THE MT VOID
Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
06/28/13 -- Vol. 31, No. 52, Whole Number 1760
Rodgers: Mark Leeper, mleeper@optonline.net
Hammerstein: Evelyn Leeper, eleeper@optonline.net
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Topics:
Science Fiction (and Other) Discussion Groups, Films,
Lectures, etc. (NJ)
Turner Classic Movies in July
R.I.P., Richard Matheson (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
CIVILIZATION: THE WEST AND THE REST by Niall Feruguson
(book review by Greg Frederick)
Driving the Future (automotive review by Dale L. Skran, Jr.)
THE HAPPY POET (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
This Week's Reading (Hugo-nominated novellas, novelettes,
and short stories) (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
==================================================================
TOPIC: Science Fiction (and Other) Discussion Groups, Films,
Lectures, etc. (NJ)
July 11: ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS, Middletown (NJ) Public
Library, 5:30PM; discussion of film and ROBINSON CRUSOE by
Daniel Defoe (and possibly also FIRST ON MARS by Rex Gordon)
after the film
July 25: TRSF by the MIT Technology Review, Old Bridge (NJ) Public
Library, 7PM
August 1: THE COOLER, Old Bridge (NJ) Public Library, 6:30PM
August 22: [no discussion]
September 26: THE TIME SHIPS by Stephen Baxter, Old Bridge (NJ)
Public Library, 7PM
October 24: THE LANGUAGE INSTINCT by Steven Pinker, Old Bridge
(NJ) Public Library, 7PM
November 21: DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? by Philip
K. Dick, Old Bridge (NJ) Public Library, 7PM
December 19: THE MOON AND SIXPENCE by W. Somerset Maugham,
Old Bridge (NJ) Public Library, 7PM
January 23, 2014: THE RAPTURE OF THE NERDS by Cory Doctorow and
Charles Stross, Old Bridge (NJ) Public Library, 7PM
Speculative Fiction Lectures:
July 6: Keith DeCandido, Old Bridge (NJ) Public Library, 12N
August: [no meeting]
September 7: Ellen Datlow, Old Bridge (NJ) Public Library, 12N
Northern New Jersey events are listed at:
http://www.sfsnnj.com/news.html
==================================================================
TOPIC: Turner Classic Movies in July
The suggestions for Turner Classic Movies for July will appear in
next week's issue, but don't worry--none of them are being run
before then.
==================================================================
TOPIC: R.I.P., Richard Matheson (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
We have lost in rapid succession two men who have been largely
responsible for my love of science fiction and fantasy. Less than
two months ago Ray Harryhausen died. Now Richard Matheson is also
gone. Both have been heroes to me. They were both terrific
creators of the fantastic. Richard Matheson died June 23, 2013.
Though I never met the man, I had had a long relationship with
Matheson's stories that meant a lot to me. So, with Matheson
deceased, I feel a genuine loss.
I should say what I see as Richard Matheson's contributions. But
there I don't know where to start. There is too much to say. What
can I say about what he did that could come even close to covering
the subject? His work is just so diverse. He wrote war stories
and award-winning western novels. He could write a good tense
suspense thriller. And I can think of no other author who did as
much for science fiction, horror, and fantasy over a long stretch
of years. Stephen King comes to mind. Even King admits that he is
a fan of and owes much of his success to what he learned from
Matheson's writing. Look at horror before Matheson and you see
arcane settings like Transylvania and Arkham. Matheson (and Fritz
Leiber) moved horror stories from exotic places like Eastern
European castles to United States suburbia, houses with two-car
garages and a dog in the yard. Making settings tangible does a lot
to make the story seem more immediate.
Let's start with his science fiction books. I think I was age ten
when I first noticed Richard Matheson. I did not know that earlier
he had adapted his novel THE SHRINKING MAN to the Jack Arnold film
THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (1957). But I had been given a box of
science fiction books by a neighbor. In the box were two
collections of short stories by Matheson, THE SHORES OF SPACE and
BORN OF MAN AND WOMAN. I was amazed to find that you could get in
books stories that were like what you saw on "The Twilight Zone".
Then it was a small step just to notice that Matheson wrote many of
the "Twilight Zone" stories, sixteen in all. He wrote "Nightmare
at 20,000 Feet", "Night Call", "Little Girl Lost", "Third from the
Sun", and too many others to list. They generally were among the
best that "The Twilight Zone" had to offer. My regular Friday
night ritual each week was to watch "Twilight Zone" and then go to
bed reading a Matheson story. I did no know it at that time, but
he had already written what I have come to consider the premier
American horror novel, I AM LEGEND. What DRACULA is for Britain, I
AM LEGEND is for the United States. But he was doing more than
writing stories for books and television. But I had yet to be
introduced to this story at this time.
