Twins by Bari Wood and Jack Geasland

 

(pb; 1977)

From the back cover

“A . . . novel of the bizarre lives of twin doctors─bound together by more-than-brotherly love, damned together to a private hell of unspeakable obsessions.”

Review

Twins is one of the creepiest, ickiest novels I have read in a long time. It’s also one of the most memorable. The twin doctors, the outgoing, possibly sociopathic David and the quiet, sensitive Michael, have a relationship that goes to made-this-reader-squirm extremes, especially at the end, which is hauntingly sad after the (morally) stomach-churning events pass.

I read this excellent book in one sitting, staying up late into the a.m. hours─not something I normally do─to see what came next, even though much of the outcome was shown at the outset of Twins. Wood and Geasland did a great job of imbuing even the most extreme characters with a relatable and often-bleak humanity (especially the twins), with events and pacing that made this near-impossible to put down (much like Wood’s 1984 novel The Tribe, which was equally addictive).

This is a great book if sexual taboos don’t put you off too much, with characters you won’t soon forget, and further proof that Wood and (possibly) Geasland are writers to put at the top of your reading list if you like your thriller/horror kicks thoughtful, unsettling and morally icky.

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The resulting film, retitled Dead Ringers, was released stateside on September 23, 1988. Directed and co-scripted by David Cronenberg. Co-scripted by Norman Snider.

Jeremy Irons played Elliot and Beverly. Genevieve Bujold played Claire. Heidi von Palleske played Cary. Barbara Gordon played Danuta.

Stephen Lack played Anders Wolleck. An uncredited David Cronenberg played Obsetrician.

The Shape of Rage: The Films of David Cronenberg edited by Piers Handling

(pb; 1983: nonfiction/film critique/essay collection)

From the back cover

“Heads explode. Parasites fly at people’s faces. Televsion sets breathe. A woman grows a spike in her armpit and unleashes a cataclysm on the world. These are the startling images David Cronenberg uses to shock and disturb us as his films travel through a nightmare world where the grotesque and the bizarre make our flesh creep.

“Yet beneath the blood and gore, Cronenberg has carved out a reputation as one of the masters of the horror and science-fiction genres. Undaunted by the controversy which has followed him throughout his career, Canada’s own ‘Baron of Blood’ and ‘Prince of Horror’ continues to dazzle audiences with the shocking force and power of his vision.

“This book is the first to deal with the work of Cronenberg. Seven critics examine what it is that these horrific films are saying to us. They explore and analyze all of Cronenberg’s explosive creations, from the unique Stereo, though such masterpieces as The Brood, Scanners and Videodrome, to his latest film, The Dead Zone.

“Serving as a counterpoint and insight into the man and his work is a frank, searching and comprehensive interview with Cronenberg himself─a brilliant and relentlessly provocative challenger of our sensibilities and our passions.”

Review

Most of the essays in book are interesting. William Beard’s “The Visceral Mind: The Major Films of David Cronenberg” is expansive and often acute in its observations, although the essay runs way too long. “The Comedy of David Cronenberg,” by Maurice Yacowar, is spot-on, in its directness, length and points. John Harkness’s “The Word, the Flesh and David Cronenberg,” as well as William Beard’s and Piers Handling’s interview with the director (“The Interview”), are excellent, as well.

The other essays did not interest me, either because of their analytical subject matter (e.g., Tim Lucas’s “The Image as a Virus: The Filming of Videodrome”) or their pompous, stubborn and mean-spirited agendas (Robin Wood’s “Cronenberg: A Dissenting View”).

Shape is a superb read for its spot-on analyses, one worth seeking if you are a fan of early Cronenberg films, or someone who is just interested in the auteur’s work.

Black Heart Metal Monster by Michael Faun

(pb; 2013: horror novella)

Storyline: When Throatbutcher, the lead singer of the black metal band Obscura Mortis, dies in an onstage accident, the remaining members of the band -- bassist Ateranimus, guitarist Nex and "batterist" (drummer) Skinreaper, as well as their manager, Tabitha -- commemorate his passing with a Satanic ritual. What they may (or may not know) is that while the surviving band members record their post-ritual record, a David Cronenberg-esque nightmare has begun inserting itself into their -- our -- world.


