A welcome repackaging of stories from a premier writer of hard science fiction as he sallies into science fiction humor. Included are two books (he insists on calling them novellas) and a handful of short stories.

The centerpiece is the lead book, “The Starcrossed,” based on the notorious syndicated, Canadian-filmed TV show, Starlost, offered to ill-prepared viewers in a time long before Star Trek the Next Generation set a quality standard for syndication in general. Bova was the science adviser, fantasist Harlan Ellison was the creator and story editor. Not only were both routinely ignored but the suits additionally disemboweled Ellison’s prize-winning story. The results were well-documented in Ellison’s revenge essay that led off the novelization of his script for the planned mini-series  (casually turned into an open-ended series consulting telling him).  “The Starcrossed” is Bova’s own entertaining act of revenge.

“The Starcrossed” is set in the near future with a proposed science fiction story pitched for three- dimensional television by a brilliant, courageous, skirt-chasing writer resembling Bova’s partner-in-TVland, Harlan Ellison. Bill Oxnard has developed the perfected three-dimensional television technology that will make The Starcrossed the flagship for Titanic Productions. When Titanic executives get involved, the result is the same as for the company’s sea-going namesake. No accident on Bova’s part.

The other book in this collection is “Cyberbooks.” Think of it as an alternate world story of the introduction of what we call ebooks, written in 1989. Carl Lewis invents a device that lets people download books that will make literature available to everyone everywhere and even teach the illterate to read. Then there’s the response by maniacal publishers and fearful salesmen and distributors. In the real world, ebooks have eased into the public consciousness, aided by the internet, without a sweeping conversion from print to cyberspace as Bova postulates in his story. Of course, Bova admits that isn’t the point, as he skewers New York book publishers, in the style of “The Starcrossed,” working real nightmare anecdotes into the fiction.

Of the short stories, “The Great Moon Hoax” is my favorite, telling the story of aliens who landed in Roswell in 1948 and how they have worked to hide their origins by making sure we never get a clear vision of populated Mars, Venus, the Moon, and the other planets. (The story could be viewed as a skeptic’s interpretation of the gargantuan hurdles that would have to be overcome to explain why there are so many UFO’s, assuming all those UFO’s are truly flying saucers.)

This is long enough to keep you tied up for awhile and it’s good stuff. Definitely one to grab.

The Kindle does have many advantages. It is small, compact, sturdy, and indeed is infinitely more space economical than any physical book could ever be, in terms of words per inch or ounce. If you are going on vacation, one kindle in your luggage would replace any amount of novels you could hope to finish reading while sunning on the Caribbean beach. The number of novels it could hold is in the thousands, so if you tired of one genre of writing, you could easily flip to another, again cutting down on storage space for all those books. If you are a student of literature, it would mean no more backpacks stuffed with novels carried about from class to class – as long as you could get the ones you needed in kindle files. It has a note-taking feature, so you can make notes as you read, recording your thoughts or observations in a footnote style attached to the text. Then again, you have all your material in one place together, and easy to transport. There is no doubt that the Kindle has its good side.

It also has some drawbacks, however. The Kindle is attached to Amazon.com as a device and also in its content. That means, you can only get your book-files from Amazon, at the moment at least. This is a dangerous system in terms of access to diverse information, opinions, content etc. In future, publishers may offer kindle book-files directly, allowing for a range of material sources as wide as there are now for books, but for now Amazon sits on all that control by itself. Think Big Brother. Because all content comes from Amazon, it effectively still is under their control, even once loaded onto your device. If there is a problem with a file, a copyright issue for instance… or perhaps, a censorship issue?…. Amazon has the capability to remove that file from your Kindle, automatically, without warning. It would take all your saved notes along with it. This is an uncomfortable possibility for many.

