Sunday Morning Book Thread - 10-13-2024 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading (WARNING! Cover art is not for the squeamish!). Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material. As always, pants are required, unless you are wearing these pants...(also not for the squeamish).

So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, sprinkle pumpkin spice on your omelet, and dive into a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?

PIC NOTE

Today's pic is the Monster Book of Monsters from the Harry Potter franchise. It's a vicious book that is partly sentient, or at least has enough awareness to snap off a finger if you try to open it without subduing it first. Among its entries are the relatively "normal" beasties like hippogriffs, manticores, and sphinxes, but it also has entries for "shelifferous drogodflikerous" and "darazilnof freaazar."

THE LINGERING DEATH OF FANTASY BOOK PUBLISHING

"Trad Publishing" refers to "traditional publishing," i.e., the huge publishing houses in New York City responsible for releasing a vast number of books we've read over the past several decades. Independent--"indy"--publishing is on the rise, as writers are able to leverage the power of social media to market and distribute their books instead of relying on the gatekeeping power of a traditional publishing house.

In the past, I suppose publishing houses did serve some purpose in reviewing and editing the best of the best stories. Quality editing is just as important as quality writing. However, as Jon Del Arroz points out above, now the gatekeeping has become much more sinister as traditional publishing is pushing their own woke agenda onto the masses by crowding out straight white male authors in favor of anything and everything else. It's very noticeable in the fantasy and science fiction genres, but I suspect it's pervasive across the genre spectrum, from horror to romance to literary fiction.

Eventually, traditional publishing is going to crash and burn at some point, just like the film industry, as more and more people reject their offerings in favor of independent authors or authors who decide to go rogue from trad publishing. A dirty secret about the publishing industry is that they are mostly supported by a handful of tentpole authors/franchises. Most books don't sell that well, but the best-sellers that DO sell a lot of books bring in enough revenue to support the publishing house as it seeks newer, fresher authors. But they are no longer interested in telling compelling stories about universal human experiences, opting instead to find stories by particular demographics, regardless of the quality of the writing.

BOOKS BY MORON ADJACENT AUTHORS

One of the Horde heard about this new release, and it sounds like a fun read.

What Are the Odds by David List

Ray Dawson--a former NYPD detective unfairly forced into early retirement--never thought he would get another chance to be with his second wife, and love of his life, Stephanie. So, when she opens the door to the possibility, he spends his savings on an extravagant, romantic getaway at a resort in Costa Rica. But Ray is still as much a cop as he is a man, and when, in the hotel elevator, he has a chance encounter with Wilbur Bailey--a wily, neurotic, and environmentally conscious fugitive with a $5 million bounty on his head--things get complicated.

IRS Special Agent Phil Dancourt is determined to bust Mika Salko, the corrupt CEO of Houston based Amco Oil, and believes Wilbur Bailey--an Amco analyst with a conscience--is the one guy on the inside who could help bring Salko down. But in a bizarre twist, Bailey embezzles millions and disappears, putting Phil's job on the line. Now, after Wilbur is sighted in Costa Rica, Phil is sent to retrieve him. But from the moment he steps off the plane--and crosses paths with Ray and Wilbur--nothing goes as planned.

The encounter propels the three men into a harrowing, death-defying, life-changing, and often hilarious journey, attracting unwanted attention from a heroin-addicted dishwasher, a powerful, corrupt CEO, bloodthirsty gangs and drug cartels, and pandering government watchdogs. Along the way, they come face to face, in unexpected ways, with life's larger questions: friendship, love, loss, faith, and the commitment to values larger than oneself. What results is a trio of unlikely friends, and Ray can only hope that, once it's all over, Stephanie will still be there.

BOOKS BY MORON AUTHORS

Moron Author D.S. Blake--who has been featured here before--has a new entry in his current series:

Book 4 in the Exoprenurs series, Will-o'-Wisp comes out on the 15th of October!

This time, Jake Ambler is alone on a planet populated by giant feudalistic dragonflies, their stickbug shock troops, argumentative alligator bugs and enterprising gnats!

What's going on? Jake sure doesn't know. He's just been assigned to protect the Apothikon, a mysterious creature lying in a pit that occasionally emits a signal that makes the dragonfly-like Seyles go into a frenzy attacking it. Can a man and his flak cannon keep the creature alive until it finally emerges from its chrysalis? Should he?

Thanks, as always, for your mentions!

MORON RECOMMENDATIONS

I read Imminent: Inside The Pentagon's Hunt For UFOs by Luis Elizondo. When I was in high school in the early 60's, I read everything I could find about Project Blue Book, the Air Force's study (cover-up?) of UFO's. They have since been renamed UAP's (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena), and the subject is still fascinating to me. Elizondo first gives a history of UAP encounters from around the world. He joins the current DOD program studying UAP's has access to current encounters. He came to the conclusion that the phenomena were alien and that they might pose a threat to our military pilots. He spent years trying to get this information to the Secy. of Defense and full disclosure to the American people, but bureaucratic in-fighting kept him from doing so. He resigned in disgust and hosted a TV show to bring this information public. He was successful in getting the UAP Disclosure Act signed into law. An interesting book.

