2009 Reading XVII-XIX
XVI: Barry Malzberg, Guernica Night (1974)
XVII: Barry Malzberg, The Falling Astronauts (1971)
Two short novels by the same author; Guernica didn't really stick in my mind, and I'm not clear if it relates to the Picasso painting (and this is going to be embarrassing if I've missed something bleeding obvious. It's set in a dystopian future where suicide is first legal and encouraged, then outlawed.
Falling is closer to Beyond Apollo, the story of an ex-astronaut, who clearly had some kind of panic attack, who is now a sort of PR liaison for space missions. When a mission appears to be going wrong, he tries to tell the truth> Memorable for its sex described as docking space stations.
XVIII: Per Wahlöö and Maj Sjöwall, Cop Killer (1974)
Penultimate in the Martin Beck series, by Marxist married couple. Beck is sent to the sticks to investigate a missing person case which may be a murder. There is an obvious suspect, whom Beck is ordered to arrest, even though it couldn't be that easy. Meanwhile, a cop is killed in interrupting a robbery. Could the two cases be connected? Do bears believe in transubstantiation?
Borrowed from library thinking it was one of the thousand books I had to read, but in fact that was The Laughing Policeman. It seems fairly run of the mill, slightly depressive loner cop who rebels about management who have been promoted to their level of incompetence, skewered by the need to infopdump about suicide rates and gun statistics.
XIX: Steven Gould, Jumper (1992)
Borrowed from the library as I have to compare it to the film. Well, both are called Jumper and feature characters called David Rice.
Davy is in an abusive relationship with his father, his mother having left them, when he discovers he can jaunt jump from place to place. He sets up home is New York, funded by a bank robbery, and acquires a girlfriend who is three years older than him. All is going well, until he starts to track down his mother, and something dreadful happens to her so he vows revenge. Unfortunately this will reveal him to the world and the authorities.
A novel about the cycles of abuse, in which Davy risks becoming like the people who abuse him. He has power, but obviously he has to use it wisely. He also has to lie to survive, but with consequences. Without giving too much away, I felt there was more to be learnt about his mother, which remains untold.
The novel has no place for the characters played by Jamie Bell nor Samuel L. Jackson, which may or may not be a good thing - and Bell was probaly the best thing about the movie. The novel does mention Alfred Bester, which is honest if a little cheeky.
XVII: Barry Malzberg, The Falling Astronauts (1971)
Two short novels by the same author; Guernica didn't really stick in my mind, and I'm not clear if it relates to the Picasso painting (and this is going to be embarrassing if I've missed something bleeding obvious. It's set in a dystopian future where suicide is first legal and encouraged, then outlawed.
Falling is closer to Beyond Apollo, the story of an ex-astronaut, who clearly had some kind of panic attack, who is now a sort of PR liaison for space missions. When a mission appears to be going wrong, he tries to tell the truth> Memorable for its sex described as docking space stations.
XVIII: Per Wahlöö and Maj Sjöwall, Cop Killer (1974)
Penultimate in the Martin Beck series, by Marxist married couple. Beck is sent to the sticks to investigate a missing person case which may be a murder. There is an obvious suspect, whom Beck is ordered to arrest, even though it couldn't be that easy. Meanwhile, a cop is killed in interrupting a robbery. Could the two cases be connected? Do bears believe in transubstantiation?
Borrowed from library thinking it was one of the thousand books I had to read, but in fact that was The Laughing Policeman. It seems fairly run of the mill, slightly depressive loner cop who rebels about management who have been promoted to their level of incompetence, skewered by the need to infopdump about suicide rates and gun statistics.
XIX: Steven Gould, Jumper (1992)
Borrowed from the library as I have to compare it to the film. Well, both are called Jumper and feature characters called David Rice.
Davy is in an abusive relationship with his father, his mother having left them, when he discovers he can jaunt jump from place to place. He sets up home is New York, funded by a bank robbery, and acquires a girlfriend who is three years older than him. All is going well, until he starts to track down his mother, and something dreadful happens to her so he vows revenge. Unfortunately this will reveal him to the world and the authorities.
A novel about the cycles of abuse, in which Davy risks becoming like the people who abuse him. He has power, but obviously he has to use it wisely. He also has to lie to survive, but with consequences. Without giving too much away, I felt there was more to be learnt about his mother, which remains untold.
The novel has no place for the characters played by Jamie Bell nor Samuel L. Jackson, which may or may not be a good thing - and Bell was probaly the best thing about the movie. The novel does mention Alfred Bester, which is honest if a little cheeky.