Size and eye strain is also an issue. Anyone who has ever spent a day working in front of a computer knows it is not easy on the eyes, and no matter what the Kindle manufacturers say, you are still staring at a screen, and a very small one at that. The lowest price format Kindle at the moment has a screen 6 inches in diameter. That is certainly smaller than most paperback books. Presumably you can increase the font size, but then you decrease the word count on the screen, and would need to scroll more often…which can be annoying. Font options are also very limited, although that may change in time – so you must be a fan of Ariel and times to enjoy this technology, until kindle software can expand to allow diversity in design and layout.

We do not know how stable this technology will be over time. Will this device, like all others, need to be replaced or updated every 2 or 3 years? Will the cost of doing that outweigh the low price of the book-files, evening out the overall cost to match that of paperback novel purchases over the same amount of time? Books are made of paper, admitedly a fragile material, but it is by no means certain that digital files are more stable than ink on paper. The world still holds books over 500 years old, but will the same be said of digital files in the same amount of time? What does that say for the archival needs of civilization as a whole?

I believe that the Kindle will have its place in the realm of books and reading. Its advantages are appealing to many, and it would be folly to write off a new technology with such benefits simply for the sake of nostalgia for the texture of books. As we have seen with mp3s files and players, it is inevitable that the media will be overtaken by the medium, and finding a way to work along with that, as such musicians as Radiohead and U2 have done by taking control of the release of their own content, is a much better way to approach the new technology than ineffective resistance and control. Users will find a way to disseminate the content themselves, and this will hurt those who profit from the distribution. When text files are so easy to share, publishers and novelists will suffer. In fact, publishers may become obsolete altogether, and authors may begin to distribute their own content and cut out the middle-person. This could be a good or a bad effect, but it will need to be reckoned with either way.

I would not be surprised if, in time, the kindle replaced the paperback novel. Our society embraces and relies on digital technology more every year, and it serves us well, for the most part. For those of you who appreciate the feel and sensation of books, as many do, the disappearance of the physical object will be hard to accept. But books won’t disappear altogether, I think, and the electronic device may have some positive side effects for our beloved paper and ink friends. Books will become more rare, and more appreciated, I believe. Instead of being common, taken for granted objects, ignored because of their utilitarian nature, books will be freed to evolve as art objects, as objects of collection, desire, beauty and uselessness. There is no denying that people who love books love them for their beauty, rarity, and tactile presence. When novels no longer have to be cheapened to compete with each other, when pulp fiction and common content is available digitally, the book object can rise to an art form, and be appreciated and heaped with as much expensive production, fine materials, and lavish design as wished.

I believe that common fiction and useful non-fiction will be better served by the Kindle, for reasons of accessibility and portability, but volumes of art, criticism, special interest, even history and memoir, not to mention antiquarian volumes, will still occupy the sphere of the physical. I look forward, with some anxiety but also great curiosity, to what will evolve from the possibilities opened by the Kindle. I will cherish my books always, and even more once they are endangered, and I feels certain others will too, and books will never die.

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Fiction can be separated into two divisions, works of interpretation and works of escape. An interpretive story presents us with an insight into nature and our life conditions. It gives us a keener awareness of of what it is to be human. It helps us understand ourselves and those around us. An interpretive story takes us out of ourselves and says, Look, here is the world.

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On the opposite end of the scale is escape literature. The escape writer is full of surprises. He pulls rabbits out of hats,snatches brightly colored balls out of the air. He takes us on a wild exciting ride of the imagination on an impossible venture. He entertains us and allows us to escape from the mundane.

Now, there are two kinds of readers just as there are two kinds of fiction. The immature or inexperienced reader, even when he thinks he is reading for interpretation insists that what he reads always return him a pleasant image of himself or the world. Although most people may think they have moved on from fairy tales they may be mistaken. The signs of an inexperienced reader is that he demands and is disappointed unless his demands are met. He expects every story to conform to his expectations. He wants a happy outcome and a theme that confirms his opinion of the world. He wants stories that slip easily through the mind.

