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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 31, 2017 18:21:44 GMT -5
The Red Skull by Kenneth Robeson (Lester Dent) The sixth Super-Saga finds Doc and his pals dealing with a plot to sabotage a dam construction site in Arizona. An okay read, but this one didn't really seem to have the gravitas to command the help of Doc Savage. And the villain's identity was pretty well telegraphed from early in the book. The ending was pure pulp though, which is a good thing. Doc's universe would be a very interesting place. Have you looked at any of those new ones that came out a few years ago? I read a review that said the new writer had done a decent job of reproducing the characters and their world. I did just take another look at the new adventures of Doc and one thing that stuck out is that the books are two to three times longer than the old pulp novels. I wonder if they will maintain the excitement for that length.
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Post by berkley on Jan 31, 2017 19:43:56 GMT -5
Have you looked at any of those new ones that came out a few years ago? I read a review that said the new writer had done a decent job of reproducing the characters and their world. I did just take another look at the new adventures of Doc and one thing that stuck out is that the books are two to three times longer than the old pulp novels. I wonder if they will maintain the excitement for that length. Interesting. I wonder if that was requested by the publishers or his own choice. The modern books aren't be restricted to a length that would fit in one of the old pulp mags, so I suppose the writer might feel there's no reason to limit himself in the same way. But the short length did contribute to the whole pulp aesthetic of fast-moving, action-oriented plot-lines, so you pose a valid question .
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Post by Rob Allen on Feb 7, 2017 20:14:26 GMT -5
www.powells.com/wintobAs a proud sponsor of the 13th annual Tournament of Books, we're giving away all 18 books from the shortlist to one lucky winner. To join the action, choose the book you think should win the 2017 Tournament of Books. Once the Rooster has been announced, we'll randomly select the sweepstakes winner. Complete terms and conditions: www.powells.com/info/tournament-of-books-terms
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Feb 13, 2017 18:13:27 GMT -5
No Life of Their Own: And Other Stories (The Complete Short Fiction of Clifford D. Simak #5) by Clifford Simak. The fifth volume in an e-book series with the aim of collecting SF Grandmaster Clifford Simak's short fiction. As with most short-story collections, especially ones that are trying to be comprehensive, the quality is somewhat variable. I was surprised there was a western and a war story in the collection. Overall it was a good, though not great collection of short works. They had, by and large, that Simak feel. Unfortunately there weren't any really great stories here. And the series is, to me, somewhat problematic, because they seem to just be random collections of stories, not arranged either thematically or chronologically. Worth a look, but not by any means the best work of a Grandmaster.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Feb 13, 2017 23:00:33 GMT -5
I always enjoyed the works of Clifford Simak. Then again, all I've read were stories from best-of-the-year anthologies or his own greatest story collections. Not part of the A-list of SF pulp authors but certainly on top of the B-list IMHO. It was almost impossible to most, when getting paid a penny a word and needing to constantly churn out stories monthly to make a living, not to hack it out over time.
Simak however is a must-read author for anyone interested in early SF. Thanks for drawing this to my attention. I'll need to see if the library offers it in their E-book collection
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 13, 2017 23:49:49 GMT -5
I have the Ace double of Lord of the Trees and The Mad Goblin. Tons of fun. A Feast Unknown is definitely not for the squeamish. I did like The Other Log of Phileas Fogg. I haven't read the other either. Farmer did do one straight Doc novel. Escape From Loki was published in 1991 and features a young Clark Savage, Jr. escaping from a World War I German POW camp. I haven't read Loki and never seem to see it around in any of the used bookshops I frequent. I have read his Tarzan novel from around the same time, The Dark Heart of Time, which I thought was quite good. Again, wish he had done a few more. My adventure reading lately has been mostly focused on the late Victorian era. I'm finally getting to some of the famous ones I never read as a kid, like Jules Verne ( Journey to the Centre of the Earth, 20,000 Leagues, Around the World in 80 Days, Mysterious Island, etc) RL Stevenson's Treasure Island and Kidnapped, and H. Rider Haggard's Allan Quatermain, as well as re-reading some old favourites, like the Sherlock Holmes books and Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines and She.
