Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
04/16/21 -- Vol. 39, No. 42, Whole Number 2167
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Topics:
Mini Reviews, Part 13 (ANYTHING FOR JACKSON, THE BEACH HOUSE,
THE MORTUARY COLLECTION, ALONE) (film reviews
by Mark R. Leeper)
HOW TO MARS by David Ebenbach (book review by Joe Karpierz)
Hugo Awards/Lodestar Award/Astounding Award Finalists
This Week's Reading (LOST HORIZON) (book and film comments
by Evelyn C. Leeper)
===================================================================
TOPIC: Mini Reviews, Part 13 (film reviews by Mark R. Leeper)
Here is the thirteenth batch of mini-reviews, this time of four
horror films.
ANYTHING FOR JACKSON: Apparently inspired by ROSEMARY'S BABY, this
is the story of an elderly couple who are attempting to call up the
Devil to restore their dead grandson to life. The film nullifies
any sympathy one might have for them, and the pacing is slow, but
there are new interesting twists in the plot. Released 12/03/20;
not yet available on streaming or DVD. Rating: high +1 (-4 to +4)
THE BEACH HOUSE: For a long time it is not clear where the story is
going. It seems to be just two couples meeting and spending time
together, but then it turns into something else. This is an
example of how inexpensive special effects can be used to good
effects. Released 07/09/20; available on Amazon Prime. Rating: +1
(-4 to +4)
THE MORTUARY COLLECTION: The anthology horror film, once a form
that was popular, makes a dubious return in this film. Four
stories of varying length, plus a framing sequence, comprise this
film. The stories are not as good as the old ones (e.g. those in
DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS) but they still have some punch.
Released 10/15/20; available on Amazon Prime.. Rating: low +1 (-4
to +4)
ALONE: This is a standard stalker film set in the backwoods with a
pinch of DUEL and another of MOST DANGEROUS GAME. The villain
chases the protagonist in woods and/or at night. Released
09/15/20; available on Amazon Prime and on DVD from Netflix.
Rating: high 0 (-4 to +4)
[-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: HOW TO MARS by David Ebenbach (copyright 2021, Tachyon
Publications, 256pp, $16.95 trade paperback, ISBN 978-1-61696-356-
9, $9.99 digital formats, ISBN 978-1-61696-357-6) (book review by
Joe Karpierz)
What if you were a scientist who was presented with the opportunity
of a lifetime: a chance to go to Mars and do research on the red
planet? What if there was a catch or two, like a) it's a one-way
trip and b) the mission is going to be the subject of a reality
show? Would you consider the proposition? If you were offered a
spot on the mission, would you accept it, knowing that you'd never
come back to Earth, and that your every move would be scrutinized
by not only Mission Control, but by anyone on Earth who cared to
watch?
This is the premise of HOW TO MARS, the first science fiction novel
from mainstream writer David Ebenbach. The idea for the book came
from a news story about a now-bankrupt company called Mars One,
which was going to send twelve people to Mars on a one-way mission.
Ebenbach wanted to explore the idea, including who would even want
to do it, who would propose the idea, and how the people who were
sent to Mars on the mission would live and survive. It's an
interesting investigation into the possible make up of the people
who would jump at the chance, and just how they would handle
everything that would come up.
To help with that last point, the eccentric owner of the
Destination Mars! corporation wrote a handbook that would try help
the Marsonauts survive on the planet. The handbook, almost
assuredly entitled "How to Mars", is both whimsical and serious.
It seeks to provide real-world advice, set down rules for the
colony, and remind the Marsonauts that the book itself can't
conceivably cover every eventuality that they would encounter. It
was also very clear on one thing: there is to be no sex on Mars.
It's actually not a bad idea, although if the owner of Destination
Mars! actually thought anyone would listen to that particular idea
he was mistaken. Clearly, there could be all sorts of relationship
problems between the people involved, and social implications for
the group as a whole. Not to mention what would happen if one of
the Marsonauts got pregnant.
Well, life on Mars, including research, is really boring, even for
scientists. The same thing day after day, with nothing new
happening, results in so much dullness that the reality show is
cancelled and some people actually stop their research. Things got
so boring, that the inevitable happened.
Yep, you guessed it. Josh and Jenny had sex, and Jenny got
pregnant.
On the plus side for the Destination Mars! corporation, the reality
series was picked up again because people back on Earth were of
course interested in all the possible sordid things that could
happen now that something new and interesting is actually going on
up there.
And while one of the other points of the missions was starting to
prepare their location for further Marsonauts with the long-term
goal of starting a true colony, this was not the way the
Destination Mars! corporation wanted to go about it. And so, the
novel is really an exploration of the characters and backgrounds of
the 6 scientists who were selected for the mission and how those
backgrounds prepared them to handle the ultimate unexpected (but
really, it should haven been expected) situation.