Review:

This black metal-immersive short horror work is an entertaining romp of ick, creeping horror (for the characters) and humor. Black metal aficionados may spot some real world events and elements in Monster, which further injects believability and impressive focus into this worth-owning novella.

Coming Together: Hungry for Love, edited by Sommer Marsden

(pb; 2012: erotica / zombie anthology.  Foreword by Thomas Roche)


From the back cover:

"Why should the zombie apocalypse be the time to think about romance?  Like flesh for zombies, romance is the stuff of life for the living.  We shamble through life searching desperately for it, and nothing but love fills our need.

"In the pages of Hungry for Love, people find each other and love each other in a world of contagion, consumption and consumerism gone mad.

"Coming Together is about giving. . . and about sex (a powerful combination in any venue).  Each book in the series benefits a different charity.  Join us in doing good while being bad, and celebrate the diversity of life!"



Overall review:

Marsden has fashioned a solid, diverse collection of zombies-and-sex tales.  

A few of the stories didn't grab me - two ran too long (Kiki Howell's "Zombie Factory" and t'Sade's "Love Never Dies") and one of the stories (Erzabet Bishop's "Dark Hunger") was too predictable.

Even these flawed pieces had something to recommend them, as rough-write works - they merely needed to be whittled down slightly, or the author could have thrown an unfamiliar mini-twist into her shambling lust mix, to help distinguish it from other seen-this-before stories.

Hungry for Love is worth owning - for its charitable aims, and its published delivery.



Standout stories:

1.)  "My Name is Brighton" - Alana Noël Voth:  A date rape victim-turned-zombie seeks out one of the men (Paul) who used her - without being aware that he had done so.

More horror story than plot-lite sex work, this excellent, sympathetic and character-veracious tale is one of the best stories in this anthology.


2.)   "Meat" - Bobby Diabolus:  A bite-infected man goes through various stages of evolving desire, while looking for his raw, sexy ex-lover (Honey).

"Meat" is an interesting story that ably balances the emotional and carnal aspects of its lead character, without tipping into unintentional pornoriffic parody, emotive abstraction or zombie clichés.

This original, first person-POV tale vaguely echoes David Cronenberg's "Venereal Horror" films (e.g., Rabid, 1977;  The Brood, 1979; Videodrome, 1983; The Fly, 1986 remake; eXistenZ, 1999).


3.)  "Annie Morgan" - Armand Rosamilia:  Especially good piece about a mercurial, promiscuous woman confronting something more potent than undead attackers.


4.)   "Queer Zombie Disco" - Kirsty Logan:  Offbeat tune-based horror sex tale.


5.)   "Screen Siren" - Annabeth Leong:  Hollywood-skewering, imaginative piece about a Z-grade movie director (Sam) and an undead, sentient actress.

This is one of the best entries in this collection.



Other stories:

"You Make a Dead Man Come" - Sommer Marsden;  "Last Man on Earth" - Blacksilk; "The Tenderest Meat" - Elise Hepner;  "Zombie Goddess" - Sadey Quinn;  "Zombie Apocalypse: First Responder" - Kissa Starling;  "Head Full of Zombie" - Alison Tyler;  "Dead in the Water"- Lynn Townsend;  "Little Deaths" - Cora Zane;  "You Look Better Dead" - Jeffrey L. Shipley

Cabal, by Clive Barker

(hb; 1985, 1988: horror anthology)

From the inside flap:

"Cabal. . . is the story of a young woman willing to cross the borders of the human to be with the man she loves.

"That man is [Aaron] Boone, a beautiful, tortured soul who believes himself responsible for atrocious crimes.  He has taken refuge in a necropolis situated in the wilds of Canada, beneath which all the last great monsters of the world - the nightbreed - are in hiding.  They are possessed of extraordinary powers; so is Boone.  And in the hunt for Boone, they, too, will be hunted.  Can they survive when the colder, deadlier monsters of the twentieth century are on their heels?  And can Lori's love withstand the extraordinary truth of Boone's soul?"



