I’M READING AS FAST AS I CAN (NOVEMBER 2019 EDITION)
Almost theeeeeeerrrrrreeee …
Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
In which Harlan Ellison® explores the modern gods that humans create and worship, and the horrific consequences this inevitably leads to. The stories were written over a period of ten years, but they cover the same basic theme - if God really is dead (or was never around to begin with), who or what would humans worship in His place? What other gods might step in to fill the void? Or which gods would humans invent to replace them?
That said, Ellison’s pantheon comprises a mix of literal gods (Paingod, Rock God, Prometheus, etc) and allegorical gods - sex, cars, technology, gambling, drugs, beauty, war, indifference, guilt, etc. Whatever their form, the results are generally not pleasant. It’s pretty bleak and cynical, even by Ellison standards - an assessment he apparently endorsed with the book’s opening disclaimer advising people not to read the whole thing in one go lest they upset themselves.
That said, probably the most peculiar thing about this collection is that taken individually, outside of the contextual theme, many of these are enjoyable and entertaining fantasy/horror stories that range from decent to brilliant - it’s only when you put them in one place under a “new gods” umbrella (with Ellison’s deliberately provocative intros) that the nihilistic pessimism bogs down the entertainment value. So, you know, caveat lector, indeed. Anyway, there’s a lot of good stuff here, but a little goes a long way. The main takeaway (for me, anyway): any god that humans can invent on their own will inevitably be worse than the real thing.
=============================================
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
As recommended to me by Mr Allen Young, though even before then, I’d taken notice of this book, because let's admit it’s an interesting hook: the story of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, during which H.H. Holmes, America’s first known serial killer, was in business. Erik Larson makes a connection between the two beyond time and location in that both involve architecture - while Daniel Burnham was leading the team of architects hired to design the opulent buildings and grounds of the fair, Holmes was designing and constructing his own building nearby - a building specifically designed for murdering people quietly and disposing of the bodies.
Larson does a really good job of telling the story of the fair and ratcheting up the drama as the construction suffers one setback after another and it becomes clear that the fair’s construction isn’t going to be finished by opening day. Larson also includes some of the context in which all this is happening - mainly the economic Panic of 1893, but also the events that led to the assassination of Chicago mayor Carter Henry Harrison two days before the fair ended. And while I don't really care for the serial killer genre, Larsen tells Holmes’ story in gripping fashion as well.
My only real complaint is that Larsen tends to rely a little too much on cliffhanger revelations to sustain the drama levels. Also, more pictures of the fair’s buildings would have been welcome. Apart from that, it’s a fascinating slice of American and Chicago history - the story of the World’s Fair alone is worth the effort. Or at least it was the main attraction for me.
=============================================
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Like a lot of people of my generation, this was my gateway to PKD because of Blade Runner, and it was one of my early experiences of seeing how far a movie can deviate from its source material. When I read this in the mid-80s, I wasn’t that impressed with it, but I was also admittedly too young to appreciate the intellectual depth in which Dick was writing. I didn’t follow up with him again until grad school, by which time I was better able to appreciate his work.
Anyway, it’s a coincidence that I decided to reread this around the time that November 2019 came to pass, though that arguably doesn't matter since the book was originally set in 1992 and later changed to 2021. In any case, it was fun to note the differences between the film and the book, but what really struck me is how they seem to be two sides of the same coin. The basic story is the same - bounty hunter Rick Deckard is assigned to “retire” renegade Nexus-6 androids - but while the details differ in terms of story and characters, both versions feel clearly set in the same universe.
That’s even true for the background things Ridley Scott left out, like the Penfield mood organ, the Mercerism religion and the importance of real vs artificial animals. All three have to do with the need for empathy in a postapocalyptic society, and the notion that it’s what distinguishes humans from androids. Yet Deckard can only do his job if he has no empathy for androids, and his relationship with Rachel forces him to confront his own humanity - if he has no empathy for his victims, does that make him less human?
These themes are hinted at in the film, but book fleshes them out more deeply, and (for the most part) without getting in the way of the story - and this in turn adds more depth and context to the film version. Little wonder it’s rated as one of PKD’s best works, and I would have to agree.
=============================================
Half Truths: God Helps Those Who Help Themselves and Other Things the Bible Doesn't Say by Adam Hamilton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Bible is the source of all kinds of quotes that have become part of everyday language, but many people attribute quotes to the Bible that actually come from somewhere else. For example, a late night TV show once did a street poll where they went around asking people to name one of the Ten Commandments, and more than one person said, “God helps those who help themselves” - which is not only not a commandment, but doesn’t appear in the Bible in any form.
This short book looks at five common clichés that many people think the Bible says either verbatim or in spirit, but doesn't when you take a closer look - things like “everything happens for a reason”, “love the sinner, hate the sin”, and “God won’t give you more than you can handle”. Hamilton dissects each and makes the case that while each contain an element of Biblical truth, they also mislead and distract from what the Bible actually says.
Obviously, any book that is gets into what the Bible does and doesn’t say is going to raise some eyebrows among the faithful who may not agree with Hamilton’s take (as Hamilton himself acknowledges in the book, and as some of the Goodreads comments illustrate). So - to employ another cliché - your mileage may vary, depending on your religious background (Christian or otherwise), the degree to which you lean towards a fundamentalist approach to Scripture, how conservative vs progressive your denomination is, etc. For me, all I'll say is that I found it thought-provoking, which I consider to be an essential element of faith, so I got a lot out of it. It helps too that Hamilton has a very accessible writing style, so you don’t have to be a theologian to understand it.
