THE MT VOID
09/15/23 -- Vol. 42, No. 11, Whole Number 2293

Co-Editor: Mark Leeper, mleeper@optonline.net
Co-Editor: Evelyn Leeper, eleeper@optonline.net
Sending Address: evelynchimelisleeper@gmail.com
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Topics:
Mini Reviews, Part 6 (THE GENERAL, DAGON) (film reviews
by Mark R. Leeper and Evelyn C. Leeper)
LORDS OF UNCREATION by Adrian Tchaikovsky
(audio book review by Joe Karpierz)
THE BIG SLEEP (letter of comment by Kip Williams)
TRAVELLING SALESMAN (letter of comment by Paul Dormer)
This Week's Reading (MAKING HISTORY) (book comments
by Evelyn C. Leeper)

===================================================================

TOPIC: Mini Reviews, Part 6 (film reviews by Mark R. Leeper and
Evelyn C. Leeper)

This is the sixth batch of mini-reviews for this season, a couple
of miscellaneous films.

THE GENERAL (1926): Buster Keaton's THE GENERAL does indeed glorify
the Southerner Johnnie Gray (played Buster Keaton). (Is he a
Confederate? He was rejected when he went to enlist?) But while
it can be claimed that it is inherently racist (by making the
Southerner the hero), it is overtly misogynistic. Annabelle is
your quintessential ditz: She starts by not believing Gray when he
says he tried to enlist but was rejected. Then she tries to help
with the fire in the boiler. but throws out a piece of wood because
it has a hole in it, then makes a big show of throwing small sticks
and wood chips into the fire. Johnnie reacts by starting to
strangle her. The result is that, unlike THE BIRTH OF A NATION or
GONE WITH THE WIND, if you showed this film to someone with no
knowledge of the historical events, they would not see any racism,
but would see the misogyny. [-ecl]

Released theatrically 25 December 1926. Rating: high +3 (-4 to
+4), or 9/10.

Film Credits:
<https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017925/reference>

What others are saying:
<https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1008166-general>

DAGON (2001): DAGON is a Spanish film based on H. P. Lovecraft's
"The Shadow over Innsmouth" (although it is directed by American
Stuart Gordon). It is definitely more true to the source material
that a lot of other "Lovecraftian" films. For those who are not
Lovecraft fans, though, it's not clear what the film has to offer:
as with many adaptations, there is more interest in seeing where
the film is accurate to the source and where it is inaccurate than
as a standalone film. (If you want films that are really true to
the source, you need to seek out the films made by the H. P.
Lovecraft Historical Society: "The Call of Cthulhu", "The Testimony
of Randolph Carter", and THE WHISPERER IN DARKNESS.) [-mrl/ecl]

Released on video 23 July 2022. Rating: +high +1 (-4 to +4), or
6/10.

Film Credits:
<https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0264508/reference>

What others are saying:
<https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dagon>

===================================================================

TOPIC: LORDS OF UNCREATION by Adrian Tchaikovsky (copyright 2023,
Orbit, 20 hours and 50 minutes, ASIN: B0BJ4DNK4J, narrated by
Sophie Aldred) (audio book review by Joe Karpierz)

LORDS OF UNCREATION, the final installment of Adrian Tchaikovsky's
The Final Architecture trilogy, is a perfect example of what Space
Opera should be (at least in my mind). It has heroes and villains,
aliens, space battles, political intrigue, and by this time, well
developed characters that we know and care about. LORDS OF
UNCREATION, for the most part, is a brilliant conclusion to The
Final Architecture. It has its flaws, certainly, but the overall
story is well worth the time the reader needs to put into it. It's
the longest of the three novels in the series, and once it gets
going (we'll get to that) it gets to the end before you know it.

It's at this point I'm tempted to summarize what has happened up to
this point (just as with serialized TV shows: "Previously, in The
Final Architecture"), but that would make this review way too long.
But to get us started, the Architects, those moon sized creatures
that drop out of unspace and turn whole planets into flower like
constructs, have returned. Back at the beginning of this, we
learned that the intermediary Idris Telemmier was able to turn back
the Architects at Berlinhoff (having listened to all three of these
novels, I hope that spelling is correct). Idris has tried to turn
them back again, but has failed. But via a construct called the
Eye, an Artifact of the Originators, Idris has learned that the
Architects are just pawns, doing the bidding of their
Masters--whoever they may be.

