Combination Plate 19

Warning: I will discuss significant plot elements and endings.


Ken Grimwood: Replay, an SF novel

Edith Wharton: A Son at the Front, a novel

Anthony Trollope: The Last Chronicle of Barset, a novel

Fred Saberhagen: Changeling Earth, an SF novel

Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines, a nonreview


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Ken Grimwood's Replay has to be one of the most unusual time-traveling novels I've read. It's the answer to the commonly asked question--"What would you do if you could go back in time and do it all over again, knowing what you know now?" It's also closest to Audrey Niffenegger's novel, The Time Traveler's Wife, for in both works the time travelers have no control over their movements. However, where the time traveling seemed to be completely random events in Niffenegger's book, there is a very strict pattern in Grimwood's novel.

Jeff Winston, a successful forty-three year old business has a heart attack at the office and dies at 1:06 PM on October 18, 1988. He knows that he is having an heart attack and dying. When he regains consciousness, he decides he hadn't died after all. But . . .

Confused, he sees the date on the cover of a news magazine--May 6, 1963. Winston discovers that he has returned to his 18 year-old self. His body is that of an eighteen year old, but he retains all of his memories. He now has a chance to do it again, knowing now what will come.

He uses his knowledge as one might predict. He bets on sporting events and political races and the stock market. He becomes a very rich man. However, he also remembers his heart attack at the relatively early age of forty-three. This he feels he can change also, with a healthy diet and regular exercise and the best medical care he can afford, and he now can afford the best. Shortly before the day that he had first suffered the heart attack, he gets a complete medical checkup and it told by the doctor that he is in excellent health. However, he again suffers an heart attack at the same age as his first trip and dies.

He again regains consciousness and finds himself back in 1963, but, a short time later than his first trip. He hadn't gone back quite as far this time. And, this was to be the pattern. He would die at age forty-three and return to an earlier stage in his life, but always a bit later than his previous reincarnation. The result is quite startling: each time he suffers an heart attack and goes back into the past, the period becomes shorter and shorter, and unless there is some change, he can see that at some point there will weeks, then days, then hours between his death and his resurrection.

Eventually he meets two others who share his situation--a young woman and a man--both of whom are quite different. During one of his trips, he attempts to change historical events by letting others know, and this has results completely unforeseen by him.

It's an interesting story, with no SF or Fantasy elements present, except of course for the strange form of time travel which allows him to live his life, or that period of it, again, and again, and again. . .each time with a chance to answer the question: "What would you do if you could do it over again?


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Edith Wharton: A Son at the Front


This novel is quite different from most of Edith Wharton's works. It is set, for the most part, in Paris, and not in New York. The novel begins just days before the beginning of World War I. The focus is less on the actual fighting and more upon the war's effects on those who are part of what is called the Home Front. These are the people who will not see combat directly but will be affected by the war regardless.

John Campton is an American painter who has lived for many years in Paris. He is divorced and his wife has remarried. His wife got custody of their son, George. Now, John and his son are going to take a trip, and then George will leave for the US and his new job. It may be the last time he will see his son for a long time.

However, just as George arrives in Paris, WWI breaks out. Since George was born in France, he has dual US/French citizenship. Within a day of the outbreak of hostilities, France orders a callup of all eligible males which includes George.

While John can't prevent his son from being drafted, he does his utmost to keep George out of combat. Ironically, he finds his greatest and most influential ally to be Anderson Brant, his wife's second husband, whom he dislikes intensely.

While the novel focuses on the Comptons, their story is embedded in a tapestry that depicts life in Paris during the War--those who sacrifice their time and energy and wealth in support of France and its soldiers and also those who use the situation to profit from it.

This is not one of Wharton's best novels. The war dominates the plot, which leads to a weak story line, with little of the subtlety and complexity of characterization and plot that typifies most of Wharton's works.
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Anthony Trollope: The Last Chronicle of Barset

This the sixth and final novel in the Barchester series. It's also, I think, the longest in the series, comprising 700+ pages of small print. This is understandable as Trollope attempts to finish the series. In this work are most of the major characters that were featured in the earlier five novels: the Grantlys, Mr. Harding and his daughters and their husbands, Frank Gresham, the Thornes, Johnny Eames, Lily Dale, and Augustus Crosbie, along with the Crawleys and the Proudies, and various others.

The featured families are the Grantlys and the Crawleys. Josiah Crawley, the poverty-stricken, inordinately proud and insanely obstinate curate of Hogglestock, is at one of the centers of the novel, along with Johnny Eames and Lily Dale.

Crawley has been accused of stealing a twenty pound check (the equivalent in purchasing power today of $1900+). The repercussions of this go far beyond his own possible imprisonment, for his daughter Grace is all but engaged to Henry Grantly, the son of Archdeacon Grantly. The archdeacon is appalled at the thought of his family being connected to the daughter of a thief and has threatened to cut off his stipend and disinherit him by leaving his estate to his oldest son.

Mrs. Proudie, the domineering wife of Bishop Proudie, decides to get involved (this is not unusual for her as she considers herself to be the moral and social leader of the community) and harasses Bishop Proudie to assume more ecclesiastical powers than he has and remove Crawley even before his civil trial. She comes to a fitting end, and only those who regret having no one to hate in the novel will miss her. The narrator does try to point out her virtues, but as the narrator admits, it's probably to late to attempt any sort of rehabilitation in the mind of the reader.