Well, maybe not the ultimate unexpected situation. While the group
was hoping to eventually discover life on Mars, they certainly did
not, at least not the conventional type of life. No, to this point
I haven't mentioned the native Mars life form, which calls itself
the Pattern, and how it revealed itself only to Stefan, a Marsonaut
prone to anger and violence. I'd like to call the Pattern aliens,
but if the Pattern is native to Mars then aren't the humans the
aliens? Yes, an age-old question.
Ebenbach's novel is lighthearted and fun, but thought-provoking.
Just how would we handle ourselves in the situation the six
Marsonauts found themselves, and would our natural humanity take
over just when things were entering uncharted territory? Although
the question of how our natural humanity would actually play out,
it's probably a pretty good bet that things would come out okay in
the end. They usually do. [-jak]
===================================================================
TOPIC: Hugo Awards/Lodestar Award/Astounding Award Finalists
Best Novel
BLACK SUN, Rebecca Roanhorse (Gallery / Saga Press)
THE CITY WE BECAME, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
HARROW THE NINTH, Tamsyn Muir (Tor.com)
NETWORK EFFECT, Martha Wells (Tor.com)
PIRANESI, Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury)
THE RELENTLESS MOON, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor Books)
Best Novella
Come Tumbling Down, Seanan McGuire (Tor.com)
The Empress of Salt and Fortune, Nghi Vo (Tor.com)
Finna, Nino Cipri (Tor.com)
Ring Shout, P. Djeli Clark (Tor.com)
Riot Baby, Tochi Onyebuchi (Tor.com)
Upright Women Wanted, Sarah Gailey (Tor.com)
Best Novelette
"Burn, or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super",
A. T. Greenblatt (Uncanny Magazine, May/June 2020)
"Helicopter Story", Isabel Fall (Clarkesworld, January 2020)
"The Inaccessibility of Heaven", Aliette de Bodard
(Uncanny Magazine, July/August 2020)
"Monster", Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld, January 2020)
"The Pill", Meg Elison (from Big Girl, (PM Press))
Two Truths and a Lie, Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com)
Best Short Story
"Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse", Rae Carson
(Uncanny Magazine, January/February 2020)
"A Guide for Working Breeds", Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to
Order: Robots and Revolution, ed. Jonathan Strahan
(Solaris))
Little Free Library, Naomi Kritzer (Tor.com)
"The Mermaid Astronaut", Yoon Ha Lee (Beneath Ceaseless Skies,
February 2020)
"Metal Like Blood in the Dark", T. Kingfisher
(Uncanny Magazine, September/October 2020)
"Open House on Haunted Hill", John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots,
2020, ed. David Steffen)
Best Series
The Daevabad Trilogy, S.A. Chakraborty (Harper Voyager)
The Interdependency, John Scalzi (Tor Books)
The Lady Astronaut Universe, Mary Robinette Kowal
(Tor Books/Audible/Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction)
The Murderbot Diaries, Martha Wells (Tor.com)
October Daye, Seanan McGuire (DAW)
The Poppy War, R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager)
Best Related Work
Beowulf: A New Translation, Maria Dahvana Headley (FSG)
CoNZealand Fringe, Claire Rousseau, C, Cassie Hart,
Adri Joy, Marguerite Kenner, Cheryl Morgan,
Alasdair Stuart.