Overall review:

Above-average novella/story anthology that showcases Barker's trademark, sometimes eloquent, sometimes gory meld of the beauty and darkness.

Worth owning, this.



Novella/stories:

1.)  "Cabal": See "inside flap" description.  Good, entertaining read.

The resulting film, retitled Nightbreed, was released stateside on February 16, 1990.

Clive Barker directed the film from his screenplay.

Craig Sheffer played Aaron Boone/Cabal.  Anne Bobby played Lori.  David Cronenberg played Dr. Phillip K. Decker.  Debora Weston played Sheryl.  Charles Haid played Captain Eigerman. 

Hugh Ross played Narcisse.  Doug Bradley played Dirk Lylesberg.  Catherine Chevalier played Rachel.    Kim Robertson played Babette.  Malcolm Smith played Ashberry.  Bob Sessions played Pettine.  Oliver Parker played Peloquin. 

John Agar played "Decker's Victim".


2.)  "The Life of Death":  A woman's brush with mortality during surgery portends her further, more complex association with that irrevocable element. 

Excellent, gripping story, with a stunning and darkly hilarious finish.


3.)   "How Spoilers Bleed":  Three European imperalist men, in contentious negotiations with an Indian tribe over land rights, find themselves on the business end of a terrifying and relentless curse.

Good, moralistic tale.


4.)  "Twilight at the Towers":   The possible defection of a high-ranking KGB agent (Mironenko) sparks a cycle of deceit, bloodshed and revelations.

Good, twist-pretzeled story that melds the milieus of John le Carré's spy world and grisly violence.


5.)  "The Last Illusion":  A private detective (Harry D'Amour) discovers that his gig babysitting a famous magician's corpse is more difficult and hellish than he thought it would be.

Entertaining, distinctive mix of noir, humor and the supernatural.

The film version, retitled Lord of Illusions, was released stateside on August 25, 1995.

Clive Barker directed the film from his screenplay.

Scott Bakula played Harry D'Amour.  Kevin J. O'Connor played Philip Swann.  Famke Janssen played Dorothea Swann.  Barry Del Sherman played Butterfield. 

Daniel von Bargen played Nix.  Vincent Shiavelli played Vinovich.  Wayne Grace played Loomis. 

The Matarese Circle by Robert Ludlum

(hb; 1979: prequel to The Matarese Countdown) 

 From the inside flap

"Brandon Scofield, a ranking intelligence officer in America's clandestine services, is a veteran of twenty-two years - a lifetime of secrecy and violence. He has seen more of the world than he cares to remember. He is a tired man, but he remains the best in the field. 

"Vasili Taleniekov, master strategist, KGB, the Soviet Union's most brilliant tactician, is both executioner and negotiator, hunter and quarry. He has spent twenty-five years in ruthless pursuit of Moscow's enemies. He, too, is tired, weary of the futility, but there is no one better in all Russia.

"Scofield and Taleniekov - professionals to the core - are also deadly enemies who have vowed to kill one another if ever they should meet. Their motives: Taleniekov was responsible for the death of Scofield's wife; Scofield engineered the murder of the Russian's brother.  

"The deaths took place a decade ago. Now, both men have aged and are at the end of their careers. The tensions of the years have taken their toll; both are mistrusted by their own governments, both slated for termination. Or more final methods to ensure their silences. 

"But Taleniekov has come upon one of the most frightening secrets of our time. He has discovered an organization called The Matarese that has been financing terrorist groups around the world. No one really knows the aim of The Matarese - only that it must be stopped. And the only men who can stop it are Brandon Scofield and Vasili Taleniekov - working together." 

