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Book Review: Grave Predictions: Tales of Mankind’s Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian, and Disastrous Destiny edited by Drew Ford

Grave Predictions: Tales of Man’s Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian, and Disastrous Destiny edited by Drew Ford

Dover Publications, 2016

ISBN: 9780486802312

Available: paperback

 

In Grave Predictions, Drew Ford has selected some of the best representations of post-apocalyptic and dystopian short fiction available: stories both beautiful and terrifying. These include tales from some of the most outstanding authors of the genre, such as Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, and Ursula K. Le Guin.  Each story is far ahead of its time, with its own distinct presentation of the future, and evokes a range of emotions from the reader. It’s amazing how science fiction writers have more of a pulse on the future than most people care to recognize.

Eugene Mouton’s “The End of the World,” first published in 1872, presents a tragic story about global warming before it even had a name, and culminates in the proclamation that “THE EARTH IS DEAD.” In W. E. B. Du Bois’ “The Comet” (1920), Jim Davis, an African-American man, is sent down to the vaults on a task by the bank president, only to emerge to cold, dead world. It’s reminiscent of the Twilight Zone’s “Time Enough at Last” in that respect. As he makes his way down the city streets he finds Julia, a wealthy white woman, who is seemingly the other survivor. The theme of racial tensions and the breaking down and reconstruction of barriers is central to this story. Bradbury’s “The Pedestrian” (1951) focuses on a writer who walks aimlessly through the city at night when he is stopped by robotic police for aberrant behavior. No one walks around the streets anymore when they have the warm glow of their televisions screens, after all. “Upon the Dull Earth” (1954), by Philip K. Dick is the tragic story of Silvia, Rick, and the fate of the world. Silvia summons angels, believing they are her ancestors who will someday usher her home. She intends to use lamb’s blood, but when she accidentally draws her own blood, they appear to take her home. Rick cannot accept her death, and tries to bring her back, even though it may mean the destruction of his world. In Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.’s “2 B R 0 2 B” (1962), the United States population has been  limited to forty million people: someone must die in order for someone else to be born. Edward Wehling, Jr.’s wife is about to have triplets, but there is only one volunteer for euthanasia. Desperate, he finds a last minute solution to ensure his children will live. There is a witness to Edward’s predicament, who makes a fateful decision as well.

Other titles in this anthology include Arthur C. Clarke’s “No Morning After” (1954); Harlan Ellison’s “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” (1967); Urusla K. Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” (1973); Brian M. Stableford’s “The Engineer and the Executioner” (1976); Stephen King’s “The End of the Whole Mess” (1986); Joe R. Lansdale’s “Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man’s Back” (1992); Greg Bear’s “Judgment Engine”; Mark Samuels’ “The Black Mould” (2011); Ramsey Campbell’s “The Pretence” (2013); and Carmen Maria Machado’s “Inventory” (2013). Highly recommended.

Contains: racial epithets, abuse, body horror, disturbing imagery

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

 

 

Posted on February 24, 2017 by , Reply

Book Review: The Black Pearl by Scott O’Dell

The Black Pearl by Scott O’Dell

HMH Editions for Young Readers, 2010 (reprint)

ISBN-13: 978-0547334004

Available: Paperback, Audible, Kindle edition

 

Scott O’Dell is best known as a writer of historical fiction for children, particularly for novels set  in California or Mexico. He is most well-known for his middle-grade survival story and Newbery Award-winning novel Island of the Blue Dolphins, as well as three Newbery Honor books: The King’s Fifth, Sing Down the Moon, and The Black Pearl. In addition to winning several additional awards, he also established one: The Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, which is awarded yearly to an American writer of an outstanding work of historical fiction for children. The Black Pearl, first published in 1967, is indeed a work of historical fiction– but it’s also a pretty terrifying book, with much of it devoted to a legendary sea monster, the Manta Diablo.

Sixteen year old Ramon Sandoval’s father is a pearl merchant, and has just made him a partner in the business. Ramon is eager to learn to dive for pearls, but his father has reservations. His father and the other pearl divers are large, muscled men, while Ramon is still not entirely grown. When Ramon finally convinces his father to take him on an expedition, he meets the Sevillano, a talented diver with a storehouse of outrageous stories about frightening monsters and giant pearls.