The second thread is that of Johnny Eames' courtship of Lily Dale. In a previous novel, he had just reached the point of proposing to Lily when Augustus Crosbie appears and in a whirlwind courtship gets her to fall in love with him. However, within a week of their announced engagement, Crosbie breaks it off for an engagement to a heiress (Lily will bring no money to the union, and Crosbie needs money to finance his career). Lily, regardless of Crosbie's treatment of her, decides she is in love with him and will be true to his memory for the rest of her life.

In the Last Chronicle, Johnny hasn't given up hope and continues his courtship. Then Augustus reappears (his wife has conveniently died shortly after their marriage). He says he is still in love with Lily, now realizes his mistake, and wants to know if there's any hope for him.

The major problem with the work is its predictability. Trollope has already told us in a previous novel the outcome of the Johnny Eames--Lily Dale courtship. Since goodness usually wins out, Crawley will be vindicated; the only question is how he got the check and why he thought it was his. He thought he got it from his friend, the Dean, but the Dean insists he never gave him the check.

Once the problem of the theft is resolved, then the young lovers, Henry and Grace, will be able join their lives in eternal wedded bliss. Since the young lovers in Trollope always overcome the obstacles, they will be united at the end, and therefore, the problem of the theft will be resolved some way.

Overall, It's a massive work and requires a decent set of notes and what is especially needed is a listing of the characters and the roles they played in the previous novels. While the novel probably can be read without the others, I would strongly recommend reading the others to get the full flavor of the work. As a concluding work for the series, I would say that it's successful.

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Fred Saberhagen: Changeling Earth, an SF novel

This is not one of Saberhagen's best novels. It was first published in 1973 and according to my edition, it has had ten printings. So, it has a very good publishing history. It's an action-oriented tale set in the far future, after a catastrophic war between the East and the West.

Being set so far in the future, little details remain of the war, but the conflict goes on, between two factions, the Empire of the East, and small groups of rebels. The weapons are medieval, and some combatants, wizards, etc., have magic powers--dark magic and white magic--as well as the ability to call up spirits in times of need. There is even a magic talisman that both sides recognize as being powerful in some unknown way.

The Empire of the East has the talisman, but shortly after the beginning of the novel, a small band of rebels infiltrate a guarded compound and steal the talisman with the aid of a slave who is the maid to the consort of one of the high ranking officials in the Empire. The remainder of the story is of the pursuit of the rebels by the forces of the Empire, and the struggle by those holding the talisman to gain a sanctuary somewhere in the North, a place where the source of the white magic is to be found.

Once the sanctuary is gained, the rebels discover that all is not as it seems. The war between the East and the West had actually been directed by AIs on each side of the conflict. Both AIs had launched powerful electro-magnetic beams at each other, and in the collision, demons appeared. Were they created by the collision or released by the collision? That wasn't clear, but they were there and they influenced the course of the war. Those who developed powers on both sides called for a truce and together worked to subdue the most powerful demons. They were successful. But now, one of the wizards of the East decided he was strong enough to call up and control them.

The novel then is the story of the last battle between the East and the West, that had been in hiatus for so many thousands of years.


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Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines

This will be something different. I will briefly discuss why I stopped watching this film.

I had enjoyed the first one in the series starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the bad guy. His style of acting fits perfectly the humorless and inhuman nature of the android or robot. There was a plot and a bit of character development and plenty of action. It was enjoyable to turn one's brain to Low and just go along with the story. The special effects were excellent also.

Making the Terminator almost unstoppable added to the fun as one could watch the thing being slowly chopped to pieces as its programming, which did not allow for failure, carried it on to its final destruction. More satisfaction, I think, is provided by the slow demolition of the creature than by simply blowing it up.

I also watched the second Terminator film, when Arnold returns as a good Terminator who is programmed to protect rather than destroy. I didn't enjoy this one as much as it was all action, all car and truck chases, all gun battles, and all explosions and fire and so on. The plot or story emerged only at the end when they attempted to stop the development of the AI that turned on humanity.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started up the DVD of Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines. I soon found out. T1 began when Arnold appears nude and wanders a short distance until he finds a human with clothes. OK, that makes sense. T3 begins the same way, only the nude terminator is a female, attractive naturally. The terminator then wanders out into the street to find a female whom she presumably kills and takes her car and clothing. What is confusing is that the terminator appears in a clothing store and could simply have taken clothing from the store before wandering out.

Once in the car, the terminator begins a search for its targets, the same way T1 began. Then before anything else happens, we are presented with a car chase. It's at that point I decided I wasn't in the mood for another all action, all gunfight, all car chase, all explosion film. I suppose that I will be told that I gave up too soon, that there really was a decent plot or story line that went beyond a race to save some of the targets before the terminator got them all.

I guess it's a prejudice of mine. A film really can't be all that interesting if the director has to begin with a car chase scene. I also gave up on the last of The Lethal Weapon series, which also had a car chase scene in the first few minutes. I have developed several rules now: first, regardless of how good the first in a series is, the rest get weaker the further they get from the original film, and secondly, a good indication of the film's weakness in plot and storyline is how soon the car chase scene is inserted after the opening credits.