 Review

This is one of my favorite Ludlum books, if not my all-time favorite, by the author. The lead characters are compelling and relatable - not only Scofield and Taleniekov, but Antonia Gravet, the Corsican woman whose mysterious ties with terrorists have toughened her cicatricial resolve to bring down those who murdered her kin. The action and plot-twists are complex and believable in accordance their shifting milieus; they resonate with the characters' motivations and personalities - while much of Circle's structuring and cinematic displays of carnage may be familiar to Ludlum's regular readers, it's the emotional components that made Circle stand out for me, particularly the evolving dynamics between Taleniekov and Scofield. Excellent read, worth owning. Followed by The Matarese Countdown. 

They Came From Outer Space edited by Jim Wynorski

(hb; 1980: science fiction anthology. "Introduction" by Ray Bradbury.)

Overall review:

Wonderful, varied collection of classic science fiction stories that, for the most part, became worthwhile (if loosely adapted) films. This anthology is worth owning, a reminder of science fiction's modestly charming roots, as read in the pages of pulp-ish magazines. By all means, seek this anthology out.


Review, story by story:


1.) "Dr. Cyclops" - Henry Kuttner: Four scientists and their jungle guide (Paco), visiting a secretive, bespectacled scientist (Dr. Thorkel, aka Dr. Cyclops) are shrunk to pin-height, via a radium-spraying projector (called a "condensor") so Thorkel can study them. But the scientists and Paco escape into the jungle, hunted by Thorkel and his black cat, Satanas. When the shrunken scientists and their guide engage in retaliatory guerilla-warfare tactics, it's an imaginative, thrill-a-minute adventure.

The popular Dr. Cyclops (and this tale) appeared in the June 1940 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories, along with photos of the film, which had been released stateside on April 12, 1940.

Albert Dekker played Alexander Thorkel (aka, Dr. Cyclops). Janice Logan played Mary Mitchell (cinematic counterpart to Dr. Mary Phillips). Tom Coley played Bill Stockton. Charles Halton played Dr. Rupert Bulfinch. Victor Kilian played Steve Baker. Frank Yaconeli played Pedro. Ernest B. Schoedsack directed the film.


2.) "Who Goes There?" - John W. Campbell: A recently-discovered ancient frozen alien ship awakens fresh, mutative horrors amongst human scientific-expedition members in the South Pole.

Initially chatty, but not overly so -- Campbell's characters are filling in the backstory on the ship's discovery -- the story's compelling science-fiction-based tone quickly turns paranoid, Lovecraftian-horrific, and morbidly-funny. The end-paragraph is anti-climactic and a tad pompous. (Though, admittedly, I have to take into account that this story was published in 1938, appearing in the August issue of Astounding Stories.)

Despite that minor end-flaw, this is one of my favorite science-fiction/horror stories of all time.

The (first) resulting film, re-titled The Thing From Another World, illuminated stateside movie screens on April 29, 1951. Directed by Christian Nyby and scripted by Charles Lederer, the movie bears little resemblance (aside from its setting and tone) to its source story -- notably, the monster in the movie (played by James Arness) is a Frankensteinian creation; in the source-story, the alien-monster had neck-tentacles, could mutate/reproduce asexually (incorporating and outwardly mimicking its victims' biologies/outer forms), and had three red "hateful" eyes.

Kenneth Tobey played Captain Patick Hendry. Margaret Sheridan played Nikki Nicholson. Robert Cornwaithe played Dr. Arthur Carrington. Douglas Spencer played Ned "Scotty" Scott. James Young played Lt. Eddie Dykes. Dewey Martin played Crew Chief Bob. Robert Nichols played Lt. Ken "Mac" Chapman. Paul Frees played Dr. Voorhees.

A remake, titled The Thing, was released stateside on June 25, 1982. Closer in spirit monster-wise (it maintains the mutation element of the story, if more-horrifically so), it also kept the characters' original names. (The 1951 version had completely re-named characters.)