View all my reviews
The whole truth and nothing but the truth,
This is dF
This entry was originally posted at https://defrog.dreamwidth.org/1630912.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
In which Harlan Ellison® explores the modern gods that humans create and worship, and the horrific consequences this inevitably leads to. The stories were written over a period of ten years, but they cover the same basic theme - if God really is dead (or was never around to begin with), who or what would humans worship in His place? What other gods might step in to fill the void? Or which gods would humans invent to replace them?
That said, Ellison’s pantheon comprises a mix of literal gods (Paingod, Rock God, Prometheus, etc) and allegorical gods - sex, cars, technology, gambling, drugs, beauty, war, indifference, guilt, etc. Whatever their form, the results are generally not pleasant. It’s pretty bleak and cynical, even by Ellison standards - an assessment he apparently endorsed with the book’s opening disclaimer advising people not to read the whole thing in one go lest they upset themselves.
That said, probably the most peculiar thing about this collection is that taken individually, outside of the contextual theme, many of these are enjoyable and entertaining fantasy/horror stories that range from decent to brilliant - it’s only when you put them in one place under a “new gods” umbrella (with Ellison’s deliberately provocative intros) that the nihilistic pessimism bogs down the entertainment value. So, you know, caveat lector, indeed. Anyway, there’s a lot of good stuff here, but a little goes a long way. The main takeaway (for me, anyway): any god that humans can invent on their own will inevitably be worse than the real thing.
=============================================
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
As recommended to me by Mr Allen Young, though even before then, I’d taken notice of this book, because let's admit it’s an interesting hook: the story of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, during which H.H. Holmes, America’s first known serial killer, was in business. Erik Larson makes a connection between the two beyond time and location in that both involve architecture - while Daniel Burnham was leading the team of architects hired to design the opulent buildings and grounds of the fair, Holmes was designing and constructing his own building nearby - a building specifically designed for murdering people quietly and disposing of the bodies.
Larson does a really good job of telling the story of the fair and ratcheting up the drama as the construction suffers one setback after another and it becomes clear that the fair’s construction isn’t going to be finished by opening day. Larson also includes some of the context in which all this is happening - mainly the economic Panic of 1893, but also the events that led to the assassination of Chicago mayor Carter Henry Harrison two days before the fair ended. And while I don't really care for the serial killer genre, Larsen tells Holmes’ story in gripping fashion as well.
My only real complaint is that Larsen tends to rely a little too much on cliffhanger revelations to sustain the drama levels. Also, more pictures of the fair’s buildings would have been welcome. Apart from that, it’s a fascinating slice of American and Chicago history - the story of the World’s Fair alone is worth the effort. Or at least it was the main attraction for me.
=============================================
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Like a lot of people of my generation, this was my gateway to PKD because of Blade Runner, and it was one of my early experiences of seeing how far a movie can deviate from its source material. When I read this in the mid-80s, I wasn’t that impressed with it, but I was also admittedly too young to appreciate the intellectual depth in which Dick was writing. I didn’t follow up with him again until grad school, by which time I was better able to appreciate his work.
Anyway, it’s a coincidence that I decided to reread this around the time that November 2019 came to pass, though that arguably doesn't matter since the book was originally set in 1992 and later changed to 2021. In any case, it was fun to note the differences between the film and the book, but what really struck me is how they seem to be two sides of the same coin. The basic story is the same - bounty hunter Rick Deckard is assigned to “retire” renegade Nexus-6 androids - but while the details differ in terms of story and characters, both versions feel clearly set in the same universe.
That’s even true for the background things Ridley Scott left out, like the Penfield mood organ, the Mercerism religion and the importance of real vs artificial animals. All three have to do with the need for empathy in a postapocalyptic society, and the notion that it’s what distinguishes humans from androids. Yet Deckard can only do his job if he has no empathy for androids, and his relationship with Rachel forces him to confront his own humanity - if he has no empathy for his victims, does that make him less human?
These themes are hinted at in the film, but book fleshes them out more deeply, and (for the most part) without getting in the way of the story - and this in turn adds more depth and context to the film version. Little wonder it’s rated as one of PKD’s best works, and I would have to agree.
=============================================
Half Truths: God Helps Those Who Help Themselves and Other Things the Bible Doesn't Say by Adam Hamilton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Bible is the source of all kinds of quotes that have become part of everyday language, but many people attribute quotes to the Bible that actually come from somewhere else. For example, a late night TV show once did a street poll where they went around asking people to name one of the Ten Commandments, and more than one person said, “God helps those who help themselves” - which is not only not a commandment, but doesn’t appear in the Bible in any form.
This short book looks at five common clichés that many people think the Bible says either verbatim or in spirit, but doesn't when you take a closer look - things like “everything happens for a reason”, “love the sinner, hate the sin”, and “God won’t give you more than you can handle”. Hamilton dissects each and makes the case that while each contain an element of Biblical truth, they also mislead and distract from what the Bible actually says.
Obviously, any book that is gets into what the Bible does and doesn’t say is going to raise some eyebrows among the faithful who may not agree with Hamilton’s take (as Hamilton himself acknowledges in the book, and as some of the Goodreads comments illustrate). So - to employ another cliché - your mileage may vary, depending on your religious background (Christian or otherwise), the degree to which you lean towards a fundamentalist approach to Scripture, how conservative vs progressive your denomination is, etc. For me, all I'll say is that I found it thought-provoking, which I consider to be an essential element of faith, so I got a lot out of it. It helps too that Hamilton has a very accessible writing style, so you don’t have to be a theologian to understand it.
View all my reviews
The whole truth and nothing but the truth,
This is dF
This entry was originally posted at https://defrog.dreamwidth.org/1630912.html. Please comment there using OpenID.