Past, Present and Future

The Red Menace

Of our two nearest neighbors in space, Mars is probably the best candidate for signs of life and a possible home for humankind. Venus is unfortunately the nearest thing to Hell that we can imagine - no lush forests or world-girdling seas I'm afraid. Ever since ancient times, Mars has had a fascination for us and probably was also true of the earliest hominids in Africa. That little red dot holds mysteries and questions that we are only now starting to unlock and answer. Of course, through writer's eyes, we have visited this mysterious planet many times and found many surprises. One of the best authors in this field is Ben Bova, whose 'Grand Tour' series has introduced us to our Solar System in many wonderful ways. I've read most of his stories, but only one of his Mars's books 'Return To Mars' published in 1999 and a sequel to 'Mars' from 1992 and now followed by 'Mars Life'. The nice thing about this second book in the series was that you didn't need to read the first one to get right into the story - not many writers can do that. The characters are very distinct and we really begin to care about their fates and the discovery of a saboteur in their midst adds a real feeling of menace. The story itself is a bit of wish fulfillment, but aren't almost all sci-fi stories that? The only real issue is that the romance factors are a bit forced and seem silly. However, many sci-fi writers have difficulty adding human emotions to their stories, laden down as they are with scientific facts and techobabble. Mr. Bova nails the science and the exploration, even does fairly well with the political issues, but his love interest sub-plots seem poor. Can't have it all, I suppose. The test of any story is, 'do I want to read more', and Ben 's yarn gives me that impetus to know more and see what happens next. So, excellent story and well recommended for you Mars crazed readers out there.

'Dear boss...'

Next post, I promise, will be a Sci-fi book by Ben Bova. Today, however, I must share with you a terrific and thoroughly engrossing TV mini-series from the UK. First broadcast at the beginning of February this year, the police drama 'Whitechapel' became one of the most watched programmes on British TV. Almost another 'Life on Mars' but reversed - in a way. The main premise here is that there is a copycat Jack the Ripper who is recreating the original 1888 crimes as closely as possible. This involves the elaborate disguises, red herrings, letters and the gruesome ways in which these poor women where slaughtered. You can't really call them murders due to the awful way in which these women were dispatched. Although modern detection of the original Ripper case has been tried before, this is a clever new twist on the genre. Whitechapel may not have had the best acting, but the atmosphere and twists and turns throughout made it impossible to tear your eyes away. I suppose that growing up in London's East End and being intimate with Whitechapel made this even more interesting. In fact, the first Ripper victim (as far as we know) is buried minutes from where I grew up - yes, I did visit the grave. When asked to name his suspect, the main character's choice really rocked me back on my heels. After thinking about it and doing some research, I think he may be right. It's really amazing how, after 130 years, our boy Jack still can touch our imagination. I really hope this 3-part series crosses the Atlantic - well worth your time.  

I'm in charge

I wasted a couple of hours the other day watching the new 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' starring that wonderful actor Keanu Reeves (that's sarcasm). Really, he shows the emotional range of a teaspoon in this one. Mind you, that is entirely in character for the impersonal alien that he portrays. The other cast members just amble through their scenes, although Mr. John Cleese does add some better quality and dignity to the dismal proceedings. Obviously, people will compare this with the 1951 original with Michael Rennie that has become a deserved classic of it's genre and time. Rennie was a much more accomplished actor who does truly bring his character to life. I found the new film rather silly and pointless and just another piece of what we could call 'eco-trash'. There was no point in warning mankind of it's imminent demise as it was already planned and ready to happen. I didn't really get the sense that Klaatu had a real revelation about Humans and the ending seemed rushed and contrived. The title didn't even seem to make sense as the World 'standing still' was not made obvious and only seemed to affect New York, which is (as we know) the centre of the Universe for aliens. The original story that this was all based on was first published in 1940 and, as typical of the time, comes with a nice twist at the end. Many of these so called 'pulp' stories of the 1930's and '40's were just amazing and really were great pieces of sci-fi literature. This was the arena that people like Asimov, Heinlein, Van Vogt and many others cut their teeth in. Here is this story 'Farewell to the Master' in it's entirety - enjoy!