John Carpenter directed this oh-so-paranoid graphic gem of a horror film, one of my favorite films of all time. Kurt Russell played MacReady. Wilford Brimley played Dr. Blair (he was billed as A. Wilford Brimley). T.K. Carter played Nauls (a character not in the original story). David Clennon played Palmer (another character not in the source-story). Keith David played Childs (another non-source-story character). Richard Dysart played Dr. Copper. Charles Hallahan played Vance Norris. Richard Masur played Clark. Donald Moffat played Garry. Larry J. Franco (billed as Larry Franco) played "Norwegian [Helicopter] Passenger with Rifle" -- Franco, off-screen, also served as associate producer to the film. An uncredited Adrienne Barbeau (Carpenter's wife from 1979 to 1984) was the voice for one of the computers. The film was scripted by Bill Lancaster.


3.) "Farewell to the Master" - Harry Bates: A newspaper photographer, hidden in a scientific museum, discovers that an otherworldly robot-humanoid and its ship in one of the displays isn't as still-life as it seems, when the robot (Gnut) thinks everyone has left. Intriguing, unique story with able pacing, and a great, simply-wrought end-twist/line.

The (first) resulting film, considered one of the best science fiction films of all time, was titled The Day the Earth Stood Still. Its stateside release date was September 28, 1951. Directed by the supremely-talented Robert Wise, this larger-in-scale-than-its-source-story film starred: Michael Rennie as Klaatu; Patricia Neal as Helen Benson (a character not originally in the story); Hugh Marlowe as Tom Stevens (another non-story character); Sam Jaffe as Prof. Jacob Barnhardt (another non-story character); Billy Gray as Billy Benson (another non-story character); Frances Bavier as Mrs. Barley (another non-story character); and Lock Martin as Gort (a cinematic stand-in for the robot Gnut).

(Side-note: The film was scripted by Edmund H. North, who, according to anthology editor Wynorski, "readily admits his loose adaptation of the Bates story contains many specific religious references. . . even beyond the obvious 'resurrection' sequence. For instance, when Klaatu escapes from the hospital he identifies with the man whose suit he has taken. The name is Carpenter -- one [Klaatu] adopts as his own. This too is part of the Christ parallel, a tack the original novella never explored.")

A remake was released stateside on December 12, 2008. Keanu Reeves played Klaatu. Jennifer Connelly played Helen Benson. Kathy Bates played Regina Jackson. Jaden Smith played Jacob Bensen. John Cleese played Professor Barnhardt. Jon Hamm played Michael Granier. James Hong played Mr. Wu. Script-writer David Scarpa updated Edmund H. North's 1951 screenplay. Scott Derrickson directed.


4.) "The Foghorn" - Ray Bradbury: Sad, solid tale about a lonely, last-of-its-kind sea monster who mistakes a lighthouse foghorn for a mating call. Memorable work.

The film, re-titled The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, is a loose-as-loose-gets adaptation of its source-story. (In one of this anthology's charming introductions, "The Turkey That Attacked New York," Bradbury shows disdain for the cinematic version of his story.)

The film hit stateside screens on June 13, 1953. Paul Hubschmid (billed as Paul Christian) played Professor Tom Nesbitt. Paula Raymond played Lee Hunter. Cecil Kellaway played Prof. Thurwood Elson. Kenneth Tobey, also seen in 1951's The Thing From Another World, played Col. Jack Evans. Lee Van Cleef played Cpl. Stone. Co-screenwriter Eugène Lourié directed, from a script Fred Freiberger, Daniel James Lou Morheim (billed as Louis Morheim) and Robert Smith.


5.) "Deadly City" - Ivar Jorgenson: Four people -- a suicidal hooker (Nora Spade), a nice Everyman (Frank Black), a submissive emotional abuse victim (Minna Trimble), and a brash volatile charmer (Jim Wilson) -- wake up and band together in an seemingly-otherwise evacuated city. They're caught between a threatening, weird wailing that echoes throughout the city, and a wealthy, escaped-from-his-keepers psychopath (LeRoy Davis). How will they get out alive?

Jorgenson's writing ably balances the story's spooky/echoes-in-a-strangely-empty-city effect, its (possible) alien-invaders theme, and its civilized-man-confronted-with-savagery theme. Its characters are believably varied and flawed, its plot-flow is spine-tingling and scary, and its character-based finish is knowing, in a tragic-in-the-city way. Stunning, truly-classic story.

