1965: Paingod and Other Delusions (Ellison, Harlan)

Ellison’s dissatisfaction with American cultural progress (3/5)

Prior to reading the Paingod collection, I had read twenty-one pieces of Ellison’s short work—mostly in his machismo so-called suspense collection No Doors, No Windows (1975)—only six to which I gave 4 or 5 stars. From that figure, you could deduce that I’m not a big fan of Ellison’s work. Paingod is the last piece of his work on my shelves, but I’m sure it’s not the last forever.

Ellison graces the reader with an unbelievably brief introduction of only three pages. The sheer chore of reading other rambling introductions often urged me to chuck the book, but three pages I could tolerate, but even then the paragraphs were bloated with whims, conjured disassociative memories, lists, and mini-rants. Each, too, has a brief introduction, but here he tends to digress, as well; case in point: After twenty-five line of an introduction for “Deeper Than the Darkness” laments on our personal responsibility for our own action, name-drops Marilyn Monroe, mentions the Afterlife, says life is for dignity alone and sluggish without then, “And, oh, yeah, about this story” (136).

Unlike DangerousVisions (1967) where each introduction took a back-patting or disassociate tangent, the ones in Paingod are usually well-focused. Sometimes they give a glimmer of meaning behind the story or the impetus for its writing. Most introductions, though, carry a common theme: That of Ellison’s dissatisfaction with American cultural progress and/or his inability to adapt to American cultural progress.

The first three stories are strong. “Paingod” follows a rather simple plot line with the right twists at the right times, but delivers a message and reminder about the benefits of pain. While the previous story was rather dour, “Repent” is more humorous as the hero of the story first unintentionally erodes the standing system of punctuality then decides to do a few things intentionally. “Crackpots” follows this whimsical note with the notion that what may seem to be illogical actions of some are actually carefully performed acts with higher logic behind them.

The last four stories cross the lower spectrum of interest: “Bright Eyes” has ethereal descriptions of its environment, but never becomes grounded into a satisfactory story; “The Discards” is fun and dark yet too predictable for my tastes; “Wanted in Surgery” contains too many geeky futuristic SF elements so as to make it feel written for a juvenile audience; and “Deep Than the Darkness” takes on psi-powers with mixed success as it throws in aliens, fire starters, mind readers, some silly-sounding science, and military intervention.

For me, the first three stories were glimmers of hope for a solid collection of Ellison’s, but the last four stories didn’t delivery what I wanted… something of which even I can’t define. I know what I like and I know what I don’t like; in between is my fluctuating opinion that covers 90% of my reading.

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“Paingod” (shortstory, 1964) – 4/5

Trente was appointed the Paingod by the overseeing power of the universe—the Ethos. Pain must be experienced by all the universe’s being, however sentient, and it is he who must deliver that pain. Upon spiders, slugs, and slime of innumerable systems, the Paingod is there; however, his curiosity gets the best of him when on planet Earth where he takes the bodily form of a sculptor. He awakens to the beauty of his pain-filled creation and the beauty of his universal task. 10 pages

“‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman” (shortstory, 1965) – 4/5

Pestered by a lifetime by deadlines, tacit expectations of punctuality, and his own perpetual tardiness to all things related to time, Everett C. Marm finally catches the attention of the Master Timekeeper. When he unloads millions of jelly beans upon the commuting labors and the moving walkways—the vital bloodline of the city—he disrupts the sacred schedule of all things by seven minutes, which is an offense very worthy of the personal interest of the Timekeeper himself. 12 pages

“The Crackpots” (novelette, 1956) – 4/5

They Kyben rule the galaxy as diligent administrators and observers, but their ubiquitous rule doesn’t limit them to only the grand scale of things. On one planet, the native Kyben have absolutely gone to pot—it’s citizens are the craziest, most illogical beings of the whole galaxy and Themus is part of the team in charge of detailing the actions of the so-called Crackpots. Some things don’t only perplex Themus, but they also compel him, leading him to an underground tribe that harbors secrets. 37 pages

“Bright Eyes” (shortstory, 1965) – 2/5

Bright Eyes is a mere boy in the eyes of the stars and the planet on which he roams with his tame rat named Thomas. As he sits upon Thomas experiencing the varied travesties that have afflicted the unfortunate planet, both are perturbed by the river engorged with the horizon-spanning mass of discolored, bloated corpses. Thereon, Bright Eyes learns of the meaning of his life and the fate of his race. With the rat as his companion and new equal, he faces their collective fate. 12 pages

“The Discarded” (shortstory, 1959) – 3/5

Having been banished from the Earth due to their various forms of mutation, the ship full of Discards roams Sol’s system looking for a place to call home, yet all inhabited places coldly reject their request. Bedzyk, the figure of leader for the helpless hundreds of Discards, considers their hopelessness as more and more suicide. When a ship from Earth docks to their vessel, Bedzyk is quick to condemn all Earthmen, yet his followers kill him in the belief that when they can help, the can also be rewarded. 13 pages

“Wanted in Surgery” (novelette, 1957) – 3/5

In the late twenty-first century, doctors all over America have become disheartened when their professional trade is overrun by the more perfect robot surgeons and diagnosticians called phymechs. Dr. Stuart Bergman just can’t accept the progress of the state of the art of surgery—he begins to speak out against the mechanical heartlessness of later devises ways to discredit the machines. In the end, when feeling defeated, he returns to what he knows best—bedside manner. 29 pages

