We Ride Upon Sticks: A Novel by Quan Barry

A desperate field hockey team turns to an infernal ally
to improve their game. Will they be willing to pay its
final price?

https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/when-you-worry
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

In article <tibm7h$563$1@reader2.panix.com>,
James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
>We Ride Upon Sticks: A Novel by Quan Barry
>
>A desperate field hockey team turns to an infernal ally
>to improve their game. Will they be willing to pay its
>final price?
>
>https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/when-you-worry

(Hal Heydt)
A Canadian variant on "Damn Yankees"?

In article <rJr36E.19qx@kithrup.com>,
Dorothy J Heydt <djheydt@kithrup.com> wrote:
>In article <tibm7h$563$1@reader2.panix.com>,
>James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
>>We Ride Upon Sticks: A Novel by Quan Barry
>>
>>A desperate field hockey team turns to an infernal ally
>>to improve their game. Will they be willing to pay its
>>final price?
>>
>>https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/when-you-worry
>
>(Hal Heydt)
>A Canadian variant on "Damn Yankees"?

No, this is as American as Apple Pie: it's set in the town
where the Salem Witch Trial accusers lived. The Witch Trial
is what gives the goalie the idea of appealing to infernal
beings for help.

I don't know that there is a Canadian analog to Damn Yankees
but there are enough Canadian sports stories* I cannot rule it out.

* I attended an old two-room rural schoolhouse, whose library
included lots of sports fiction. The hockey stories must have
predated Jacques Plante because one of the recurring tropes
was one-eyed ex-goalie hockey coaches. Apparently the career
path was tend goal until half-blinded by a puck, then move into
management.

--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

On Friday, 14 October 2022 at 17:14:49 UTC+1, James Nicoll wrote:
> In article <rJr36...@kithrup.com>,
> Dorothy J Heydt <djh...@kithrup.com> wrote:
> >In article <tibm7h$563$1...@reader2.panix.com>,
> >James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:
> >>We Ride Upon Sticks: A Novel by Quan Barry
> >>
> >>A desperate field hockey team turns to an infernal ally
> >>to improve their game. Will they be willing to pay its
> >>final price?
> >>
> >>https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/when-you-worry
> >
> >(Hal Heydt)
> >A Canadian variant on "Damn Yankees"?
> No, this is as American as Apple Pie: it's set in the town
> where the Salem Witch Trial accusers lived. The Witch Trial
> is what gives the goalie the idea of appealing to infernal
> beings for help.

I would speculate that the Salem Witch Trial accused
might know more about deals with the devil than the
accusers would, but this is a topic of which I know little.
I think I haven't seen the play, and a treatment in
"Scooby-Doo" probably wasn't faithful.

On Friday, October 14, 2022 at 10:13:59 PM UTC-4, Robert Carnegie wrote:
> On Friday, 14 October 2022 at 17:14:49 UTC+1, James Nicoll wrote:
> > In article <rJr36...@kithrup.com>,
> > Dorothy J Heydt <djh...@kithrup.com> wrote:
> > >In article <tibm7h$563$1...@reader2.panix.com>,
> > >James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:
> > >>We Ride Upon Sticks: A Novel by Quan Barry
> > >>
> > >>A desperate field hockey team turns to an infernal ally
> > >>to improve their game. Will they be willing to pay its
> > >>final price?
> > >>
> > >>https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/when-you-worry
> > >
> > >(Hal Heydt)
> > >A Canadian variant on "Damn Yankees"?
> > No, this is as American as Apple Pie: it's set in the town
> > where the Salem Witch Trial accusers lived. The Witch Trial
> > is what gives the goalie the idea of appealing to infernal
> > beings for help.
> I would speculate that the Salem Witch Trial accused
> might know more about deals with the devil than the
> accusers would, but this is a topic of which I know little.
> I think I haven't seen the play, and a treatment in
> "Scooby-Doo" probably wasn't faithful.

It's been adapted many times. 'The Crucible', which was
written as an allegory of the HUAC, is hardly the only one.

Seeing as the accused were innocent, they probably knew
little, while Cotton Mather and the others in the prosecution
thought they knew what they doing.

Pt

On Friday, October 14, 2022 at 10:01:36 PM UTC-6, pete...@gmail.com wrote:

> It's been adapted many times. 'The Crucible', which was
> written as an allegory of the HUAC, is hardly the only one.

Damn Yankees, which had Gwen Verdon singing in her underwear
many years before Madonna came along, is many things, but I
don't think it could be considered a source for the play "The
Crucible".

Damn Yankees was a musical play, from which several popular
songs, including "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets", came. It was
about a deal with the Devil, but it was not about witch trials,
jury trials, or any other kind of courtroom trial.