Resulting film facts. . .

Keeping its source-story title, this "entertaining" (according to anthology editor Wynorski) B-movie first graced stateside screens on November 7, 1954. Richard Denning played Frank Brooks. Kathleen Crowley played Nora King (a cinematic stand-in for Nora Spade). Virginia Grey played Vicki Harris (a cinematic stand-in for Minna Trimble?). Richard Reeves played Jim Wilson. Robert Roarke played "Davis, the Killer" (cinematic stand-in for LeRoy Davis). Sherman A. Rose directed, from a script by James H. Nicholson, Wyott Ordung and William Raynor. Ivar Jorgenson, the source-story's author, is billed as Paul W. Fairman in the movie's writing credits.


6.) "The Alien Machine" - Raymond F. Jones: Too many story-bogging technical details (pertaining to the titular device) made me abandon this story after two pages. Fans of "hard" (technologically-detailed) science fiction will probably appreciate this story more.

The film, titled This Island Earth, was released stateside on June 1, 1955. Rex Reason played Cal Meacham. Faith Domergue played Ruth Adams. Jeff Morrow played Exeter. Lance Fuller played Brack. Russell Johnson played Steve Carlson. Scripted by Franklin Coen and Edward G. O'Callaghan, the film was directed by Joseph Newman.


7.) "The Cosmic Frame" - Paul W. Fairman (aka, Ivar Jorgensen): When a teenage driver (John Carter) accidentally hits an extraterrestrial with his car, the situation gets quickly complicated. Fast-paced, clever story -- excellent.

The resulting film, retitled Invasion of the Saucermen, hit stateside silver screens in June 1957. It was directed by Edward L. Cahn, from a screenplay by Al Martin and Robert Gurney Jr. Steve Terrell played Johnny Carter. Gloria Castillo played Jean Hayden. Frank Gorshin played Joe Gruen. Lyn Osborn played Art Burns.


8.) "The Fly" - George Langelaan: An experiment with a matter "disintegration-reintegration" machine goes mutatively awry for a scientist (André Delambre). Tragic, tightly-written classic work.

Several films resulted from this short story.

The first version, titled The Fly, was released in the United States on July 16, 1958. Produced and directed by Kurt Neumann, the screenplay was written by James Clavell. Vincent Price played François Delambre. Al "David" Hedison played André Delambre. Herbert Marshall played Inspector Charas. Charles Herbert played Philippe Delambre. Kathleen Freeman played "Emma, the Maid".

Two sequels followed: Return of the Fly (released in the U.S. in July 1959); and Curse of the Fly (stateside release month: May 1965).

A remake of the original Fly graced American screens on August 15, 1986. David Cronenberg directed and co-scripted the film. (He also made an appearance in the film, as a gynecologist.) Jeff Goldblum played Seth Brundle (the updated stand-in for André Delambre). Geena Davis played Veronica Quaife. John Getz played Stathis Borans (a role Getz reprised in the 1989 sequel, The Fly II). Charles Edward Pogue co-scripted.


9.) "The Seventh Victim" - Robert Sheckley: Mordant, sly, word-efficacious story about a peacetime human society where government-sanctioned murder is a real-world, deadly game - either for the Hunter, or the Victim, depending on who's luckier and/or more clever. Semi-predictable twist-finish to this one, but still worth reading.

The film version, titled The Tenth Victim (aka, La Decimma vittima), was released in Italy on December 1, 1965. A stateside release followed soon thereafter, on December 20, 1965. Elio Petri directed and co-scripted the film, along with script writers Ennio Flaiano and Tonino Guerra. Marcello Mastroianni played Marcello Polletti. Ursula Andress played Caroline Meredith. Elsa Martinelli played Olga.


10.) "The Sentinel" - Arthur C. Clarke: Smart, interesting first-person narrative about a mysterious alien structure-machine that's been discovered on the moon. (Clarke, with film director Stanley Kubrick's help, later expanded this 1950 story into a novel, 2001: A Space Odyssey.)