“Deeper Than the Darkness” (novelette, 1957) – 2/5

Alf Gunnderson sits glumly in a jail cell being miserable with his situation and life overall. His unique talent is also a burden to him as he’s a pyrotic—one capable of producing flames from the rubbing of molecules; however, he can’t control his talent as well as some Blasters and Mindees can control their sparks and telepathy, respectively. When Spacecom interrogates him, they realize his potential as a weapon and send him off to the home system of their alien enemy, where Alf can choose to use his talent for good or for evil. 21 pages

1977: The Best of John Jakes (Jakes, John)

Chauvinism further mars the mediocrity (3/5)

John Jakes piqued my interest after I picked up and read Secrets of Stardeep (1969) and On Wheels (1973) on a whim. The latter novel is a satisfying satire on American’s obsession with cars yet follows a fairly typical plot line with a predictable finish—3/5 stars in my opinion with 2/5 stars for the former novel. John Jakes was a “bestselling author”, as the cover exclaims, of historical novels with the Kent Family Chronicles of the Civil War era, not speculative fiction. And much like the civil war, this collection is spiced with chauvinism of gender and race. As a bestselling author, one would expect the stories that could plumb the depths of human existence or touch the hearts of many; rather, it’s completely white-male dominated.

This mini-theme starts in the first story—“Machine”—where the only female character is a whiney, concerning housewife, followed by “Political Machine” where only men dominate the political arena and the sole women are, of course, schoolteachers or secretaries. Females as secretaries, models, and victims make an appearance in “The Sellers of Dreams” in which females are naturally so self-conscious of fashion that they are all willing to change their entire person and persona based on the season’s whims… and because men, naturally wouldn’t do that.

In “The Highest Form of Life”, the only female is a reporter who has a “grating female voice” (91)—thus, this story should be the title for the entire collection: White Men: The Highest Form of Life. From this story on, the female and minority roles take a plummet. “One Race Show”—another apt title for the collection—hosts another whiney wife.

This is all taken to another level in “Love is a Punch in the Nose” where the misogyny is obvious yet veiled in satire. When a man punches and hits his wife to make himself feel better, it reeks of something wrong, regardless of the twist ending. But what’s worse than being a woman?—being Asian. When the man finds that it was, after all, OK to hit his wife, he sees another woman—someone lower on the totem pole than himself—take up with a “refugee and freedom fighter from Japkor… [who had] escaped through the Com Chin barricades” (139). He believes the woman victimizes him out of scorn.

Another apt title: “There’s No Vinism Like Chauvinism”. Here, men take the domineering roles and just once it looked like a female would play the leading role in the revolution, but it turns out she’s just a victim, too, as in “The Sellers of Dreams” and “Love is a Punch in the Nose”. Then there’s “Recidivism Preferred” in which the kidnappers plan to free a “sex degenerate” in order to “teach those bureaucrats” of the government for the sake of “free enterprise” (196). Ah, free love is rough love.

The last story—“Here is Thy Sting”—is quite good but, again, chauvinism rears its head. While Cassius is a seriously driven man with the noble goal of writing his own history book, his female partner has a flighty mind bent on whimsical topics for her nitwitted editorial job.  And like “Love is a Punch in the Nose”, Asians are the lowest in the rung of humans: Cassius writes about how the Chinese were the defeated aggressors in a fictional Puerto Rican war; another character has a book entitled Alert! The Yellow Underground is Attacking; some “yellow-cheeked bootboy” (217) dies in an brief and unnecessary scene, and Dolly Sue Wei dies in violence stemming from her being “the first non-American ever to register at the University of Levittown” and who was buried “in a free cemetery in Manhattan’s Oriental ghetto” (223). “Here is Thy Sting” scores one point for having a famous female musician, but even she is prone to emotional… the same unsettling, disastrous emotion which affects Cassius in the end.

All this chauvinism could (1) be the result of market demand as the stories were written between 1952 and 1968 yet are distinctly not New Wave, progressive stories of which often assume different sex and race roles. It could also (2) be a symptom of the editors’ hand-picking of Jakes’ 72 published SF stories: Martin Harry Greenberg (noted for over thirty years as an editor and anthologist) and Joseph D. Olander (noted for his anthologies in the 1970s). It could also (3) be just part of the author’s repertoire as he also has machismo novels as Brak the Barbarian (1968).

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“Machine” (shortstory, 1952) – 3/5

Charlie swears at and damns the very toaster that’s burned him, claiming it to have a mind of its own. His wife Helen looks on with mild amusement mixed with topical worry. Charlie’s pet hate for all machines good and bad affects his daily life as he forsakes cars in favor of the streetcar, yet at home, he continuously eyes the kitchen toaster. When his wife is away, he follows through with his mechan-icidal plan, but both his wife and the toaster know that he’s up to no good. 4 pages

“Political Machine” (shortstory, 1961) – 3/5

In the American capitol sits the Combined Congressional Building; in that massive complex sits one of many similar machines that perfectly pass laws through rigorous logic: the Illinois Chamber. To facilitate the machine, one man was elected as the Populist Custodian: Elwood Everett Swigg. Behind the man made of metal and flesh is an even bigger mover who commands keywords to Swigg so that he stops and goes as he pleases: Buster Poole. And behind him is the good doctor. Above them all sits a debate, which could unravel them all. 17 pages

“The Sellers of the Dream” (novelette, 1963) – 3/5

TTIC and G/S are the competing companies who drive the future of consumerism, where even personalities and body modifications can change with the season. For G/S to grab a larger part of the upcoming female modification, they send their mole Finian Smith to view the initial unveiling. What he sees astonishes him: the model is a girl he once loved. Having been caught and ousted from TTIC, his boss of G/S sees him and fires him, but not before Finian catches a glimpse of a bigger mystery. Jobless, Finian sets out to find his girl and unravel the mystery. 39 pages

