MT VOID, 01/07/22 -- Vol. 40, No. 28, Whole Number 2205

[evelynchim...@gmail.com]

THE MT VOID
Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
01/07/22 -- Vol. 40, No. 28, Whole Number 2205

Co-Editor: Mark Leeper, mle...@optonline.net
Co-Editor: Evelyn Leeper, ele...@optonline.net
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Topics:
Mini Reviews, Part 6 (DUNE, MAYDAY, COME TRUE)
(film reviews by Mark R. Leeper
and Evelyn C. Leeper)
PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir (audio book review
by Joe Karpierz)
THE ANGLO-SAXONS by Marc Morris (book review
by Gregory Frederick)
CYRANO (letters of comment by Gary McGath and Kevin R)
THE PAST IS RED (letters of comment by Kevin R
and Jeff Urs)
Bibles (letter of comment by Kevin R)
This Week's Reading (BECOMING JANE AUSTEN, BECOMING JANE
EYRE, BECOMING JANE) (book comments
by Evelyn C. Leeper)

===================================================================

TOPIC: Mini Reviews, Part 6 (film reviews by Mark R. Leeper and
Evelyn C. Leeper)

Here is the sixth batch of mini-reviews, with more science
fiction and fantasy.

DUNE--PART ONE: This is the third adaptation of Frank Herbert's
novel, following the movie in 1984 by David Lynch and the
television mini-series in 2000 by John Harrison. This version, by
Denis Villeneuve, has a stunning visual design, perhaps the best we
are likely to see in film in years. The scale of the scenery and
everything in it is huge. The landscape is reminiscent of Luke's
planet in STAR WARS, but that is not strange--STAR WARS is reported
to have gotten its inspiration for this (and for its worm carcass)
from John Schoenherr's illustrations for the serialization of the
novel DUNE. We see some fascinating equipment in the desert, but
the viewer is left in suspense as to what a full sandworm looks
like. The people on the planet are drawn with a pseudo-mysticism
that adds to the images. But as impressive as the mise-en-scene
is, it cannot keep the viewer entertained by itself and it isn't
too long before DUNE starts testing the viewer's patience and in
general bewildering them. I am not sure I could put my finger on
exactly where it happened but somehow a very good film turned into
a moderately bad one. Perhaps we have spent too much time in the
desert.

One question: If spice is necessary for interstellar travel, and
spice occurs only on Arrakis, how did the people (presumably from
Earth, but clearly not from Arrakis) get to Arrakis in the first
place?)

And though the studio concealed it in all its advertising, this is
"DUNE--PART ONE"--it is only the first half of the story. The
second half is due out in the fall of 2023.

Released theatrically and on HBO Max 10/22/21; available streaming
on HBO Max. Rating: +1 (-4 to +4), or 6/10.

Film Credits:
<https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1160419/reference>

What others are saying:
<https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dune_2021>

MAYDAY: In MAYDAY, Ana is a member of the hired help in a banquet
hall, but she's treated even worse than most of the other help,
verbally and physically abused by her employer. After a
particularly trying day, she finds a portal to another world
through an oven (possibly in an attempt to commit suicide, but also
reminiscent of the passage to Narnia). She meets several other
women on an uninhabited stretch of beach. This seems to be a land
of the lost, but is apparently a parallel universe; several of the
people she meets are counterparts of people from the world at the
start of the film. The nature of what is going on is kept from the
viewer for a while but turns out to be a YA-level action story.
There is a war, but the women seem to be waging a war of their own,
acting as sirens that lure men from either side to their death.

Released theatrically 10/01/21. Rating: +1 (-4 to +4), or 6/10.

Film Credits:
<https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11271800/reference>

What others are saying:
<https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mayday_2021>

COME TRUE: COME TRUE is a horror film based on the dreams and
nightmares a teenage runaway has during a sleep study of
questionable ethics. It has interminably long dream sequences
which both lack action and are hard to decipher. (It's possible
that it is easier to interpret when seen on a big screen.)

Released theatrically 03/12/21. Rating: low +1 (-4 to +4), or
5/10.

Film Credits:
<https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7026488/reference>

What others are saying:
<https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/come_true>

[-mrl/ecl]

===================================================================

TOPIC: PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir (copyright 2021, Audible
Studios, 16 hours and 10 minutes, ASIN B08GB58KD5, narrated by Ray
Porter) (audio book review by Joe Karpierz)

While I wasn't around back in the early 20th century when science
fiction was starting to pick up steam in the pulp magazines, I'm
pretty sure I remember learning that one of the more important
things about science fiction was to teach young people about
science. Sure, in reality a lot of stories did not have rigorous
science--after all, there *still* isn't faster than light travel--
but a lot of stories did have solid science in them. And to be
fair, there are writers today that still provide rigorous science
in their stories, and we have a whole sub-genre called "hard
science fiction". Greg Egan, for example, writes such science
fiction.