Combination Plate 16

Warning: I will discuss significant plot elements and endings


Fred Saberhagen: Octagon, an SF novel

A Walk in the Sun, film

Albert Sanchez Pinol: Cold Skin, a novel

Robert Silverberg: A Time of Changes, an SF novel

Breakfast at Tiffany's, a film

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Fred Saberhagen: Octagon, an SF novel

Octagon was first published in 1981, and it shows its age when the plot concentrates on computers. References to such "super" computers as the Cray 4 and desktop versions such as the TRS-80 bring back long forgotten memories. The plot involves a war game in which a computer is used to handle the bookkeeping. Participants in the game mail postcards or letters with their latest moves to the game headquarters and await responses from their opponents, also by mail. This is pre-email, of course, and shortly before the growth of the BBS network (electronic bulletin board system), which died shortly after the Internet emerged. The name of the company that runs the war game is Berserker Inc., an obvious reference to Saberhagen's own well-known series about the organic life-hating killing machines.

Prior to the beginning of the novel, two friends, Bob Gregory and Henry Brahmaguptra, had worked together in developing a computer network system by which computers in many different locations could communicate and interact. Fearing that this system might someday fall under the control of either a hostile country or a future dictatorial government, they built in a "back door" which would allow them or someone they designated to regain complete control of the network or even shut it down if that seemed necessary.

Opening the "back door" required two passwords, one for each of them, and since neither knew the other's password, they had to agree that the situation was serious enough to need their intervention. Unfortunately, political differences between Henry, the "bleeding heart" liberal, and Bob, the "reactionary redneck," resulted in their eventual estrangement. Now, it seems that someone has gained control of the system, and each suspects the other of unwisely sharing the password with others (the far left or the far right), which would give partial control of the system. And, along with records mysteriously disappearing or false records appearing, someone or something is murdering participants in that war game.

Saberhagen's novel clearly is tied to the events and the atmosphere of the time in which it was written. The increasing use of computers in everyday life and the first appearance of the personal desktop computer in the late 70s and early 80s (I think I got my first Trash 80 clone in 1981) provide the background for the novel. In addition, fears regarding the control of our lives through computers was becoming stronger, with not only individuals or governments assuming control, but also the possibility of computer AIs developing and becoming a threat on their own. Kubrick and Asimov's 2001: A Space Odyssey came out in 1968 and popularized the idea of sentient but malfunctioning computers as a potential threat to humanity. Saberhagen's novel is another version of this theme for, in this story, an AI has been unknowingly created. Unfortunately, it has adopted the rules of the war game as its perspective on reality: enemies were to be eliminated.

Trivia: Henry Brahmaguptra's last name is almost the same as that of India's most famous astronomer and mathematician of the past, Brahmagupta, who lived from 598 to 665 AD. I doubt that this is a coincidence.

Overall Reaction: interesting tale from an historical perspective about the growth of fear of the new electro-mechanical Frankenstein's monster, along with trends concerning the growth of the personal computer into everyday life. In addition, there's an interesting climatic battle scene at the end featuring metal monsters on both sides.


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A Walk in the Sun, a film

A Walk in the Sun is a WWII film that came out in 1945 and is adapted from a novel by Harry Brown. The novel was published as a serial in Liberty Magazine in 1944. The film follows the actions of the Lee platoon of the Texas Division on the first day of the Allied invasion of Italy at Salerno in 1943. Their mission is to capture a farmhouse about six miles inland and then destroy the nearby bridge.

This is not a typical wartime propaganda film starring a big name who engages in superhuman heroics in the defense of the freedom-loving peoples of the world against an enemy notable mainly for its stupidity, brutality, and cowardice. The film illustrates the common saying about war being moments of terror midst hours of boredom and tedium. Once the platoon gets off the beach and inland, most of the time is spent walking and talking and griping, as the men get to know each other and become a unit. However, there is a war going on and the platoon has several encounters with the enemy before they get to the farmhouse.

Once such encounter is with a German mechanized reconnaissance patrol. The US platoon defeats the patrol, but not because of any super heroics but because the Germans were unaware of the American unit in the area and so were taken by surprise. In addition, the Germans were outnumbered. Careful planning, the element of surprise, discipline, and superior numbers were the significant elements, and it was clear that if the situation had been reversed, the Germans would have come out ahead. The victory had its costs as several were wounded, and in spite of the platoon's mantra, "Nobody Dies,"some do die. In addition, they had to use up all of the shells for their bazooka. This plays a role in the upcoming battle for the farmhouse. This isn't a 'Hollywood" platoon with unlimited ammunition. It has only what the men can carry with them.

Eventually, the farmhouse is taken and the bridge is destroyed. It's not a major victory that will win the war, but just one small action that will hinder the German attempt to bring up reinforcements to this area. This, therefore, allows the Allies to safely land more troops and material so that they can engage the Germans with a greater chance of defeating them when a major battle does occur. It is the combined results of small engagements, such as this one, that set the tone for the coming battles.

It's an all male cast, with not even the usual obligatory flashbacks to scenes back home of wives and girl friends and parents. Part of the fun of the film was spotting familiar faces among the soldiers: Dana Andrews (probably the star, if one needs one), Lloyd Bridges, Richard Conte, John Ireland, Sterling Holloway, Huntz Hall, Steve Brodie, and Burgess Meredith as the narrator.

Overall Reaction: a more realistic war film about WWII than most of those that I have seen. Superheroes are fun, but in the real world it's the average person who is forced to get the job done--the clerks, the mail carriers, the junior executives, the teachers, the welders--none of whom have superhuman powers.

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Albert Sanchez Pinol: Cold Skin, a novel
translated by Cheryl Leah Morgan

A young man (unnamed) has arrived on a small island near the Antarctic Circle to take on a job as a weatherman for a year. He is to record the intensity, the direction, and the frequency of the winds there. The captain of the ship that has brought him is in a hurry to leave. Consequently, when the weatherman who has just completed his yearlong tour is not there to greet them, they go to look for him. He is nowhere to be found. The lighthouse keeper, who is the other inhabitant of the island, knows nothing.