“The Highest Form of Life” (shortstory, 1961) – 3/5

The U.S.S. Sharkbait sits throttling at pier ready to take its scientific journey to the depths of the water in order to communicate with Tursiops truncates—the bottle-nosed dolphin. But just off shore sits the Nikolai Fernoyn, the presence of which seems to indicate that their dolphin communication research is either false or penetrated. Regardless, the Americans feel confident as they’ve already been contacted by an alien race and their translation systems seem legit… only the dolphins don’t want to return communication. 12 pages

“One Race Show” (novelette, 1962) – 4/5

Rhinelander owns a gallery and an estate—actually, his wealthy wife owns the latter, a fact that miffs him. His gallery, however, isn’t the talk of the town as that accolade goes to Swallows, who has received five original painting from an unknown artist named Joe Caul. Morose yet intrigued by the popularity, Rhinelander visits the gallery himself and is hypnotized by the dark, hellish portraits. Caul’s location is a mystery, so Rhinelander becomes determined to hunt him down, but what he finds confuses then disturbs him… and everyone. 28 pages

“Love is a Punch in the Nose” (shortstory, 1966) – 1/5

After Charles heard that he had been passed over on a promotion, his angered compelled him to strike the very thing he loved most: his wife Shirley. Once struck, she forgave him; Charles felt like a new man—his anger relieved and his wife obedient. The coming months saw his fierceness increase as he continued to strike her for insecure insinuations after she had spoken. When he plunged a knife into her chest, his life changed. He was soon learns that his misogyny is only eclipsed by racism in terms of degradation. 11 pages

“There’s No Vinism Like Chauvinism” (novelette, 1965) – 2/5

“[T]hree hundred million Americans who, in these packed vertical cities, found release in the emotional catharsis if fierce partisanship with the armies on either side of the various commercial wars which had uncontrollably wracked the US … for more than twenty years” (151). The wars, however, are carefully scripted from Washington with actors participating in the wars, the multitude of which is under hypnosis. When a real bullet kills a real cow, the unscripted action unveils a cascade of revolution. 44 pages

“Recidivism Preferred” (shortstory, 1962) – 3/5

“Randolf Mellors was a soulless hulk of his former conniving self” (185) as he sits behind the counter of a bumpkin goods ship. He’s polite yet deferring, shy yet competent; his only fault is the one thing haunts him: three words: Acme Lead Works. His day-to-day monotony breaks when a well-to-do trio enters the store, first innocuously then aggressively as they attempt to kidnap him. His reflexes kick in but their planning snares him as he continues to plead his innocence. News reporting, psychology, and crime all clash as Randolf struggles to free himself. 13 pages

“Here is Thy Sting” (novelette, 1968) – 4/5

When Cassius goes to retrieve the casket of his brother who died as a bystander in a knife fight, on the moon, he’s frustrated that someone else had already picked it up. Phone calls and visits to the officials produce no leads as to there his brother’s body may have gone. Meanwhile haunted by a dream in which a savage dog chases him, Cassius sees the world around him full of stagnation and mediocrity. With his own flame of inspiration lit, he begins his long search for his brother, but answers are dangerous. 50 pages

Lazy Book Reviews of February 2016

#11: Soviet Science Fiction (1962) – uncredited editor (4/5)

The Iron Curtain once held back more than culture and economy, but at the same time, the shroud became an intriguing mystery to some. The USSR was an unfathomable territory and within its expansive borders it contained an infinity of nuances, nooks and crannies, and its own literature. Around 2000, I was compelled to read Soviet-era travel fiction to experience this mystification of the USA’s old enemy, a sub-genre that I continue to read today. I’m only now getting around to reading Soviet SF. After my Japanese SF project last year, I decided to take the dive in to Soviet SF… so this is the first in a series. Isaac Asimov’s introduction sort of sets the reader up for disappointment: “the particular stories in this book were selected in part for their relative inoffensiveness [in regards to propaganda and anti-Americanisms]”. The collection starts with the dull “Hoity-Toity” (1930/1961) but follows with five better stories, all but one a 4-star read. You may think that all stories would have a heavy sociological slant, but you’d have to dig a little to get to that kind of message. I’ve tried to portray each story in terms of propaganda, but actually they read just like any other collection from the 1950s. (full review)

#12: The Day of the Shield (1973) – Antony Alban (2/5)

This author only wrote two SF novels: the one featured here and Catharsis Central (1968). The latter novel was published twice and The Day of the Shield was only published once. I can’t find anything else the author ever did, so it seems like he’s lost in the sands of time. It’s no wonder though that The Day of the Shield never saw the light of day again—everything about the novel is a forced idea that fails to find a grip on the weak scaffolding of the plot. With Russia and China nuked to oblivion, the eurofed and America were left untouched because of their powered domes which shielded them from attack. America devolved into neofeudalism where the Owners of states prolong their lives with “body servants, who are mere indentured slaves for body parts for five years. Fisk is indentured to a vixen who is the daughter of the proclaimed president of the entire land. The Owner himself requests his presence, sending him into a modern complex labyrinth of death by disobedience. Soon, he’s embroiled in an underground movement with unknown motives. Actually, as the cover states, that motive is to bring down the dome, which the reader doesn’t find out until the last seven pages of the 191-page novel. Everything is forced and blocky, but at least it’s a mind-numbing read.

