Tag: SciFi (nonspecific)

Book Review: More Than Human

Erin Penn

Book Cover from Amazon

More than Human by Theodore Sturgeon

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Individually, they are a seemingly simpleminded young man living in the woods who can read the thoughts of others, a runaway girl with telekinetic powers, twin girls who can barely speak but can teleport across great distances, and an infant with a mind like a supercomputer. Together, they are the Gestalt—a single extraordinary being comprised of remarkable parts—although an essential piece may be missing . . .
 
But are they the next stage in human development or harbingers of the end of civilization? The answer may come when they are joined by Gerry. Powerfully telepathic, he lacks a moral compass—and his hatred of the world that has rejected him could prove catastrophic.
 
 Winner of the International Fantasy Award and considered Theodore Sturgeon’s masterpiece, More Than Human is a genre-bending wonder that explores themes of responsibility and morality, individuality, and belonging. Moving and suspenseful, lyrical and provocative, the novel was one of the first to elevate science fiction into the realm of literature, and inspired musicians and artists, including the Grateful Dead and Crosby, Stills and Nash.

 

MY REVIEW

My fourth or fifth time reading the book (once in comic book format) and Theodore Sturgeon continues to enthrall as a master of science fiction which everyone who loves the genre should read at least once. Unfortunately this particular manuscript is beginning to show its age in 2015, hence the slip in rating from 5 stars which I would have bestowed on it in 1985 (30 years ago) to 4 stars for today. Originally written in 1952, the people and events are beginning to move beyond modern relatability. 

The story itself is three separate short stories as would have appeared in the sci-fi magazines at the time and reprinted as a coherent whole. I read it in five hours in my most recent revisit (remember while I read this book before, it had been over a decade so I didn’t skim). Each part can be treated by itself, but the third part “Morality” is what has stuck with me throughout the years and you need to first two parts to get the payoff of the third. The third part not only stuck with me, but it influenced me – helped me to create my own ethos beyond morality. And for that reason alone, it will remain on my bookshelves as long as I have bookshelves.

Flash: Peace Out

Erin Penn

Photo by Kyle Szegedi on Unsplash

The damp reached its oxidizing claws toward the abandoned VW camper. The cheerful sky blue outside an affront to its power. Even though the daisy and flower decals long ago succumbed to its strength, peeling back the paper and glue, the metal sides continued to shrug off its assault year after year. Not heat, frost, or cold mattered.

Vandals and homeless equally tried to leave their mark, attempting to break windows or streak the side with obscene and vulgar messages. Only one tag stayed after the assailant left, a beautiful mural of a mother holding a baby who transformed into a solider, died, had flowers grow and another child, clearly related to the solider, was shown running with flowers in hand to a grandmother. Even that artistry did not stand up to the onslaught of time and elements.

The only thing left was the annoying cheerful sky blue van-a-gon, waiting for its driver to return from a long-forgotten concert held near the field where the vehicle had been abandoned. The damp pulled back as the sun raised above the hill, cursing its failure in dozens of spiraling evaporation trails as heat dissolved the dew.

Sometime later the vehicle sighed, a shifting of metal during the heat of the day. Sliding side doors became arms, wheels became hands and feet. The robot stumbled as it stood in his true form for the first time in decades.

“Man, what a trip.” He looked at the sky stretching from horizon to horizon, as blue as his body. Missing his driver and the group of Deadheads they gathered crossing the country, and their multi-colored smokes filling his cabin-lungs, he sighed again, “Guess it’s time to peace out.”

The damp screamed its frustration in unending steam as the metal body launched itself into the waterless void of space.

(Words 303; first published 2/17/2019)

Flash: Scrimshaw

Erin Penn

Copied from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nantucket_Whaling_scrimshaw_E.Burdett.jpg
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Photograph taken at Nantucket Whaling Museum, Nantucket, Massachusetts. September 15, 2008

“Can’t you buy anything?”

“Sorry buddy, but these are all standard and I got plenty.” The shop owner’s voice laced with barter avarice. “Unless you are willing to come down in price.”