Over the next few months I'm looking forward to more Stevenson ( Master of Ballantrae and maybe The Wrong Box), more Verne ( Robur le conquérant), Anthony Hope's Prisoner of Zenda, some of Conan Doyle's historical adventure books ( The White Company, the Brigadier Gerard stories), and lots of other stuff I can't think of at the moment. Also, a lot of famous horror writing came out around that time - e.g. Stoker's Dracula, Arthur Machen's short stories. So I have lots of fun stuff to look forward to in the immediate future. After reading Zenda, try Hope's sequel, Rupert of Hentzau. It's a bit more of a disillusioned story, and rather darker' but, worth it. Brigadier Gerard is good stuff and would make for either a great tv series or film(s). I'd also recommend Talbot Mundy's Jimgrim stories, which features a hero who is an antecedent to Indiana Jones (as is Howard's El Borak). Mundy is also an influence on Farmer and the Nine, who were behind Lord Grandrith and Doc Caliban.
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 14, 2017 0:02:25 GMT -5
The only one I've read is Doc Savage: Skull Island, which is the Doc Savage/King Kong team-up. It was actually a lot of fun. But probably not a full test of how good Will Murray's other Savage books are because it was a very young Doc in that adventure. Murray has a good reputation of doing pulp work. He took over and ghosted The Destroyer for Warren Murphy. I'd like to say I'll read more of the Neo-Doc's...but there are so many books and so little time. Same here. I intend to try some eventually, but haven't even gotten round to reading more of the originals yet, which I want to do first. I did enjoy Philip José Farmer's Doc Caliban pastiches - the ones I've read, that is. A Feast Unknown might not be to the taste of some Doc Savage fans, as Farmer works in some pretty weird sex and violence that is not at all in keeping with the spirit of the original, but the Caliban sequel, The Mad Goblin, is played totally straight. I only wish he'd continued the series. I haven't yet read The Peerless Peer or whatever other Doc Savage tributes he did. Peerless Peer is Sherlock and Tarzan, with a few pulp easter eggs thrown in (Kent Allard and Richard Wentworth). I enjoyed it. Anyone who likes modern pulp should try Black Coat Books' Tales of the Shadowmen anthology series, edited by Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficer. they feature stories with French pulp literary characters Fantomas, Arsene Lupin, Madame Atomos, Dr Omega, the Nyctalope), French silent mystery serials (Judex, Les Vampires and Irma Vep) and characters from other literary sources and media. They are a lot of fun and well done. Kim Newman had two stories about the Angels of Music, Charlie's Angels, where Charlie is the phantom of the Opera, and the Angels are characters from literature. He recently published and expanded novel version, with different teams of angels, in an overarching story. Another favorite within is Xavier Maumejean, who has stories featuring the birth of the Village, from The Prisoner, Hercule Poirot matching wits with Jeeves, Madame Atomos crossing paths with Sumuru, Madam Hydra, and Modesty Blaise; and Count Zaroff in another Most Dangerous Game, that includes Margo Lane. Black Coat also has translations of some of the original stories of the characters, like Dr Omega (a time traveller who is an obvious inspiration for Doctor Who), Doc Ardan (a Doc Savage analogue before Doc existed, though probably not a direct influence).
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 14, 2017 0:12:59 GMT -5
I'm in the process of reading Terry Pratchett's final Discworld book, Shepherd's Crown, which features Tiffany Aching, fully coming into her role in life and the death of Granny Weatherwax. I'm just getting going in it. It is obviously a bit unpolished, as Pratchett usually did a lot of tweaking on the things; but, his alzheimer's kind of pushed him to finish it quicker than he would have liked. Raising Steam seemed a bit abrupt to me, so I hope this doesn't feel the same, at the end. It does feel like a metaphor for Pratchett's own mortality and a message for those who will follow. I love the Tiffany Aching books and recommended them to every teen and adult who was looking for something for their kids, when I was a bookseller. One, they are filled with Pratchett's trademark humor and the Nac mac Feegles are hilarious. Two, they are his customary great reads. However, the third reason is the main one that inspired me to recommend them; they deal with taking responsibility for your life and your world. Across the series, Tiffany grows as a person. In the first book, she takes it upon herself to go rescue her little brother, who was carried off by fairies, after she was supposed to be watching them. The second finds her leaving home to begin her apprenticeship as a witch and her taking responsibility for dealing with something she encounters. The third finds her dealing with infatuation and correcting a mistake. The fourth has her face up to the role of being a witch, even when society has been turned against witches. This one has her stepping into very big shoes of her mentor. In each, the character grows and matures; but, I love the fact that she takes responsibility for making her part of the world a better place. It's something I felt in reading comics in the 70s, especially Superman, and something I think adolescents need to learn, especially in an era where they are bombarded with mixed messages by the media and advertising. Anything that both amuses and inspires is good reading, in my world.