The captain is puzzled, but he must leave. The young man settles in. He has taken this job because of the isolation. He also sees it as an opportunity to educate himself, so he has brought along numerous books and writing materials.

This is what I had read about the book before I borrowed it from the library. It sounded like a mystery to me and the premise was intriguing. Where was the previous weatherman? Was the lighthouse keeper responsible for his disappearance? Was there someone else on the island? It wasn't long before I realized I had wandered into the universe of a different genre--the horror story. The first night, swarms of humanoid creatures swarm ashore and attack his house. Fortunately, his house is sturdy and he is armed.

This short novel, somewhat less than 200 pages, is one of the strangest novels that I've recently read. Who are the creatures? Why do they relentlessly attack, night after night, regardless of their losses? Did they kill the missing weatherman? What is the lighthouse keeper's role in all this? Why is the lighthouse keeper reluctant to join forces with him against the creatures? And, what is the lighthouse keeper's relationship with what appears to be one of the female creatures?

By day, the young man struggles to find the answers to these questions, while at night he struggles to defend himself against the persistent attacks of the creatures. When he eventually forces the lighthouse keeper to allow him to move into the lighthouse (a much sturdier and more easily defensible structure), his questions still go unanswered. He also finds himself strangely attracted to the humanoid female.

The ending is a shocker, or at least, it was for me. I didn't see it coming, although other, more perceptive readers might. At the end, he does get some of the answers, but not all.

Overall Reaction: not a pleasant story, but one that drew me in and I had to stay with it until the end. Would I reread it? I think so, for it would be a different story then, and I'm curious about what it would be like at a second reading.

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Robert Silverberg: A Time of Changes
Winner of the Nebula Award for Best SF Novel of 1971
Hugo Nominee for 1972

The novel begins with a very traditional series of events. Centuries in the future, humankind has colonized a number of planets. On one of them, Borthan, the people have created a society where the self is despised. It is considered obscene to use the pronouns "I" or "me" or "my." Instead of saying "I would like to . . .," the people of Borthan say "One would like to. . ." Talking about oneself is forbidden and eventually would result in social ostracism. Extremists would go one step further and say "Doing . . . is pleasurable" which eliminates any reference to an individual.

There are two exceptions to this rule. Apparently the founders of Borthan recognized that complete self-containment would be unhealthy, so they created the drainers and the custom of bondkin. Drainers were those who would listen to anyone without judging and keep secret whatever they were told, similar to the seal of the confessional in the Roman Catholic Church. Shortly after a child was born, the parents would arrange with other families to develop a relationship with a male and a female child of the same age. These would then be the child's bondbrother and bondsister. Only with one's bondbrother and bondsister could one reveal oneself, could one be truly open with another person.


Kinnal Darival is the son of the ruler of Sala. Unfortunately he is a younger son. It is strange but true that, on Borthan, younger sons of rulers do quite well until the father dies and the oldest brother takes the throne. At this point, the life expectancy of younger brothers suddenly drops to something less than a year. However, another strange fact is that the life expectancy of younger brothers suddenly increases to that of the normal population once that younger brother has traveled to a foreign country. Taking account of these statistics, Kinnal Darival leaves Salla several months after his brother has assumed the throne.

Darival, after several adventures, arrives in the province of Manneran. With the help of a relative, he gains a government position and within a decade or so, he has managed to become highly respected and powerful. He has wealth, power, prestige, and an advantageous if not a happy marriage. He then meets and becomes friendly with an Earthman, Schweiz, a merchant.

Schweiz attempts to break through the cultural walls that isolate each inhabitant on Borthan. He finds a listener in Darival. Eventually Schweiz tells him of a drug that will break through the social isolation and actually allow those who have taken the drug to share each other's consciousness for a short time. They take the drug and Darival decides that this must be shared with others. He and Schweiz travel to Sumara, the source of the drug, and bring back a large quantity. Darival then begins to convert others and soon a significant number of people are taking the drug.

The ruling powers however see this as a threat, and Darival is forced to flee once again. He returns to his home province of Sala, where his brother agrees to let him live, as long as he does not attempt to introduce the drug. Darival eventually finds this impossible, and at the end of the story is captured by his brother's troops. Darival's consolation is that he has written his story down and gotten it out to friends, who will spread the good word to others.

As I mentioned earlier, this novel was published in 1971. I'm sure this is just a coincidence, but during the 60s and early 70s, psychologist Timothy Leary became very prominent through his research on LSD. Like Darival, he was highly regarded in his profession. Like Darival he preached the use of a mind/consciousness expanding drug which would provide emotional and spiritual benefits. Leary also had to travel to a foreign country, Mexico, at first to acquire the mind expanding drug. And, eventually Leary lost his position in academia and was harassed by the authorities. Leary at one point had various prison terms adding up to 90+ years and actually spent some time in prison. President Nixon once described Leary as "the most dangerous man in America."

Overall Reaction: As I mentioned earlier, the novel began as a traditional adventure tale but then became as much if not more of a novel of ideas than of an action-oriented story. It's the story of a highly successful, wealthy, and powerful man who eventually went to war with his culture. As with so many who have radical ideas, he won't be around to see the results of his actions.

