Book Review: After Engulfment: Cosmicism and Neocosmicism in H. P. Lovecraft, Philip K. Dick, Robert A. Heinlein, and Frank Herbert by Ellen J Greenham

 

After Engulfment: Cosmicism and Neocosmicism in H. P. Lovecraft, Philip K. Dick, Robert A. Heinlein, and Frank Herbert by Ellen J Greenham 

340 pages Trade paperback,  

Hippocampus Press  

Cover by Dan Sauer 

The only thing I like to read as much as Horror and Science Fiction is criticism and history of the genre. So many blessings to whomever at Hippocampus Press decided that they wanted the hosts at the Dickheads podcast to read this book. It was a smart call as now I am dying to get Ellen Greenham the author of this book on the show. So stay tuned.

Hippocampus Press publishes a lot of books for an indie press, that includes classic horror and science fiction with an emphasis on  Lovecraft and the tradition of genre that Weird Tales magazine inspired. So that includes modern authors including my personal favorite John Shirley. One of the most important things that HP does is work with scholars covering these important works.  

Ellen J. Greenham is new to me, but I am excited to discover her work. A lecturer at Murdoch University in Perth Australia. For our concerns, she writes about Cosmicism which I admit I always labeled Cosmic horror. She also has written papers on Russian Science Fiction which is a topic I am interested in.  

The Subtitle: Cosmicism and NeoCosmicism in Philip K. Dick, Robert A. Heinlein, and Frank Herbert. I mean I am sold. I enjoy Lovecraft and all those writers except Heinlein. Well, I still have read enough of his work to enjoy a book that studies his work. Before we go even further I like the direction that the subtitle suggests right at the start. Cosmic horror is often thought of as the realm of horror and the weird tale exclusively. This book has lots of Lovecraft commentaries but keep in mind Howie was as much Science Fiction as he was horror.

What this book does through the lens of the three authors is point out that SF explores the dark nature of the cosmos. Herbert and Dick get the most attention and for Dickheads I assure you Greenham knows her PKD.

What this book does through the lens of the three authors is point out that SF explores the dark nature of the cosmos. Herbert and Dick get the most attention and for Dickheads I assure Greenham knows her PKD. The major focus is on a few key works, Scanner Darkly, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, and my personal favorite Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch gets lots of attention. If you are thinking of Cosmic horror, I am trying to get used to her use of Cosmicism and Neo-Cosmicism. I admit there was sometimes the overly intense academic language that made me laugh. Let's be clear this is a fantastic work of literary criticism.

Broken up into three parts and thirteen chapters the structure is helpful. There is a glossary of terms and shortened titles that was very helpful. I admit I was confused that she shortened Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep as DAD, instead of DADES I do, so I had to adjust.  The first part was called Universe, these three parts serve to set the table explaining how these look at and talk about the universe.

The second section is called Cosmicism, and the idea is this section is about the ways these works interrogate our place in the universe, the third section Neo Cosmicism is how we attempt to align ourselves with the forces of the universe.  The conclusions are intensely researched and will help even the hardcore reader of these authors will feel a new understanding creep in as it goes on.

For Dickheads many of his cosmic touches are in the margins in tiny moments. There were a few works like A Maze of Death and Galactic Pot Healer I wish were commented on...but that is a nitpick. This is a great book of criticism. Anyone interested in the intersection of cosmic horror and science fiction must have this one.

Graphic novel review: Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods

 

Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods
Rob Williams, Steve Scott (Artist), Nathan Massengill (Artist), Micheal Atiyeh (Artist)

Indiana Jones and The Tomb of the Gods #1-4

First things first I like all five Indiana Jones movies to a certain degree, Even Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The only limiting factor of the modern Jones movies is Harrison Ford's age means without recasting they have to move him to the the 50s and 60s. Don't get me wrong watching Indiana Jones age, feel useless, and have to confront these things is a feature not a bug of Dial of Destiny for this Indy fan.

That being said I think of Indiana Jones being stories set in the 30s. I think Indiana Jones could be re-cast, although I admit it is difficult. So comics and novels set in that era really are the best options for Indy stories set in the era he is meant to exist in. These comics supply stories that confirm our feelings that there are more adventures hinted at that it is fun to

Written by Comics veteran Rob Williams who has written Suicide Squad, and Star Wars comics this series is written for young adults. Can you put the pictures in motion, can you add the John Williams score in your head? This story is set in 1936, I wondered if it was between Temple of Doom in Raiders. Although no markers place exactly when this is.

