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I found it very entertaining the day the other stood still.

I don't think he understood that later on someone would make a movie that describes the sinew the bones and the restructuring of a human being

Sounds interesting. To Bring the Light is the David Drake contribution of 1996

I was surprised when this video popped into my sub feed because I don't read much magazine science fiction but had read this story recently in Moskowitz's collection you mentioned. I agree with your analysis. The works of his I have read come across to me as challenging due to how callous or downright stomach-churning they can be, while at the same time pulling you forward with effective emotional moments, really creepy ideas and astonishingly weird situations. He definitely had some problems itself. I guess it's a shame that significant and somewhat brilliant authors like him are unavoidably to be forgotten due not only to the often politically retrograde nature of their works but also their unpleasantness.

Death of the 'Happy Hour.'

I definitely agree that the Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym is best left unexplained. I also believe my heart of hearts Poe had just as little idea of what was going on in his work as we do. I appreciate stories which are totally enigmatic. I think to a certain extent all literature should feel like it just came out of the ether, just as much as human consciousness feels to us like it comes from nothingness. So the book I thought was really fun, though the description of penguins irked me a little. It felt a little tacked on to make the book feel more like a typical travel narrative. I can imagine Poe with some natural history book open, more or less paraphrasing what he's reading. But the story is such a weird and atypical travel narrative it felt a little odd to dwell on.

I may be in the stark minority of people who read and incredibly enjoyed both this and the second novel, despite the dragging present in both and the hackneyed plotting. The enjoyment mostly came from the ridiculousness and also the creepy morality, which was fascinating to see in a weird way. As for Olga Romanoff, it's a lot of the same faire as in the first book and I don't think you should read it if you didn't like this, unless maybe you wanted to do a more extensive unit on apocalyptic fiction. I definitely wish the Russians won the day in the sequel.

I must be honest, I wish I enjoyed this story to the degree you two seemed to. When I finished it, I thought "Doyle's brains must have melted when he got older." I do agree, though, that the descriptions of the monsters were really cool. I was sad the giant lobster they faced at the very beginning never came back. This story alao reminded me of H.G Wells' In the Abyss, which I think is a little closer to the Lovecraftian weird tales stuff, but in that story the main character never got to explore the kingdom he discovered-- sort of likw an underwater Hans Phall.

Another insightful listen. I definitely agree about the lack of characters apart from Nemo aboard the sub. I wished while reading I got to see more of them, not just for character reasons but because I thought it would really help the feeling of realism, that Nemo's Nautilus is a carefully constructed, self-sufficient, living entity, if there was also a second-in-command or a senior engineer, or just some various crewmen to back up Nemo. The detail of their mysterious language, as well as perhaps some of the elements of distrust could have been emphasized too if Nemo had to translate everything they said to the main characters. Missed opportunity; but a classic story, and that emotional ending which is kind of surprising for a book often sold as a fun adventure for children.

Great episode and discussion! I read this book recently and found it enjoyable for how pulpy it was, mostly just interesting for the prescience which you noted about technology and ancient aliens. I had read Serviss'other book A Columbus of Space which I found to be even flatter in all aspects. Soon I'm going to read his other book The Second Deluge, which I've heard might be his best.

The story is excellent and leaves one wanting more. The theme is found in African stories and in Japan too.

This was a really fun listen! I came here because I just finished reading the exact edition you mentioned (I actually read this directly after Edison's conquest of Mars-- totally didn't plan that) I had a lot of similar thoughts about the story. I thought it was really good and I sympathized a lot with Dirk Peters' character. Though it may be a defect of mine, as I am a reader of a lot of Victorian fiction, that the trope of somebody dying from overwhelming emotion often can annoy me and pull me out of the story a bit. I am a little ashamed to say though, that I did NOT realize it was Dirk Peters at first, though it has been about 7-8 months since I read Arthur Gordon Pym, and I think I forgot Dirk Peters wasn't just another white guy. Great podcast! I'll be listening to more of them soon...

This is my favorite Star Trek novel. In my opinion, The Wounded Sky is the best Star Trek story ever told in any medium--it perfectly encapsulates everything Star Trek is about. Regarding the timeline, at this point is was commonly believed that the Enterprise had a second five-year mission in between the end of the Original Series and the beginning of The Motion Picture, so that's where this book (as well as the Rihannsu novels) would have taken place. Later I believe these books were placed after The Motion Picture in the "official" timeline.

