Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
07/02/21 -- Vol. 40, No. 1, Whole Number 2178
Co-Editor: Mark Leeper, *mleeper@optonline.net *
Co-Editor: Evelyn Leeper, *eleeper@optonline.net *
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Topics:
Romper-Noir (by Mark R. Leeper)
MIDWAY (2019) (film review by Mark R. Leeper
and Evelyn C. Leeper)
THE FATED SKY by Mary Robinette Kowal (audio book review
by Joe Karpierz)
THE HUMAN COSMOS: CIVILIZATION AND THE STARS by Jo Marchant
(book review by Gregory Frederick)
SONG OF FREEDOM (letter of comment by Kevin R)
This Week's Reading (Hugo Award Dramatic presentation,
Long Form, finalists) (film and book comments
by Evelyn C. Leeper)
===================================================================
TOPIC: Romper-Noir (by Mark R. Leeper)
All around the mulberry bush,
The monkey chased the weasel
The monkey thought it was all in fun,
But he was DEAD wrong.
[-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: MIDWAY (2019) (film review by Mark R. Leeper and Evelyn
C. Leeper)
This is a 2019 re-creation of the Battle of Midway, currently best
known from the 1976 film MIDWAY. The special effects seem a grade
below those of Michael Bey's 2001 PEARL HARBOR, and the script
drops a lot of names to tie this film to that one. In fact, the
first half of this film is about the attack on Pearl Harbor and the
subsequent Doolittle raid on Tokyo. It is an hour into the film
before Midway is more than just a passing name.
But the name-dropping is also because, unlike the earlier 1976 film
MIDWAY, or PEARL HARBOR (which also covers the Doolittle Raid),
this film does not add fictional characters or a fictional love
interest. (Another film set in this period that sticks to real
people is TORA! TORA! TORA!) So all the names are real and hence
sound a little like name-dropping. Even when names aren't
mentioned, there are glimpses of the best-known people from Pearl
Harbor. For example, at the awards ceremony shown about an hour in
(and which took place shortly before the Battle of Midway on the
deck of an aircraft carrier), we see from behind an African-
American seaman in the row of recipients; that would be Doris
Miller, who was awarded the Navy Cross on May 27 on the deck of the
USS Enterprise.
(Many films have featured highly fictionalized accounts of the
attack on Pearl Harbor, the Doolittle Raid, or both. This may be
the first reasonably accurate depiction of those events.)
One problem in war movies is balancing the chaos of battle with the
need to let the audience follow what is going on. MIDWAY leans
more toward the former than the latter.
Another problem with the film is that it may be too accurate. We
are introduced to a lot of actors with unfamiliar faces who are
much less familiar than those in, say, the earlier MIDWAY, making
it harder to keep the characters straight. This makes it harder to
follow the events.
The script also takes the story from 1937 to 1942, chops it in
pieces, and although it shows them in chronological order, the
script jumps a few months or years with only minimal warning.
Mark summarizes: "I never actually followed a historic battle for
accuracy. This one I did. The Battle of Midway is one of the most
amazing stories in military history and I was very pleased to see a
new film featuring that story."
This is the rare war film that gets more points for historic
accuracy than for entertainment.
Rating: low +3 (-4 to +4) [-mrl/ecl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: THE FATED SKY by Mary Robinette Kowal (copyright 2018, Tor,
$15.99, trade paperback, 384pp, ISBN 978-0-7653-9894-9; copyright
2018, Audible Studios, ASIN B07G8KZRST, 10 hours and 14 minutes,
narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal) (audio book review by Joe
Karpierz)
THE FATED SKY is the second book of the Lady Astronaut of Mars
series, the sequel to the Hugo winning THE CALCULATING STARS and
the predecessor to this year's Hugo finalist, THE RELENTLESS MOON
(I have seen that there is a fourth book in the works, THE
DERIVATIVE BASE, but the only thing I know about it is that it is
continues the story from THE FATED SKY), although the word
predecessor may be the wrong word. There are a lot of cases where
the second book in a series tends to be weak; not so with THE FATED
SKY, although I don't think it lives up to the standards of THE
CALCULATING STARS. In fact, in my review of that novel I wrote,
"THE CALCULATING STARS is a terrific novel, and a worthy Hugo
finalist. I look forward to reading its sequel, THE FATED SKY".
Still, this novel is a good one.