#13: The Monadic Universe (1985) – George Zebrowski (3/5)

‘Twas a gift from Joachim Boaz, a collection of which he himself berated. I had much trepidation opening this one! Unlike Joachim’s own 1977 edition, my 1985 edition has two additional stories, both of which add much needed quality to the sluggish start of the collection: “Wayside World” (1977) and “The Word Sweep” (1979). The first eight stories—yes, all eight—feel like good ideas wasted with poor execution, especially the three chronological stories with Praeger; these felt like non-stories, snippets of something that never gather enough momentum of its own to push it toward relevance, thereby leaving it fledgling like a lame duckling far behind its majestic mother. When compared to the last six stories—yes, all six—the first eight are contrastingly poor. But, ah, the latter six stories are all worthwhile, almost worthwhile enough to slog through the first eight… but don’t do that. (full synopses)

#14: The Probability Man (1972) – Brian N. Ball (2/5)

I’ve only read Ball’s Singularity Station (1973), which was an impulse buy long ago. Innocuous as it was sitting on my shelf and without any notable reviews online, I picked up only to be surprised by how fun it was. Now, “fun” isn’t a term I use very often to describe plots or stories, but Singularity Station had all the bells and whistles for a stereotypical science fiction novel, yet done to an expert degree. Since then—2011—I’ve been anxious to see what else he had written, and when I pulled The Probability Man from my shelves, I was almost salivating; sadly, that “expert degree” that I mentioned before is sorely lacking here. It tries so hard to be a fun novel and it tries to be clever by pulling strings together in the end, yet it’s just so tedious for a 175-page novel. Spingarn knows that he doesn’t know who he is or what he’s exactly doing, yet he lives through an eighteenth-century siege when he realizes that it’s just a Plot in a Frame. After he calls a Time-Out, he begins to learn more about the man who he used to be; memories come trickling back, names begin to establish importance, and once common knowledge morphs into newly learned facts. The reader is dragged through his bizarre experience in these historical Plots in the far future, where he muddles through his past to save the future of humankind, or something. There are plot twists, metaphorical rabbits in the hand and slights of hand, but in the end it all seems to pressured to be outlandish rather than outstanding.

#15: Canal Dreams (1989) – Iain Banks (4/5)

Of Banks’s 30 published books, I’ve now read 22 of them. I still need to read six pieces of his fiction in addition to Raw Spirit (2003) and Poems (2015), all of which I own. He’s the one author I’ve re-read the most often. Needless to say, I very very much look forward to picking up one of his books that I’ve never read… or one that I have read, for that matter. Regardless of being fiction, poetry, short stories, or science fiction, I open his books reverently. Canal Dreams started off in unfamiliar waters: a renowned female Japanese cellist is stranded aboard a freighter in the Panama Canal due to a regional war, the ship of which becomes besieged by seeming guerillas with a hidden agenda. No castles, no Scotland, no bridges? Hmm, it was off-key but I settled in to it with heightened expectation… but what followed felt like an airport novel on the brink of being a thriller yet with rich character development. I hasten to say that my interest began to pique with the book’s own peak of action. In retrospect, the placid waters of the developing plot and the disassociative dreams played right into the arms of the downward spiral of inner torture of Hisako Onoda. Symbolism and parallelisms are subtle yet bloom in full with the resulting actions, the consequences. Clever—damn clever.

#16: Beggars in Spain (1993) – Nancy Kress (4/5)

Prior to Beggars in Spain, I had only come across two of Kress’s short works: “Inertia” (1990) in Wastelands (2008) and “Evolution” (1995) in Year’s Best SF (1996). I really liked the former, but not so much the latter; regardless, I knew Kress was one author of who I had to read more… so Beggars in Spain became my purchase. If you haven’t read the original novella like me, here the breakdown: Gene modification has come so far that children can now be engineered to not sleep. The result of the permanent sleeplessness is accelerated learning, productivity, and overall drive. Because the genetic alteration is prohibitively expensive, only a few thousand have the trait, yet they become vilified when it’s discovered that they share one additional characteristic: agelessness from cell repair. Soon, America is divided by law and society as to what exactly “all men are created equal” means. Leisha is one of the first Sleepless and takes a humanistic approach to the social problem; Jennifer, rather, takes the insular approach and begins to barricade the Sleepless while exploiting their talents through the economy. Years later, after Leisha and her sheltered-by-fear Sleepless cohorts have established an orbital colony, they produce their own modified version of genetic perfection—also sleepless yet whose minds whirl with complexity. Leisha tends to the society that had once forsaken them while Jennifer plots otherwise; in between, the American government must take a side. Occasionally a bit preacher on the philosophical front and a bit too Americentric, the novel recovers by drawing various parallels to history and subtly alluding to a few others.

#17: Catharsis Central (1969) – Antony Alban (2/5)

Sorry for me. I picked up two books by Antony Alban on a whim at a secondhand bookstore. It turns out that same two books were the only two books that the author had ever written. I had already read Day of the Shield (1973) this month and found it a chore at times, so I mildly whimpered when I pulled Catharsis Central from my to-be-read pile. Catharsis doesn’t feel as forced at Shield, but it still hurts to read it. For sake of brevity, I’ll try to synopsize this novel in one sentence. For hundreds of years, the citizens of the Settlements have snoozed peacefully and lived compliantly because of Catharsis Central, which monitors their moods and keeps everyone calm; regardless of the wide-spread peace, someone is beginning to kill off those who work for Catharsis, the murder whose agenda cannot be anything other than total revolution, but by what other means? Consider the number of generic tropes: domes cities, autochefs, disposal chutes, travelators, janitor robots, televisor consoles, algae tanks, and a central computer. There is very little that is original in this novel… but one thing does stand out: the laugh-out-loud, guffaw-worthy sex scenes. Allow me to quote: “Carlsen [the protagonist] was very good in bed; all of his women had said so” (18), “the full breasts swaying like perfect fruit from the taut lines of her neck and shoulders …. Eva urged him on with rapid plungings of her hips” (115-116), and “her eyes locked with Carlsen’s, sending a surge of love across the room like a high-voltage current” (127). I literally guffawed aloud on public transportation. Avoid Alban, unless for laughs.

