‘It’s a Good Life’ – Jerome Bixby

I’m going back to the ‘Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One (1929-1964)’ one more time and then off to whatever the next book is that catches my eye. I came across ‘It’s a Good Life’ (first published in 1953) when I mislaid my bookmark and was trying to find ‘Born of Man and Woman’ for another quick re-read (I could read that one again and still not get bored). The title intrigued me, especially with that emphasis and its suggestion of an undertone, so I thought I’d give it a try and find the Matheson story later.
Not only am I really glad that I did but I’m starting to think that ‘The Science Fiction Hall of Fame’ will be worth getting into a whole lot more (if the stories I’ve read are any indicator of the overall quality).

The people of Peaksville live in fear of little Anthony with his ability to read minds and make people’s wishes come true. If everything is good then maybe, just maybe, Anthony won’t do anything else. What Anthony has already done to Peaksville is horrifying enough, what he can to people that he doesn’t like is even worse… Just don’t ever let him hear you sing.

With ‘It’s a Good Life’ Bixby initially adopts a narrow focus and concentrates our attention on Anthony; a three year old boy with a ‘bright, wet purple gaze’ who casts an ‘odd shadow’. Just enough detail to unsettle but not too much, Bixby clearly likes his readers to do the legwork and that’s the best way. After all, the readers can frighten themselves a lot more effectively if they are left to fill in the gaps. Anthony is clearly a person with great power (and maybe not entirely human) but is also a three-year-old child who is dangerously impulsive with that power. See what happens to Bill Soames, a person that Anthony actually likes. You can see then why everyone must act like everything is ok and ‘good’; no-body knows just what Anthony will do to solve things that are bad, only that it won’t end well…

‘Like the time Mrs Kent’s husband, Sam, had come walking back from the graveyard, because Anthony liked Mrs Kent and had heard her mourning.’

Bixby lets you get used to this idea and then slowly widens that narrow focus so that you get the full horror of what Anthony has done to the people of Peaksville and the town itself. Without going too much into that, it really puts everyone’s plight into perspective when you realise that there is no way out at all (we’re told in no uncertain terms) and that the townsfolk are totally at the mercy of Anthony and his whims. It’s a really abrupt way to end the story and this sense of blunt power is underlined by what Anthony has done to Dan Hollis for singing.

‘Bad man’, Anthony said, and thought Dan Hollis into something like nothing anyone would have believed possible, and then he thought the thing into a grave deep, deep in the cornfield.’

There’s a real sense of hopelessness and despair hiding behind the fake smiles of the characters and it’s this which makes ‘It’s a Good Life’ such a harrowing tale. Even the very last sentence lets you know that the people of Peaksville will still be suffering long after you finish reading,

‘Next day it snowed, and killed off half the crops – but it was a good day.’

If you haven’t read this story then I really think you should; either that or watch the ‘Twilight Zone’ episode. Definitely worth it.

Cover Art! 'The Doctor and the Dinosaurs' (Mike Resnick)

I'm normally a pretty big fan of Pyr, both in terms of their output and the gorgeous covers that they dress it all up in. This time round though? Hmmm...

Is it just me or would this cover look a lot more at home on the front of a computer game? Pulp + Steampunk + Dinosaurs should normally equal a lot of mad fun and the book itself may well have all that in pades. It's just a little too cartoonish for me though (although nice font for the title).
It's a good job then that the synopsis seems to promise a little bit more...

The time is April, 1885. Doc Holliday lies in bed in a sanitarium in Leadville, Colorado, expecting never to leave his room again. But the medicine man and great chief Geronimo needs him for one last adventure. Renegade Comanche medicine men object to the newly-signed treaty with Theodore Roosevelt. They are venting their displeasure on two white men who are desecrating tribal territory in Wyoming. Geronimo must protect the men or renege on his agreement with Roosevelt. He offers Doc one year of restored health in exchange for taking on this mission.

Welcome to the birth of American paleontology, spearheaded by two brilliant men, Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh, two men whose genius is only exceeded by their hatred for each other's guts.

Now, with the aid of Theodore Roosevelt, Cole Younger, and Buffalo Bill Cody, Doc Holliday must save Cope and Marsh not only from the Comanches, not only from living, breathing dinosaurs, but from each other. And that won't be easy.

