Book Review: SWORD AND PLANET (2021)

"Sword and Planet" is a sub-genre mixing science fiction and fantasy tropes that, although one of the oldest in modern SF (think the Edgar Rice Burroughs stories featuring heroic Earthman John Carter on a habitable Mars) doesn't get the attention it merits. Fortunately Baen put out Sword and Planet, a collection of several such stories, which I got the pleasure of reviewing. Here goes...

The collection starts out with a bang with Tim Akers' "A Murder of Knights." Basically a member of a high-tech knightly order has to investigate some sinister doings and finds himself facing off against something abominable, with a very bloody deadline. It seems like an origin story for a particular character and according to a conversation I had with the author, there's more content out there set in this universe. The fact my first reaction to the story was to see if there was more of it reflects very well on this collection.

Another story I enjoyed was R.R. Virdi's "A Knight Luminary" in which a trainee knight in a future war with a machine intelligence *still* hasn't manifested the psychic powers he needs. He and his fellows investigation an outpost that's gone silent and, as can be expected, things go very, very wrong.

"Bleeding From Cold Sleep" by longtime Warhammer 40K author Peter Fehervari features a fugitive member of what are essentially humanity's Cossacks (the vanguard of human expansion against a myriad of alien races, the first of which are based in a more pulp-fiction version of our own solar system) and just why he's a fugitive. It turns out there's a threat much, much closer to home.

In T. C. McCarthy's "The Test," a world that has regressed into a medieval state features a king, his son who reminds me a lot of Prince Hal from Shakespeare's HENRY IV, and another son who'd like to usurp him. And did I mention there are monsters and priests using advanced technology? This was fun too.

Rounding out my favorite stories is the novella "Queen Amid Ashes," set in author Christopher Ruocchio's SUN EATER universe (which begins with the novel Empire of Silence, the first of several). Our hero Imperial noble Hadrian Marlowe and his companion, the foreign cyborg doctor Valka, and their Imperial troops must liberate a world under attack by the predatory alien Cielcin, but there's much more going on than an alien invasion. There are some very vivid descriptions here.

Unfortunately, not every story in the collection is so grand. I loved the Deathstalker novels when I was in middle school, but Simon R. Green's "Saving The Emperor," which describes the origin of the titular Deathstalker noble family, was disappointing. I had a hard time following Susan R. Matthews' "Operatix Triumphans."

Still, no collection is perfect and I would definitely recommend this one. 8.0 out of 10.

Movie Review: "John Carter" (2012) (Spoilers)

Saw John Carterearlier this afternoon with a couple of friends.  Here's my review...

The Good

Most of the time, the film was entertaining.  That's the main purpose, after all, and it does that well most of the time.

I like how they made Dejah Thoris a scientist.  There need to be more heroic scientists in film these days and it adds depth to her character.

I liked how they intermixed Carter's last stand against a horde of Thark aliens with flashbacks to him returning from the Civil War to find his wife and daughter dead.  That was really well-done.

The scene where Carter defeats the white apes in the arena and then takes control of the Tharks was really well-done.  He basically echoes Tal Hajus's challenge to Tar Tarkas earlier in the film back at Tal Hajus and gets him to enter a fight he can't win.  The first scene foreshadows the second well.  And the music when he leads the Tharks soon after taking power against the city of Zodanga was good too.

There are a lot of humorous touches in the film, like when Carter leads the Tharks into Zodanga, only to find most of its army and its leader are at the city of Helium instead.  Tarkas proceeds to smack Carter in the back of the head.  The scene where Carter finds out firsthand Mars' gravity is different from that of Earth and how he initially has problems moving around is amusing.  The rather violent attempt of Colonel Powell to try to coerce Carter into joining his cavalry detachment was also funny--he's reading from a dossier about Carter and gets interrupted by repeated physical attacks, culminating in him finishing his reading in front of a jail cell with Carter in it.  The way the Tharks keep calling Carter "Virginia" is also amusing.

After Carter is transported back to Earth, his scheme to get his hands on an amulet that could take him back to Mars by pretending to have found one to attract the Therns' attention was really clever.

The Bad

Although Dejah has been praised in the reviews as being all spunky and strong and equal to John, earlier in the film she just came off as abrasive and demanding.

Also, when she's trying to persuade her father not to marry her off to Sab Than, the prince of Zodanga, she said if her father goes through with it, he loses Barsoom (Mars).  I'm not sure what exactly she meant.

The back-story of Sola and how she was (illegally) raised by her mother instead of her egg being put in a collective hatchery along with the other Tharks is hinted at and plays a role in why Tarkas treats her like he does, but in order to really get it, I had to check the Wikipedia entry.  That's a problem.

When Dejah, Carter, and Sola are set upon by Tharks soon after finding the Thern base, it's not entirely clear why they're attacking.  Earlier Hajus claims Tarkas has betrayed them when they find Dejah, Carter, and Sola had escaped, we see one of the Therns among the oncoming Tharks, and we later see Tarkas in a dungeon, so it would seem that Hajus had finally managed to seize control over Tharks with Thern aid.  However, it would be nice to have seen this on-screen.  It could be intercut with Dejah, Carter, and Sola's voyage to build suspense.

Sab Than putting himself into a position where Dejah can kill him didn't really make a lot of sense.  Their two cities have been at war for over a thousand years and he's basically bullied her father into forcing her to marry him.  One of the Therns tells him about the importance of a good, dramatic spectacle earlier, so it might tie into that, or maybe he's just a big drama queen.  And his speech where she has a sword at his throat could be better--the impression I had is that he was trying to woo her with the prospect of all they could accomplish with the combined resources of the two cities and no need for war anymore.  That could have been clearer.

Just what the Therns are doing isn't really explained.  When one of them takes Carter hostage, he explains that they don't destroy worlds, but "manage" the process of their destruction, it seems like they're parasites feeding off the dying of a planet.  However, this is never actually explained, nor do we see just how this would work.

There are some dull moments here and there.

The Verdict

A good movie to see once, but a lot of stuff really needed to be explained better.  I hope this does well in order to ensure more "pulp" stories (and so-called "planetary romances") are made into movies, since the failure of the 2011 Conan remake really wasn't helpful.  7 out of 10.

Life Lessons from the Katy Perry/Russell Brand Divorce...

http://www.tmz.com/2012/01/01/katy-perry-divorce-russell-brand/

Found the above article while looking for stuff about the upcoming John Carter movie.

It's sad that this happened, but it does provide a valuable lesson.  The two of them didn't date for very long and due to their schedules, didn't spend a lot of time together.  Based on this article, it seems like the whole situation was driven by infatuation.  And they entered married life unaware of the impending land mines the article described--both being stubborn and unwilling to back down in arguments, or Perry being into parties while Brand being a homebody.

(Given Brand's history of drug addiction, I can understand why he'd want to avoid the club scene.)

Marriage is one of the most important decisions one will make in one's entire life and it should not be rushed into.  Had the two of them dated longer or spent more time together while they were dating, these issues could have been dealt with earlier or their relationship could have ended earlier when it would have been less painful and problematic for all involved.

(And from a Christian perspective, there's the moral issues of divorce and remarriage afterward, which is another can of worms entirely.  Bringing that issue into play and it makes the stakes even higher and getting to know the other person better and deal with any issues beforehand even more important.)