By the 1960s Matheson was adapting Edgar Allan Poe stories for
Roger Corman to film. Corman claims he never needed to ask for
anything to be rewritten in a script. It is very unusual, but
Matheson nailed it the first time every time. It was around that
time that he wrote the screenplay for Corman's HOUSE OF USHER and
followed it up with THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM, THE RAVEN, TALES OF
TERROR, and in much the same vein THE COMEDY OF TERRORS. He also
co-wrote the screenplay for the excellent THE NIGHT OF THE EAGLE
(a.k.a. BURN, WITCH, BURN). He adapted a mash-up of two Verne
novels into the film MASTER OF THE WORLD. Steven Spielberg's first
directing that got critical notice was for the film DUEL, based on
a solid, suspenseful story and screenplay by Richard Matheson. The
list of people he influenced and worked with goes on and on.
Hammer Films hired Matheson to adapt I AM LEGEND into a film. The
project bounced around and ended going to Italy where his
screenplay was modified and made into the film THE LAST MAN ON
EARTH in 1964. The story had a non-supernatural pandemic that
appeared to be fatal, but the victims returned from the dead with
vampire-like behavior. George Romero was heavily inspired by THE
LAST MAN ON EARTH and made his own NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. When
you see what is now called a "Zombie" film it derives from Richard
Matheson's I AM LEGEND and his adaptation THE LAST MAN ON EARTH.
Matheson finally did write a film for Hammer, THE FANATIC (a.k.a.
DIE! DIE! MY DARLING!). And then he wrote the screen adaptation of
Dennis Wheatley's THE DEVIL RIDES OUT, released in Britain under
that name but retitled THE DEVIL'S BRIDE for US audiences. I would
pick this as the high water mark for the Hammer horror film. 1971
saw another, though inferior, adaptation of I AM LEGEND as THE
OMEGA MAN.
In 1973 Matheson adapted another of his novels, HELL HOUSE into the
film THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE. For HELL HOUSE the theme was a
ghost story by Jeff Rice but the approach was science fictional in
style. He adapted a novel into the TV movie THE NIGHT STALKER.
Matheson adapted DRACULA for the Dan Curtis TV movie.
In 1980 Matheson adapted his own novel BID TIME RETURN into the
romantic fantasy SOMEWHERE IN TIME. The film did not do well at
the box-office but has had a second life being rediscovered and
building a large fan following. He wrote stories for Steven
Spielberg's TV series "Amazing Stories".
In 1999 Matheson adapted another novel, a ghost story, into the
film STIR OF ECHOES. In 2007 I AM LEGEND was made into a film once
again, this time under its own title. This was fifty years after
he saw THE SHRINKING MAN made into a film.
All that is extremely impressive. Recognize this is just a small
part of all that he did. Take a look at his IMDB and Wikipedia
entries.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0558577/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Matheson
Just cataloging all of his contributions would be futile. He is a
man whose imagination never flagged. His death and it coming just
47 days after the death of Ray Harryhausen make this a most
lamentable year. There is no way that Richard Matheson ever got
the recognition he deserved. [-mrl]
[I previously wrote a tribute to Matheson in the 03/06/06 issue of
the MT VOID:
http://leepers.us/mtvoid/2006/VOID0303.htm#matheson.]
==================================================================
TOPIC: CIVILIZATION: THE WEST AND THE REST by Niall Feruguson (book
review by Greg Frederick)
The book CIVILIZATION is basically a historical perspective about
Western Civilization with some thoughts about its future. The
author states that for the past 500 years or so Western
Civilization has grown and dominated large areas of the World. Its
form of civilization has also influenced most of the other World's
civilizations over time. The author believes that six killer
applications have made the difference between Western Civilization
and the rest of the World. These killer apps include: competition,
science, modern medicine, democracy, consumerism, and the
(Protestant) work ethic.
In the past, Europe's competition since the 1500's for example
helped to create more advance technology and better forms of
government than a static empire such as China. In past history,
China was the most powerful country in the Far East therefore they
lacked competition. Of course, China in the recent few decades has
been following the examples of Western capitalism and consumerism
which is turning them into more of a World player. Colonial North
America's practice of giving newly arriving male indentured
servants land and the right to vote after their service was
completed helped to create democracy and a better standard of
living in the USA today compared to South America. The Spanish in
South America did not allow large immigration from Europe to their
colonies and also did not provide land ownership to either the
native Indians or many of the Spanish settlers.