And then there's Andy Weir.

Weir exploded onto the scene with THE MARTIAN, a novel (and
subsequent movie) that reveled in science, explaining every little
detail of how things worked and how Mark Watley improvised his way
into surviving by "sciencing the sh**" out of things.

And then there's PROJECT HAIL MARY. After a slight detour into a
heist story on the moon, Weir returns to a highly science based
story in his latest novel. Ryland Grace is a junior high science
teacher who gets recruited--he's not actually given a choice--to
consult on a mission to the Tau Ceti system to try to save the
human race. The basis of his recruitment is a discredited paper
stating that water is not necessary for life to evolve and exist.
An odd thing, perhaps, but it does get him a seat at the table.
The problem is that a life form called "astrophage" is causing the
sun to dim, which will of course adversely affect all life on the
planet, eventually ending with the extinction of that life.

But that information is a flashback for Grace. He wakes up from an
induced coma on a ship with two dead crewmates and a missing
memory. As the novel progresses, Grace's memory returns and he
remembers more and more about what went down on Earth to get him to
the precarious position he is in now. While this method of
storytelling is not exactly new--interweaving past events with
current ones--the fact that they are returning memories as the
story goes along that is while maybe not clever and also not new
makes for a nice way for the reader to discover not only how Grace
got into the situation but just how screwed up things were back
home to get the story where it is.

Tau Ceti is a system where astrophages also exist, but they don't
seem to be dimming that star. Thus, the mission is to go to Tau
Ceti, discover the reason for that, and discover a way to save
humanity. The thing is that it's a one-way mission, as there is
only enough fuel to get the ship to Tau Ceti, but not enough to get
it home. The fuel, by the way, is astrophage. Yep, the very thing
that is destroying the Sun is the same thing that is powering the
ship that will hopefully save humanity.

But Grace is alone, and he has no idea how to do what he needs to
do. He's a science teacher. Well, there we go, right? Just like
Mark Watley in THE MARTIAN, Grace proceeds to use science--some
times in extreme detail--to solve the numerous problems that he
must overcome. You know, like learning the language of an alien
race who's ship is there at the same time for the exact same
reason. Together Grace and "Rocky" must work against time and ever
escalating problems to save their respective species.

I'll admit that as a reader with a technical degree, even I got
tired of the detailed descriptions of all the science that was
being done by Grace and Rocky. While the science is interesting,
and it's clear that Weir did his research, I found my attention
drifting at some of the explanations. Not that the science as
presented was hard to understand. Most of it wasn't. It's just
that there was so much of it that I started to tune out. For me,
the only part that really dragged was the section where Grace and
Rocky were working out each other's languages so they could
communicate with one another. I found myself thinking "are they
done yet". But still, the science is an integral part of the
story, and it makes it work. I think that in that respect, Weir
"out-Martianed THE MARTIAN".

All in all, this was a good book, and was named Goodreads readers'
nod as best SF book of the year. I actually haven't read enough
2021 books to say that just yet, but I can believe that it is among
the top books of the year.

Ray Porter is the narrator for this one--R. C. Bray narrated THE
MARTIAN--and does an admirable job. At this point most narrators
worth their salt read in multiple voices and switch pretty easily,
and Porter is no exception. As I've said elsewhere, I'm no expert
on narration, but I know what I like, what I don't like, and what
is serviceable. I liked Porter's narration. [-jak]

[Note: There are *two* different audiobooks of THE MARTIAN, the
first one being read by R. C. Bray, and the second by Wil
Wheaton.
-ecl]

===================================================================

TOPIC: THE ANGLO-SAXONS: A HISTORY OF THE BEGINNINGS OF ENGLAND
400-1066 by Marc Morris (book review by Gregory Frederick)

This history book is a clarification of English history which adds
to our knowledge of Western history.

Around 1600 years ago, the Roman Empire left Britain which promptly
fell into ruin. And then Britain's civil society collapsed into
chaos. The old Roman cities had no one to maintain or defend them.
Into this world the Anglo-Saxon people began to migrate from the
continent into Britain. The Anglo-Saxon people did not want to
inhabit the old Roman cities and established their own small
villages. During the late 700's the Vikings began their attacks on
Britain. This continued for hundreds of years. The Anglo-Saxon
medieval military tactics at the time were basically offensive.
When the Vikings would conduct their raids they were swift,
hit-and-run affairs and the Vikings were gone by the time the
English king would arrive with his army. This was especially true
in the early years of Viking attacks. King Alfred in the late
800's was credited with creating many fortresses called burhs from
which we get the word borough. These were sometimes rebuilt old
iron age hill fortresses or restored old walled Roman cities. The
Vikings did not have siege warfare methods for attacking these
fortresses so the burh would provide a safe haven for the country
folk when the Vikings showed up. And this delayed the Vikings,
giving the English king time to raise an army and meet the Vikings
at the burh. As the book continues, it covers the complex
Anglo-Saxon history of conflict between rulers of various regions
of England and how some would rise to a kingship that covered most
of England. Eventually Harold Godwineson took over as the English
king after the death of King Edward in 1066. Later in that same
year of 1066, Duke William crossed the English Channel with his
army and defeated Harold and his army. And so began the conquest
of England by the Norman Duke William which made major changes to
England's nobility, government, culture, and architecture. It also
began a period of Norman castle-building.