A small bit of trivia; O'Brien's story forms the plot of the second act of Victor Herbert & Glen McDonough's musical extravaganza Babes in Toyland.

Just found you through looking into Charles, may have to listen to alot more of your pod!!!

This makes me curious. I'll put this on my tbr list for when I have more time. I've found it on the American Archive

Another great SF story set on the Planet Venus. This was back when writers, & some astronomers as well, really believed that Venus was some kind of tropical, Earth-like world. RA Heinlein's "Logic of Empire" is another great example from this sub-genre of SF. It all ended when space probes in the early 1960s found that Venus has a surface temperature of an average of 464 degrees Celsius, a surface pressure averaging 92 atm, & an atmospheric composition of mostly CO2, with yellow upper-atmosphere clouds of sulfuric acid. Jerry Pournelle wanted to continue this SF tradition in some stories in his "CoDominion" series, so he invented a planet called "Tanith", orbiting a distant star, which re-creates the classic SF tropical jungle Venus.

In some cases, the artwork is better than the story. You have not discussed the artist yet. It looks like Astounding in 1939, may have had one, or more, of the best illustrators of all of the pulp magazines.

Red Armitage seems to be cut from the same cloth as Hellion Murdoch from the Venus Equilateral stories of George O. Smith. I think Murdoch still wins the prize for the worst dastardly villain, though. "Lightship Ho" seems to be exactly the sort of space-travel oriented SF that I have always preferred. Thank you for this podcast!

I wasn't around in 1939, but I had read the Van Vogt & Asimov stories because they had been reprinted in paperback form in the late '60s - early '70s period, when just about everything in science fiction got reprinted in the form of cheap paperbacks. But Nat Schachner? That is a name I do not recall. Thank you for this video!

cont. I believe the Lewis novel influenced these authors because, at the end of "Elmer Gantry" the protagonist is beginning to pursue a political career, which would appear very ominous to the typical reader, who has, by that point in the novel, seen what a hypocrite and bigot Elmer Gantry really is.

The religious fundamentalist in "Trends" was probably modeled after "Elmer Gantry" by Sinclair Lewis. The Lewis novel probably also influenced RA Heinlein to write "If This Goes On," which also appeared in Astounding.

cont. The first two of the six books in the Lensman Saga, Triplanetary & First Lensman, were basically written to fill in the gaps in the timeline of the narrative, & there are contradictions & inconsistencies in them, which the reader may find annoying. The two middle books of the series were the most entertaining because of the pace of the story & the fantastic people, places, & events. I love those books!

E.E. Smith is, in my opinion, the greatest writer, ever, of the "Space Opera" sub-genre. I have read & re-read "Galactic Patrol" & "Grey Lensman", which are my favorite books from that form of SF.

I have not heard the name "A.E. Van Vogt" in many, many years. One of my favorite writers! Thank you very much for this video!

EE Doc!