Image by yumiang via Flickr

The experienced reader, on the other hand, takes deep pleasure in fiction that deals with life rather than formula. He doesn’t reject escape fiction because it can be absorbing and well written. Remember these escape stories? “Peter Pan” and “Treasure Island” but too much of this kind of reading can give us a false sense of life and distort our sense of reality. The harmless kind of escapism never pretends to be other than it is and never asks to be taken seriously. The second kind wears a mask and pretends to be a faithful rendition of life. In its shallowness it falsifies life and may lead us to expect from life what life doesn’t provide.

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There are so many good books to read. We can never read them all. Our problem then is to get the most out of the reading time we have. We need to choose the best books that will repay us for our time and attention. If you don’t know where to start you might ask your librarian for a list of suggested books to set you on the path to good reading.

http://socyberty.com/philanthropy/a-woman-worth-her-salt/

http://bookstove.com/poetry/byron-herbert-reece/

http://bookstove.com/classics/harriet-beecher-stowe/

http://socyberty.com/history/all-men-are-created-equal/

The poem is written in Rhyme (or Rime) Royal, which requires seven line stanzas of iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme of ababbcc. The five unstressed and stressed feet may be seen in the lines: “He had the dialect and different skill,/Catching all passions in his craft of will.” There are forty-seven such stanzas in the complete poem. It is a narrative poem, which means it involves a specific individual telling a story in verse. In this case, the central figure is a young woman by a riverside who is bemoaning her fate to an older listener. The woman is distraught that she fell for the charms of a young man who, as young men so often do, loved her and then left her. The woman observes that, had she the chance to meet him again and become exposed to his charms once more, it is most likely that she would once again succumb, revealing perhaps that she has learned nothing from the experience or that the experience was not so traumatic that she would not mind revisiting it or, even, the inevitable weakness of the flesh when faced with temptation.

It is possible to interpret the poem such that it has a number of deeper, subtler readings but, given the limited depth of meaning and language in the work, this seems to be a little forced. Of all the arguments that various scholars have put forward to explain that it was written by someone other than Shakespeare, the most persuasive is surely that it is simply not as good as the remainder of his work. It is technically competent – the author strings together forty-seven stanzas which both rhyme and scan well enough but, thematically, it seems that Shakespeare is able to infuse more meaning and emotion in just one of his sonnets than the author did in the entirety of the Lover’s Complaint.

The two central symbols are the eponymous Phoenix and the Turtle-Dove (not the reptile). The dove is a well-know symbol of eternal love, since doves have the reputation of making life-long and loving partnerships. It is often identified, therefore, with the concept of the soul and its love for God (and vice versa), although sometimes this is only revealed after a period of difficulty or suffering. The phoenix, on the other hand, is a mythical creature which periodically perishes in a fire only to be reborn from those same flames. The rebirth is, consequently, often associated with Christ, since he is believed to have died and been reborn and, by doing so, bringing the possibility of redemption for all of humanity. However, Christ is not the only individual to have become associated with the possibility of rebirth and resurrection. In any case, the poem concerns the relationship between these two figures and the nature of their love. In the years since the poem was first published, a number of people have tried to identify the historical figures who are believed to be secretly referred to in the poem, whether they are Catholic martyrs, members of the Elizabethan court or some star-crossed lovers. Irrespective of whether Shakespeare had particular people in mind whose story he wished to tell in the narrative, it is clear that there is at least one additional level of meaning in the poem above and beyond the purely historical.

The poem is not written in the iambic pentameter which was Shakespeare’s most common mode of writing; instead, it is divided into verses of four lines long with a rhyming scheme of ABBA. Each of the lines begins with one stressed foot followed by three iambs (i.e. unstressed, stressed). Overall, therefore, each line is a tetrameter of four feet. This organization is reminiscent of a ballad, which is a traditional piece meant to be sung and accompanies by music. Such ballads appear in several of Shakespeare’s plays.

The action features madness, death and misery for many years before a magical ending sees a kind of rebirth and redemption for those characters who make it to the end. The action is sparked by a flaw in the character of King Leontes of Sicily which leads to the tragic events of the early part of the play but what appears to be set for a tragedy is confounded by the happy ending. Hence, it is considered a romance or, as some would prefer, a problem play.