Another issue here is the efficacy of the drug. While it does break down the barriers between the minds of those using the drugs, does it produce any lasting changes after the drug wears off. The same question was asked of LSD which reportedly produced the same consciousness expanding results in a few hours as did years of meditation or of a mystical experience of some inexplicable nature. In short, were there any long-lasting beneficial changes to those who took LSD?

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Breakfast at Tiffany's, a film, probably labeled a romantic comedy

The Plot: can a young girl from a small Texas town find happiness in New York City? I should probably define happiness as Holly Golightly, our heroine, sees it. Actually Jane Austen, many years ago, said it better than I ever could: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. Holly is looking for that single man in possession of a good fortune who will want her as his wife. Holly isn't being totally mercenary here, for she has a brother, Fred, who is getting out of the army shortly. He's a bit slow, she tells one and all, so she has to be responsible for him.

Given this inane plot, one could only wonder why the film was so popular. What does it have going for it that would have viewers ignore the silliness?

Well . . . It has the following going for it:

Cat, who plays the cat in the film with to the utmost, Cat is the epitome of catness--self-centered, determined to get its own way, always being around when it's not wanted and seldom being around when it is.

The Theme Music: words and music by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini respectively. "Moon River" was extremely popular and one couldn't turn on the radio without hearing it at least once or twice a day. For days afterward I kept humming or hearing it.

George Peppard: a handsome, young male with lots of white teeth. What was needed for the role was a handsome, young male with lots of white teeth: he was available. He was there when necessary and not there when not needed.

Patricia Neal: her great but too seldom seen portrayal of Mrs. Failenson, the society matron whose boytoy, George Peppard, lived in the apartment above Holly's. Her acceptance of being dumped by George for a younger woman was a classic--rueful to some extent, but as she left, one knew that she was already thinking about his replacement, and that wouldn't be an impossible task, either--just call central casting.

But, most of all, what the film really has going for it is Audry Hepburn.

Overall Reaction: It stars Audrey Hepburn; what else needs be said?

Fred Saberhagen: Earth Descended

Fred Saberhagen's stories cover the known and possibly unknown areas of the spectrum of SF and Fantasy. He has published stories that range from sword-and sorcery to the deadly berserkers, from Dracula and Holmes to stories that play with time to excursions into his versions of some well-known myths and fairy tales. In this collection I found stories that provide examples of his wide variety of published works.

Warning: I will discuss significant plot elements and the endings of stories.
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1. "Young Girl at an Open Half Door"
The title refers to a well-known painting by Rembrandt, which happens to be a favorite of the story's protagonist, Joe Ricci. Ricci has installed the security system for this particular art museum, and recently the system has been registering "false positives": it indicates the presence of intruders who can't be found by the museum security people. Moreover, there are no signs in any of the adjoining rooms to show how the intruders got in or how they left without being discovered. Ricci has been called in to find out what's going wrong with the security system and to do something about it.

Reaction: I'm a bit confused about this story's placement as the first story because collections usually begin with a very strong story and conclude with another. This, by no means, is the strongest story in the collection, and the mystery is not really much of a mystery as this story has been told before by others. This story has a copyright date of 1968, and the plot wasn't new then. Perhaps those who decided the story order elected to go with familiarity to get readers interested.


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2. "The Adventure of the Metal Murderer"
Saberhagen blends two of his favorite themes in this story. Initially it appears to be one of his berserker tales, those of his stories that I'm most familiar with. In fact, whenever Saberhagen's name is mentioned, I immediately think of the berserker series, which I think constitute one of the largest portions of his writings.

The berserkers are killing machines, apparently created long ago by a race which was involved in a war. They devised these machines in desperation and turned them loose. They lost the war and the secret of shutting down the machines was lost. Eventually the berserkers began seeking to destroy all life forms and not just the enemies of their creators. Humans have been fighting the berserkers for many centuries now. A similar theme is the core of Greg Benford's mind bending "Galactic Center" series.

In this tale, a berserker has managed to go into earth's past, specifically the late 19th century, and an agent has been sent back after it, hoping to destroy it before it accomplishes its mission.
The agent makes it to late 19th century London and begins the search for the berserker. It was at this point that I suspected what Saberhagen was doing. I won't go any further except to say that the last words of the story are "'Elementary,' the tall man snapped."

Reaction: a lightweight but enjoyable tale.


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3. "Earthshade"
This is a shared universe tale. It was originally commissioned for an anthology of short fantasy stories, The Magic May Return, edited by Larry Niven. It is set in Niven's "Warlock" universe, and the basic theme is that magic once was available to anyone long ago. However, surprisingly, magic is not a renewable energy source, for it depends upon the presence of manna to be effective. Demons and humans, not yet familiar with conservationist ethic, eventually use up all of the available manna, and magic is no longer available for the most part. The stories in this collection, I gather from the title, suggest that magic may not have been gone for good.

This story tells of the adventures of Zalazar and his young helper as they discover why magic really disappeared and what must be done to restore magic to earth. Along the way, Zalazar meets a goddess or two, and like Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, he also discovers that his helper isn't exactly who he presents himself to be. There's a touch of the Greek myth here also.

It's a classic tale that shows why being too curious at times can be dangerous for one's health and longevity, as Zalazar discovers, naturally when it's too late.

Reaction: Enjoyable. More complex than the first two stories.


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4. "The White Bull"

Here's another Saberhagen excursion into Greek mythology. Readers familiar with the various stories about Daedalus and Icarus, Theseus, King Minos, and the Minotaur, won't have any problem figuring out the broad plot line of this story. What makes the story interesting are the changes Saberhagen has made to the details that flesh out the bones of the plot. One is the nature of the Minotaur, who has now become an alien creature whose self-appointed task is that of educating these slow-witted humans.