#18: Children of the Wind (1989) – Kate Wilhelm (3/5)

My experience with Wilhelm is limited to three novels and two novellas, all of which I have given a 3- or 4-star rating; for example, her novel The Killer Thing (1967) was quite good while “The Plastic Abyss” (1971) left something to be desired for. Neither have I been impressed nor disappointed. In her collection Children of the Wind, the stories don’t impress me yet again, but further, I’m disappointed in two of the five. I wasn’t under the assumption that all five stories would be science fiction; I’m quite open to reading non-genre fiction and a bit of non-Tolkien/non-paranormal fantasy. Of the five stories in this collection, two are paranormal fantasy, two are fiction, and one is science fiction. Perhaps because of my distaste for fantasy, those two stories were the weakest, in my opinion. I couldn’t immerse myself in the story, couldn’t draw any parallelisms, couldn’t sense any direction or point. In contrast to these two dullards—one of which actually received a Nebula award for Best Novella (“The Girl Who Fell into the Sky”)—the one science fiction story (“A Brother to Dragons, a Companion of Owls “) and the first story (“Children of the Wind “) are pretty good, but not great. (full synopses)

1989: Children of the Wind (Wilhelm, Kate)

Themeless, directionless collection of novellas (3/5)

My experience with Wilhelm is limited to three novels and two novellas, all of which I have given a 3- or 4-star rating; for example, her novel The Killer Thing (1967) was quite good while “The Plastic Abyss” (1971) left something to be desired for. Neither have I been impressed nor disappointed. In her collection Children of the Wind, the stories don’t impress me yet again, but further, I’m disappointed in two of the five.

I wasn’t under the assumption that all five stories would be science fiction; I’m quite open to reading non-genre fiction and a bit of non-Tolkien/non-paranormal fantasy. Of the five stories in this collection, two are paranormal fantasy, two are fiction, and one is science fiction. Perhaps because of my distaste for fantasy, those two stories were the weakest, in my opinion. I couldn’t immerse myself in the story, couldn’t draw any parallelisms, couldn’t sense any direction or point. In contrast to these two dullards—one of which actually received a Nebula award for Best Novella (“The Girl Who Fell into the Sky”)—the one science fiction story (“A Brother to Dragons, a Companion of Owls “) and the first story (“Children of the Wind “) are pretty good, but not great.

“Children of the Wind” (1989, novella) – 4/5

Precocious at home and at school, the twin six-year-old boys of June and Robert are becoming an increasing headache. They invent their own secret language and indulge in fantasies yet they learn very quickly in areas like math and reading. When family is invited to housesit over the summer, June and Robert see it as beneficial to their jobs and for the boys. At the sprawling estate, an older boy named Lorne treats the twins with indignity; thus, the twins silently plot. 64 pages

“The Gorgon Field” (1985, novella) – 2/5

Constance and Charlie are invited by an old acquaintance to stay at her father’s hidden valley mansion tucked away amid the Colorado mountains; the catch: get a feel for her aging father’s sanity and his odd relationship with a man named Ramon. The fantastic scenery spellbinds both of them amid the estate’s plush service and furnishings. The towering stone gorgons especially captivate Constance who feels drawn to their power of beauty, but also another more mystical power. 58 pages

“A Brother to Dragons, a Companion of Owls” (1974, novelette) – 4/5

The earth is scorched and the city sits nearly dying as it’s handful of aging inhabitants cling to a so-called life by surviving on freeze-dried food and their respective hobbies. All are aged over 70 save for Boy, whose long-ago childhood trauma left his speechless. One day when Boy scavenges, he spies a lone band of children. Viewing from afar, the elderly city dwellers are shocked but become concerned then vengeful when people start to disappear. Only Llewellyn seems to see the future in them. 39 pages

“The Blue Ladies” (1983, novella) – 3/5

Daniel Borg is a reclusive millionaire in the small town of Potterstown, where life is slow and simple for its residents, including Cissy and Lee. The married couple moved to the small town so that Lee could live in relative peace after his wartime injury and recovery. To make ends meet, Cizzy takes odd jobs about town. The latest offer is the oddest yet most lucrative so far: pose for Mr. Borg. Though the money is good, she’s demeaned by his verbal abuse as he sits in his wheelchair, bound by anger, passion, and frailness. 41 pages

“The Girl Who Fell into the Sky” (1986, novelette) – 2/5

David MacLaren is a collector with a patchy history of war and revenge. John is on the receiving end of his father’s stories and now on the receiving end of his father’s hobby. As his father’s heart is frail, John travels hundreds of miles to an old mountain commune. When he arrives, he meets the unassuming figure of Lorna Shields, a member of the benefactor family for the estate sale. As the player piano plays in the middle of the night, the supernatural awakens. 49 pages

1961: Soviet Science Fiction (uncredited editor)

Scratching the surface of conjecture and propaganda (4/5)

The Iron Curtain once held back more than culture and economy, but at the same time, the shroud became an intriguing mystery to some. The USSR was an unfathomable territory and within its expansive borders it contained an infinity of nuances, nooks and crannies, and its own literature. Around 2000, I was compelled to read Soviet-era travel fiction to experience this mystification of the USA’s old enemy, a sub-genre that I continue to read today. I’m only now getting around to reading Soviet SF. After my Japanese SF project last year, I decided to take the dive in to Soviet SF… so this is the first in a series.