I didn't read the same book that y'all did! I first read Lest Darkness Fall about 40-45 years ago, fell for it hard, and have loved it ever since. But you were either dismissive of many of the parts I love or you weren't as impressed with them as I am. I'm going to mention some of them. When Martin, on Nevitta's recommendation, visits Thomasus the Syrian, I learned that banking was often engaged in by Syrians, something I find interesting. When Martin trades the idea of double-entry bookkeeping and the concept of zero - the CONCEPT OF ZERO is HUGE!!! - to Thomasus in exchange for thirty solidi, I knew I was reading sci-fi gold; I actually shed tears of joy. I have books about zero, about mathematical theories, and biographies of mathematicians, despite the fact that I'm far from having mathematical skills; I just happen to love and respect math. But later on, when Martinus (his "new" name) discovers that Thomasus has himself made money by selling zero to other bankers despite what Martinus considers a breach of their agreement, Thomasus points out to him that their agreement didn't include a promise not to sell the concept. Martinus recalls that Nevitta warned him that although Thomasus is an okay dude, you have to watch him. A nice example of history repeating itself. When Martinus goes into the brandy-making business almost 800 years before it's due to be invented, I learned why copper pipe is necessary. Flint, MI taught me about the deadly dangers of lead piping, but the problems Martinus encounters in the manufacture of copper tubing are enlightening. One of the funniest scenes in the book IMO is when Martinus and Thomasus test-drive the first brandy at a local pub. First off, the outer façade of the establishment is covered in warnings about talking religion and fighting - even back then you can't have one without the other, especially when imbibing. That sets the stage, because Martinus's brandy is the equivalent of dynamite in a bottle; no one in that place or time has any experience with such a strong alcoholic beverage. The fight that inevitably erupts is frankly hilarious. It's also when Martinus and Fritharik first meet. Julia from Apulia and Martinus have sex but he freaks out when he spots a louse crawling out from her armpit area. It makes him realize that he's become inured to the smells and filth of 6th century c.e. Rome. He in turn first freaks Julia out, then embarrasses her, and finally infuriates her. Both of them react predictably: he to the louse, she to his disgust. But when she sics her church on him, he has to find a champion more powerful than the church. Which he does. His decision to start a newspaper in order to avoid the Dark Ages is prompted by his desire to educate the masses. His use of vellum for paper backfires because vellum doesn't grow on trees - vellum is "a fine-grained unsplit lambskin, kidskin, or calfskin prepared especially for writing on" (per my Merriam-Webster). Martinus's first newspaper edition pretty much wipes out Rome's ready supply of vellum, so Martinus needs to invent paper durable and absorbent enough to withstand the manhandling of an also-invented printing press yet not so absorbent that ink - another necessity he's forced to have to invent - will spread and make letters look like indecipherable blobs. Because of these dilemmas, I found out how paper and ink are made (fascinating, don't you think?) and I found George's articles on the corruption of those in power hilarious. I know I'm saying "hilarious" a lot, but that's because IMO this book is utterly hilarious. From Martinus teaching Mathaswentha the art of kissing, another thing besides brandy that hasn't yet appeared in history, to his managing to kill a man in a sword fight simply by letting his opponent run at him and spear himself on Martinus's blade, which the hapless American holds directly in front of himself - a tactic that works, since swords of that time are designed to use only the sides to hack at each other; spearing your opponent with the point of the blade hasn't yet been adopted as a technique. This comment is already way tl;dr and I need my sleep, but there's still so much more to highlight! Let me say in closing that what y'all consider social no-nos, like racism, sexism, oh heck, all the "-isms" that you were taught to cringe at, please try to remember that de Camp was writing in the 1930s-1940s. He did not engage in poor writing techniques. That's the way the cookie crumbled back then. Idk how old y'all are, but I'm on the cusp of 70 and I know how to read literature from different periods of time without judging them by today's standards.

please. please read the book for posterity?..i read as a child about 30 years ago and loved it.the world would be better for having this to enjoy for ever on youtube.

Mathematics and 'Pataphysics | Episode 19.1. 1157am. is math relevant? probably not. computer programming merely entails typing in values ino a computer and tying together, via various vales, one's commands. you do not need be a numerical genius... say, taking a basic hangman game and attempting to had the death march tune, by tying in such a tube, upon losing the game is about as simplistic an example I can give... of course, Americans take issue with innovation. their issues with chewing gum and walking at the same time testament to this.... akin to life... and evolution, opening a new pathway, to include the innovation is all it amounts to.... piece of pish.

I haven't seen the name Murray Leinster in many years. Thank you very much for this video.

i had a crazy xperience while watching, so my mouse was in the table without mousepad so he get kinda bouncy, but when the guy of the podcast was talking it was moving at the screen of the computer as if the clock in the the video was a ouija board writing words, i was high on weed at daw, and that was creepy.

great out of box xperience

I reread this story and "The Shadowy Street" often. He was one of the greatest writers of weird fiction ever.

Fascinating, erudite and excellent deep dive into CLAIMED! Good laffs, as well, thanks!

What the heck is this

✌️ ᎮᏒᎧᎷᎧᏕᎷ

I think I'm the first viewer 😊

Thank you! GreeNtings.

This is a damn good podcast. Great job.

yeah we just figured out that the earths core is more smushy. doesnt sound so far fetched now

Totally forgot to subscribe. Fixed that.