopes are named after.

Sutter likes to talk in a conversational tone, but also uses humor throughout to keep things entertaining.My favorite chapters were the ones about the cosmic dawn and a guide to living in a expanding universe. Most of the ideas are ones I am familiar with for the various podcasts and websites I regularly check out but some of my favorite parts were the details of the history of the scientists who made these discoveries.

Fun book but note that I added it to my cosmic horror shelf on Goodreads. The vast scope of the universe is heavily documented at the end of the book. I am all for reminders that 60 miles of air separate us from a vast universe that has trillions of ways to kill us instantly.

Book Review: Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

Paperback, Ace Edition, 263 pages

Published 1987 by Ace Books (first published December 1959)

Hugo Award for Best Novel (1960)

I'm not down with the Jingoistic message here but you can't deny that this novel is a great classic of Sci-fi. While I personally prefer The Forever War. I love how lived in the book feels. It feels experienced to me. A great war novel even if the war is totally fictional. This was my second time reading it This time for the April Fools day episode of the Dickheads Podcast!

My third book in my attempt to read all the Hugo award winners of the 60's during one calendar year.

Book Review: The Void Protocol by F.Paul Wilson

The Void Protocol by F.Paul Wilson

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published January 2019 by Forge

For the record, F.Paul Wilson is one of my favorite living authors. Every time a new book comes out I read as fast as I can. This book is the third in a trilogy but let's face it is more than that. The three books of the Ice Sequence stands alone as a trilogy but if you are interested in Wilson's Secret History universe it connects in small but interesting ways. Wilson has his own Marvel has the MCU and Wilson has the secret history. It spans almost thirty books and short stories starting in his novels Black Wind and The Keep (on my top ten horror novels of all time list) and ends in the novel Night World. That one book is the sixth novel of one series (Adversary Cycle) and fifteenth of another (Repairman Jack). I read the whole secret history as it was in 2012, and it is one of my all-time favorite reading experiences. It is the most insanely interweaving book constructed in fiction that I have ever seen. Equal to or even surpassing King Dark Tower when you talk about a single author interweaving most of their work.

I love the Secret History and consider Harbingers (Book 11 of Repairman Jack) to be one of the best twists I have ever read. So Let me be super clear I always root for and promote Dr. Wilson's work. That being said I only kinda sorta liked this book. The story took a turn that didn't exactly work for me.

This trilogy introduced new characters in Laura Fanning and Rick Hayden. Two characters I liked and was fine seeing again. These characters were excellent in the two previous books. Rick is your stereotypical ex-CIA hero type and Laura a Scientist. Sure they are tropes but Wilson always writes these characters with a little tongue in cheek self-awareness. One of the problems with this book for me is that due to the concept they get a little buried in the background and lost.

The concept of these books is that Rick and Laura keep getting drawn into this scientific themed adventures connected to these "Intrusive Cosmic Entities." So what we are seeing is a different window into the moments leading to the cosmic horror at the end of FPW's other two series. While Jack was uncovering the truth, Rick and Laura were also finding clues. They had no idea the world was months from ending.

In this case, they uncover an experiment where the ICE creature's weird DNA was used basically to create a team of X-men like superheroes. I gotta say I didn't like this concept getting introduced to the greater Secret history. IT was OK for this trilogy as an idea but not for the greater universe. It just didn't fit in my mind.

To make matters worse there were just too many characters. Wilson writes with a restrained no-nonsense lack of fluff but with this man characters, it left little room to develop them all. His books always clock in a perfect 330 pages or close to it. I wanted to love this but I just wasn't feeling this one. I mean I liked it, I read it fast and over all I enjoyed the heck out of it. Enjoyment is one thing but I didn't LOVE it as I do most F.Paul Wilson books.

It was still a 3/5 star book for me but in all the books FPW has written it is rare I don't feel 5/5 every time. It is a testament to the high bar he has set over a long and storied career.

Book Review: Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman

Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman

Hardcover, 367 pages

Published April 2018 by Del Rey

Bram Stoker Award Nominee for Best Novel (2018)

When I was at the 2014 World Horror convention in Portland and everyone was talking about this debut novel Birdbox. Years before it became the most streamed movie in the history of Netflix and endless memes on the internet. I went into Birdbox totally cold and loved the experience. I have been meaning to get back to Malerman but it took until now and like that first experience, I went in totally cold with no idea of the setting or plot.

So Unbury Carol was not what I was expecting even though I had little in mind as I opened the book. If I had to make a one sentence description I would go with Sleeping Beauty meets supernatural western. While there are horror elements this is not super deep on the horror elements. This book is mostly characters, setting, and tone.

The story centers on Carol Evers who appears to die early in the book. She has a condition that reminded me of Sleeping Beauty. She appears dead, although she is in a nightmarish coma where she feels like she is falling at all times. Not only that but she can hear everything happening around her. This leads to some of the creepiest moments as her money-hungry husband tries to plan her funeral as quickly as possible. He wants her money.

There are only a few people that know about her condition. One is the famous Outlaw James Moxie. He became famous when he won a shoot-out without even grabbing his gun. This magic trick is one no one in the region understands thus Moxie is Notorious. Moxie lives three days travel down the trail but only has two days to make it in time to stop Carol's funeral. You see they were in love at one time and he knows her secret.

This might be the time to talk about the setting. I think it is the old west, but when and where is pretty much a mystery. So everyone keeps calling this a Western to which I say maybe? The Trail is a good setting, one of the best things Malerman does in this novel is to set-up the setting, giving it an ominous feeling. The Trail feels like a live wire. The setting of the Trail is one of my favorite aspects of the novel. My favorite thing was the characters.

Not Carol who is arguably the lead, but it is the supporting characters who steal the show. Moxie is a great rogue type who has been trying to go straight-laced. As he travels the trail A triggerman named Smoke is sent to kill him. Smoke is a really awesome character. They drive the novel and were my favorite elements.

The only negative for me was Carol was the least interesting aspect of the novel for me. That is not to say I didn't like her story. There were some skin-crawling moments involving her. I really enjoyed this novel, those looking for another Birdbox should not expect that. Malerman creates an original weird western that is nothing like his big hit. Different but very good.

Dickheads Podcast Review: The Game Players of Titan by Philip K. Dick

The Game Players of Titan by Philip K. Dick

Paperback, 240 pages

Published October 23rd 2012 by Mariner Books (first published 1963)

I will update this space once the episode is released but you should follow Dickheads Podcast on Twitter, Facebook or Soundcloud to get the episodes right away. This novel is a return to pulp style sci-fi after PKD's Huge success with with Man in the High Castle. Podcast coming soon.