Isaac Asimov’s introduction sort of sets the reader up for disappointment: “the particular stories in this book were selected in part for their relative inoffensiveness [in regards to propaganda and anti-Americanisms]”. If you’re looking for brightly colored propaganda, communist rhetoric, or the steeled Soviet pride, you’re looking in the wrong place. Furthermore, you may think that all stories would have a heavy sociological slant, but you’d have to dig a little to get to that kind of message. I’ve tried to portray each story in terms of propaganda, but actually they read just like any other collection from the 1950s.

All stories were translated by Violet L. Dutt. All quotes of propaganda are from this forum.

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“Hoity-Toity” – Alexander Beliaev (1930/1961, novelette) – 2/5

Synopsis: In Berlin, the circus’s main attraction is an elephant with the ability to count, read, and message. When it refuses to do manual labor, its handler strikes it leg, sending it off in a fit to the countryside. Named Hoity-Toity, it eats, bathes, and tramples where it likes until the police begin to shoot. Soon, a telegram informs the circus that a scientist is coming to handle the situation as he created it in the first place. Then the story unfolds of a brain transplant, an adventure through Africa, and fear of the white man. 68 pages

Propaganda: Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union for the 60th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, propaganda slogan #39:

Engineers and technical workers! Rationalizers and inventors! Actively struggle to hasten scientific-technical progress!

Analysis: While the main protagonist of “Hoity-Toity” is indeed the elephant with a man’s mind, Hoity-Toity is actually the result of brilliant Soviet scientific rationalization by the mind of Professor Wagner in Moscow. Wagner’s inventions baffle his own assistants—including the transparent, hollow, man-sized rubber ball—but his most amazing achievement to-date is the keeping and growing of a live brain—that of a man named Ring, who was young German scientist who died in Abyssinia. Wagner’s unparalleled rationalization skills allow him to benefit the young German by transferring his brain to that of an elephant, which is the only animal large enough to house his artificially grown brain.

Regardless of the unprecedented feat in modern science, Ring is ungrateful as he casually spends his life in a circus making money for its ringleader; and regardless of his size, Ring is irresponsible in his range of possibilities as she shuns manual labor for which he is clearly built. Once on his stubborn rampage, Ring is only calmed down by the assurance that he will meet Wagner, who may be the only person who truly understands his existence as an elephant. Hoity-Toity/Ring agrees to come back to the circus after a two-week vacation in the Alps, with the professor and his assistant along. Here, the professor is not only a great logic-minded scientist, but he is also a compassionate soft-hearted human.

Review: In his introduction to the collection, Isaac Asimov outlines three stages of American science fiction:

Stage One (1926-1938): adventure dominant

Stage Two (1938-1950): technology dominant

Stage Three (1950-?): sociology dominant

Being a Soviet science fiction story, you’d immediately assume that the premise for the story to have either an obvious sociological banner for communism or a clever underlying message… so, stage three. While the story starts out with hints of allegory about the responsibility of all Soviet labors—big and small, high and low—the story quickly turns into one of adventure and science, thereon losing all of its social currents in the beginning. This is a weak start to an otherwise hearty collection.

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“Spontaneous Reflex” – Arkandy & Boris Strugatsky (1958/1961, novelette) – 4/5

Synopsis: With numerous sensors, Urm is able to sense the world to a more thorough degree than any human; however, like a human, he too can become bored. Unsatisfied with its underground concrete cube as its sole known location, it opens the door, satisfied with its squeak. In the halls, in approaches danger without fear, destroys without conscious, and frightens without shame. As it reaches the surface, its Master attempts to bargain with it and, in the end, to find a way to disable it. A victim of its own success, mere bulldozers are able to pin it. 23 pages

Propaganda: Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union for the 60th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, propaganda slogan #60:

Fraternal greeting to the courageous fighters for people's freedom, democracy and socialism who are suffering in prisons and fascist walls! Communists and workers of all nations! More actively involve yourselves in the struggle to halt terror and repression! Freedom for the prisoners of imperialism and reaction!

Analysis: High technology, especially of military value, is often a closely guarded secret as it’s usually of sensitive nature. The robot named Urm—an acronym for Universal Robot Machine—is a superior robot to such a degree that it can learn and develop while left on its own; in essence, the robot was given free-thought. Indeed, this would be a dangerous thing if given free movement through the land, but even Soviet citizens didn’t have free movement, instead, Urm is confined to a subterranean prison devoid of sensation.

If Urm had not been given free-thought, it would have been content to stare at its bleakly grey environment; however, with primary urges to experience the world and adapt, it tests the door, the halls, the walls, and even under the open sky. Not made of flesh and bone, its curiosity is backed by metal and mechanizations, propelling it through walls and radiation without harm. Its two weaknesses are its most human-like: (1) As it has had very little experience in human communication, its salutations come off as horrifically abrupt; (2) Its locomotion is an adaptable one for all terrains—two legs and two arms.

Having been suppressed for so long, it fails to find allegiance among the men at the base; also having been given the fallacy of man’s locomotion, it fails to escape… only o be defeated by a much simpler technology and one that doesn’t rely on human fallacy: the treads and scoop of bulldozers. As it wallows in frustration, the only rational thing for its creator (its Master) is to simply switch it off.

