As I mentioned I finished a book this morning. I'll update that and also let you know what's next on my list. I'll also continue with my look at the Science Fiction novel.
Just Finished
"Wall of Eyes is the 7th book by Margaret Millar that I've enjoyed. The more books by Millar that I read the more I discover what a great mystery writer and just plain wonderful author that she is. Wall of Eyes was her 4th book published in 1943. What an entertaining, rich story!
Basically, the Heath family, father, son John, daughters Alice live under blind daughter Kelsey's power in their home in Toronto. Also living there is Philip James, Kelsey's fiancé and the hired help. Two years ago, Kelsey caused a car accident, blinding her and killing brother John's girl friend. Since that time she has deteriorated and Alice finally goes to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Loring asking him to try and help Kelsey.
Quickly after this meeting, Kelsey tries to kill herself with morphine and then the same night is murdered. This action begins an investigation by the Toronto police, led by Inspector Sands. This investigation will also ultimately lead back to the original car crash; are they related events.
It's a simple case, so it seems but the more you delve into it, the more intricate and fascinating it becomes. The story isn't told from any one specific perspective, but like Millar's The Soft Talkers, even minor characters get to have a say. I liked these small details very much; for example when we see the female police detective at the hospital and Sands refers back to an earlier case where this detective is interested.
The story seems at times to be sparse and matter of fact but there are also lovely descriptive moments that give you a clear picture of the events and thoughts of the characters; e.g. 'Ida's breasts rode her in cross-rhythm like twin riders on a galloping horse'.
There are nice little details that made the story more interesting and help provide a picture of the time the story was written. I particularly enjoyed the beginning of Chapter 14 where there is a radio alert for one of the murder suspects. It really tickled my fancy '... in cooperation with the police department, the makers of Crispcrunch, the ideal new breakfast food that is teeming with vitamins and good flavor, are broadcasting this description of a dangerous criminal....' It had a nice surreal touch to it.
The mystery seems straight forward as you progress but more and more gets added to the story and the list of suspects grows. The final solution was a surprise but not an unrealistic one. It was deeply satisfying. I liked the setting of Toronto, having lived there for my university years. I liked the story, the characters (Inspector Sands is fantastic), everything about this story. I am so very glad that I finally discovered Margaret Millar's mystery writing. She is one of the very best. It matters not one bit that her stories were written 50+ years ago. (5 stars)"
Currently Reading
"Lucille Morrow was blessed -- a beautiful woman with a devoted husband. One day a mysterious messenger delivered a package, and suddenly Lucille Morrow was gone. Dominated by fear, she committed herself into an asylum. Searching for the cause, Inspector Sands follows a long trail which takes him to an abyss of horror, murder and retribution the likes of which he's never seen."
The Science Fiction Novel - Jack Laurence Chalker
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| Jack L. Chalker |
Besides teaching history and geography, Chalker also lectured on science fiction at the Smithsonian and numerous universities.
Chalker is best known for his Well-World series (that is the series that I've read) but also wrote many other novels, mainly series, or large novels which were converted into series. Many of his stories involve a physical transformation of the characters (one of my favorite parts of the Well World books.
I was introduced to the Well World books back in the late '70s - early '80s and went through the first 5 books very quickly. I loved the concept. The Well World was a world created by the mysterious Watchers. It was made up of hexes in which different species which populated the galaxies were developed. Each hex had different beings, different climates. Usually the stories involved people crashing or landing on the Well World and arriving in different hexes, transforming into beings that could survive in those hexes and then the journey involved to get out. It was such a neat idea as the hexes next to each could be dangerous to beings trying to get across them so the journey itself was an excellent adventure. There were 5 books in the initial Saga of the Well of Souls books. From 1993 - 1994, Chalker wrote three books about the Watchers of the Well of Souls (not as good as the first five as I recall). Recently I discovered that Chalker wrote two more books in the Saga of the Well of Souls series, from 1999 - 2000. I have those books on my shelf awaiting my attention. Let's take a look at a few of the books in this series.