Posted by: Zoltan at October 06, 2024 09:28 AM (uYywX)

Comment: I, too, was fascinated with UFOs and I still am, I suppose, but not to the same degree. I suspect "the truth is out there" but whether or not we will discover it in my lifetime remains to be seen. We live in a very, very strange universe. I do think that any intelligence that is able to overcome the physical limitations of interstellar travel as we know them will be so far advanced of us that we might as well be insects--or even germs--compared to them. Why they are suddenly curious about us is an open question. An alternate theory making the rounds is that these are demonic forces assuming a shape that hides their true forms and intentions.

I recently read MacGregor's Final Battle, which was a different take on a man w/a terminal illness making a cross-country trip to visit his cousin in Alaska. With the complication that said illness caused episodes of unconsciousness. Recommended.

Posted by: yara at October 06, 2024 10:24 AM (s8LAW)

Comment: I went to the Amazon page for this book to see what it was all about. MacGregor suffers from brain cancer, which is slowly killing him, but he doesn't let that stop him from living his best life as he embarks on an odyssey to follow the Lewis and Clark Trail and then proceed up into Alaska. Not sure I'd have the courage to do that if I was suffering from a debilitating illness like brain cancer.

This Perfect Day by Ira Levin.

Very good dystopian novel. He does some interesting things that would make it maybe hard to film.

1. The Dystopian Life is a pretty good safety life. You can understand why it appeals to so many and why they would never choose to leave it. Not that they're given the choice.
2. The elimination of all morality and the establishment of a "wellness" regime. If you're not "well", why then you're lovingly brought to a clinic for more drugs.
3. This is perfect Communism more or less, but yet it presents a very clear understanding or what those at the top get out of it all. Which is not what Our Betters want to advertise nor their Hollywood Lapdogs.
4. The story takes place over a number of years, decades really and while that's not a problem in reading, the presentation of that doesn't always work in movie.

Any way, a very good read by a very good writer. Check it out.

Posted by: naturalfake at October 06, 2024 10:40 AM (eDfFs)

What is it about dystopian societies they feel the need to drug their citizens into compliance?

More Moron-recommended reading material can be found HERE! (1000+ Moron-recommended books!)

WHAT I'VE ACQUIRED THIS PAST WEEK:

Since I ordered The Last Dangerous Visions, I thought I'd go ahead and get the previous book in the series as well, though I already have it on Kindle.

• Again, Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison -- Accoding to Ellison, the first volume did so well that he was commissioned to edit a follow-up volume. He received so many submissions, he had to leave some of them for the final volume of the series, The Last Dangerous Visions. That was *supposed* to be released six months or so after Again, Dangerous Visions. Didn't quite work out that way.

WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS PAST WEEK:

After reviewing some of OregonMuse's old Book Threads, I thought I'd try something a bit different. Instead of just listing WHAT I'm reading, I'll include commentary as well. Unless otherwise specified, you can interpret this as an implied recommendation, though as always your mileage may vary.

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eams

The premise behind this book and its sequels is that mercenary groups--or "bands"--are treated like rockstars in our world. "Bookers" arrange commissions for the bands to go out and fight monsters. Bards often accompany the bands to record the events, but they have a shockingly low life expectancy when it comes to adventuring. Nevertheless, bards do sing the epic tales of monster-slaying on behalf of the bands who performed those heroic deeds.

There is a bit of "wokeness" in this book, though it may have been inserted just to appease the editor as it has NO EFFECT on the overall story. One of the main characters is gay wizard mourning the loss of his "husband," who died from a fatal disease many years before this story began. Change "husband" to "wife" and it alters the story not one bit. And the wizard in question doesn't engage in any homosexual behavior within the story--he's an old man long past his prime. That's why I wonder if it was just put in because someone insisted there had to be a gay character, even though it has NO IMPACT on the story.

Again, Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison

It's been a long, long time since I've read an anthology of science fiction--or speculative fiction--stories. The Dangerous Visions series edited by Harlan Ellison is his crowning achievement as an editor. The goal was to find science fiction stories that were radical for their time, putting humanity with all of its foibles under a microscope for examination as only science fiction authors can do. I'd say he was largely successful.

One of the more interesting aspects (to me) is that Ellison often refers to libraries (public and school) and bookstores refusing to stock either Dangerous Visions or the sequel out of fear of "offending the sensibilities" of the readership. Nowadays, both bookstores and libraries would *insist* on promoting these books *because* they know readers would find the content offensive.

Sandman Slim Book 10 - Hollywood Dead by Richard Kadrey

Sandman Slim (a.k.a. James Stark) is back from the dead, baby! Well, sort of...He's been resurrected halfway by the evil Wormwood folks, who need Stark to eliminate a rival faction with the Wormwood organization. Naturally, the other faction believes *they* are on the right side of history and are seeking ultimate salvation and want to destroy the faction that raised Stark from the dead. Lots of shenanigans--and murder and mayhem--ensue, as usual. Meanwhile, Stark is on a clock as his partly resurrected body is quickly wearing down. His goal is to find someone to resurrect him the rest of the way so that he can return to his old life.

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Tips, suggestions, recommendations, etc., can all be directed to perfessor -dot- squirrel -at- gmail -dot- com.

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