I've always had a soft spot for cowboys and dinosaurs (what was that old film again...?) so will more than likely give 'The Doctor and the Dinosaurs' a go a little close to its publication date in December. How about you? Has anyone else here read any of Resnick's 'Weird West' books? 

Could this be the best book signing ever...?

I reckon it comes very close :o) Check out the press release,

On Tuesday 5^th November at 6pm, come and celebrate Fawkes’ night, Forbidden Planet style as welcome two amazing authors! Meet SCOTT LYNCH and PATRICK ROTHFUSS, signing THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES and THE WISE MAN’S FEAR, at the Forbidden Planet London Megastore.

 

In Scott’s Lynch’s THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES, Locke and Jean come back from their high seas adventure, and are brought down with a thump. Jean is mourning the loss of his lover and Locke must live with the fallout of crossing the all-powerful magical assassins the Bonds Magi. It is a fall-out that will pit both men against Locke's own long lost love, who wants nothing more than to destroy them for ever. The Gentleman Bastard sequence has become a literary sensation in fantasy circles and now, with the third book, Scott Lynch is set to seal that success.

Patrick Rothfuss’s THE WISE MAN’S FEAR is the follow-up to the hugely successful THE NAME OF THE WIND, and has been hailed as the exciting fantasy since George R. R. Martin's A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE. Picking up the tale of Kvothe Kingkiller, this book follows him into exile, into political intrigue, courtship, adventure, love and magic . . . and further along the path that has turned Kvothe, the mightiest magician of his age, a legend in his own time, into Kote, the unassuming pub landlord. 

There is no doubt at all that I will be there on the night. Ok, there is some doubt that I will be there on the night (baby number two will only be a month away at that point) but I'll try my best. See you there?

‘Born of Man and Woman’ – Richard Matheson

I’ve had a copy of ‘The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One (1929 – 1964)’ on my shelf for a long time now. I never really picked it up as I’ve found that I have a bit of an aversion to being told what is good and what isn’t, I’d rather read something and make my own mind up. Here, the blurb talks about ‘twenty six of the greatest science fiction stories ever written… the considered verdict of the Science Fiction Writers of America’. I’m sure they know what they are talking about but even so, I want to find my own ‘greatest science fiction stories ever written.’

Well, that was what I was thinking until I picked up ‘The Science Fiction Hall of Fame’ the other day (really want to get back to reading books that I already have on the shelves) and saw that there was a Richard Matheson story lurking within. I say ‘lurking’, ‘Born of Man and Woman’ is only three pages long and is very easy to miss if you’re flicking through the book. Richard Matheson hasn’t let me down yet so I thought I’d have a quick read before I went to bed last night…

‘X- This day when it had light mother called me retch. You retch she said. I saw in her eyes the anger. I wonder what it is a retch…
Today mother let me off the chain a little so I could look out the little window. Thats how I saw the water falling from upstairs.’

Matheson sets things to play with our expectations very early on. A small child locked in the cellar by an abusive mother and a father who cannot bring himself to touch the child at all,

‘Look at you he said and didn’t have the nice face. I touched his arm and said it is alright father. He shook and pulled away where I couldn’t reach.’

These early moments in the story are all about identifying with the child. It loves it’s parents, despite their rejection, and has been shut away from everything. It is the father’s reaction though that suggests there is a little more to this tale then at first appears and the readers have to ask themselves, ‘just why has this child been shut away…?’

The beauty of Matheson’s writing lies in his ability to drop major revelations in a very matter of fact way. Blink and you’ll miss it, catch those moments and the whole story will suddenly be turned upside down. The child escapes the cellar, briefly, and his father finds him,

‘The anger came in his eyes. He hit me. I spilled some of the drip on the floor from one arm. It was not nice. It made ugly green on the floor.’

All of a sudden we start to realise exactly why the child (we never find out if it is male or female) has been locked away and just why its parents are so unloving towards it. It is not entirely human. At the same time though, we are looking at this story through the eyes of a child  (‘Ohgod he said. And only eight’) that is trying to express uncertainty and unhappiness through very immature speech. It works, the reader ends up feeling very sorry for everyone involved but most of all for the child.