So, I guess I did summarize, just a little bit. But there's just a
little bit more. You see, there's a war going on amongst the
various political factions of the citizens of the galaxy, and in
the case of the Parthenon, there's a rebellion *within* their own
government. While everyone wants to see an end to the conflict
with the Architects--and whatever is driving them--they can't seem
to put aside their petty differences for just a little while to
concentrate on the one thing that does matter. What does matter,
at least to most of the races that are affected by the Architects,
is that the Architects should be destroyed. Genocide or not, the
Architects must be vanquished and utterly obliterated.

Idris, on the other hand, thinks that is not only a waste, but it's
wrong. The Architects are not working under their own free
will--they are being directed to destroy intelligent races in
normal space. He believes that the proper thing to do, the proper
response to handling the Architects, is to go after their Master, a
mysterious presence that resides deep within unspace, down near the
center of all things.

I mentioned earlier that it takes some time for the story to get
moving. There is a lot of political maneuvering, a lot of talking,
a lot of planning, a lot of, well, everything but movement on the
story. The early part of the novel drags a bit, while all the
players that will eventually contribute to the climax of the story
get themselves all sorted out. But once things get sorted and the
action gets going, things are pretty much non-stop for the most of
the rest of the novel. Space battles between the Architects and
those in normal space, the discovery of the "birthplace" of the
Architects, and the encounter with that mysterious presence, are
all just part of the non-stop action that occurs. The story does
move at a breakneck pace, and the end is reached before you know it.

For the reader who is into characters as well as plot and action,
well, there's something here for them too. A bond grows between
Solace and Idris, an unlikely couple, and that bond is strong and
important. The symbolism of the strength of their bond is obvious
as they work together to get to the mysterious presence at the
center of unspace. Olli, who has been involved since the very
beginning, becomes an important and sympathetic character as the
story reaches its climax. The list goes on, but you get the idea.

And what can I say about the narration provided by Sophie Aldred.
Before I started listening to the trilogy, my only knowledge of
Aldred was as Ace, the companion to Sylvester McCoy's Doctor in the
last couple of seasons of Classic Doctor Who. I was originally
dubious about Aldred narrating a story like this, but now I would
happily listen to her narration any time. LORDS OF UNCREATION is a
fitting conclusion to The Final Architecture trilogy, which is
itself a beautiful example of what Space Opera should be. Any
lover of that sub-genre of science fiction will appreciate what
Tchaikovsky has written. Here's hoping there's more to come. [jak]

===================================================================

TOPIC: THE BIG SLEEP (letter of comment by Kip Williams)

In response to Evelyn's comments on THE BIG SLEEP in the 08/25/23
issue of the MT VOID, Kip Williams writes:

Who killed Owen? I solved it.

<https://kipwblog.blogspot.com/2020/07/
solving-unsolved-murder-in-chandlers.html>

[-kw]

===================================================================

TOPIC: TRAVELLING SALESMAN (letter of comment by Paul Dormer)

In response to Evelyn's comments on TRAVELLING SALESMAN in the
09/08/23 issue of the MT VOID, Paul Dormer (of the UK) writes:

"Evelyn wrote,] "* Yes, a double 'l' and no definite article."

Well, that's the correct way to spell "travelling" according to my
dictionary. :-) [-pd]

On 9/17/23 9:23 AM, eleeper@optonline.net wrote:
> THE MT VOID

> THE GENERAL (1926): Buster Keaton's THE GENERAL does indeed glorify
> the Southerner Johnnie Gray (played Buster Keaton). (Is he a
> Confederate? He was rejected when he went to enlist?) But while
> it can be claimed that it is inherently racist (by making the
> Southerner the hero), it is overtly misogynistic. Annabelle is
> your quintessential ditz: She starts by not believing Gray when he
> says he tried to enlist but was rejected. Then she tries to help
> with the fire in the boiler. but throws out a piece of wood because
> it has a hole in it, then makes a big show of throwing small sticks
> and wood chips into the fire. Johnnie reacts by starting to
> strangle her. The result is that, unlike THE BIRTH OF A NATION or
> GONE WITH THE WIND, if you showed this film to someone with no
> knowledge of the historical events, they would not see any racism,
> but would see the misogyny. [-ecl]

The movie isn't "inherently racist" any more than _All Quiet on the
Western Front_ is inherently pro-Kaiser; many Southerners enlisted out
of mistaken patriotism rather than for the sake of maintaining slavery.
In contrast, _Birth of a Nation_ is loaded to the brim with the worst
kind of racism, explicitly glorifying the KKK. I won't give an opinion
on _Gone with the Wind_, since I don't think I've ever seen the movie,
and it's been decades since I read the novel.

The General is also, to the best of my knowledge, the only movie with a
train wreck scene created by wrecking an actual bridge under an actual
train.

--
Gary McGath http://www.mcgath.com