During his father’s next absence, Ramon, determined to prove himself, pays an Indian who has come to sell a pearl to teach him how to dive. He hopes to find the great pearl of the Sevillano’s stories: the Pearl of Heaven. The Indian warns Ramon of the Manta Diablo, a vengeful giant black manta ray who guards the pearls in his cave under the lagoon where the Indian dives. Despite the warning, Ramon dives into the cave, pries out a gigantic oyster, and finds an enormous black pearl.  When the Manta Diablo discovers the cave is in disarray,  it’s a race to escape home with the pearl before he is caught.  Once revealed, the pearl garners a great deal of unwanted attention from the town, but despite its size and beauty, he and his father are unable to sell it. Ramon comes to believe the pearl is cursed and that he must return it to the monster, but the Sevillano has other ideas, and they embark on a dangerous voyage by water, chased by the Manta Diablo.

The story is framed by the introduction of the Manta Diablo, a local legend used by mothers to scare their children into behaving. Ramon, while not a believer, loves this story. The Sevillano, who has been out in the ocean, makes this a more believable story, and the Indian’s dread reinforces it. None of this is enough to convince the skeptical Ramon, who is determined to find the legendary Pearl of Heaven– when it comes to legends, apparently greed and ambition outweigh fear. As the novel progresses, the Indian’s dread is infectious, and Ramon actually begins to believe that there might really be some truth to the legend. The manta’s chase and the battle with the manta up the tension, although it’s certainly possible that Ramon is more terrified of the Sevillano than he is of the manta.

While the writing is somewhat stilted and dated, and the book starts with somewhat of a slow pace, once the pearl divers enter the scene the story becomes engaging, not just because Ramon is engaged in the experience, but because it is fascinating, and something most people know little about. As the book progresses, it’s interesting to see how his relationship with both his father and the Sevillano develop. Ramon’s experiences as he learns to dive in the lagoon are immersive; O’Dell’s descriptions are gorgeously written. Ramon’s interactions with the Indian at that time start to ratchet up the suspense, especially once Ramon enters the cave of the Manta Diablo. The legendary manta of terror and its appearances in the novel, be they through story or through Ramon’s perceptions of his experience, snagged this reader from the first page, and O’Dell’s suggestion that something can be both beautiful and evil is food for thought.  Recommended for grades 4 and up.

Reader’s advisory note: Older children and teens who like this book might like The Pearl by John Steinbeck or The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.

Content note: The representation of the Indians in the book as especially superstitious and violent is a talking point you might want to cover with your child, as well as the religious motivations behind some of the actions (not being Catholic, certain children thought the Madonna referred to in the story was the American pop singer, which caused some confusion).


Posted on February 20, 2017 by , Reply

Book Review: Yesternight by Cat Winters

Yesternight by Cat Winters

William Morrow Books, 2016

ISBN-13: 978-0062440860

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, Audible, Audio CD

 

In this age of instant gratification, the slow burn novel can be a tough sell for commercial audiences. Horror and suspense readers generally expect the action to move along, but fans of historical novels thankfully are used to this more measured pace, allowing the beauty of the setting to wash over them, building up and surrounding them.  Cat Winters strikes gold with Yesternight, a gem of a novel that straddles genres, and has emerged as one of 2016’s strongest efforts in all three genres.

 

Winters hit the scene running with the impressive Uninvited and Shadow of Blackbirds, writing for both adult and YA audiences. Yesternight leans more towards the adult crowd, fitting easily in the “new adult” genre, but could easily find favor with the high school crowd. It’s the perfect choice for a chilly day when you are trapped at home, looking for a good read.

 

Set in 1925 Oregon, Yesternight introduces us to Alice Lind, who has the unlikely role of being a female school psychologist, tasked with administering IQ tests to school children. At that time, a woman holding such a job was rare, and succeeding as a professional for the state which depended on providing services for needy students would have been definitely uncommon. Alice arrives and immediately finds a strange task– a seven year old girl who appears to be a mathematical genius, and may be the reincarnation of a woman who was murdered several years prior. Alice, caught between the opposing wishes of the girl’s separated parents, must find a way to solve the mystery of who little Janie O’Daire really is, opening up a dark secret within herself that may destroy who she is. Janie and Alice steal the show as they both struggle to find who they really are, both literally and figuratively, in a world that would rather keep women under the surface.

 

Gothic in nature, but simmering in its building of the characters, Yesternight is a complex tale with a serpentine plot. The many layers of the characters peel away, leaving the reader to delve into something much deeper, and more enjoyable, than expected. Recommended.

 

Contains: violence and gore.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms.


Posted on February 1, 2017 by , Reply
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