Attempting Normal by Marc Maron

(hb; 2013: nonfiction, humor)

From the inside flap

“Marc Maron was a parent-scarred, angst-filled, drug-dabbling, love-starved comedian who dreamed of a simple life: a wife, a home, a sitcom to call his own. But instead he woke up one day to find himself fired from his radio job, surrounded by feral cats, and emotionally and financially annihilated by a divorce from a woman he thought he loved. He tried to heal his broken heart through whatever means he could find─minor-league hoarding, Viagra addiction, accidental racial-profiling, cat-fancying, flying airplanes with his mind─but nothing seemed to work. It was only when he was stripped down to nothing that he found his way back.

“Attempting Normal is Marc Maron’s journey through the wilderness of his own mind, a collection of explosively, painfully, addictively funny stories that add up to a moving tale of hope and hopelessness, of failing, flailing, and finding a way. From standup to television to his outrageously popular podcast, WTF with Marc Maron, Mac has always been a genuine original, a disarmingly honest, intensely smart, brutally open comic who finds wisdom in the strangest places. This is his story of the winding, potholed road from madness and obsession and failure to something like normal, the thrillingly comic journey of a sympathetic fuckup who’s trying really hard to do better without making a bigger mess. Most of us will relate.”

Review

The target audience for Attempting are readers who relate to darkly and situationally funny, blunt, existential-hell and ultimately meaningful-in-a-small-way tales told by a smart, well-intentioned and self-admitted (ex-)fuckup. If you’re looking for light, joke-a-minute setups, watch a Jerry Seinfeld standup special. I didn’t laugh as much as I hoped to while reading Attempting but I am not disappointed by this─hearing (imagining) Maron’s well-edited voice as he related stories from his life, imagined and otherwise, made this an even better book. If you’re new to Maron’s work, I’m not sure this is the best introduction to him. Watching one of his standup specials or listening to his WTF podcasts are recommended (his most recent specials are streaming on Netflix), so you can hear, know his voice before committing time and/or money to an excellent, jokes-baked-in-existentialism  and healing-for-fuckups work. Borrow this from the library or buy it used before committing serious cash to it, lest Attempting turns out to not be your idea of smart-minded entertainment.

Mission to the Stars by A.E. van Vogt

(pb; 1952 – originally titled The Mixed Men)

From the back cover

“In the far distant future. . .

“The colonies of Fifty Suns have been hidden for eons from warring invaders in an ocean of stars. But now the warship St Cluster, of Imperial Earth, has found them─and prepares to conquer the colonists.

“Fifty Suns must crush the titanic Earth forces or be enslaved. But, torn by internal rebellion, it cannot mount a unified defense.

“It falls to one man, Peter Maltby, to unite the warring factions of Fifty Suns and guide them to victory.

“But first he must resolve his own crossed loyalties. For Captain Maltby is also the passionate lover of Lady Laurr, Grand Commander of the Star Cluster and a warrior of Imperial Earth.”

Review

Mission is an excellent, genre-transcendent science fiction novel that deftly moves between space war, action, political machinations, and love story, its characters largely stock, but sometimes surprising in their decisions and actions. If you’re looking for a burn-through, smart-minded and 174-page adventure-in-the-stars read, this may catch your fancy─this is not surprising, since Vogt consistently delivers on the promise of his deft, often surprising takes on stock genre tales. This is one of my favorite reads of 2020.

The Thicket by Joe R. Lansdale

(hb; 2013)

From the inside flap

“Jack Parker thought he’d already seen his fair share of tragedy. His grandmother was killed in a farm accident when he was barely five years old. His parent have just succumbed to the smallpox epidemic sweeping turn-of-the-century East Texas─orphaning him and his younger sister, Lula.

“Then catastrophe strikes on the way to their uncle’s farm, when a traveling group of bank-robbing bandits murder Jack’s grandfather and kidnap his sister. With no elders left for miles, Jack must grow up fast─and enlist a band of heroes like the which has never been seen─if his sister stands any chance of survival. But the best he can come up with is Shorty, a charismatic, bounty-hunting dwarf; Eustace, the grave-digging son of an ex-slave; and Jimmie Sue, a street-smart-for-hire who’s come into some very intimate knowledge about the bandits (and a few members of Jack’s extended family to boot).

“In the throes of being civilized, East Texas is still a wild, feral place. Oil wells spurt liquid money from the ground. But as Jack’s about to find out, blood and redemption rule supreme.”