One of the things I love about Pratchett is that, aside from being one of the funniest writers working in the English language, he also is one of the most thoughtful. His satires make you look at the world from a different angle and see the truths hidden from view. They make your brain work, without hitting you in the face with it.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 20, 2017 19:26:21 GMT -5
I always enjoyed the works of Clifford Simak. Then again, all I've read were stories from best-of-the-year anthologies or his own greatest story collections. Not part of the A-list of SF pulp authors but certainly on top of the B-list IMHO. It was almost impossible to most, when getting paid a penny a word and needing to constantly churn out stories monthly to make a living, not to hack it out over time. Simak however is a must-read author for anyone interested in early SF. Thanks for drawing this to my attention. I'll need to see if the library offers it in their E-book collection I think I've only read Way Station (which is amazing) and Project Pope (also quite good)... definitely on the list of people I'd grab a book of if I see it at a book sale
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Feb 20, 2017 20:27:35 GMT -5
I always enjoyed the works of Clifford Simak. Then again, all I've read were stories from best-of-the-year anthologies or his own greatest story collections. Not part of the A-list of SF pulp authors but certainly on top of the B-list IMHO. It was almost impossible to most, when getting paid a penny a word and needing to constantly churn out stories monthly to make a living, not to hack it out over time. Simak however is a must-read author for anyone interested in early SF. Thanks for drawing this to my attention. I'll need to see if the library offers it in their E-book collection I think I've only read Way Station (which is amazing) and Project Pope (also quite good)... definitely on the list of people I'd grab a book of if I see it at a book sale Look for All Flesh is Grass. Terribly underrated book. One of my favorites.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Feb 22, 2017 13:32:40 GMT -5
Poor Butterfly by Stuart Kaminsky Hollywood's favorite P.I. is in San Francisco hired by maestro Leopold Stokowski to find out who is trying to shut down the new opera house and keep Madame Butterfly from being played. One of the better entries into the long-running Toby Peters series.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Feb 22, 2017 13:48:52 GMT -5
Don Heck: A Work of Art by John Coates. Another of Twomorrows artist books, in this case putting together two extended interviews with Don Heck along with supporting material. I actually found this pretty fascinating. Heck was one of the go-to artists in the early Marvel Age, probably most associated with Iron Man. But he always stood in the shadow of Kirby and Ditko. His work really was highly dependent on who was inking him. The book also has a section to dispel the myth that Heck's art lowered sales on Justice League, The Flash and Wonder Woman (well sales did go down on Wonder Woman, but it never ever sold well). Interesting book. Much better than I was expecting.
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Post by berkley on Feb 23, 2017 0:18:26 GMT -5
How is it in the illustration department - lots of art samples from all parts of his career?
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Feb 23, 2017 10:40:58 GMT -5
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Post by wildfire2099 on Feb 23, 2017 21:55:12 GMT -5
The Bear and the Nightengale by Katherine Arden
This is one of those that my wife read that she thought I'd like... she definitely picked a winner this time!
Fact or Fiction? This is one of those stories that just doesn't want to decide if it's history or a fairy tale. While that doesn't always work, it's used to great effect here.
On the one hand, it's an excellent portrait of life in what becomes Russia under the rule of the Khans, before the Tsars made it a country and a world power. On the other, its a battle between old and new,.. the old ways of home and hearth and the new of Christianity. That the household Gods (or Demons, depending on your point of view) are real here (or, at least to some they are real) could be a little silly, but it's done with such a deft hand that it fits into the story seamlessly.
And, unlike many promising modern books, this one actually has a satisifying ending!
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