This is a well-written and thought-provoking book which
explains in detail the complex early history of England. [-gf]

===================================================================

TOPIC: CYRANO (letters of comment by Gary McGath and Kevin R)

In response to Mark and Evelyn's review of CYRANO in the 12/31/21
issue of the MT VOID, Gary McGath writes:

[Re the 1990 version of CYRANO DE BERGERAC, De Guiche, and the move
away from the nose:] I'll stick with the wonderful Ferrer version
until I hear there's a better one. I hated Steve Martin's take on
it.

De Guiche, in the original play, isn't a total villain. He shows
courage as a military leader and recognizes Cyrano's worth in the
last act.

What's the point of Cyrano without the nose? I've seen a musical
version of Cyrano, with Christopher Plummer in the title role. It
played in Boston in the eighties; I don't know if it made it to
Broadway. It's biggest mistake was rendering the dialogue in
Alexandrine rhyming verse, as in the original French. It sounded
ridiculous to my ears. Christian was poorly characterized, lacking
not only charming words but any desire to be more than a dumb
soldier. The songs mostly didn't work well.

I went with a bunch of friends. The ones who hadn't read Rostand's
Cyrano gave it enthusiastic applause; the ones who had (including
me; I've read it in French and in multiple translations) were
unimpressed. [-gmg]

Kevin R writes:

My two favorite Cyranos: Miguel Ferrer and Quincy Magoo.

Magoo was short, but the nose references stayed in his version.

<https://youtu.be/qxUjFets8mQ>

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Famous_Adventures_of_Mr._Magoo>

[-kr]

===================================================================

TOPIC: THE PAST IS RED (letters of comment by Kevin R and Jeff Urs)

In response to Joe Karpierz's review of THE PAST IS RED in the
12/31/21 issue of the MT VOID, Kevin R writes:

[Re Tetley Abednego:] I would hope someone so-named didn't end up
in hot water.

Jeff Urs responds:

I'd have thought that just such circumstances would be what it took
to bring out their real strength. [-ju]

And Kevin replies:

That H2O would have to be just at the boiling point, no? [-kr]

===================================================================

TOPIC: Bibles (letter of comment by Kevin R)

In response to Evelyn's comments on Bibles in the 12/31/21 issue of
the MT VOID, Kevin R writes:

Not [everyone would have the King James Bible in their house] if
they were part of the largest Christian denomination, in which case
a translation from the Vulgate such as Douay-Rheims would have been
in order, prior to Vatican II.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douay%E2%80%93Rheims_Bible>

I had to get a Jerusalem Bible for my sophomore year high school
religion class. [-kr]

Evelyn responds:

Okay, "everyone" was hyperbole on my part. [-ecl]

===================================================================

TOPIC: This Week's Reading (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)

There are, confusingly, two books with insanely similar names.
There is BECOMING JANE AUSTEN by Jon Spence (2003, ISBN 978-1-567-
31894-4), and BECOMING JANE EYRE by Sheila Kohler (2009, ISBN 978-
1-410-42494-5). This was made even more confusing by BECOMING JANE
AUSTEN being part of the basis of the film titled just BECOMING
JANE (2007), and then that film being released as part of a double
feature on Bluray with JANE EYRE.

BECOMING JANE AUSTEN is a biography, while BECOMING JANE EYRE is a
novel, but the confusion is still there.

I blame Sheila Kohler, of course, because her book came out after
Spence's book *and* the movie, and clearly having three so similar
titles about two different 19th century English women
authors/characters, especially when the film title could easily
refer to either, is going to be confusing.

Now I think I will go write BECOMING JANE GOODALL or BECOMING JANE
ADDAMS or BEING JANE SEYMOUR (the queen, not the actress). [-ecl]

===================================================================

Mark Leeper
mle...@optonline.net


To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant
popularity of dogs.
--Aldous Huxley

[Gary McGath]

On 1/9/22 9:05 AM, ele...@optonline.net wrote:
> And though the studio concealed it in all its advertising, this is
> "DUNE--PART ONE"--it is only the first half of the story. The
> second half is due out in the fall of 2023.

If it worked for Bakshi...

Well, actually, it didn't work very well for him.

--
Gary McGath http://www.mcgath.com