Get the message

I was going to give you a book and/or film review today, incidentally my 28th wedding anniversary (yay!), but this news item just 'got my goat'. It appears that the wimps in charge of the Plains of Abraham reenactment have caved in and canceled the battle. When are the French descendants in this great country of Canada going to realize that their ancestors LOST and the English WON. C'mon guys, it's not hard. I know that there is the feeling that reenacting the battle is somehow 'insulting', but it's an historical event and the bravery, dedication and sacrifice of both sides should be commemorated. Remember, both Wolfe and Montcalm lost their lives here. I really cannot understand what the concern here is. After all, the French are very happy to take part in Waterloo reenactments and had no issues with remembering Trafalgar. Just because you don't like how history turned out doesn't mean you must ignore or forget the events of the past. The dedicated people who commemorate the English and American Civil Wars and the War of 1812 do so to preserve history and bring to life our heritage. I recall visiting a battle site in the UK and watching the Sealed Knot refight a small skirmish that involved the burning of a witch, a cavalry charge and massed pikemen heaving away at each other. I also visted Pickering Museum many times to see Civil War battles. Awesome stuff!  I would have loved to see Wolfe's victory reenacted, but miserable, scared and just plain daft people decided otherwise. For shame!

Don't worry, be hopeful

This is a follow up to my previous review of the City of Ember movie now available on DVD. Today I finished reading the four-part series that make up the Ember series. The City of Ember itself, followed by The People of Sparks, Prophet of Yonwood and the Diamond of Darkhold. These are wonderful books that are very well crafted and are, in my opinion, far better written than the Harry Potter stuff. The writer, Jeanne DuPrau, has created a world that would be fascinating for young readers to jump into and is a most remarkable read for us 'oldies'. Why these books haven't been filmed before is a mystery to me. The Ember movie is OK, but misses too much and adds to the story when it's not really needed. In the books, I found that the characters had enough depth and interest for me to care about what happened to them and found the descriptions of their surroundings to be vibrant and somehow 'real'. The attention to detail within all four books is nice to see and vaguely reassuring - when a character drops her backpack at the bottom of a hill, it would be easy to write that she just picked it up again - instead, it's made clear she has to go back to get it. It's these little touches that make the stories 'work'. I really recommend these books to you and especially to young girls - Lina is a strong (mostly) but very real person that they would identify with. By all means watch the film, but please go and read these books - you won't be disappointed. The feeling I get after reading all four books is of the brilliant sunrise after a dismal rainy day - the hope of something good to come.

How much history?

I'll have some book reviews soon, but I'd like to give you a movie review this time. First off, I must say I like Daniel Craig as 007, he brings back the inherent roughness of the original James Bond. Having said that, I really like seeing him playing different roles and his part in the recent movie 'Defiance' is amazing. This just released film portrays the incredible story of the Bielski brothers who, through their brave actions, saved more that 1200 Jews from the clutches of the Nazis. I was aware of the many Jewish partisan groups that operated in the forests on the Eastern Front, but was unaware of this particular group and their story. The tales associated with all these groups shows that not all Jews went as lambs to the slaughter. This is a big story and shows well on the big screen. Overall, the attention to detail and the showing of the real horrors of war make this more than a typical war story. It's nice to see real attention paid to 'getting it right' - the Panzer III was a nice touch. Unfortunately, and here's the rub, it's hard to know what amount of the story as presented is true. Obviously, you can't take everything at face value and it's hard to believe that the brothers always acted in good faith or that the group always behaved in an exemplary manner. It's imortant to remember that this is a movie. In this case you should always go to the sources to really see what happened. The point of a film like this is to show the inherent nobleness of the human spirit and to bring to light some of the reasons for the fears and paranoia of those of the Jewish faith. It's sad to think that the village life seen in films like this and Fiddler on the Roof vanished for good under the iron heels of the Nazi death squads after years of vicious Russian persecution.

Rise and shine

Some alternative history stories appear to be more wish fulfillment rather than a plausible chain of altered events. A prime example of this would be 'The Foresight War' by Anthony Williams and published in 2004. It's actually quite a fun and fast moving read and, from a military historians point of view, is a fascinating 'what if' foray into weapons development and political dirty tricks. Imagine if you woke up one morning and it was now 1934 and you have full knowledge of what was to occur over the next years of peace and war? I suppose the first hurdle would be to convince someone that you were really from the future and not a lunatic. If you know your weaponry and the development of tanks, planes and ships throughout the '30's and '40's, then this book is a wonderland of new toys to play the war game with. Could the Nazi's actually win a war when they 'know' the future - read the book!! I won't tell you. I thought about that when watching Life on Mars. In 1973, my first visit would be to the Israeli embassy to warn them of the impending Yom Kippur war that would erupt in October. I could warn them of the surprise attack, the unprecedented use of anti-tank and anti-air missiles and the vulnerability of the Bar-Lev line. Now. here's the twist, what if the was another 'throwback' advising the Arab nations of the errors made on their side during the war. Unfortunately, I can also imagine my frustration if no one believed me. This is an interesting mental game that anyone can play. Give it a try.