John Savard

On Saturday, 15 October 2022 at 09:29:19 UTC+1, Quadibloc wrote:
> On Friday, October 14, 2022 at 10:01:36 PM UTC-6, pete...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> > It's been adapted many times. 'The Crucible', which was
> > written as an allegory of the HUAC, is hardly the only one.
> Damn Yankees, which had Gwen Verdon singing in her underwear
> many years before Madonna came along,

If citation needed:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damn_Yankees#/media/File:Damn_yankees_1955.jpg>

:-)

> is many things, but I
> don't think it could be considered a source for the play "The
> Crucible".
>
> Damn Yankees was a musical play, from which several popular
> songs, including "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets", came. It was
> about a deal with the Devil, but it was not about witch trials,
> jury trials, or any other kind of courtroom trial.

Wikipedia says _Damn Yankees_ is "a modern [1950s] retelling of
the Faust legend set in Washington, D.C. The New York Yankees
dominated Major League Baseball; the show is based on
Douglass Wallop's 1954 novel _The Year the Yankees Lost
the Pennant_." Which this British observer presumes to be fiction? :-)

Anyway, mentioning the range of female roles and careful descriptions
of their appearance in other tellings of the Faust story seems
redundant now.

Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> wrote:
> On Friday, 14 October 2022 at 17:14:49 UTC+1, James Nicoll wrote:
>> In article <rJr36...@kithrup.com>,
>> Dorothy J Heydt <djh...@kithrup.com> wrote:
>> >In article <tibm7h$563$1...@reader2.panix.com>,
>> >James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:
>> >>We Ride Upon Sticks: A Novel by Quan Barry
>> >>
>> >>A desperate field hockey team turns to an infernal ally
>> >>to improve their game. Will they be willing to pay its
>> >>final price?
>> >>
>> >>https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/when-you-worry
>> >
>> >(Hal Heydt)
>> >A Canadian variant on "Damn Yankees"?
>> No, this is as American as Apple Pie: it's set in the town
>> where the Salem Witch Trial accusers lived. The Witch Trial
>> is what gives the goalie the idea of appealing to infernal
>> beings for help.
>
> I would speculate that the Salem Witch Trial accused
> might know more about deals with the devil than the
> accusers would, but this is a topic of which I know little.
> I think I haven't seen the play, and a treatment in
> "Scooby-Doo" probably wasn't faithful.

I only recently saw Jeremy Bentham's comments on the US constitution:

The opinions of the modern Americans on Government, like those of their
good ancestors on witchcraft, would be too ridiculous to deserve any
notice, if like them too, contemptible and extravagant as they be,
they had not led to the most serious evils.

As to sports and fiendish deals, there is the Dunsany short story about the
cricketer who can always make 49 runs, but not the half-century...

On Sunday, October 16, 2022 at 9:49:52 PM UTC-6, David Duffy wrote:

> I only recently saw Jeremy Bentham's comments on the US constitution:
>
> The opinions of the modern Americans on Government, like those of their
> good ancestors on witchcraft, would be too ridiculous to deserve any
> notice, if like them too, contemptible and extravagant as they be,
> they had not led to the most serious evils.

Having found their context, at

https://persistentenlightenment.com/2014/07/03/of-rights-and-witches-benthams-critique-of-the-declaration-of-independence/

I cannot say that I am particularly impressed.

John Savard

On Fri, 14 Oct 2022 16:01:26 GMT, djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
Heydt) wrote:

>In article <tibm7h$563$1@reader2.panix.com>,
>James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
>>We Ride Upon Sticks: A Novel by Quan Barry
>>
>>A desperate field hockey team turns to an infernal ally
>>to improve their game. Will they be willing to pay its
>>final price?
>>
>>https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/when-you-worry
>
>(Hal Heydt)
>A Canadian variant on "Damn Yankees"?

Rather doubtful given we're discussing field hockey.

Every Canadian knows REAL hockey is played on ice - field hockey in
Canada is played by 3 main groups: junior high age girls, immigrants
from a) India and b) Pakistan and there are some Indians(the Indian
variety - though plenty of the aboriginal viariety play as well)
playing ice hockey as well.

In the high school I went to those girls teams were called "hackers"
which of course had nothing to do with computers and everything to do
with naughty stickwork which frequently rivalled the kind you find in
the NHL but dirtier

On Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at 8:15:00 PM UTC-4, The Horny Goat wrote:
> On Fri, 14 Oct 2022 16:01:26 GMT, djh...@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
> Heydt) wrote:
>
> >In article <tibm7h$563$1...@reader2.panix.com>,
> >James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:
> >>We Ride Upon Sticks: A Novel by Quan Barry
> >>
> >>A desperate field hockey team turns to an infernal ally
> >>to improve their game. Will they be willing to pay its
> >>final price?
> >>
> >>https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/when-you-worry
> >
> >(Hal Heydt)
> >A Canadian variant on "Damn Yankees"?
> Rather doubtful given we're discussing field hockey.
>
> Every Canadian knows REAL hockey is played on ice - field hockey in
> Canada is played by 3 main groups: junior high age girls, immigrants
> from a) India and b) Pakistan and there are some Indians(the Indian
> variety - though plenty of the aboriginal viariety play as well)
> playing ice hockey as well.
>
> In the high school I went to those girls teams were called "hackers"
> which of course had nothing to do with computers and everything to do
> with naughty stickwork which frequently rivalled the kind you find in
> the NHL but dirtier

Field hockey was the autumn sport of choice for girls at the Catholic and
other private high schools on New York's Long Island in the 1960s and 70s.
Lacrosse may be more popular these days. Both sports are played at the
University level, and after Title IX there is scholarship money at stake.

