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Book Review: The Lavalite World by Philip Jose Farmer

The Lavalite World by Philip Jose FarmerOn an artificial world created by the immortal Lord Urthona, the landscape is forever shifting. Mountains crumble into plains, flesh-eating trees roam the surface, chunks of the planet are ejected into orbit as temporary moons only to fall back and crash into the surface. It is on this world that Earthman Paul Janus Finnegan—known as Kickaha among other aliases—and his companion, the Lady Anana, find themselves stranded with the devious Urthona, Red Orc, and their human henchman, McKay. Somewhere on this vexing planet floats Urthona’s palace and the means for finding a gateway to another world. Before Kickaha and Anana can find it, however, they must survive the treachery of the other three—not to mention the dangerous plants, animals, and natives.

In this fifth and penultimate volume in his Word of Tiers series, Farmer provides enough detail about previous events involving the characters that you don’t need to read the previous books to enjoy The Lavalite World. However, what this story fails to mention is that the series began with a character named Robert Wolff also known as Jadawin, one of the immortals lords. Thus, to grasp the full scope and breadth of the World of Tiers, it is advisable to begin with book one, The Maker of Universes.

I can’t help but to compare Farmer’s World of Tiers to Jack Vance’s Planet of Adventure series or to some of Farmer’s other works such as The Stone God Awakens, The Green Odyssey, or even Riverworld. In all cases, a human finds himself (by whatever means) in a strange world and in order to escape, must venture across the planet, battling dangerous tribes, animals, and the environment along the way, all while earning the companionship of a beautiful woman and making a few unlikely allies. There is nothing wrong in these comparisons and each story puts its own spin on that basic premise, making every one a rip-roaring adventure.

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Book Review: The Stone God Awakens by Philip Jose Farmer

Encased in stone for millions of years as a result of a failed experiment, atomic scientist Ulysses Singing Bear is liberated from his imprisonment by a bolt of lightning during a battle between two races of bipedal creatures. One group appears to have evolved from cats while the other, raccoons. Ulysses soon learns that humans have long since become extinct and the earth populated by sentient beings evolved from familiar animals of the late 20th century.

The Stone God Awakens by Philip Jose FarmerAs Ulysses acclimates to his new environment, the Wufea come to worship him as a god and ask for his help in defeating the Great Devourer known as Wurutana. To uphold his status as a deity, Ulysses has little choice but to agree and, along with an army of Wufea warriors, treks across the wilderness to do battle with what he understands to be an enormous tree that is spreading across the land. Along the way, he manages to form a truce between the Wufea and their enemy, the Wagarondit. He even recruits Wagarondit warriors to join the offensive.

All the while, they are guided by Ghlikh, a pygmy creature with batwings who offers Ulysses information about the land and peoples ahead of them, including a village of humans who live along the southern coast. In order to reach them, however, Ulysses and his armies must cross Wurutana. Yet, Ulysses senses that Ghlikh is withholding information and possibly leading them into a trap.

Will Ulysses and his troops survive their passage through Wurutana and their encounters with the treacherous denizens within its vast network of tangled branches, vines, trunks, and waterways?

At its core, The Stone God Awakens is a fish out of water adventure much like Farmer’s The Green Odyssey published 13 years earlier, or Jack Vance’s Planet of Adventure series, or even The Time Machine by H.G. Welles. In this case, Farmer adds a few imaginative twists including the evolution of various animal species, an uncommon antagonist, and the development of plant-based science and engineering. The fact that an atomic scientist displays such exceptional prowess in survival, military tactics, and political leadership is, at times, a stretch. Still, The Stone God Awakens is another outstanding tale from one of the giants of the genre.

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Book Review: Victory by Lester del Rey

After 14 years in space defending the planet Meloa from an incursion by the Throm, Captain Duke O’Neill returns to find Kordule, the capital of Meloa, devastated after a series of Throm raids that occurred over the past few months.

To make matters worse, Earth remained neutral and refused to intervene on behalf Meloa. For this, O’Neill holds a bitter grudge against his home planet and refuses to return. Rather, he decides to remain on Meloa. He first tracks down his wife, Ronda, who survived the raids, but is living in squalor along with many other humans and native Meloans. O’Neill soon learns that his marriage was a sham from the beginning and Ronda wants nothing more to do with him.

Meanwhile, another war is brewing between the humanoid Kloomirians and the Earth colony Cathay and yet again, Earth maintains its position of neutrality. With no job prospects on Meloa, O’Neill attempts to reenlist on behalf of Cathay, but Director Flannery of the Earth Foreign Office has other ideas for the soldier, one that will explain the psychology behind Earth’s apparent cowardice.

Victory begins as a story of a bitter, displaced war veteran with few prospects and ends with the lesson the maturation of cultures from destructive warmongering to peaceful coexistence.

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Book Review: A Thousand Degrees Below Zero by Murray Leinster

The Thrill Book - July 1919In the middle of summer, an ice floe materializes in New York harbor, leaving two ships in distress. During the ensuing confusion, a strange black aircraft descends and hovers over the scene before vanishing as quickly as it appeared. Shortly after, several more ice “cakes” form without warning in the Straits of Gibraltar, Folkestone Harbor, and Yokohama.