“I am only asking a quarter what I paid for them.”

The deeper male voice managed to keep the whine of desperation back, but Felicity could hear the fear of grounded spacer clawing its way out of the too heavy, and yet too empty belly. She knew the answer even before the owner gave it, and she could tell the spacer knew it too. She glanced up for the stock, mostly in recognition of the man’s ability to keep the panicked dread clamped down.

Wow, now that is someone who didn’t skimp on zero-G exercises. Arm muscles bulged a bit as he gripped the scrimshaw case. Black hair was beginning to grow in, so the man was losing hope. At least five days growth. The clothes hung just a little on him, so he hadn’t been grounded too long. Most likely why he still had scrimshaw to sell. His box looked banged up, so he wasn’t some newbie whose captain left as a lost cause before the novice blew up the ship. Her eyes wandered over the portside overalls, becoming more interested in the puzzle the grounded spacer represented – and admittedly his looks – than the store stock, until she noticed the series of loops on the left side attached to two forks.

Wait, a harmony? They never have trouble finding work.

“I pay a tenth of market price for used goods. Sign says so out front, Jack. You get a quarter for unique pieces.” The seller moved his assessing equipment below the counter. “Ain’t much comes through here, but I can sell used goods to people who come to this backwater hellhole.”

“I got one handmade.” The harmony stroked his case. “A Candlewood, he … I … I got to eat.”

Hard-edge sarcasm destroyed the comradeship sales pretense the shopkeeper had welcomed Felicity into his store. “You got an Abbot Candlewood?”

“No, no, his brother, Clevon Candlewood.” The engine specialist held his box protectively against his board chest.

The merchant paled a little. Everyone knew the Candlewood’s ability to make scrimshaw beads. Some made their living from the beads, while others just did it as a pastime. While Abbot was prolific, Clevon was the better artist by far, but he did it between terraforming gigs.

“You got providence?”

Tears streamed down the guy’s face. His head jerked in a nod.

“Hold up.” Felicity didn’t realize she was going to speak until her clear contralto broke the venue. The two men turned as one. “A Clevon Candlewood you say?”

The harmony shuttered. Baring his desperation to a land jackal was one thing, but in front of a fellow spacer…

“The keep here can’t give you what it’s worth, needing to pay gravity charges. I’m willing to give passage to the Paradise Links for a Clevon.”

“Passage ma’am?”

“Yeah, you would use my bunk when I’m on duty, and food would be rationed and typical zero-g gruel, unless you work a little, but we could contract something out.” The shopkeep looked ready to interrupt, but she had a regular run and often picked up a bead passing through. The route was far enough off the main many of his mass-produced pieces were discontinued and she was able to fill in holes in her collection. The man was a jackal, an honest one because his providences were always spot on, but he still was a dirt breather, and he was easily distracted by the cash of the now. “You can wrap me the Mother Goose Cupboard and transfer the ownership file to this chip.” She tossed a thin blue stick to track providence of the artwork. Both the bead and the stick would be added to the box clamped under her bunk.

“Oh, I can work. Still got all my tools.”

“On you? Cause I lift in two hours, burn starts in one, and we got to get you to close all your books and open the ships before leaving.”

“Yes ma’am. Carrying everything on me now.”

Felicity reassessed his outfit. He had to have sold everything else. Only two forks didn’t bode well for an experienced harmony. He had loops for eight. But she wasn’t hiring him to keep her ship flying through the discord, just offering transport.

And maybe bunk space. He wasn’t crew, so, for once, that option was open. Unless he signed on for something. His sculptured arms looked strong enough to hold her all night. She shouldn’t have offered the work possibility; she hadn’t been properly lifted since, damn, since before she got her stripes nine years ago. Only one or two dirt breathers at a Links. Could she sneak in bunk requirements if he was only on for three stops or would that be unethical? You know the answer to that Felicity. On the other hand, if he was full harmony – she would need to find out his certification level – that would put them equals according to spacer guild rules. Nah, with two forks best she could hope for is a failed apprentice. Still harmonies tended to play outside the rules; she also heard they always found the right note to hum for a woman.

