A long standing tradition in the fantasy field is the quest story. Often, it involves a hero or heroine who has lost something. Either a loved one is taken from them, they are taken from their home, or their kingdom is lost to an enemy. Many stories have been written with a variation of this theme. One of my favorite authors, Roger Zelazny, has been known to explore these themes in many of his works. Among my favorites are the Amber series (in which the hero looses his memory and kingdom), "Jack of Shadows", the Changling series, and too many others to list here. This time, I will take a look at the beginning of another one of his quest stories, "Dilvish the Damned"...
Like many fans, I am torn over which “best science fiction of the year” collection(s) to read. I find myself enjoying short stories more than the door-stopper novels. That doesn’t mean the long novels are not good it just means that I prefer reading many different stories in the short fiction (novellas, novelettes, short stories) to reading one long novel. There are exceptions. “Dune” is one of my favorites and I have read it many times. But if you look at the novels I mainly read, they are the length I enjoyed reading in the 70s and 80s when I was getting into science fiction. Look at the length of the typical works of Isaac Asimov, Roger Zelazny, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Michael Moorcock, Jack Vance, E. C. Tubb, and others of that generation. Even many of Frank Herbert’s novels are not 600 to 1000 pages long. Take a look at the majority of the novels I am reviewing. Most are older ones. Does this mean I don’t want to read newer authors? No. I plan on reading books by Alastair Reynolds, Iain M. Banks, Peter F. Hamilton, Robert Sawyer, Eric Brown and others this year. In the words of Peter David, “But I Digress…”.
Cover by Jack Gaughan
Getting back to the subject of “best of the year” collections, my favorite in the early days were the ones edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr. I plan on starting to re-read them with the first one this year. Last year I took a good look at the current series. I chose to buy two (the Gardner Dozois collection and the David Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer one). From what I have read on other sites, the Dozois is generally considered the top series since it started. Each year he includes a fascinating overview of the field. So why did I pick up the Hartwell & Cramer book? A friend of mine loved this series because it is more focused on traditional science fiction. When I compared the two, there is very little overlap. Part of my plan is to go back, read and review all of the Hartwell & Cramer collections. It will take some time because last year’s edition is the seventeenth. By reading these, it will give me a chance to read many of the newer authors I have not read or have read very little of. Which leads me to the first story in last year’s collection…
During the last three weeks, I have been participating in a group read of Frank Herbert's classic novel. Here are links to those posts:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
What are my overall thoughts about the book? Just click on "Read More" to find out...
In addition to the answers to questions about the third section of the classic science fiction novel-Dune-I decided to include images of some of the covers you do not normally see for the book. The Analog cover for "The Prophet of Dune" count. This was the second half of the magazine serialization of the novel.
On Monday, I will be posting a look back at the group read and my overall review of the book.
To read the answers of other members of the group read click here Stainless Steel Droppings.
Spoiler Alert!
Part two of our group read of "Dune" reaches the section where things really (pardon the pun) heat up. The Harkonnens' plan kicks into high gear as Duke Leto is betrayed while Jessica and Paul go out into the desert. Will Paul fulfill his destiny and become the savior of Arrakis?
Warning, spoilers are heading your way...after the page break...
Carl (at Stainless Steel Droppings) has put Dune on his reading list each year. And every year he has not read it. This year he is involved with a group reading of the book over a three week period. I was considering re-reading this classic and thought it was a good time to join in. Each week I, and many others who have joined in, will answer questions about that week's section.
If you have not read the book be aware that the questions and answers will contain spoilers.
In 1965, Galaxy was under the editorship of Frederik Pohl. Pohl would be remembered as one of the best magazine editors of all time. At this time, Roger Zelazny did not get his name on the cover. He was just starting to become a great writer. Other Zelazny stories that appeared in 1965 were classics such as "The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth", "He Who Shapes", "And Call Me Conrad", and "The Furies". This was the beginning of the best years of Zelazny's short fiction writing career.
"Devil Car" was the first in what ended up being a two story series. Sam Murdock lives in a future America where true "smart" cars are common. Unfortunately for the humans, some of the cars rebel and are fighting for their freedom. Wild bands of cars raid fuel depots and attack defenseless cars on the roads. Devil Car is the leader of a rebel group that lives in the desert. It killed Sam's brother so he had a death car built to destroy it. Now Sam and the death car (named Jenny) are on the hunt to track down Devil Car and take revenge on it. But no one knows why cars go wild. Will Devil Car be able to lure Jenny into joining his group? Or will she stay loyal to Sam and kill Devil Car?
It is a touching story about a man and his car. This is a theme that is one of Zelazny's favorites. He would return to "man and vehicle" stories in the future. One of the best know is his novel "Roadmarks".
Highly recommended. "Devil Car" is part of the group of very good short stories by Zelazny. While not as memorable as some of the others, it is very good.