Review: This is a familiar trope of a robot gone berserk, complete with undeveloped human emotions while following a foundational, pre-programmed prerogative. What it makes up for in originality is its allegory of the danger of free-thought, inherited human flaw, development in seclusion, and reliability of tried-and-true methods. It’s a well-fitted glove for a Soviet story compounded by the repeated haunting salutation of the robot: “здравствуйте как поживаете?” or “Zdravstvuite, kak pozhivaete?” or “Good day, how do you do?” Even taken at its most literal level, the action story would be a good, short romp yet with a lackluster ending if you weren’t aware of its allegory.

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“A Visitor from Outer Space” – Alexander Kazantsev (1951/1961, shortstory) – 3/5

Synopsis: The ship Georgy Sedov stops in the arctic to pick up three unusual passengers who are on an expedition. The crew are curious to learn that the nature of the expedition is an astronomical one, yet it doesn’t concern the stars; rather, they are there to verify life of Mars. Yevgeny Alexeich Krymov, the lead astronomer, then outlines his theory of life on Mars with its causeways of life and how it relates to the Tunguska event of 1908 and his involvement in its scientific study. His series of facts entice and persuade the crew. 18 pages

Propaganda: Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union for the 60th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, propaganda slogan #50:

Fraternal greeting to the peoples of the socialist nations! Let develop and strengthen the peaceful system of socialism--the deciding force of the anti-imperialist struggle, the bulwark of peace, democracy, and social progress!

Analysis: Conjecture upon conjecture, the so-called astronomer posits life on Mars with the bare minimum of fact compounded with the unshakable mindset of a zealot; as a result, the tainted inferences begin to stack into a scaffolding of the brittle twigs.

The impoverished Martian landscape naturally produces a socialist people who fly to Earth in order to seek its bounty of resources, yet understands the native people’s own needs for the same resources. Here, the presumed invaders are only benevolent victims of their natural environment wanting to understand and take what they need—no more, no surplus, no capital. In reality, Russia once unofficially founded a colony in Africa. Within a month, that colony was disbanded… and is it any wonder that it happens to be in the ever so displaced location of Djibouti, Somalia? Because we all know how well colonization affected its native peoples as there are so many shining examples of benevolence among them.

Also their sloppy landing—the result being the Tunguska explosion of 1908—comes only one decade before the October Revolution of 1917… which may or may not be a coincidence.

Review: As the analysis implies, the story really isn’t one that emits the character and culture of the Russian people; rather, it’s a cheaply woven fictional narrative infused with the author’s own exaggerated speculation on Mars and the Tunguska event.  That said, at least it’s an entertaining string of speculation; it’s not enough to convince the reader to subscribe to Kazantsev’s/ Krymov’s ideas, but it’s enough to beguile the ship’s crew. There are, however, still people who want to believe in the fantastic, minute possibilities on the steep sides of Occum’s Razor: naturally, an exploding UFO caused the Tunguska event—a conspiracy theory that’s been alive for 65 years.

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“The Martian” – Alexander Kazantsev (1958/1961, shortstory) – 4/5

Synopsis: Entertained by the detailed account of the Tunguska event, the same crew of the Georgy Sedov are eager to hear another story, be it far-fetched or not. A pilot recounts his tale of meeting a peculiar man—long-limbed, large-eyed, short, and bald—in his office coming to speak with him about his willingness to become a member of a manned Mars expedition. Most Soviet applicants take pride in their personal sacrifice to science and the State, but the odd little man says he just wants to return home. 13 pages

Propaganda: Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union for the 60th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, propaganda slogan #31:

Young men and women! Persistently educate yourselves in communist convictions! Learn to live, work, and struggle as Leninists, as communists!

Analysis: This is somewhat of a continuation of Kazantsev’s previous story—“A Visitor from Outer Space”—where Martians crash land on Mars having originated from a Socialist civilization and seeking resources. The beginning of the story features the same gullible-slash-eager crew for storytelling; this time, however, the story is told through a pilot and his encounter with an unusual man.

In essence, the Martian who comes to visit Earth and the Soviet Union—albeit a departure from its original mission as the Martian did crash land—is eager to return to his people. His eagerness stems from his one major finding: What had taken thousands of generations of lineage and struggle for the Martians to develop their form of communism, the Soviets have reached the same advanced level in only one-hundred years. Inspired by the feat and spirit of the Soviet people, the Martian wishes to return to Mars in order to spread his enthusiasm of brotherhood.

Progress is commonly seen in terms of technology—the creation and use of it. To proponents of communism, progress is seen in the light of a political ideology championing equality—the creation and practice of it. Most Soviets were proud of both aspects: the creation of communism and the practice of communism. They considered it to be the end-game in all societies where all must be shared for social progress. The Martians reach that same point after hundreds of thousands of years, making it their own end-game of an equal society. The sheer triumph of the Soviet people to push forward with this mindset inspires the Martian.

Review: This story is, by far, the most gung-ho about communism—its creation and practice. To view it in a more favorable light of advanced progress, Kazantsev compares the USSR’s development of communism in decades with the Martians’ development of the same in millennia. It’s very heavily built upon a Soviet-centric view of their pride, minus the flag-waving, anthem-singing, and America-bashing. If there were piece of Soviet science fiction that trumps the propaganda of this story, it’d surprise me.