Review

Thicket is an excellent, timely mix of revenge thriller and western, an often-grim work of brutal violence balanced with humor (often with quip-filled exchanges) and well-placed instances of cautious empathy. Its key characters’ pasts and other aspects are effectively established and reader-involving, without slowing up the pace of this terse, dire mission (to rescue Jack’s sister, Lula, from a trio of sadistic villains, Fatty, Cutthroat and N***er Pete).

Thicket is not a novel for those who are especially sensitive about murder, rape (not explicitly shown, but emotionally recounted), torture, brief instances of animal cruelty, racism, and other human-born horrors. Anyone else who enjoys a masterful and especially nasty-twist thriller may find this burn-through book a more-than-worthwhile read.

#

A film version of this is supposedly forthcoming. IMDb lists the following information (as of December 18, 2019).

Elliott Lester is set to direct, from a screenplay Chris Kelley.

Charlie Plummer plays Jack Parker. Peter Dinklage plays Reginald Jones. Sophia Lillis is attached to the project as well as Noomi Rapace.

The Rising by Heather Graham and Jon Land

(hb; 2016)

From the inside flap

“Twenty-four hours. That’s all it takes for the lives of two young people to be changed forever.

“Alex Chin has the world on a plate. A football hero and homecoming king with plenty of scholarship offers, he has a future that looks bright. His tutor, Samantha Dixon, is preparing to graduate high school at the top of her class. She plans to turn her NASA internship into a career. When a football accident lands Alex in the hospital, his world is turned upside down. His doctor is murdered. Then, his parents. Death seems to follow him wherever he goes, and now it’s after him.

“Alex flees. He tells Samantha not to follow, but she became involved the moment she walked through his door and found Mr. and Mrs. Chin as they lay dying in their home. She cannot abandon the young man she loves. The two race desperately to stay ahead of Alex’s attackers long enough to figure out why they are hunting him in the first place. The answer lies with a secret buried deep in his past, a secret his parents died to protect. Alex always knew he was adopted, but he never knew the real reason his birth parents abandoned him. He never knew where he came from. Until now.”

Review

Rising is a fun, chatty, good-for-mature-YA-readers book (it has a couple of instances of mild profanity). Those who live in (or have an affinity for) the East Bay/San Francisco area of California might be especially thrilled with this novel because it’s set there. Bishop Ranch business park in San Ramon, San Francisco and Alcatraz island are featured as key places in the storyline, adding to Rising’s allure.

Storywise, it’s a drawn-out, generic science fiction-lite read, a dumbed-down X-Files episode for those who are looking for something light and fast to read on the airplane or beach while that person next to you doesn’t shut up─in short, it’s something you don’t have to invest yourself too much into even as distractions abound around you. (The X-Files is mentioned in Rising as well.) This is not necessarily a criticism, it’s just how the book struck me.

The ending renders Rising a setup work, a book with a calm-moment finish that demands a sequel to answer its numerous unresolved questions. I didn’t care enough about the novel to check if there was a sequel, but there it is for those who might.

Ghoul by Michael Slade

(pb; 1989: second book in the fourteen-book Special X series. Loosely linked sequel to Headhunter.)

From the back cover

“What you don’t know can hurt youl. Really really hurt you.

“The bodies were all the same. First, they had been stripped naked. Then the blood had been drained from them while they were still alive.

“Then their hearts been cut out.

“The police looked for a psycho killer.

“The press screamed that a vampire was loose.

“But they were wrong. It was worse.”

Review

Ghoul is an ambitious and twist-filled ode to horror, gothic literature, splatterpunk, psychopathy and rock ‘n’ roll. Slade─nom de plume for three men, two of them lawyers*─throws in a lot of technical details about psychology, history, police procedure and locations with its Grand Guignol, atmospheric-to-the-max execution. There’s even a blink-and-miss-it reference to Slade’s previous novel, Headhunter (which I have not read). If you’re a fan of over-the-top plot corkscrews, intestinal-splashed Reveals, slasher thrillers and classic/hard rock, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy Ghoul, one of the best books I’ve read this year. 

Followed by Cutthroat.

[*From the “About the Author” section: “Michael Slade is the pen name of Jay Clarke, John Banks, and Lee Clarke. . . Jay Clarke and John Banks are Vancouver lawyers who specialize in the field of criminal insanity.”]