The first action set piece set high above NYC in the building of the skyscrapers is probably the one that I wished we got a Spielberg staging of. Indy and Marcus go to Tibet, the story goes to Siberia and there is a pretty hopeless feeling moment in the Ocean.

Overall I fully enjoyed it.

Book Review: Nietzsche: The Unmanned Autohagiography by D. Harlan Wilson

 

Nietzsche: The Unmanned Autohagiography by D. Harlan Wilson

Coming September 2023

145 pages, Paperback,  Raw Dog Screaming Press

So when I opened this Word document I was supposed to write a review of the fourth in a series of groundbreaking series of biographical books. Each volume is about a figure so important that their life really needs careful attention given to them by serious biographers. In this case, however, D. Harlan Wilson is a writer so beyond convention that genres have to be invented to contain his work. This is the case with these so-called Autohagiography books.

I could tell you the reader all the things that make the Autohagiography of this Nietzsche dude special. Professor Wilson wrote a lot about himself in this book. Can you believe in a biographer who wants to be praised all the time? By the way, I can't tell what the hell Nietzsche dude believed in????  more than 123 chapters and 26 aborted chapters and at no point does Wilson even consider explaining the guy's mustache.

All that being said the Autohagiography as a form is ripe for some serious biographical shit.  As the saying goes, Imitation is the most lucrative form of flattery. So instead of a review, I would like to offer a sample of My intensely researched and universe-expanding work in Progress - Hubbard: The Cleared Autohagiography by D. Avid Agranoff

Just a sample...

Chapter Sixteen

Now that you have read those awesome first fifteen chapters, and know everything mere mortals could ever learn about the greatest Science Fiction writers ever it is time to talk about breakfast. In America, we eat Breakfast in the morning.  L. Ron Hubbard ate breakfast, many biographers have confirmed this.  Did Nietzsche eat breakfast? Still a mystery. I have already taught you more about Hubbard than Wilson did Nietzsche. Hubbard wrote Fear and the Final Blackout,I personally think of those as respectable Science Fiction novels. Certainly more respectable than his chest hair. Well I suppose if chest hair makes a great man you can understand why Tom Cruise chose The Hubb-ster.

Chapter Eighteen

When you gaze into the Battlefield Earth, the earth battlefields gazes back at y'all. All the L. Ron Hubbard shirts at Hot Topic have that quote on them. They were the top-selling shirt that didn't have Che on them.

Chapter Twenty-Six

I already told you in chapter twenty-three but since you couldn't be bothered to read it that aliens are 200% woven into Hubbard's hairpiece. They wrote 57% of Dianetics, and don't you think for one minute that number is made up. No one denies it. Some people don't want their illusions destroyed. David H. Wilson of the University of smarty pants loves to destroy illusions. Nietzsche's illusions most of all. Crushes them. Like he is some Illusion hating void fucker of world-class disilluisioneers. I knew that when he wrote chapter Twenty five of Nietzsche: The Unmanned Autohagiography by D. Harlan Wilson.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Never mind Chapter Twenty-five was bullshit. Not my chapter Twenty-five. My chapter Twenty-five was insightful. I thought about it. I really considered the weight and meaning of my words. but Twenty-five of Nietzsche: The Unmanned Autohagiography by D. Harlan Wilson... Now that was some bullshit. I meant say chapter fifty-four of Nietzsche: The Unmanned Autohagiography by D. Harlan Wilson that was actually helpful.

Chapter One Hundred and Ten

Maybe you'll laugh if you read Nietzsche: The Unmanned Autohagiography by D. Harlan Wilson. Maybe you'll get wise and tell Wilson Harlan Davey-poo to be ready to burn yourself.  How can you write 145 pages of BS if you are not ashes? You know who said that? Nope, not George Washington. Nope, Not Yogi Beara. It was Nietzsche dumb ass.

Chapter Six Hundred and Three

L. Ron Hubbard carved D. Harlan Wilson's name into the stone tablet with his forked tongue, whipping it into name-shaped cracks. The stone didn't stand a chance even Gene Simmons the twenty-sixth-century robot emperor was jealous of the way he wielded his licker. Carving stone might be easy with a chisel, but such tools were banned during the 2263 uprising of marmalade farmers. I shouldn't have to explain this,  "Here- ye here ye read Nietzsche: The Unmanned Autohagiography by D. Harlan Wilson or Xenu will condemn you to the hometown buffet for the length of the eternal elephant flatulence. "

Book Review: No Gods for Drowning by Hailey Piper

 

 

 No Gods for Drowning by Hailey Piper 

430 pages, Paperback

September 2022, Polis books

 