(words 890; first published 11/13/2013; republished new blog format 12/2/2018)

 

Book Review: Athena’s Daughters Vol 2

Erin Penn

Book Cover from Amazon

Athena’s Daughters Vol. 2, an anthology published by Silence in the Library (presently closed).

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON

Maze running executioners, menopausal super heroes, psychic scientists, precog nuns, sentient crows . . . These are just a sampling of the diverse ladies that will enthrall, excite, and entertain you in this anthology of science fiction and fantasy stories written by women.

 

MY REVIEW

A well-balanced, diverse anthology.

Second of the Women-centric anthologies from Silence in the Library and a much faster read at *only* 330 pages of manuscript fiction and 21 stories. The volume still suffers from the unevenness of skill is present in all anthologies, especially since the editors make a point of developing new writers as well as using some amazing “anchor”/mature writers. Also, again, amazes at the DIVERSITY of characters – Hispanic, black, Asian, white, old, young, middle-age, straight, gay, and doesn’t impact the story. These are stories about women, all females, the full-spectrum of the bearers of double-X chromosome. And the stories themselves range from science fiction to fantasy, past to future, sad to joyous, one-shots to a side story in an established series. 

Now to the standout stories
“The Killing Garden” by Carrie Ryan – An amazing character/sociological piece the editors put at the very beginning of the book. If you read nothing else in this anthology, read this historical drama.

“Red is the Color of Mother Dirt” by JY Yang – A political sci-fi. A wonderful sociological study (and anyone who has read my reviews knows how much I love great worldbuilding), which is amazing to find in a short story. So little room to create a whole world while also introducing and developing characters and telling a complete story. Ms. Yang did this all with grace.

“The Black Mamba and the Leopard” by Alison J McKenzie – A folk-myth fantasy-thriller. Loved the main character and her problem solving skills. Not quite the must-read of the Killing Garden, but close. A five-star story in my opinion.

“The Miraculous” by Tess Tabak – Written in second person. No, really, second person. I’ve heard about stories like this, but never seen one. And the story is about what happens after the Zombie Apocalypse you just survived. Did you ever think loneliness…monotony… would be the biggest issue? You understand the main character very well by the last sentence.

“Hot Flash” by Antha Ann Adkins – Another excellent superhero origin story (with an amazing illustration). And I thought only teenagers had the hormonal instability to set off a superhero mutation. 

“Crow Bait and Switch” by Tish E. Pahl – A cuddly, creepy sci-fi. ‘Nough said.

Now read the book!

Author Spotlight: Anne McCaffrey

Erin Penn

Amazon Cover

To Ride Pegasus: Talent #1 by Anne McCaffrey
Pegasus in Flight: Talent #2 by Anne McCaffrey
Get off the Unicorn by Anne McCaffrey

Rereading old favorites can be hazardous to your comfortable memories. The Talent series by Anne McCaffrey soared me to the stars in my teens, while Get off the Unicorn kept me there. Women had powers equal to men. They were beside them in space. Things I had never seen from all the male science fiction authors which I read voraciously were in her books. Women had agency. Women – no – me, I was represented. I didn’t know that was what I had been looking for, the concept didn’t exist in the eighties, but she provided me validity, with representation.

Now (sigh) we have moved beyond the ground-breaking societies these stories predicted. I can’t recommend them to teenage girls of today because these future women need to go further than Anne McCaffrey could dare fifty years ago.

But, me, they shaped.

Strangely I always loved her short stories and novellas (like Helva, the Ship who Sang) more than her novels and series – unless the series was a series of short stories and novellas.

The grandmaster passed in November 21, 2011 at age 85. On the eve of the anniversary of her passing, I thought I would share some of the legacy she left behind.

To Ride Pegasus: Talent #1 by Anne McCaffrey

One of my favorite books of all time, this collection of Anne McCaffrey’s short stories from what would become her Talent Universe, To Ride Pegasus was published in 1973. I picked up the ninth printing from 1983. As a decade of printings indicate, I wasn’t the only person who loved this book.