But then that all changes. ‘This is another times…’ and the child has grown to a point where the father can no longer fully control it. If this wasn’t bad enough, the child has realised that the balance of power has shifted, ‘I have a bad anger with mother and father… If they try to beat me again Ill hurt them. I will.’

We’ve all heard children say this (and have probably said similar things ourselves as children) but Matheson adds a touch of horror to these words with the nearest thing to a description of just what is locked in the cellar. We still don’t know what it looks like but the descriptions of what it will do gives us some pretty vivid clues.

‘I will screech and laugh loud. I will run on the walls. Last I will hang head down by all my legs and laugh and drip green all over until they are sorry they didn’t be nice to me.’

I’m thinking some kind of bat-creature here (although that’s just me) but what is clear is that the fear of the parents has driven the child to fully embrace its monstrous nature and things will undoubtedly get a lot worse.

Matheson has written a pretty damn terrifying story all in all; a story made all the more terrifying through the inability of any of the characters to resolve a situation that could be resolved. Or could it? That’s the question you have to ask and that adds another level of fear to the narrative.
Either way, I’ve just read another story by Richard Matheson that stuck in my head for hours afterwards and had me wondering what happened next. You can’t ask for a lot more than that and while I’m still not sure if ‘Born of Man and Woman’ is one of the ‘greatest science fiction stories ever written’ I’m more than happy (if ‘happy’ is the right word) with what I’ve just read.

Book Haul! (Moorcock and Eddison Edition)

I've been waiting a little while to show this haul off, mostly because the books were in a charity shop (in Ipswich) and then they were residing at my folks house (thanks Mum!) waiting to come over and meet their new owner.
They're all mine though now and a real example of what a determined bit of prodding around, in the most unlikely looking charity shops) can do. Have a look,

I've never read the 'Epic Pooh' essay (although have heard what everyone else thinks of it) so am looking forward to reading that, amongst others, in 'Wizardy and Wild Romance'. I haven't read any Jerry Cornelius at all and have still to start 'The Dancers at the End of Time' series so 'The New Nature of the Catastrophe' and 'Legends from the End of Time' are just what the doctor ordered. Actually, I have read 'Elric at the End of Time' (which is in 'Legends') and I'm looking forward to reading that story again.

You wait ages for some 'Jerry Cornelius' and then two books come along at once :o) I like the way that 'A Cure for Cancer' is marked as 'Science Fiction' on the cover', I guess someone thought the skeleton woman holding a ray gun was a little bit too subtle...
I'm looking forward to seeing if/how 'The Golden Barge' expends on the short story and 'The Worm Ouroboros' was an opportunity to nudge my 'Fantasy Masterworks' collection onwards a little bit (even though it's not the correct edition, not a big deal so long as I get to read the books). All will be reviewed here in the fullness of time :o)

If you do happen to find yourself in Ipswich, check out the Samaritans charity shop (Carr Street) as they still have a whole load of very cool (and cheap) sci-fi and fantasy books on the shelves. Then turn around and get the hell out town! Seriously, there are nicer places to spend your time, don't say I didn't warn you...

‘Monster Massacre’ Vol. 1 – Various (Atomeka/Titan Comics)

There are some books that will defy any attempt to review them, simply because the cover already says everything that the reader needs to know. Is there any point talking about a book where the first thing you see is this…?

If that didn’t make things clear enough for you, the blurb on the back talks about ‘hot Nordic goddesses punching evil stuff in the face!’ Do I really need to go on…?
Well actually I do. ‘Monster Massacre’ is a book clearly geared towards lovers of busty Nordic goddesses (both ‘Sharky’ and ‘El Zombo’ cater for that) but there’s a lot here for everyone else as well and it’s all fun to read.

Although I wasn’t too keen on some of the artwork on display (Andy Kuhn’s ‘Monster Puncher’ was a little too ‘sketchy’ for my tastes and the same accusation could also be levelled at Dave Dorman’s ‘Monkey Business’) I don’t think there is a single outright bad story in this collection. Okay, ‘Sharky’ and ‘El Zombo’ fall just the wrong side of being too one-dimensional (sacrificing plot for spectacle although both tales do make for quite the spectacle) but make up for it by being a lot of fun in the meantime.

