Books

THE MONSTER MAKER and Other Science Fiction Classics suffers from the perennial anthology problem that I have a lot of what’s in here already, such as Color Out of Space. Of the remaining material in this collection of Victorian/early-20th century works, a lot of it is pretty un-classic, though there are also good stories such as George Allen England’s “The Thing From Outside,” a pre-Lovecraft Lovecraftian story; humorous SF story from Conan Doyle (“The Los Amigos Fiasco”) and an interesting take on immortality, Mary Shelly’s “Mortal Immortal” (who discovers potentially living forever doesn’t make him worry any less about dying)
ULEMET AND THE JAGUAR GOD by Lyndon Perry (whom I know online) is an ebook novelet in which a disfigured young woman faces slavers and wild animals after fleeing her village, only to wind up playing the Aztec ball game for her freedom and hoping for aid from the Jaguar God. It’s always nice to see a Mesoamerican fantasy that doesn’t focus solely on Evil High Priests and Human Sacrifice; I liked this one, though it really feels like it should run longer. If you’re interested you can find it here
ONE OF OUR THURSDAYS IS MISSING by Jasper Fforde is the most recent book in his Thursday Next series, though the protagonist is not the real investigator/adventurer Thursday but the star of the novels about her that have played a role in past books. When the real Thursday disappears, her fictional counterpart steps in to help and finds herself embroiled in both in-book and “real” world conspiracies. The metafictional jokes come close to burying this, but it does have some good touches such as fic-Thursday’s bafflement at real-world randomness (“What’s the point of running into someone if they don’t play a role in the story later?”). Fun enough, but not the best of the bunch.
WHY THE VIETCONG FOUGHT: A Study of Motivation and Control in a Modern Army in Combat by William Darryl Henderson concludes that claims North Vietnamese forces were motivated by fanatical die-hard dedication to the communist cause get it wrong (and that most soldiers didn’t grasp communism beyond the simple slogan level). Instead, Henderson argues, what kept the PLA and the Vietcong going when things got rough were such familiar elements as closely bonded small units headed by trustworthy experienced cadres (a cadre beinga combination brotherly sergeant and political officer), national myths (assuring soldiers they were part of Vietnam’s long history of fighting against Foreign Oppression) and more distinctive features such as discipline via criticism sessions and constant surveillance via the cadres. As a result, even when the troops showed the same skepticism about goals and missions as our own soldiers, they continued to function effectively as a fighting force instead of disintegrating. The final bit of research for my Vietnam War story Peace With Honor.