 

Locus Award Nominee for Horror (2023)

First things first I have to apologize to Hailey Piper, a writer I respect tons. I had her on my podcast to talk about her fantastic cosmic horror novella The Worm and His Kings." I am sorry because I am probably not giving this excellent novel the full and undivided attention it deserves.  The reality is that I have a book coming out next month and at the same time I am neck deep in the writing of my first Non-fiction book with one and a half chapters to go and it is hard for me to concentrate on anything else. I am going to give this book the proper attention. Normally  I would have five quotes pulled out of the book that would highlight the genius at work, and I dogg-earned a few pages for that purpose. I just don’t have my normal bandwidth.  Sorry about that.

No Gods for Drowning is a delightfully weird novel that is hard to compare to anything else. In Fact, the closest thing I could think of was the unproduced screenplay(not the TV series) for The Killing on Carnival Row, and even that is a pale comparison to the many deep layers at work here in this novel.

If I was pushed to pin down the genre I know I would end up ending words and end up with something like Dark urban fantasy mystery serial killer mythology disaster horror stuff. I put the book on hold at the library based entirely on the strength of Piper's novella and didn't know anything but the title.

While the first novel I read was modern cosmic horror I kinda assumed that was what we were getting here, based on the title. That was a bad assumption as the novel was incredibly different. Also, if I am being honest Dark Fantasy is not exactly my jam, and if this wasn't an author, I respected I likely would have checked out early.  That being said there are authors I will follow for any genre preferred or not. This is only my second Hailey Piper book and I enjoyed this one in a non-preferred genre so that is a sign of the storytelling skills at work.

NGFD takes place in a fantasy city on a mapped-out archipelago, is this another planet? The earth in the far future? All I can do is shrug as Piper doesn't spoon-feed us that information and frankly, we don't need that information. At first, I assumed it was a medieval-like setting, and in part because of the gods the fact that one of the major characters is ritually sacrificing people to raise their gods.  The novel is a bit disorientating when detectives show up in old cars and wear hats. At times it feels noir.

So people might be turned off by the confusion this causes but it is also what makes the novel feel original.  I like the woozy dizzying feeling that the setting gives this novel. It is one of the strongest elements. The world-building is incredible and most of the details are ones that are blink and you might miss. in all the right ways I was smiling at how odd and one-of-a-kind this novel was.  

I really, really enjoyed this novel.  Sorry for the short review, This is a big thumbs up for me.

Book Review: Writers of the 21st Century Philip K. Dick Edited by Martin H. Greenberg & Joseph D. Olander

 

 

Writers of the 21st Century Philip K. Dick Edited by  Martin H. Greenberg & Joseph D. Olander

January 1, 1983 by Taplinger

Paperback, 255 pages  

There was a time in the early when a series called “Writers of the 21st Century” seemed impossibly far away. When I ordered this copy of the book two months ago the delightful smell of rotting old greeted me when I opened the package. Today the idea of an entire book of essays from an academic point of view studying the career and writing of PKD is a pretty standard idea. In you can go to Academia.edu and find 10,000 papers on Do Androids Do of Electric Sheep or Man in the High Castle alone.

I had to have this book because it was published a year after Phil’s death and Blade Runner had flopped. I wanted a book of essays that didn’t acknowledge Phil’s genius but was intensely arguing for that point. The PKDS newsletters were not even really going out at this point. Many of the essays are repurposed Introductions from special editions.  Barry Malzberg(Golden Man), Thomas Disch (Solar Lottery), and Brian Aldiss (Martian Time Slip). Some of the highlights were two chapters from Patricia Warwick, which I assume became chapters in her book-length study of Phil, A Mind in Motion that I spent time looking at in Riverside.  (I need and will get that book) and Michael Bishop’s essay on UBIK. (I read that essay the day before Bishop announced he was going into hospice care – bummer. Healing vibes to him!)

This is a must-read for serious Dickheads really excellent no-nonsense academic study of PKD before the discussion of themes became old hat.  Explaining at this point that Phil was playing with the nature of reality was less common. I really like that Warwick identified the PKD formula before the Ron Goulart formula letter was exposed to the world in Sutin’s biography.
 

My copy is highlighted and loved. Track it down if you can serious Dickheads.  