In 1683 the Ottoman Turks were defeat by a combined European army
at the battle for Vienna. After this battle, Prussian King
Frederick created a government where church and state were
separated and he changed the Prussian education system so it would
be based on scientific inquiry. The leading Islamic power, the
Ottoman Turks fostered an era of religious control that prevented
the study of science. The result of these actions caused
scientific progress to be hindered by religious rules in the East,
while it flourished in the West. With modern science, the West
pushed the frontiers of tactics and artillery warfare and
established its position as the world's military master.
Feruguson thinks that Protestant ethics provided the right
atmosphere for Western capitalism to develop. Protestants were
encouraged to learn to read (initially so they could read the
bible) which produced a literate population who could then invent
new products and establish businesses. Their common belief in the
fair and Christian ethics of their neighbors also could provide a
basis for the practice of fair trade. An interesting aspect of
this idea is the rapid growth of Protestant Christian religions in
China today. Some of the most successful business owners in China
are members of a Christian church. The author thinks that it is
possible but not inevitable that if things continue as is that
China could become a World Superpower even surpassing the USA.
This is a good book which looks into the reasons for the present
condition of civilizations in the world of today. [-gf]
==================================================================
TOPIC: Driving the Future (automotive review by Dale L. Skran, Jr.)
Recently my son Sam started his first summer job, necessitating our
family's growth from a 2- to a 3-car family. As is the Skran
tradition, I passed on to my son the car I've been driving for a
while, a 2007 Hybrid Camry, and went looking for a new car for my
primary usage. For a long time I've been thinking of going one
step further toward an electric car, and buying a Chevrolet Volt.
I considered only plug-in hybrids, as one of my goals was to end up
with a car that I could, at least in theory, fuel without using
gasoline, having been stunned by the gasoline shortages during the
mighty storm Sandy. I rejected electric-only cars, like the Tesla,
since for the most part, except for the Tesla, available all-
electric cars induce "range anxiety," the fear that the battery
will run down and require the car to be towed.
Plug-in hybrids don't have this problem, and they come in a variety
of sizes and ranges. The main issue to be considered is how far
you drive each day. If you normally drive long distances, a car
with limited battery range but very good gasoline mileage and range
may be for you. However, I normally don't drive long distances, so
I was looking for a car where I could mostly get by on just the
battery, but that would run on gasoline for a cross-country trip if
needed.
The Volt satisfied this need best of all. Of all the plug-in
hybrids, only the volt has an all-electric drive train, with a
gasoline engine used only as a generator. The volt gets about 36
electric miles on a full charge (pretty much the best of the plug-
in hybrids), and then you can run another 250 miles or so on a full
tank of gas before filling up, getting 30 to 35 miles per gallon.
This works very well for me--I've had the car for a couple of
months, and have yet to put any gas in it.
The Volt is a fantastic car to drive--low to the ground, great
pickup, and in sport mode handles like a rocket. I don't think
I've ever been in a car with this much acceleration. It gets the
advertised 36 miles to a charge. I just plug it in overnight, and
it is charged in the morning. So far the electric bill impact has
been minimal. I like the hatchback with the folding rear seats
that allow for a large cargo space. The Ford plug-in hybrid has an
especially troublesome trunk that is mostly filled with batteries,
which I did not like. I also really like the rear-view cameras
that show you what is directly behind the car when you back up.
The front-view collision alarm warns you if you are too close to
something. I've seen some complaints on the web about visibility
from inside the Volt, but as a former hatch-back owner, I think the
Volt is similar to other hatch-backs, which is to say, different
from non-hatchbacks, which some may not like.
My only complaints about the Volt are that it is a bit smaller than
the Camry, and that the electronics in the center are advanced but
the human interface is confusing. The Volt is priced on the high
end of similar cars, but you do get a great deal from the dealer
and a significant tax rebate at the end of the year.
I have the comfort of knowing that for the most part I am no longer
spewing noxious pollution into the air while driving, and that, to
the extent electricity in NJ comes from renewable or nuclear
sources, I am greatly reducing my carbon footprint. The Volt is
not for everyone--a small car with great mileage like the Prius may
be the more economical solution, especially if you routinely drive
long distances--but I like it. And contrary to all expectation, it
is fun to drive. Welcome to the 21st century! [-dls]
==================================================================
TOPIC: THE HAPPY POET (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: Billing itself as "an all organic, mostly vegetarian
comedy," THE HAPPY POET tells a story that could use a little more
meat. Paul Gordon wrote the comedy, co-produced it, directed it,
played the main character, and even edited the film. Doing all
those tasks he may not have had enough energy left to make the film
engaging. As much as one wants to feel for his character his
deadpan performance gets in the way. We know he is a poet, but he
is inscrutably deadpan and inexpressive through almost the entire
film. And that, perhaps, is the point. He is a man who remains a
detached man in a world that expects passion. Rating: low +1 (-4
to +4) or 5/10
Tabouli and hummus on pita is a good sandwich. But it is an
acquired taste. You cannot expect everybody to like it right away.