The film, bearing the same title as the novel, was directed and co-scripted by Kubrick. It was released stateside on April 6, 1968. Keir Dullea played Dr. Dave Bowman. Gary Lockwood played Dr. Frank Poole. William Sylvester played Dr. Heywood R. Floyd. Douglas Rain voiced HAL 9000. Story and novel author Arthur C. Clarke co-scripted the film, as well.


11.) "The Racer" - Ib Melchior: Willie Connors, a driver in a highly-competitive, sadistic multi-state automotive race, gets a sudden, shocking -- and life-changing -- attack of conscience. Solid, satiric, memorable work.

Two films, loosely adapted from their source story, resulted from this work.

The first, provocatively titled Death Race 2000, graced U.S. movie screens on April 27, 1975. David Carradine played Frankenstein. Simone Griffith played Annie Smith. Sylvester Stallone played Machine Gun Joe Viterbo. Mary Woronov played Calamity Jane. Roberta Collins played Matilda the Hun. Martin Kove played Nero the Hero. Scripted by Robert Thorn and Charles (B.) Griffith; Paul Bartel directed.

The second version, Death Race, was released in America on August 22, 2008. Jason Statham played Jensen Ames. Joan Allen played Warden Hennessey. Ian McShane played Coach. Tyrese Gibson played Machine Gun Joe Mason. Natalie Martinez played Elizabeth Case. Robert LaSardo played Hector Grimm. Paul W.S. Anderson scripted and directed.


12.) “A Boy and His Dog” - Harlan Ellison: 2034. Vic (a “solo,” a single man) and Blood (a “rover,” a mutt) who share a psychic link – as do all solo/rover pairs – find themselves in worlds of trouble when Vic falls in lust with a too-good-to-be-true woman (Quilla June). Classic, black-humored finish.

(This story also appeared in Ellison's excellent 1969 story anthology, The Beast Who Shouted Love at the Heart of the World .)

The resulting film was released in America in November 1975. Don Johnson played Vic. Susanne Benton played Quilla June Holmes. Jason Robards played Lou Craddock. Tim McIntire voiced Blood. L.Q. Jones, who co-scripted the film, also co-produced, directed and played a porn actor within the film.

A remake of the film is scheduled for release in the near future. David Lee Miller, who's co-scripting the film with Harlan Ellison and original film director L.Q. Jones' input, is set to direct it.

Crash, by J.G. Ballard

(pb; 1973)

From the back cover:

"In this hallucinatory novel, the car provides the hellish tableau in which Vaughn, a 'T.V. scientist' turned 'nightmare angel of the highways,' experiments with erotic atrocities among auto crash victims, each more sinister than the last. James Ballard, his friend and fellow obsessive, tells the story of this twisted visionary as he careens rapidly toward his own demise in an intentionally orchestrated car crash with Elizabeth Taylor.

"An underground classic, Crash explores the disturbing potentialities of contemporary society's increasing dependency on technology as intermediary in human relations."

Review:

Crash is focused (even as it feverishly rambles), deliciously perverse, poetically single-minded and made me view fellow motorists in a fresh and alarming way. Because of this book, I no longer view roads and streets as mere thoroughfares. They are more than that: they are battlegrounds where our desires, psychological damage and metal meet -- or could meet, in the Ballard/Vaughn sense of the world.

I've read books written in this fervid, stream-of-consciousness vein before, but few writers have maintained that grim, brilliant edge the way Crash does.

Own, don't borrow, this.

The resulting film, released stateside on March 21, 1997, was directed by David Cronenberg.

James Spader played James Ballard. Holly Hunter played Helen Remington. Elias Koteas played Vaughn. Deborah Kara Unger played Catherine Ballard. Rosanna Arquette played Gabrielle.

Side note: Chuck Palahniuk's Rant explored a similar-yet-differentiated theme. If you like Crash, there's a good chance you'll like Rant.