Reaction: an enjoyable version of an old and familiar tale.


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5. "Calendars"

This is a gentle satire poking fun at those who insist on planning out their lives weeks, months, even years, in advance. Obviously, I'm not one of those, even though I do carry my pocket calendar everywhere I go and I have a pop-up calendar program on my computer. However, I do put the pocket calendar aside and I do turn off the computer when I go to sleep.

Briefly, Martin Pandareus has decided to die. He tells his wife of some 90+ years of his decision. She thinks for a moment and then remarks that he decided the same thing some 30 years ago. Martin says he's serious now, that he thinks it's time he moved on and made room for others. So few children are seen nowadays, so he is going to make some room. At this point, his wife says,

" 'Speaking of children,' Iris interrupted. 'I don't mean to interrupt, but speaking of children, I hope you're not planning to have yourself terminated before the nineteenth.'

'Of what? This month?' Automatically he looked for a calendar but could not see one. 'Why?'

'Janet called.' His previous wife. 'I mean, she left a message while we were on vacation. Things have been so hectic I forgot to tell you. Your five-great grandson is making his bar mitzvah on that date, you're to be sure to attend.' "

"The next day in his office on the upper floor of the duplex apartment he consulted his business calendar as soon as he could find the time."

There were important business meetings on the twenty-first and twenty-second. During the following month was the antique furniture auction in Minneapolis, and "he and Iris had gone to a great deal of trouble to plan their vacation so he would be sure to be back in time for that." His lawyer advises him to wait until after the first of the year--"The tax structure . . ."

I think you can see the trend here.

Does he ever commit suicide? Well, his calendar is pretty full, and besides, he had promised his wife that they would have a child (a twenty year commitment). . . and if she became pregnant now, that would interfere with their next vacation trip and . . .

Will he ever manage to find the time? Perhaps Emily Dickinson knew better than he when she wrote--

Because I could not stop for Death--
He kindly stopped for me--


Reaction: an entertaining little tale about how important an event becomes once it's entered into a calendar--even more important than life and death, it seems.


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6. "Wilderness"

This is one of those tales that confuse readers and the characters because they don't know the full story. Once that is learned, it all becomes quite simple, mostly anyway. And Saberhagen does provide clues throughout, but it's only after the full story is revealed that the significance is known.

A man wandering through a wilderness area comes across a small commune of about ten people. The sun is setting and he asks if he could stay the night for he fears he might get lost in the dark, trying to get back to his car.

They agree, and he then begins to tell them how they should be living their lives, not wasting it out here in the wilderness like this. He can't understand why anyone would not want to live in the city where there's people and noise and all sorts of things going on. He then criticizes their way of farming as being too labor intensive. They should get farming machinery that will help them increase their productivity and begin to make money. He has some money and he will help them develop their farm. He also fears the wilderness and urges them to keep wilderness in a strong cage and control it, and not be controlled by it.

"'Yeah keep a few bits of nature in cages,' he replied at last. 'Keep trees behind big fences, t'show we're strong enough to do so. Otherwise drive the wilderness out, this is our place here, our place.' "

He seems to be just a rude, insensitive individual until he talks about fresh air. It was then that I got a clue as to what his real problem might be.

"He filled his lungs with mountain air and wood-smoke tang. 'That's fine, good air t' breathe. No one knows better'n me how fine that is. But can we trust nature to give us air? If we were smart we'd put all the good air in a big jar, and let out just a little at a time, as it was needed.'"

Rating: this is one story that I had to read several times to fully appreciate the subtlety here. And, he's not really a bad guy.


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7. "Patron of the Arts"

Some of Benford's mechs in his "Galactic Center" series were fascinated by art, so much so that one of them, the Mantis, attempts its own horrific version of art. One of the subplots in the novels and a novella involved the Mantis' efforts to understand art for it had no value in its mechanistic view of the universe. In this story, Saberhagen plays with the same theme.

Earth, fearing an invasion by the berserkers, sends off as many of its artistic treasures as possible. Herron, who is considered one of Earth's finest living artists, asks for and gets permission to go along with one of the shipments. Unfortunately the ship is attacked by a berserker and the crew is killed in the ensuing battle. Herron does not fight and therefore his life is spared, temporarily.

The berserker, confused by the cargo, questions Herron about the paintings. Herron's attempts to explain art confuses the berserker even more, and this leads to an erroneous conclusion by the berserker, which actually saves Herron's life.

Reaction: An interesting story about the similarity between the berserker and humanity. I've met many people whose understanding and appreciation of the arts is even less than the berserker's.


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8. "To Mark the Year on Azlaroc"

Azlaroc must be one of the strangest planets in the universe, at least in Saberhagen's universe. It's the "veils" that fall roughly once a year that make Azlaroc so unique. This story, published in 1976, became part of a novel, The Veils of Azlaroc, which was published in 1978.

According to Saberhagen, Azlaroc forms a unusual triple system with a pulsar and a black hole for its two companions. And the veils?

"The material between the stars, gathered up as this triple system advances through space. What is not sucked into the black hole is sieved through nets of the pulsar's radiation, squeezed by the black hole's hundred billion gravities, shattered and transformed in all its particles as it falls toward Azlaroc through the belts of space that starships must avoid. Once every systemic year conditions are right and a veil falls. What falls is no longer matter that men can work with, any more than they can work in the hart of a black hole."