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“Infra Draconis” – Georgy Gurevich (1958/1961, novelette) – 4/5

Synopsis: With ideas in his head and stars in his eyes, Rady Blokhin yearns to meet the famed space navigator Grandpa Charushin, who’s been the first man to Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, etc. Rady’s radical idea: There may be black-bodied stars—called infras—that are so small that they don’t radiate light yet they have enough warmth to heat its surface internally. Charushin takes to the idea and soon one is found seven light-days away, a thirteen year flight. They both join the six-man mission and discover not only one, but two infras. 19 pages

Propaganda: Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union for the 60th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, propaganda slogan #11:

Long live the indissoluble union of the working class, kolkhoz peasantry, and national intelligentsia! Strengthen the social-political and ideological unity of Soviet society!

Analysis: Charushin isn’t only the universally admired hero of the state, but he’s only a caring and concerned individual. His triumphs in space have never detracted him from the core of his existence—before being a hero, he was simply a man, and forever a simple man he will be. Now, however, he is a man of the people, so he must help those who lack his influence and power.

His down-to-earth approach wins admirers in the scientific community as well as among the people at large. Charushin even entertains the scientific whims of an eager, young man named Rady. The young man’s convictions, though continually against the opinions of the other professionals, wins the mind and heart of Charushin. When Rady’s nearly preposterous theory is proven correct, Charushin takes yet another leap for being such a well-admired hero of the state: he enlists for the mission.

Charushin’s dedication towards serving his people and his nation doesn’t cease even when he’s seven light-days from his mother country. When an unexpected discovery throws the mission into a tailspin, Charushin naturally, as the hero of the state, takes it upon himself to rectify the problem. The solution is an immensely personal one, yet he doesn’t think of himself—he only thinks about the success for his crew, his people, and his country.

Though Charushin is never mentioned of having received any distinction from the Soviet Union, his unprecedented statue as a hero must certainly qualify him for the nation’s highest distinction: Hero of the Soviet Union. Up until its disuse in December 1991, the award was given to 12,775 Heroes, many of them egotistical politicians and war veterans from WWII, but all Soviet cosmonauts also received the award. Naturally, as the highest distinction from the state, all recipients of the award should be held in the highest regard in terms of respect and morals. Charushin fits this profile by being selfless in the face of danger and by giving his life—in more than one regard—to the advancement of the state.

Review: Modern-day hero worship is a watered down affair where praise is given to those who do very little for such respect—actors, singers, soldiers, etc. For the most banal of reasons, many loft these so-called heroes with endless praise for, usually, one simple, unifaceted fact: they sing a hit song, they are admired; they star in comic book movies, they are admired; they enlist, they are admired. I’ve seen them all fall from shame, unworthy of the initial title of “hero” which was so carelessly lofted upon them. The word “hero” greatly loses its meaning when it’s vaunted toward every person who raises a finger.

Charushin, however, is worthy of the term… probably much more so than the other 12,775 so-called Heroes of the Soviet Union. His professional and humanistic acts are worthy of praise; he leads a productive life that benefits everyone; and he isn’t above sacrifice or ego. I doubt Charushin would fall from shame by his shameless acts of drug indulgence, misogyny, or highhandedness.

Compound this worthy worship of the hero with an interesting scientific angle and the story is propelled by its own steam. It’s intriguing, respectable, and worthy of my own praise for being the best story in the collection.

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“Professor Bern’s Awakening” – Vladimir Savchenko (1956/1961, shortstory) – 4/5

Synopsis: The world is bent on suicide by more powerful and efficient ways, so Professor Bern has a plan to opt out of this eventual downfall: lower his body temperature in the absence of moisture and lay supine for one-hundred-eighty centuries below forty-five feet of desert floor. With only his assistant knowing his secret, the professor settles in for the long sleep in the void of the Gobi desert. He awakens stiffly, looks at the time, and bores to the surface; there, he sees a tree, a bird, and a humanoid with a club running at him. 17 pages

Propaganda: Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union for the 60th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, propaganda slogan #70:

Peoples of the world! Decisively speak out against the production of the neutron bomb! The design and production of new types of weapons of mass destruction must be halted!

Analysis: Regardless on which side of the Iron Curtain you looked, each was amassing earth-shattering weapons: multi-warhead-tipped ICBMs with hydrogen bombs and neutron bombs. The so-called “arms race” was nothing more than a pissing match with quantity of bombs, tonnage of bombs, and more novel ways to kill in mass.

In 1956, when this story was originally written, the US production of weapons was in full swing (2,422 in 1955) while the USSR production line was still infantile (200 in 1955). But, certainly, on the horizon for both nations, a news arms race had already begun, wafting fears of mutually assured destruction… a destruction of life, culture, and nations not only on both sides of the Iron Curtain, but all over the world. Insanity.

As a professor, Bern is a learned man who can see the course of history before his eyes by reviewing the facts and inserting the variables. Scared by the escalations in political rhetoric and production of arms, Bern makes the educated decision to opt out of this decade, this century, this millennium altogether, and this eon all together. Even though the third world war will be fought with atomics and the earth devastated, Professor Bern believes that the earth can replenish its vitality over time… or 18,000 years to be exact.

Professor Berns finds a kernel of truth in the following quote, a paraphrase of which opens the story: “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones”. But Bern is just a man at his core, someone who is just as scared of life as everyone else and searches for something to cling to; some men cling to the bottle, others to religion or hate (or both), but Bern clings to the wise words of a fellow learned man.

Review: There are two parts of this story that are carefully constructed yet both require the reader to withhold believability: the delivery and the punchline. Bern thinks—knows through experiments—that he can hold a body in low-temperature limbo for at least six months so, naturally, this process can be protracted 36,000-fold. When he awakes with only grogginess, the reader must maintain the first line of credibility—that of the delivery. The last full page is an added level of incredulousness, yet it’s also kind of cool. When taken in terms of propaganda for the State, the ending has a few subtle reminders that the Party will survive.