What really made the book work for me is that each story takes a different look at what being a monster can mean and the different kind of consequences that must be faced. Delsante and Aranda’s ‘Daikaiju’ asks who the real monsters are when people will do anything to be the person who kills a mythical dragon. Edginton and D’Israeli’s ‘Little Monsters’ is also worth a look in that regard; a similar story but set against a gorgeously surreal backdrop (wonderfully illustrated) that adds new layers to an old theme. I’d like to read ‘Kingdom of the Wicked’ based on this story. Mark Nelson’s ‘Bandits’ is a post apocalyptic look at highway robbery involving a very cute (but highly poisonous) little purple monster. I particularly loved this story as not only is the artwork beautiful but the story itself is told without any words at all. None are needed because of the artwork; ‘Bandits’ is a silent piece that is somehow eloquent all at the same time.

If you like your ‘Cthulhu’ then ‘Monster Massacre’ caters quite nicely with Paris and Suydan’s ‘Deep Six’ (full of action but hinting at a wider story that I really needed to have read first) and Mike Elliott’s ‘The Thing in the Surf’, a piece that surprised me with it’s inclusion (being a wholly prose piece with no artwork at all). It is a very chilling tale though and Elliott’s descriptive prose allows ‘The Thing in the Surf’ to hold its head high with the rest of the tales in this collection.

I’m always on the lookout for more fantasy comic strips (there aren’t enough for my liking) so it was great to see ‘Monster Massacre’ featuring Mark A. Nelson’s ‘Seasons’ as well as Marz and Raney’s ‘Pair of Rogues’. It’s funny how these two stories stand up in comparison to each other. ‘Seasons’ features perhaps some of the best artwork in the collection (outside of the galleries) but literally has no story to speak of. ‘Pair of Rogues’, on the other hand, has some very workmanlike artwork in places but has a compelling storyline with two lead characters that I would like to see more of. Funny how things work out isn’t it?

‘Monster Massacre’ then is a real lesson in not judging a book by its cover. The stories collected may be a little hit and miss but there is something here for everyone and it’s all geared to really get you thinking about what monsters are actually all about.

‘Final Duty’ – David Guymer (Black Library)

I’m probably still one Kindle away from reading full length novels electronically; I’ve tried reading them on my phone and it doesn’t work for me, not on a small screen. Short stories and stuff like that though…? Me and my phone have that one covered. The shorter the story the better and it just so happens that Black Library have released a series of 1,000 word short e-stories. I’ve read a few Warhammer 40K stories now but I’d never even heard of the Hospitallers Space Marines, let alone come across them, so my interest in ‘Final Duty’ was instantly piqued. I also wondered how much story you could fit into a thousand words, quite a bit as it happens…

Imperial Guard Lieutenant Caleb lies near death, entangled on razorwire, until he is rescued by a warrior from legend, a mighty Space Marine of the Hospitallers Chapter. Taken for treatment, he soon discovers that his rescuer may be more dangerous than the foes he originally faced…

Writing a story in only a thousand words must be quite a challenge, what with background to fit in as well as story. Guymer circumvents this by leaving out a lot of detail and going for the whole ‘this is just one battle in a whole galaxy at war’ approach. It worked for me. Not only do you get that ‘wide screen’ feel of a galaxy at war but Guymer makes room to show you just how brutal it is up close and personal.
In some ways, Caleb isn’t an ideal character to take you through the story as he is out of his mind with pain and fear. On the other hand though, Caleb is the ideal character to introduce Brother Raphel of the Hospitallers; a marine with a holy mission that will never end whilst war is being waged.
It’s not the mission you think either. I won’t say too much here, for fear of spoilers, but the ‘final reveal’ was a neat little twist for someone like me, who wasn’t familiar with this Chapter, and Guymer even provides a nice little cinematic touch to the last paragraph or two.

At 99p for the download, I don’t think fans can go too far wrong with ‘Final Duty’ and, personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing what Guymer can do with a little more room to work in. If it’s anything like this, I could well be in for a bit of a treat.