As best as I can figure, those "covered" by a veil now are confined within their own time continuum, separated from those covered by the previous veil, and unable to leave the planet. The veil also separates them from those who come after that veil has fallen. As the years pass and the veils all, they become harder and harder to see and communicate with by those who come after.

Hagen has come to Azlaroc with Alianna, his most recent companion, ostensibly on a galactic sight-seeing tour. What he doesn't tell her is that over a century ago he had come here with another, Mira. Hagen and Mira had separated briefly after a quarrel. Then the warning went out--a veil was dropping ahead of schedule. He hurried back to the ship and escaped. It was only after they had lifted off the planet that he discovered that Mira had not made it back in time.

He wants to find Mira, so he suggests that he and Alianna separate for a while. He finds Mira and during their reunion, he sees that Alianna has accidentally come across them and when he tries to explain, she has disappeared.

History repeats itself, perhaps, and again the warning goes out about the veil dropping prematurely. He can't find Alianna at the port and wonders if she is searching frantically for him back in town. Hagen, as on his previous visit, decides to leave and save himself, for he has no desire to be trapped on Azlaroc and lose the opportunity to explore the universe. And Alianna--well, she's a good match for Hagen.

Reaction: a interesting story, really more of a vignette than a plotted tale, perhaps because Saberhagen was already working on the novel. The real interest in the story is the planet Azlaroc and its strange relationship to time.

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9. "Victory"

Who won the war on the planet Lorenzoni?

Forty-six years ago Condamine initiated a first strike with nuclear missiles. Ungava suffered over 100 million casualties. There was no real retaliation by Ungava, and yet the war goes on. Condamine irregularly dispatches a nuclear missile whenever it sees what appears to be a concentration of population or some new construction taking place. Ungava strikes back with car bombs and other acts of sabotage and hit-and-run raids against Condamine's coastal towns.


Shen-yang is sent by the galactic council to see if he can act as a mediator to end the war. As he travels the main city of Condamine, he wonders at "the stores, full of good things to buy; the theaters and houses of entertainment, varied enough to suit any taste and any credit balance, doing a mass business; and by the people themselves.

The streets were full of folk who obviously enjoyed a wide choice of clothing and personal decoration and of vehicles in which to travel. They were busy, and they looked basically healthy and certainly well-fed. Just a touch glassy-eyed, perhaps--but Shen-yang saw that often enough at home, in the larger cities at any rate."

He finds the government leaders desperate to end the war, for that's what's keeping them out of the galactic council. He is also told, but can't believe, that Ungava still has its missile strike force intact, with over 1000 missiles. Nobody, he feels, could have the restraint to hold off avenging the destruction of their homeland. With the government's aid, he makes contact with Ungava and arranges to be picked up by one of their aircraft in an isolated spot.

Ungava is a mountainous country, and he sees that small isolated valleys are being farmed, but little housing is visible. Aside from the tilled valleys, ruined cities and radioactive lakes are all he sees, for the people live mostly underground. Ungava is now a dictatorship, in which all efforts are directed towards survival and defeat of Condamine. Shen-yang meets the High Leader, and realizes that all around him worship him and see him as the embodiment of Ungava.

Shen-yang asks about the missiles and the High Leader confirms what the Condamine government leaders had told him. The Leader refuses to use them because that would only strengthen the Condamine government, for the survivors would then be as tough and determined to win as are the people of Ungava. He wants peace also and is willing to negotiate with Condamine, but only if the present government is replaced. Shen-yang remarks that only the winner can dictate terms such as that.

A nuclear missile strikes the mountain hideout of the Leader, but they are so deep within that nobody is injured. Apparently, the Condamine government had placed a tracer of some sort on Shen-yang in hopes of killing the High Leader. Upon learning of its failure, Condamine informs the Ungava that it wanted to negotiate a peace and had changed its leadership.

Reaction: Interesting story about a conflict between a society that was almost destroyed but because of that now had a cause to unify the people and a society that was prosperous but lacked that unifying cause. In addition, they had much more to lose by continuing the war than did Ungava.

Who really did win the war?


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10. "Birthdays"

Aboard a spaceship whose mission is to spread humanity throughout the galaxy, Bart, almost 14, is awakened and informed of the following by the ship's AI:

"The prime directives under which I operate are very clear. One human parent, adoptive or real, is necessary to the successful maturation of children; images and machines are psychologically inadequate for optimum results. Therefore, after receiving some elementary preparation for the role, you will serve as adoptive parent for the first generation of colonists."

He is brought to the nursery where he finds 24 infants. He is with them for a day and then goes to sleep. One year later, he is reawakened. He is a day older, but the infants are a year older. This pattern remains: he is awakened once a year and interacts with them, and then goes back to sleep. He ages a day and they a year. Eventually they are as old as he is and older. By the time he finally reaches his fourteenth birthday, they are in their 60s.

Every year, he awakens for one day to see them mature and then age. During that day, he learns of their struggles, their loves, their hopes, their failures, and their dreams. Then, on the 69th awakening, he leaves his room and in the corridor finds a new door has been created while the old one has been sealed. Going through the new door, Bart once again hears the Prime Directive from the AI and is now informed that the preparation for his assignment has ended. He will now be awakened at increasingly shorter intervals so he can act as parent for this new group of infants. This generation will be the first generation of colonists when they reach their destination, a planetary system that has a strong possibility of possessing earthlike planets, in about 20 years.