It is not immediately appealing to the average Joe on the street.
And it takes some patience. Austin-based filmmaker Paul Gordon's
deadpan delivery and humor could make a good comedy. But it is an
acquired taste. Like tabouli and hummus you cannot expect
everybody to like it right away. It is not immediately appealing
to the average Joe on the street. And it takes some patience.
Gordon plays in a constant deadpan and is sort of a talking version
of Buster Keaton. He intentionally does not put any strength into
his character Bill. He projects poet just fine, but the happy part
you have to take his word on.
Paul Gordon's Bill is starting a new business. He is fresh out of
college with a Masters degree in Creative Writing: Poetry. For
some reason Bill does not become an industrial poet for a large
corporation. Instead what he wants to do now is to get a hot dog
cart and sell street food. But he does not want to sell hot dogs.
He is on a campaign against them. They are, after all, poisonous
things full of nitrites and nitrates and ground pieces of things
that used to have a face. He wants instead to sell healthy, green,
organic, natural foods. It will be handmade sandwiches of things
like eggless egg salad. (It's made with tofu.) He goes through
all the financial arrangements and rents a cart from someone who
does not look like he will be understanding if the rent comes late.
We follow Bill step by step as he builds his business. We see his
mistakes well before he does, but the viewer comes to root for Bill
even as mistake after mistake puts his fledgling business into a
tailspin.
Now I have to admit the scenes of the organic food being prepared
do make the food look appealing. I mean THE HAPPY POET still will
not sell itself like BABETTE'S FEAST did. But if I were offered
one of Bill's sandwiches I would want to try it. And Bill would
let me have it also. Bill is trying to create a market and gives
away free samples on request. That is one of his ill-considered
policies. Giving free samples is running him out of business. He
is meeting a lot of nice young people, but the food stand really is
not working for him. And when he meets the young people, his
diffident manner is not helping him. Going on a date he delivers
an opaque poem for a new friend. When she does not laugh he says,
"I guess the humor didn't quite jump out at you." And that is a
fine diagnosis of what is going wrong with the whole film. The
dialog may be witty, but a deadpan dialog does not help it to work.
Bill repetitively pauses in the middle of sentences unsure how to
put his thought into words. At times he taxes the viewer's
patience. His generosity starts to get spooky as if he is buying
friends.
Everything about this film seems minimalist. It is scored with a
single piano and usually the music for a scene is a single piano
note. Gordon tends to overestimate the boyish charm of his dry and
awkward speeches.
Like the food Bill serves the appeal of THE HAPPY POET is
selective. The viewer needs to try to be on Gordon's wavelength.
I rate this film a low +1 on the -4 to +4 scale or 5/10.
Film Credits: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1605765/combined
What others are saying:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_happy_poet/
[-mrl]
==================================================================
TOPIC: This Week's Reading (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
And now for the short fiction Hugo categories.
In the Best Novella category, four of the nominees were published
as stand-alone books, with only one appearing in a traditional
magazine. In the Best Novelette category, all of the nominees are
from anthologies or collections; none are from traditional
magazines. In the Best Short Story category, there are only three
nominees, because of the "5% Rule". This says that to make the
final ballot, a nominee must be listed on at least 5% of the
ballots cast in that category. This is to counter the situation
where there is a very level field, and there is a virtual tie for
fourth or fifth place among many candidates. This could still
happen, of course. In the extreme case, if the nominators are
split into twenty equal groups, and all the people in a given group
nominate the same five items, and there is no overlap between
groups, you would have a 100-way tie with everything meeting the 5%
Rule. Now there's a nightmare scenario!
Anyway, in the novella category, we have:
"After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall" by Nancy Kress
(ISBN 978-1-616-96065-0) I have already reviewed. Maybe I
misunderstood what I was reading, but some parts seemed
inconsistent with other parts, and other events seemed far too
convenient,
"The Emperor's Soul" by Brandon Sanderson (ISBN 978-1-6169-6092-6)
is a very well-written fantasy, with what seems like an original
idea, well-executed.