At the opening of the play, King Leontes invites King Polixenes of Bohemia to extend his stay on the island (Sicily is an island of course and islands are often associated with special realms where magic may take place). Ostensibly, this invitation results from friendship but in fact Leontes has become deeply jealous of Polixenes, whom he suspects of impregnating (entirely consensually) his wife Hermione. Leontes orders Camillo, a courtier, to poison Leontes but the good courtier instead informs the endangered king of the plot and so the two men flee. Subsequently, Hermione gives birth to a girl but the baby is taken away and abandoned in the wild and the queen accused and taken away in an unconscious faint. The little girl survives, tended to by an old shepherd and she is named Perdita (‘lost’), while Hermione is reported dead. The advice of the Oracle of Delphi is sought by Leontes but when the priestess replies that the late queen was entirely innocent, the king is distraught. Adding to his misery is the fact that his only son and heir has also died, apparently through grief at the fate of his mother. This unhappiness continues for 16 years. The action then focuses on Perdita, who has grown into a young woman and, when she encounters Florizel, the son of Polixenes, the two fall in love. Before they can be united, false identities must be uncovered and disguises set aside. In the final scene, a statue of Hermione arrives on stage and she is then returned to life just like the statue of Pygmalion or one of the other of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

Considering the title of the play, it seems clear that there is some spiritual or religious elements to Hermione’s resurrection: Christians associate the return of the world to harmony and health to result from the acts of Christ and, indeed, celebrate Christmas in the (northern hemisphere) winter for that reason. However, winter comes every year and when acts of magic are needed to bring the sun back every year, then this is generally connected to a pagan understanding of the universe.

ODD THOMAS, Dean Koontz, Bantam Books, 446pp, paperback

Odd Thomas is a fry cook, a gentle soul with a challenging talent, one so challenging it drives him to seek simplicity in his life. That challenge is in the form of the spirits of the dead that he sees. He even has Elvis hanging around him. They all want some kind of help from him but since they can’t talk to him, it’s tough knowing what kind of help he can offer.

He also sees wraith-like black shadow creatures and over time he has discovered their difference.  They are drawn to scenes not merely involving death, but carnage. Normally he sees them only occasionally. But now they are gathering in great numbers in the tiny desert town of Pico Mundo, and not for a Marilyn Manson concert.

I find stories of the supernatural horror the most appealing which is why I am not normally a consistent reader of Dean Koontz, most of whose many books center on human monsters. But currently, there are three Odd Thomas books available which help fulfill my supernatural craving and this first novel is, in my opinion the best. That’s kind of inevitable with the first of the series, because it introduces the characters and the situation, sets the tone, and has a story on top of it. But I’ve read Odd Thomas three times now and must say that I still think it has the best story, though I’m not putting down the two sequels and hope for another.

Odd Thomas is a good ghost story. There aren’t really that many ghost stories in literature. Most of them are monster stories in masquerade.  Ghostbusters isn’t about ghosts. It’s about monsters and demons and Mr. Staypuff the giant Marshmallow Man.  But it’s not a ghost story.

Everyone has a pretty good idea of what a ghost is and, notwithstanding what horror movies tell you, there’s not much useful interaction that can inspire a story, without changing the rules, which is perfectly acceptable in dark fantasy.

Koontz has found a way to make a ghost story work by using the ghosts simply as indicators of something due to happen in the real world. Of course, the shadow creatures are more monster than ghost, emotional scavengers unable to affect what is going on, although Odd has discovered they can kill anyone who becomes aware of their existence.

If you want a nice solid read, sufficiently long to be worth diving into, this is an excellent start. You’ll be rooting for Odd in his mission and will find yourself at his side as he tries to figure out what’s going on so he can stop it.