With panic mounting across the globe, a manifesto is sent to the British government from a man named Wladislaw Varrhus, who announces his intention to assume control of all world governments and establish himself as dictator. If the nations fail to meet his demands, more waterways will be frozen, disrupting commerce.

The American military consults with one Professor Hawkins and his assistant Teddy Gerrod, who develop a method to neutralize Varrhus’s “cold bombs”—but the deranged inventor is not so easily foiled. He not only returns with an improved version of his cold bomb, but murders Professor Hawkins in revenge. With the help of the professor’s daughter, Evelyn, and an American pilot named Davis, Teddy devises a plan to defeat Varrhus.

A Thousand Degrees Below Zero was Murray Leinster’s (William Fitzgerald Jenkins) first published novella, featured in the July 1919 edition of The Thrill Book pulp magazine. It’s a typical Leinster story with two-dimensional protagonists and a plot that relies heavily on the science and technology of the time with inventive twists. A fun science fiction adventure tale that would make an enjoyable TV movie.

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Book Review: Philip Jose Farmer’s Night of Light

Night of Light by Philip Jose FarmerAfter fleeing Earth to the planet Kareen, thief and murderer John Carmody is taken in by two Catholic missionaries who order him on a covert fact-finding mission to the Temple of Boonta on the eve of an annual ritual known as the Night of Light.

Most Kareenans take sedatives to ensure that they sleep during the chaotic and savage Night. To remain awake is to be subjected to torturous hallucinations, to lose one’s sanity, and potentially, to be murdered or commit suicide.

Fearless and irreverent, Carmody mocks all religions, until he defies regulations and remains awake during the Night in an attempt to assassinate a god incarnate named Yess. According to Kareenan beliefs, the goddess Boonta has two sons, the benevolent Yess and the evil Algul, each of whom are reborn through the ages and take turns ruling Kareen.

As me makes his way through the streets to the temple where Yess has concealed himself for the Night, Carmody is confronted by bizarre, disturbing visions that eventually compel him to renounce his old life and convert to Catholicism.

Years later, after returning to Earth and undergoing rehabilitation, Carmody enters the priesthood and is ordered by the Church to return to Kareen and dissuade the latest incarnation of Yess from sending missionaries to spread Boontism to other worlds. However, vestiges of Carmody’s old life reemerge as the Night of Light is once again nearly upon Kareen…

Strong in both plot and character arc, Night of Light is yet another captivating, original, and wildly imaginative example of Philip Jose Farmer’s propensity for using science fiction as a milieu to explore and question long-established religious beliefs. This is also evidenced by some of his other works, such as Inside Outside and the Riverworld series.

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Book Review: The Wailing Asteroid by Murray Leinster

The Wailing Asteroid by Murray LeinsterA signal from outer space reaches Earth and is broadcast over the radio, interrupting Joe Burke just as he is about to propose to his secretary and longtime friend, Sandy Lund. As it turns out, the signal is comprised of sounds resembling those of a flute. They are eerily familiar to Burke from a recurring dream he had as a child after his uncle gifted him with a number of relics found in a Cro-Magnon cave.

Though disappointed, Sandy returns to Burke’s engineering office where he plays a recording he made of the sounds years before and they are an exact match to those from space. Soon after, astronomers identify the source of the signal as an asteroid on a course that will bring it close to Earth.

Without sufficient evidence, the United States and Russia interpret the signals as a threat. The two major powers compete, and fail, to send a craft to the meet the aliens. However, Burke designs and constructs a small ship with the assistance of a yacht builder named Holmes and a taciturn electronics expert named Keller. Sandy’s sister Pam joins the team to assist with tracking orders and receiving shipments.

Early in their testing of a reactionless drive, an explosive mishap draws the attention of a reporter, two government agents, and the police. Burke tries to persuade them that he is building an advanced bomb shelter. They are not convinced and suspect Burke and company of conspiring with the aliens. A few days later, the police return to arrest them, but Burke launches the ship with Holmes, Keller, and the Lund sisters aboard.

A week and a half later, they reach the asteroid and fly the ship through a tunnel, which closes behind them. Lights, breathable air, and an artifcial gravity system are activated, allowing the intrepid voyagers to leave the ship. To their dismay, they find the asteroid devoid of life.

Burke and his team explore the interior and learn that it is a garrison, long abandoned by its troops. They also interpret the flute-like signal as a beacon ordering the ancient soldiers to return in order to defend against an approaching enemy. Who were the soldiers and where did they go? More importantly, can Burke and company learn how to operate the garrison in time to defend Earth against this powerful and unknown threat from interstellar space?

If you can ignore Leinster’s cardboard characterizations—such as the whiny and emotionally clueless Burke and the stereotypical capricious, husband-hunting women—The Wailing Asteroid is an enjoyable light-hearted adventure with a healthy dose of plausible 1960s science and engineering.