Star Trek: The Enterprise Logs Vol. 2 by various authors and illustrators

(pb; 1970-2, 1976: graphic novel. Collects the Golden Press-published comic book series, issues 9-17. Followed by Star Trek: The Enterprise Logs Vol. 3.)

Overall review

Good artwork and fun, sometimes twisty storylines make this nine-issue graphic novel a worthwhile read.

Issues/story arcs

“The Legacy of Lazarus” [#9]: Kirk and select crew members (Spock, Bones, Uhura, Sulu) beam down to Gamma Alpha V, where they meet initially benevolent android replications of famous historical Earth people─created by a well-meaning but unstable scientist (Alexander Lazarus).

“Sceptre of the Sun” [#10]: The crew of the Enterprise is held hostage by a wizard (Chang) who compels Kirk and key officers to retrieve a sceptre in a mysterious, dangerous tower─is their forced mission a stalking horse on Chang’s part?

“The Brain Shockers” [#11]: While the Enterprise orbits around the planet Pollux II, an immortal alien on its surface (Malok) uses the minds of Enterprise crew members to vicariously experience their emotions even as they are subjected to overwrought, possibly fatal emotions.

 

“The Flight of the Buccaneer” [#12]: After space pirates steal valuable dilithium crystals, members of the Enterprise go undercover as thieving rogues to retrieve them─a plan that quickly goes south.

“Dark Traveler” [#13]: An alien (Nomad) hijacks the Enterprise and directs them to his home planet so that he might live among his people again─before returning the Enterprise to the space he first encountered it. When they discover that Nomad’s robot-master brother (Niklon) has turned Nomad’s home planet into an apocalyptic wasteland, Nomad and the Enterprise crew, now Nomad’s friends, attempt to bring Niklon and his robots down.

 

“The Enterprise Mutiny” [#14]: After an accident on Beta II, Kirk resumes command and becomes increasingly aggressive and irrational, while the rest of the crew tries to woo a persnickety, Omega System ambassador into signing an agreement to join the Federation.

 

“Museum at the End of Time” [#15]: The Enterprise crew is drawn into a limbo-like Bermuda Triangle for space vessels─where a legendary museum at and its inhabitants are at risk for a Klingon attack and an even bigger threat. Especially fun issue.

 

“Day of the Inquisitor” [#16]: An expedition crew led by Kirk crash lands on a medieval planet ruled by Inquisition-minded overlords, while Scotty─temporarily in command of the Enterprise and unable to locate them─is pressured by Star Fleet Command to abandon Kirk and their fellow shipmates.

 

“The Cosmic Cavemen” [#17]: On a prehistoric planet, select crew members are surprised to discover a statue of Spock being worshipped by cavemen─a statue and tribe about to be attacked by other cavemen.

The Legend of the Lone Ranger by Gary McCarthy

(pb; 1981: movie tie-in novel, based on the screenplay by Ivan Goff, Ben Roberts, Michael Kane and William Roberts and an adaptation by Jerry Derloshon)

From the back cover

“America’s favorite hero rides again!

“Who was that masked man─that mysterious stranger with his faithful friend Tonto and his magnificent stallion Silver?

“No one knew who he was, but he always appeared just when everyone needed him─hot on the trail of every lawless renegade in the West!

“He was the Lone Ranger!

“This is the tale of how it all began.”

Review

Legend is a fun, quick-read, slick and boiled-down-to-its-essence upbeat Western, geared for escapism (despite the dark deeds of the easily spotted bad guys), not historical accuracy or those looking for psychologically complex work. If you can let go and enjoy it for what it is, this is worth reading.

#

Its accompanying film of the same name was released stateside on May 22, 1981. William A. Fraker directed it. For screenplay and adaptation credits, see the start of this book review.

Klinton Spilsbury played The Lone Ranger/John Reid. Michael Horse played Tonto. Marc Gilpin played Young John Reid. Patrick Montoya played Young Tonto.

Christopher Lloyd played Maj. Bartholomew “Butch” Cavendish. Juanin Clay played Amy Striker. John Hart played Lucas Striker.

John Bennett Perry played Ranger Captain Dan Reid. Matt Clark played Sheriff Wiatt. David Hayward played Dan Collins. 

Jason Robards played President Ulysses S. Grant. Richard Farnsworth played Wild Bill Hicock. Lincoln Tate played General George A. Custer. Merle Haggard played “Balladeer.”

An uncredited Bonita Granville played “Woman.” An uncredited James Keach provided the voice for The Lone Ranger/John Reid.