"Damn Yankees" is on topic:

"The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant"

https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?248989

At this point, Joe Boyd would be a suffering Leafs fan.

(Leaves....?)

"Grapes" Cherry as Mr Applegate?

--
Kevin R

On Wednesday, 19 October 2022 at 05:24:02 UTC+1, Kevrob wrote:
> On Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at 8:15:00 PM UTC-4, The Horny Goat wrote:
> > On Fri, 14 Oct 2022 16:01:26 GMT, djh...@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
> > Heydt) wrote:
> >
> > >In article <tibm7h$563$1...@reader2.panix.com>,
> > >James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:
> > >>We Ride Upon Sticks: A Novel by Quan Barry
> > >>
> > >>A desperate field hockey team turns to an infernal ally
> > >>to improve their game. Will they be willing to pay its
> > >>final price?
> > >>
> > >>https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/when-you-worry
> > >
> > >(Hal Heydt)
> > >A Canadian variant on "Damn Yankees"?
> > Rather doubtful given we're discussing field hockey.
> >
> > Every Canadian knows REAL hockey is played on ice - field hockey in
> > Canada is played by 3 main groups: junior high age girls, immigrants
> > from a) India and b) Pakistan and there are some Indians(the Indian
> > variety - though plenty of the aboriginal viariety play as well)
> > playing ice hockey as well.
> >
> > In the high school I went to those girls teams were called "hackers"
> > which of course had nothing to do with computers and everything to do
> > with naughty stickwork which frequently rivalled the kind you find in
> > the NHL but dirtier
> Field hockey was the autumn sport of choice for girls at the Catholic and
> other private high schools on New York's Long Island in the 1960s and 70s.
> Lacrosse may be more popular these days. Both sports are played at the
> University level, and after Title IX there is scholarship money at stake.

From a recent BBC radio feature, I gather that
in North America before Europeans, lacrosse was
a popular form of warfare. I may have slightly
misunderstood. Anyway, now there's hockey.

On Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 8:09:41 PM UTC-4, Robert Carnegie wrote:
> On Wednesday, 19 October 2022 at 05:24:02 UTC+1, Kevrob wrote:
> > On Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at 8:15:00 PM UTC-4, The Horny Goat wrote:
> > > On Fri, 14 Oct 2022 16:01:26 GMT, djh...@kithrup.com (Dorothy J
> > > Heydt) wrote:
> > >
> > > >In article <tibm7h$563$1...@reader2.panix.com>,
> > > >James Nicoll <jdni...@panix.com> wrote:
> > > >>We Ride Upon Sticks: A Novel by Quan Barry
> > > >>
> > > >>A desperate field hockey team turns to an infernal ally
> > > >>to improve their game. Will they be willing to pay its
> > > >>final price?
> > > >>
> > > >>https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/when-you-worry
> > > >
> > > >(Hal Heydt)
> > > >A Canadian variant on "Damn Yankees"?
> > > Rather doubtful given we're discussing field hockey.
> > >
> > > Every Canadian knows REAL hockey is played on ice - field hockey in
> > > Canada is played by 3 main groups: junior high age girls, immigrants
> > > from a) India and b) Pakistan and there are some Indians(the Indian
> > > variety - though plenty of the aboriginal viariety play as well)
> > > playing ice hockey as well.
> > >
> > > In the high school I went to those girls teams were called "hackers"
> > > which of course had nothing to do with computers and everything to do
> > > with naughty stickwork which frequently rivalled the kind you find in
> > > the NHL but dirtier
> > Field hockey was the autumn sport of choice for girls at the Catholic and
> > other private high schools on New York's Long Island in the 1960s and 70s.
> > Lacrosse may be more popular these days. Both sports are played at the
> > University level, and after Title IX there is scholarship money at stake.
> From a recent BBC radio feature, I gather that
> in North America before Europeans, lacrosse was
> a popular form of warfare. I may have slightly
> misunderstood. Anyway, now there's hockey.

Training for war, and sometimes a proxy for war.

[quote]

“Lacrosse was an integral part of Native Americans’ culture,” says
Joe Finn, archivist at the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum.
“It was played to prepare them for war, and it was also a social event
where tribes would get together for trade and sport. It was sometimes
used to settle disputes."

[/quote] - https://www.history.com/news/lacrosse-origins-native-americans

In this way, the game is similar to Irish hurling.

There's quite a bond between the Irish and tribes such as the Choctaw and
the Iroquois, with lacrosse ties.

https://www.usalaxmagazine.com/fuel/international/the-empathy-that-brought-the-iroquois-and-irish-together-as-one

--
Kevin R