So, the human race has colonized the moon, and trips to and from
the Earth are commonplace enough. Elma York is a pilot on those
runs, and she makes periodic visits to her husband back on Earth,
Nathaniel York. One of those runs back to Earth results in a
terrorist attack of the shuttle by a group that thinks the space
program is a waste, and that the money should be better spent here
on Earth (now where have we heard that before). There is also some
sentiment that space travel is for the privileged few, and that it
will never be truly opened to every one on the planet. Remember,
the opening scene of THE CALCULATING STARS has an asteroid crash on
Earth, destroying Washington D.C., and the space program
development is accelerated in response to that disaster. There is a
point, we can admit, to wanting the money spent on the planet to
rebuild instead of looking to get off this rock. It's an
interesting angle that really isn't explored in this novel.
Elma is still the face of the space program; she is still the Lady
Astronaut. She is not only a pilot, but a computer. Since
mechanical computers are still primitive and can't do the
calculations necessary for space travel, human beings still do it
better. The fact that she is the Lady Astronaut and a computer
plays heavily into the story. A mission to Mars is revving up, and
training is underway. As much as Elma would like to go--and she
really would like to go--she is satisfied to stay with her job as a
pilot shuttle as it allows her to see Nathaniel on a periodic
basis. Out of the blue, long after training has started, she is
reassigned to the Mars mission, and discovers that she has been
tabbed to take the place of one of the other computers. Why? Not
because she is any better than the other person, but because she is
the Lady Astronaut. The space program needs positive attention
which leads to continued funding, and what better way than to
assign the Lady Astronaut to the project. This causes strained
relationships between Elma and the rest of the mission team, and is
the first of many events which causes conflict within the team.
And so THE FATED SKY is the story of the flight to Mars, complete
with technical issues, emotional problems, racial conflicts, and a
host of other problems that contribute to the tension of the novel.
And all the human issues are relevant to the time period. It is the
early 1960s; racism and sexism are rampant not only in society on
Earth, but within the mission team. The women are the ones
assigned the laundry duty. The Blacks are assigned clean-up duty,
and as a rule don't get assignments within their fields of
expertise. The messy situation is made worse by the presence of a
racist South African on the mission team.
And yet, even with all the problems, it is a human story, as people
band together in times of difficulty to do their best to make the
mission succeed. And speaking of it being a human story, there is
something on the back cover of the book that I find a bit lacking.
In describing Elma, there is the description "Mathematician,
Computer, Astronaut". What is missing in that description is
"Wife". That may sound sexist, but given that Elma has given up a
good number of years of her life with her husband--a decision that
agonizes Elma throughout the novel--as well as the family they
wanted to have, I believe it is a term that should be included.
Still, I supposed that's a nit pick, as it really has nothing to do
with this terrific novel.
Kowal is the perfect person to narrate this novel. She knows the
characters well, she knows how she wants them to sound, and she
knows how she wants them to act. Her narration is, in my mind,
flawless, as one would expect. After hearing her read this story,
I can't imagine anyone else narrating a Lady Astronaut book.
[-jak]
===================================================================
TOPIC: THE HUMAN COSMOS: CIVILIZATION AND THE STARS by Jo Marchant
(book review by Gregory Frederick)
THE HUMAN COSMOS is about the disconnect between humanity and the
heavens. According to the author for 20,000 years, we have led an
earthly existence which was intimately connected to the cosmos.
The heavenly cycles drove every aspect of our daily lives. Our
relationship with the stars shaped who we were in art, religious
beliefs, social status, and scientific advances. Even our biology
is effected by heavenly cycles. In current times, for example
instead of living by the rising and setting of the Sun as in the
past we follow the strict order set by our clocks. During the last
few centuries we have separated ourselves from the universe that
surrounds us. Per the author, this disconnect comes with a major
cost.
Our relationship to the stars and planets has moved from one of
awe, wonder and superstition to one where technology is king. The
cosmos is now explored through data on our screens, not by the
naked eye observing the cosmos. Today, in most countries modern
light pollution obscures much of the night sky from view. That
experience of viewing the cosmos and experiencing its awe inspiring
effect has been lost to many. This experience has been the source
of our greatest creativity in art, in science, and in life. These
days, people will stare at screens on their phones or PCs for hours
and never even look around at the natural world surrounding them.