"On a Red Station, Drifting" by Aliette de Bodard (ISBN 978-0-956-
39245-9) is purportedly an alternate history story in de Bodard's
"Xuya" universe (though is it an alternate *history* if it is set
in the future on the alternate track?). However, it could just as
easily be set in our future after the global situation has shifted,
as indeed it is wont to do. It is okay, but not Hugo material.
"San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats" by
Mira Grant (ISBN 978-0-3162-1896-2) is yet another story of "The
Rising", a.k.a., the Zombie Apocalypse. By this point, I am
getting heartily sick of the Zombie Apocalypse in all its forms.
And this one depends on knowledge available only by having read the
other works. It is a good addition to the overall story, even if
it seems to be pandering a bit to a fan base.
"The Stars Do Not Lie" by Jay Lake (ASIMOV'S, Oct-Nov 2012) is the
only story in a traditional magazine, so it is only fitting that it
is a fairly traditional story. Unfortunately, it is hard to
follow, with sentences like "The Most Revered Bilious F. Quinx;
B.Th. Rhet.; M.Th. Hist. & Rit.; Th.D. Hist. & Rit.; 32nd degree
Thalassocrete; and master of the Increate's Consistitory Off ice
for Preservation of the Faith Against Error and Heresy, watched
carefully as His Holiness Lamboine XXII paged through one of the
prohibitora from the Consistitory's most confidential library."
And unless I missed something (always a possibility), the story
does not seem all that original.
My voting order is: "The Emperor's Soul", no award, "On a Red
Station, Drifting", "San Diego 2014", "After/Before/During", "The
Stars Do Not Lie"
For Best Novelette, none of the nominees are from traditional
media.
"The Boy Who Cast No Shadow" by Thomas Olde Heuvelt suffers by
having a double premise--not just a boy who casts no shadow, but
also a boy made of glass. I suppose one should have a willing
suspension of disbelief here, but it is pushing it. It also seems
to have obvious parallels and connections to our world, and the
problem is that maybe they are a bit too obvious.
"Fade To White" by Catherynne M. Valente is an alternate history in
which some bizarre radioactive disaster seems to have engulfed the
western part of the United States (and possibly Japan) and McCarthy
is President of the United States. So it presumably takes place in
the 1950s. I am not sure that all the differences are plausible,
and it seems somewhat influenced by Margaret Atwood's THE
HANDMAID'S TALE, but it was engaging enough.
"The Girl-Thing Who Went Out for Sushi" by Pat Cadigan was fine
after I managed to dig through all the jargon Cadigan created
("decs", "Dirt years", "jellies, "two-stepper", and so on). it's a
somewhat traditional premise, but the style is definitely more
modern.
"In Sea-Salt Tears" by Seanan McGuire is *not* a zombie apocalypse
story. I guess McGuire writes all those under her "Mira Grant"
pseudonym. This is certainly a good enough fantasy that one wishes
she would spend more time writing non-zombie stories. This one is
based on traditional legends, but with a modern sensibility, which
seems to be the trend at least since the "Fairy Tale" series from
Tor Books in the early 1990s.
"Rat-Catcher" by Seanan McGuire is another story based more on
traditional legends. This one is set in 17th century London,
though, so instead of the modern sensibility of "In Sea-Salt Tears"
we have a Restoration setting (which however seems more Elizabethan
than of a later period). The result is less original somehow.
My voting order is: "In Sea-Salt Tears", "The Girl-Thing Who Went
Out for Sushi", no award, "Fade To White", "Rat-Catcher", "The Boy
Who Cast No Shadow"
As noted there are only three nominees for Best Short Story.
"Immersion" by Aliette de Bodard is yet another story in her Xuya
universe, though its alternate history aspect is minimal. (de
Bodard says that this and "On a Red Station, Drifting" did not
start out as part of this universe.) It is reasonable enough
science fiction, though whether it is Hugo-quality is debatable.
"Mantis Wives" by Kij Johnson is creative enough, but also
unpleasant to read.
"Mono no Aware" by Ken Liu is less about the characters, and more
about the types they represent, or perhaps more about the
philosophies of life they embody. (In this it is similar to Olaf
Stapledon's LAST AND FIRST MEN, where the individual is more an
iteration of a type or philosophy.) It is certainly has more to
think about later than the other two.
My voting order is: "Mono no Aware", no award, "Immersion", "Mantis
Wives"
[-ecl]
==================================================================
Mark Leeper
mleeper@optonline.net
If a writer has any sense of what journalism is
all about he does not get into the minds of the
characters he is writing about. That is something,
shall we say, Capote-esque who thought he had
discovered a new art form but, as I pointed out,
all he had discovered was lying.
--Gore Vidal