Reaction: one of the strongest stories in the book, as well as being the longest.

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11. "Recessional"

"Recessional" is the story that puzzled me at first, and to some extent, still does as I'm not certain that I got the point. Sometimes writers provide all of the main elements and then expect the reader to assemble them properly. I wonder if this is one of them, or if I simply am missing the point.

Well, here are some elements that I've gotten together and I'm curious to see what some of you can make of this.

The title "Recessional" could refer to the title of a poem by Rudyard Kipling which he composed on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The poem expresses pride in the British Empire, but also an underlying sadness that the Empire might go the way of all previous empires. I'm not sure what this has to do with the story, but the refrain--"Lest we forget"--is more suggestive. It is now frequently found on tombstones and often used by speakers on occasions in which we are asked to remember and honor the dead. It suggests the elements of death and memory and time.

In the story, we learn of an amazing discovery. The inner layer of the skull is actually some sort of backup memory, especially that part next to the visual cortex. With the right equipment, one can actually see what a dead person saw, probably the last things that deceased saw. The police, naturally, are very interested in this development, especially in murder cases. During the same TV show that this was explained, one of the characters mentioned a short story by Kappling which featured a similar development, only that a camera could be used to photograph the last image which remained on the retina at the person's death. The main character, who is watching the TV show, says to himself that the author is "Kipling," not Kappling, another link here to Kipling.

The main character has no name and is identified only as an SF writer. At the beginning of the story, he is attending an SF convention in Miami Beach. We are told little else about him except that he "was never going to get married again, that much he felt pretty sure about, not even when his status as a widower became finally and fully legal and official, as one of these years it would. Was it two years now or three?" We can guess from this that his wife had disappeared possibly four or five years ago and her body was never found.


The writer then decides to go on an extended driving trip, which ultimately ends up in San Diego. It is during this trip that he encounters a series of strange events, which seemingly follow a pattern.

While in Miami Beach, he hears that an unidentified woman's body was found in the water about one hundred miles south of Miami Beach. Apparently she had been in the water for possibly four or five years. When asked about the possibility of this, experts talked knowingly about deep pockets of cold water that would slow the process of disintegration.

After leaving the convention, he drives to Atlanta, Georgia. On the morning news show, he learns that the body of a young unidentified woman, possibly in her early 20s, was found in a river some 20 miles north of Atlanta. Experts said that the body might have been in the water "for as long as several months."

In Vicksburg, Mississippi, he catches a TV talk show during which he learns about the memory capacity of the inner skull. The host then asks the expert whether this device might help "the police discover, for instance, who this young woman is whose body came down the Mississippi today? They say she might have been in the water for several weeks. Wearing a yellow bikini and--"

He stops at a diner in Shreveport, Louisiana, and takes a booth next to one with two state police officers. One of the officers says to the other, "__she mighta been from any upstream somewheres. The Doc, he says days in the water. White gal. Just a lil ol bathing suit on. No wounds, nothing like that."

Near Carlsbad, New Mexico, he drives by a city park and gets a glimpse of a police officer trying to resuscitate a person with brown hair and wearing something yellow.

Reaching San Diego, he goes to his parents' house, which he inherited after their death. That night he hears the "sound of a slow Navy plane . . .One of the search and rescue craft, and it sounded like it was heading out. . . Anyway, they wouldn't be using a plane to look for her, she hadn't gone out in a boat. And if they hadn't started to look for her last night, when she walked out, they wouldn't be starting now.

He paused, trying to clear his thoughts. How could they have started any search last night? He still, up to this minute, hadn't told anyone how she had gone. Not yet . . .

If you can't stand your own life, he had said to her, then I suggest you put an end to it. I have an interesting life of my own that's going to take all my time."

Reaction: initial confusion, followed by several questions. Did his wife commit suicide by walking into the ocean? The various reports of drowned women--what is the connection to his wife?

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12. "Where Thy Treasure Is"

Published in 1981, this story might be considered an early cyberpunk tale. Bernard Cunningham has an operation in which a receiving device is implanted in his brain that will allow him to get direct transmissions from the financial computerized network. He will be getting information, therefore, long before his competitors.

The operation is successful, too successful actually. He now feels completely connected to his properties, as if they were part of his body. He feels pain when one of his properties catches fire. He has to sell off the slum buildings he owns for he senses the damage to the building from various insects and rats.

Removing the device is ineffective. It makes no difference for the brain itself had taken over the functions of the device. Cunningham then decides to solve the problem by selling off all of his properties, which will then eliminate his involvement in the financial system. He tells his wife of his decision and insists he had done it all for her and the children. She argues that was nonsense, that he had done it for himself and nobody else.

The ending is ambiguous in that Saberhagen leaves it up to the reader to decide what happened.

"Meeting Shirley's angry, wondering eyes, he felt a touch of new terror. The power of self-extension was still his, in a form he had not thought of until now.

It came to him that there were treasures he had yet dreamed of knowing.

It came to him also that the cage-bars of the ledgers, the prision domains of the magnetic discs, had just this moment eased their strain."

His lawyers call, wanting his permission to sell off everything.

" 'The papers.' Cunningham's voice on the phone was impatient and happy at the same time, that of a man being disturbed while at some joyful occupation. 'Oh, the rest of the giveaway papers, yes, I think you might as well tear those up.' "

Reaction: somewhat confused. All was well until the ending. What had happened to Cunningham? What was the form of the power of self-extension that "he had not thought of until now"?