Reviewers who review books in my opinion should not be telling the world why they love the book. They should instead be criticising the book and tell the reader what to expect when a book is read. In this world constructive criticism is what makes works of art be it a television show, a magazine or a novel. Often the criticism is as simple as not watching a show or reading a book in the first place.

The other problem with reviews is that they are often the reviewer repeating the same point over and over and over. After all I am confident that you will agree with me that it was easier and fairly beneficial to read me saying “over” once and the second and third time was a was of you time.

Lastly, I do not quite understand it but I would like to see some “negative” reviews as well as the positive reviews for a book. Most people understand that we are not always perfect. To all those Triond writers and anyone else who reads this article I encourage you to write a review from a negative perspective and give balance to the many book reviews out there.

What does Baldwin mean when he says:

“Whose little boy are you?”In Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time,” the line “Whose little boy are you?” is a paramount theme.  In the essay, it is interesting that both the pimps, and the pastor ask this question. Of even more importance is the fact that Baldwin himself longs to be someone’s little boy. Baldwin does not, however see himself as his father’s little boy so the meaning of this question is obviously not literal. When Baldwin poses this question through the pastor he meets, he means, “what is your gimmick or game?” As Baldwin approaches the age of maturity, he begins to realize that he must have a way of living; he needs a gimmick, a trick, a game, to make his living in life. The pimps, street people, and pastors are after him. He only sees these few choices. The question, “whose little boy are you,” can easily be translated, “what are you going to do? Which one will you choose to belong to?” It is also apparent that Baldwin feels that whatever he chooses will own him, and strangely enough, he wants to be owned by something, perhaps to feel safe.  Overall, when Baldwin poses the question, “whose little boy are you?” he means, “what are you going to do? To what/whom will you belong to?”

Author:            Margaret Atwood

Publisher:        Anchor Books

                        www.anchorbooks.com

ISBN:              0-385-72167-6

Margaret Atwood’s apocalyptic novel is a dystopia about a poor man Jimmie, otherwise known as Snowman, whose one best friend in life, Crake, is a utopian genetic-engineering genius that decides to create a new race of people, Crakers.

The charm of the novel is in Margaret Atwood’s tongue-in-cheek and amusing enhancements to the world, all products of genetic engineering. The plot plods along following Jimmie sitting in his sheet telling about Crake, his father, mother, and his lover Oryx. We learn a lot about life in this new world, one that isn’t as remote as one might wish, through Jimmie’s tales. The actual apocalypse when it comes evokes no emotion from either Jimmie or the reader because by this time, humanity has been so dehumanized that we don’t care.

It is a chilling tale and like all dystopias has some utopian aspects. Crake eliminates most of the people in the world to make way for a perfected people, all beautiful, in all shades of color. They are freed from sexual politics because desire for women is satisfied by multiple lovers and a body able to sport for long enough to get pregnant. Men are likewise freed from sexual politics because they only desire long enough to get chosen or not. As people, they need no foods because they prefer vegetable matter and recycle their own body waste endlessly. They also grow up quickly, but appear to be less intelligent than Crake, i.e. haven’t learned enough to create a utopian world.

The sad part about Jimmie is he has no redeeming value. The reader is likely to feel disgusted by him, almost as if he is a Neanderthal, some primitive being that came before the Crakers, a much evolved species. His one redeeming skill seems to be the art of creating the mythology about how the Crakers came into being. Jimmie tries to be careful in what he tells the Crakers but he makes mistakes.

Jimmie eventual has to get supplies and something happens in the story, but the reader never worries about him, he serves no function except as story teller. We don’t even wonder about Crake’s motives, which we eventually learn. We do learn about Oryx but she is more figment of imagination, part lover, part mother, part love, and when she becomes the future mother figure in Jimmie’s creation mythology for the Crakers she is the most real despite a past the looks like Geisha.

Like most apocalyptic novels, this one serves as a warning about dehumanizing humans and the scary potential to create that comes with genetic engineering. I enjoyed the the author’s sense of humor; and felt it carries the reader through to the end.