The collection contains four short stories/novellas, one of which was specifically written for the book. All the stories were amazing to my 80’s teenage self – showing strong women for the day.

To Ride Pegasus (first published in this collection 1973)
A Womanly Talent (first published 1969 in Analog)
Apple (first published 1969 in an anthology)
A Bridle for Pegasus (first published 1973 in Analog)

Rereading the book in 2016 changed the glasses of how I viewed the book – no women in leadership roles – The Directors were men, the politicians were men. But the women did have psychic powers, some even were bad guys of great danger. On the other hand, “A Womanly Talent” had a woman defining herself by being a mother and was manipulated by the men around her to make certain she was happy in her role. The reread also showed me how I got so many of my attitudes of what a woman should be; I didn’t realize how much Ms. McCaffrey shaped who I was.

Should teenage girls of today read this book – likely not. It’s attitudes toward women is now 40 years out-of-date – two generations. But for its day, this book was amazing.

Pegasus in Flight: Talent #2 by Anne McCaffrey

You know, I am not sure I have ever read this book. It came out after I became an adult, had a good job, and could easily buy whatever I wanted, so it’s been on my shelf forever – traveling across the country over 2,000 miles in various moves but I think I read it for the first time yesterday (in 2016 when I wrote the review). Problem with the good job and adulthood is finding time to read. Lack of good job does have some pluses.

I’ve been reading so much new stuff from urban fantasy, romance, self-published, and new writers, I had forgotten how layered Ms. McCaffrey would write her soft sci-fi books. Three separate main story-lines, two romances, three or four character growth lines, etc. So dense and marvelous in her Talent Universe, this 1990 full novel updates and expands the Talent Universe short stories which she had started writing in the ’50s.

But the book is showing its age in its racial and gender attitudes. Yes, Ms. McCaffrey was exceptional for her time at having lead females and people of color in her books, but at the same time because she pushed the envelope out, the edge of what is acceptable has moved far beyond this book. Older people will enjoy reading it, especially those who picked up every book this woman wrote, but the new generation … it is no longer relevant. Pegasus in Flight isn’t so long in tooth it isn’t readable yet, but soon, so sadly soon, it will be.

Amazon Cover

I had an Anne McCaffrey two-day reading fest, going through three of her books from the Talent Universe. “Get Off the Unicorn” short story collection contained stories from McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern, the Ship that Sang, and Talent Universes as well as several stand-alone stories. Below are short reviews of each story and the date it was originally published. All of them are over 40 years old and many of them are showing their age, even though, for their day, they were cutting edge.

Lady in the Tower (1959 – Talent Universe) & A Meeting of Minds (1969 – Talent Universe) – These two together are a great combination of hope and caution. I totally fell for Afra because of them.

Daughter (1971) & Dull Drums (1973) – These two together made me think about what I wanted to be in relation to my family. Dated for today’s world, yet still fresh for the constant struggle of becoming your own person while not walking away from those you love.

Changeling (1977) – This story STUCK with me. Crawled in my mind and stayed there for some reason. LTGB before it was even a thing.

Weather on Welladay (1969) – This mystery shows how everyone can only see things visible to them.

The Thorns of Barevi (1970) – Forget this story unless you need to see when Ms. McCaffrey failed at something – she even admits in the notes on page 153 it didn’t work.

The Great Canine Chorus (1971) – A weird character study of a character going bad. Not Ms. McCaffrey’s normal fare of hope.

Finder’s Keeper (1973) – A young Talented Finder tries to avoid being taken over by a man with gray morals.

A Proper Santa Claus (1973) – Everyone outgrows Santa Claus and magic.

The Smallest Dragonboy (1973 – Dragonriders of Pern Universe) – I think this is the only story in the book which hasn’t become out-dated, mostly because it wasn’t set on contemporary earth.

Apple (1969 – Talent Universe) – Sometimes even the FT&T had failures; not everyone is salvageable.

Honeymoon (1977 – Helva, the Ship that Sang Universe) – I loved this as a bookend to the Helva story. Not really canon like the rest of the series, this is more like a fanfic – only written by the author.