FIYAHCON, L.D. Lewis--Director et al
"George R.R. Martin Can F**k Off Into the Sun, Or: The 2020
Hugo Awards Ceremony (Rageblog Edition)", Natalie Luhrs
(Pretty Terrible, August 2020)
A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia
E. Butler, Lynell George (Angel City Press)
The Last Bronycon: a fandom autopsy, Jenny Nicholson (YouTube)
Best Graphic Story or Comic
DIE, Volume 2: Split the Party, written by Kieron Gillen and
Stephanie Hans, letters by Clayton Cowles (Image Comics)
Ghost-Spider vol. 1: Dog Days Are Over, Author: Seanan McGuire,
Artist: Takeshi Miyazawa and Rosie Kampe (Marvel)
Invisible Kingdom, vol 2: Edge of Everything, Author:
G. Willow Wilson, Artist: Christian Ward (Dark Horse
Comics)
Monstress, vol. 5: Warchild, Author: Marjorie Liu, Artist:
Sana Takeda (Image Comics)
Once & Future vol. 1: The King Is Undead, written by Kieron
Gillen, illustrated by Dan Mora, colored by Tamra
Bonvillain, lettered by Ed Dukeshire (BOOM! Studios)
Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, written by
Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by
John Jennings (Harry N. Abrams)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of
One Harley Quinn)
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
The Old Guard
Palm Springs
Soul
Tenet
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
Doctor Who: Fugitive of the Judoon
The Expanse: Gaugamela
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Heart (parts 1 and 2)
The Mandalorian: Chapter 13: The Jedi
The Mandalorian: Chapter 16: The Rescue
The Good Place: Whenever You"re Ready
Best Editor, Short Form
Neil Clarke
Ellen Datlow
C.C. Finlay
Mur Lafferty and S.B. Divya
Jonathan Strahan
Sheila Williams
Best Editor, Long Form
Nivia Evans
Sheila E. Gilbert
Sarah Guan
Brit Hvide
Diana M. Pho
Navah Wolfe
Best Professional Artist
Tommy Arnold
Rovina Cai
Galen Dara
Maurizio Manzieri
John Picacio
Alyssa Winans
Best Semiprozine
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Escape Pod
FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction
PodCastle
Strange Horizons
Uncanny Magazine
Best Fanzine
The Full Lid
Journey Planet
Lady Business
nerds of a feather, flock together
Quick Sip Reviews
Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog
Best Fancast
Be The Serpent
Claire Rousseau's YouTube channel
The Coode Street Podcast
Kalanadi
The Skiffy and Fanty show
Worldbuilding for Masochists
Best Fan Writer
Cora Buhlert
Charles Payseur
Jason Sanford
Elsa Sjunneson
Alasdair Stuart
Paul Weimer
Best Fan Artist
Iain J. Clark
Cyan Daly
Sara Felix
Grace P. Fong
Maya Hahto
Laya Rose
Best Video Game
DisCon III used their authority under the WSFS constitution to
create a one-time Special Hugo Award Category for Best Video Game.
See this announcement for further details.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Blaseball
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Hades
The Last of Us: Part II
Spiritfarer
Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book (presented by the World
Science Fiction Society)
The Lodestar Award is not a Hugo Award, but is an Award established
by the World Science Fiction Society and administered in the same
manner and in parallel with the Hugo Awards.
Cemetery Boys, Aiden Thomas (Swoon Reads)
A Deadly Education, Naomi Novik (Del Rey)
Elatsoe, Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)
Legendborn, Tracy Deonn (Margaret K. McElderry/ Simon &
Schuster Children's Publishing)
Raybearer, Jordan Ifueko (Amulet / Hot Key)
A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking, T. Kingfisher
(Argyll Productions)
Astounding Award for Best New Writer (presented by Dell Magazines)
The Astounding Award is not a Hugo Award, but is administered in a
similar manner and in parallel with the Hugo Awards.
Lindsay Ellis (1st year of eligibility)
Simon Jimenez (1st year of eligibility)
Micaiah Johnson (1st year of eligibility)
A.K. Larkwood (1st year of eligibility)
Jenn Lyons (2nd year of eligibility)
Emily Tesh (2nd year of eligibility)
===================================================================
TOPIC: This Week's Reading (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
I just watched LOST HORIZON (the 1937 version, of course) for the
tenth time this millennium. I have commented on this before, but
given the recent trend toward re-evaluating the attitudes of
classic films (and books, and other art), I thought I would note
what would raise eyebrows these days, not to claim the film should
be burned, but to recognize.
- The credits are in a pseudo-Oriental font.
- Conway rescues only the white people, though he does acknowledge
that 10,000 Chinese will die
- Gloria talks about "a Chinaman's chance."
- Lovett wonders if the rescuers are cannibals.
- The lamasary seems to be an example of Le Corbusier's Modernism
(a European style), which does predate the film's date, but not
sufficiently for Shangri-La to have become familiar with it, and
build the entire lamasary, especially since they presumably already
had a lamasary.
- Chang is played by H. B. Warner, a white man. (He also played
Jesus--another person of color--in the 1927 KING OF KINGS.)
- Women are treated as something the men give or take, and fitting
the stereotype of obedience and compliance, rather than having an
equal say in their relationships.
- The grooms speak English, and the children are all being taught
English, even though the native English speakers are a tiny
minority.
- Father Perrault is the classic "white savior."
- George Conway calls Chang a "Chinaman."
And completely separate from these is the problem that while one
can suspend disbelief about a valley being so salubrious as to
prevent ageing, it is pushing it into the realm of the supernatural
to suppose that someone who has remained young for years would have
all that ageing catch up with them in a few minutes if they leave
the valley. [-ecl]
===================================================================
Mark Leeper
*mleeper@optonline.net *
Never express yourself more clearly than you are
able to think
--Niels Bohr