"Entered by a thousand unsuspected gateways -- built by a race lost in the clouds of time -- the planet its dwellers called the Well World turned beings of every kind into something else. There spacefarer Nathan Brazil found himself companioned by a batman, an amorous female centaur and a mermaid -- all once as human as he.
Yet Nathan Brazil's metamorphosis was more terrifying than any of those...and his memory was coming back, bringing with it the secret of the Well World.
For at the heart of the bizarre planet lay the goal of every being that had ever lived -- and Nathan Brazil and his comrades were...lucky?...enough to find it!"
"In a desolate sector of space floats the Well World: the ancient Markovian supercomputer that first created and now maintains the Universe.
While attempting to repel an insidious intergalactic invasion, Mankind resorts to a weapon of such awesome destructive power that it undermines the Well World's control of time and space and threatens the very existence of the Universe.
It was up to Mavra Chang--victim and veteran of the Wars of the Well--and Obie, her colossal computer companion, to find the only being capable of going to the Well World and repairing the damage at its source.
But the infamous and near-mythical Nathan Brazil--sometime freighter captain, often the Wandering Jew, perhaps even God--did not want to be found.
But Mavra and Obie were never two to take no for an answer..."
"Nathan Brazil had been the guardian of the Well of Souls, where the Well World's master control lay. But now the universe faced a threat more grave than mere destruction: An unnamed and utterly alien entity had somehow been released from its ancient prison and was bent on the corruption of the Well World itself. If successful, it would cause chaos beyond mortal understanding...."
"In its hour of need, the Well World's guardians had been neutralized. Nathan Brazil was shipwrecked on a desert island with a seemingly harmless girl - but his contact with her had allowed his mind to be invaded, his will sapped, and his mission forgotten. Mavra Chang had been abducted by a vicious gang of inter-hex drug smugglers, and was now held prisoner by a revenge-mad creature who had surgically and genetically altered her into a bizarre form and made her a slave to powerful narcotics. But the Well could allow nothing to stop the guardians' journey for long. For the Well of Souls was only a machine; it needed the Watchers to handle events and circumstances beyond its sophisticated programming. And so it set plans in motion to jolt its champions back into the game. The only other help Brazil and Chang could expect was from the companions who had been swept along to the Well World - by accident or design. But the newcomers had been caught in a web of intrigue and deceit spun by the ruling council, a group desperate to stop both Brazil and Chang. What none of them could know was that all of them, even the great Well computer, were being manipulated by the Kraang, an entity more ancient than the universe itself, a being that would use the guardians to give it powers far beyond even those of the Well of Souls - a being that would become a living god..."
And now the final two books I have yet to read -
"This exciting, action-packed novel marks Jack Chalker's triumphant return to his celebrated multi-volume saga: The Well World. The Sea Is Full of Stars explores an unknown interstellar civilization, stars an all-new cast of characters, and reveals fresh secrets. But of course, The Well remains . . .
After three passengers--Ming, Ari, and Angel--embark on an elite starship journey into the Realm, they unwittingly become ensnared in one man's bloodthirsty vendetta that will alter their very beings. That man is Jeremiah Wong Kincaid. He vows to destroy Josich Conqueror Hadun, the evil genius who has wreaked unspeakable havoc throughout the universe. It is an obsession that will take him to lands of demons and strange races--and into a deadly new cyber-world where humans are mere pawns of the godlike computers they have created.
But it is only after Kincaid and his unwitting fellow travelers enter Well World and discover the water hexes that he confronts the mad tyrant--and learns their universe is threatened by something far, far worse . . ."
"On the mysterious Well World, the evil tyrant Josich and his dark agents search desperately for the eight scattered pieces of the fabled Straight Gate. Whoever possesses the Gate will wield enormous power, travelling between universes at the speed of light and wreaking havoc across galaxies.
Opposing Josich is a small band of travelers new to the Well World. There is Core, once a machine, now flesh and blood; Ming and Ari, two minds sharing a single body; Jaysu, an angel; and Ghengis O'Leary, a lizard being. Unbeknownst to them, they have an unlikely ally: a vengeful entity who is able to clone any person or object with a single touch - and mete out death just as swift...
The complete list of Chalker's works, including the remaining Well World books can be seen at this link.
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