Jo Marchant shows many examples of how in the past humans used the
awe and wonder from viewing the heavens to create art, religion,
and science. One example mentioned occurs during the summer
solstice at a 5,000-year-old tomb at New Grange in England. In the
book, we visit medieval monks coming up with methods to measure
time separate from nature and Tahitian sailors navigating by the
stars in tune with nature. We learn how experimenters examined
light to reveal the chemical composition of the sun. We see how
Einstein worked out that space and time are one and the same. This
book puts a different perspective on our history and warns us not
to be too separated from the natural world. [-gf]
===================================================================
TOPIC: SONG OF FREEDOM (letter of comment by Kevin R)
In response to Evelyn's review of SONG OF FREEDOM in the 06/25/21
issue of the MT VOID, Kevin R writes:
[Evelyn wrote,] "Zinga ([played by Paul] Robeson[, American singer
and political activist]) wants to improve the lives of his people,
but he wants to make change by fiat--in other words, be a dictator
(even though it is softened to "king"). So he tells people what
they should do without any consideration for their opinions. What
makes this all even more noteworthy is that Robeson had final cut
approval, meaning he apparently had no issues with the various
portrayals." [-ecl]
I don't find it strange that a committed Stalinist would go along
with a dictator-protagonist.
*https://www.the-american-interest.com/2019/08/27/the-price-of
https://www.the-american-interest.com/2019/08/27/the-price-of*-
self-delusion/
Great singer, but Robeson was a political knucklehead. If I had
been of African descent in the early 20th Century USA, perhaps I
would have been similarly sucked in. [-kr]
===================================================================
TOPIC: This Week's Reading (film and book comments by Evelyn
C. Leeper)
As I noted earlier, 2020 was not a great year for films of the
fantastic (or films in general), but here goes on the Best Dramatic
Presentation, Long Form, Hugo Awards category.
BIRDS OF PREY (AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY
QUINN): Well, I suppose there had to be some superhero film on the
ballot, and Marvel did not release a film last year, so it was this
or WONDER WOMAN 1984. I have not seen WONDER WOMAN 1984, but if
this is the better of the two, I probably don't want to.
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA: Seriously? I
mean, I know it was a bad year, but there were plenty of films with
more fantastical content more worthy of nomination: I'M THINKING OF
ENDING THINGS, SHE DIES TOMORROW, WOLFWALKERS, THE WOLF HOUSE,
POSSESSOR, ... The amount of fantastical content is equivalent to
that of HAMLET, and less than MACBETH. I know that THE RIGHT STUFF
was nominated on the basis of perhaps even less fantastical
content, but at least one could argue it was on a related topic and
in fact the description of the category was modified to explicitly
include such works. But EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE
SAGA? I think not.
THE OLD GUARD: This "immortal superheroes" story was so
unremarkable that I did not even remember that we had seen this
last year until I went to schedule it on Netflix. Even so, it is
far from the worst in the category.
PALM SPRINGS: This has the same "time loop" premise as GROUNDHOG
DAY, so everyone who reviews this has to confront that. But one
can argue that just as not all time travel stories are unworthy
copies of H. G. Wells's THE TIME MACHINE, so not all time loop
stories are just copies of GROUNDHOG DAY. (Yes, it's its own sub-
genre now, with GROUNDHOG DAY; RUSSIAN DOLL; LIVE. DIE. REPEAT.;
SOURCE CODE; HAPPY DEATH DAY; BEFORE I FALL; NAKED; and now PALM
SPRINGS. As reviewers have pointed out, there are aspects of
GROUNDHOG DAY that are disturbing (e.g., the female lead is
basically manipulated the entire time, and Murray is never bothered
by this), but that PALM SPRiNGS avoids. And there is also
J. K. Simmons, who always perks up a movie.
SOUL: I had a couple of problems with this. First, it is very
centered on jazz, and I don't understand jazz. Maybe it's even
broader in that I may not understand music in general. For
example, I don't understand how one musician can just go off on a
solo and the others can instantly figure out what to play as
background accompaniment. I also have no sense of what is coming
next, in the sense that with some music you can sort of predict the
next few notes. The other problem is that I just didn't buy the
premise of the Great Before. (Yeah, I know about willing
suspension of disbelief.) And the cheat at the end didn't help. I
can totally understand why some/many people like this; I'm just not
one of them.
TENET: I really wanted to like this, but Christopher Nolan's
decision to crank up the sound effects and muffle the dialogue made
it very difficult to even hear, and what I could hear (or read
subtitles for--Ghu bless the ADA!) I could not always make sense
of. But I have to admit the premise was more interesting (if no
more likely) than many of the other finalists.
Ranking: PALM SPRINGS, TENET, no award, THE OLD GUARD, SOUL, BIRDS
OF PREY (AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN),
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA
[-ecl]
===================================================================
Mark Leeper
*mleeper@optonline.net *
People asking questions, lost in confusion, well,
I tell them, there's no problem, only solutions.
--John Lennon