Book Review: The High Desert by James Spooner

 

The High Desert by James Spooner

368 pages, Hardcover

Harper Collins,  May 2022

As a middle-aged punk rocker who remembers the era before Nirvana, I often have to remind the younger generation how dangerous it was to be a weirdo. While the 80s are glorified by a generation who didn’t experience it.  I wrote a whole novel on the theme (Punk Rock Ghost Story) and that is much of the feeling of this memoir.  James Spooner is a bit younger but where he grew up in Apple Valley was a little behind the times.  Something the author learned during a visit to New York City. That trip was something I related to as a small-town punk that visited Chicago in my case.  

The author of this book is someone I have seen interviews with. As the founder of the Afro-punk movement. Writing and drawing an entire memoir is no small task. The storytelling is honest and willing to paint an honest picture even if doesn’t give Spooner the coolest image. An absent father, a mother who meant well but didn’t understand his lifestyle.  A crappy band, a scene where Nazis and black punk rockers hang out because they are all they have. Spooner's story is about being an outcast, Black in a small town, black punk rocker in a small town, absent father, and plenty more that made him feel different. 

It was an interesting ground-level look at a local scene in a town as a Midwesterner I had little context for. That said I read this right after a research trip to Riverside in the area so that helped a little bit. It was seeing the scene in this part of the world that most interested me. Being a rare person of color and connecting to punk rock gave Spooner a unique point of view.

I loved the way he incorporated song lyrics into the art. I knew most of the songs, but this would be a good introduction to punk and hardcore. The fact that he ended up vegan and activist is super cool to me. It is not my typical reading. Most graphic novels I read are science fiction but I could relate the small-town punk thing. Really cool book.

Book Review: What If Our World is Their Heaven?: The Final Conversations of Philip K Dick. Interview by Gwen Lee & Doris Elaine Sauter

What If Our World is Their Heaven?: The Final Conversations of Philip K Dick.
Interview by Gwen Lee, Doris Elaine Sauter (Editor), Foreword by Tim Powers 

204 pages, Paperback

The Overlook Press, 2004

When Philip K. Dick died In March 1982 it was a shock to his friends and the world. Those of us who study his work are still left with questions decades later. Two months before he died journalist Gwen Lee lived in Carlsbad here in San Diego County. She had a friend Doris Sauter,  who had for half a decade lived in the apartment next to the infamous Science Fiction writer. Doris had met Phil when she was dating fellow genius writer Norman Spinrad. After they broke up she struck up a friendship with Phil around the time of her cancer diagnosis. Her battle with cancer and her relationship with Phil became the meta inspiration for his two novels VALIS and The Divine Invasion. During the primary years when Phil was writing his exegesis, Doris was having dinner with Phil nightly and talking about Religion.

Doris had moved away but returned to introduce her friend Gwen who planned to interview Phil. This was two months before he would die. This is after he went to LA to watch the first 20  minutes of Blade Runner, the only movie he got to see based on his work in his lifetime. The interview done on January 10th, 1982 is mostly about Blade Runner. This is in the period after he turned in his last (written) novel The Transmigration of Timothy Archer but it was not released yet. He was in the phase of planning his next book and that is why it is important to me.

The production of this book is rather cheap. The 2001 edition has a generic starscape and a random picture of a field of cows. The back cover description is inaccurate having the date of the interviews and Phil's death date off by a year. The Foreword by sci-fi colleague Tim Powers is good, but simple. The conversation on Blade Runner might be of great interest to super nerds for the movie but the thing that interested me is The Owl in the Daylight stuff.

That is the infamous Science Fiction novel that Phil was planning to write next.  The two interviews in this book done five days apart are extremely important because in the January 15th interviews (Lee brought more tape and was better prepared)Phil explains the novel he was planning to write. It is clear he had just a kernel during the first interview and had been thinking it through for the five days in between.
 
It should be noted this is the second concept he threw around under the title “The Owl in the Daylight.” That is not unusual for Phil, who tried to use the title “Earth’s Diurnal Course" for some unexplainable reason three times. Because this is the majority of what we know about Phil’s last Unfinished idea I am not going to say anymore as I am building the final chapter of my book Unfinished PKD around The Owl in the Daylight.

That said if you want a preview.  This book has Phil outlining what I believe could’ve been a masterpiece of Science Fiction. Anyhoo I am writing my Owl  chapter soon. You’ll have to wait for my thoughts on that. But you can buy this now for Phil’s thoughts on it.

It is a bit of a sad experience reading this. I read this entire book waiting for a bus to LA and on the bus.  I finished reading just before we passed the exit in Santa Ana where this interview was recorded. I am not sure it will be as interesting for others as it was for me with this specific interest in the unfinished works but it was a quick powerful read.  You get a little bit of Phil’s humor and his nervous energy. It is just sad knowing he was so close to the end.