"2001 A space Odyssee" (A. C. Clarke - 1968)

KIND OF LITERATURE : (Hard) science fiction…and maybe Space opera in the end of the story ?

LANDSCAPES : An African plain at the prehistoric epoch, a lunar base, a suborbital station, and the inner life of a space ship, all white coloured.

STORY :
Part 1 :
In Africa, at the dawn of Humanity, a tribe of great apes, the Man’s ancestor, tries to survive and to fight against hunger and wild animals, when a mysterious crystal block appears in the plain…

Part 2 :
In the USA, Professor Heywood Floyd, President of the national astronautic council, flies to the moon to study a strange magnetic anomaly : AMT – 1 : A huge block of black matter, intentionally buried 3 million years ago…

Part 3 :
2 years after the AMT – 1 discovery, a spaceship is send towards Saturn, officially to study the famous rings…But Carl, the first artificial intelligence equiped computer, is the only one to know the real goal of the journey…
The computer, obliged to lie to the astronauts, starts to feel guilty and try to kill them. Dave Bowman is the only survivor. Now alone in the spaceshift, and out of control of any rescue expedition, the control center on Earth reveals him the real goal of the expedition. Then, Dave Bowman decides to fly near Japet, a satellite of Saturn, and what he discovers there is far beyond anything he could have imagine…

TOPICS :
- How and by which means the Mankind did develop itself ?
- The Man is not alone in the Universe
- Until what point men can trust the artificial intelligence ?
- The black out maintained by the authorities on some events that could panic the populations

CONTEXT :
This story has been written one year before the first man land on the Moon, in a cold war atmosphere ( we notice that when Dr Floyd meet some Russians engineers on the moon base)

COMMENTS :

A story absolutely not old fashioned, described in a very realistic way, based sometimes on real facts (for exemple, the Tycho crater on the Moon really exists, as well as Japet – see picture below), which makes this story absolutely credible. Clarke talks also about some gadgets that have been invented nowadays, such as the small block allowing to read newspapers on the moon…

Talking about the characters, Clark put them into situations where it is impossible to not identify to them : The Professor Floyd describing very simply the life in space, Dave Bowman absolutely alone in the spaceshift,…. What is interesting is that with very few elements, Clarke is able to give a psychological identity to his characters.

The writing style of Clarke is vivid, precise and clear (the French translation by Michel Demuth is very well written). The text cut into short chapters with tittles helps make the reading more comfortable.

A masterpiece build on one of the biggest question asked by Mankind : Are we alone in the
Universe ? Clarke suggests a very plausible hypothesis.

I really loved that book because he deals with a classical topic of science fiction – the discovery of an extraterrestrial life – in a very rational and scientific way ( just like an investigation), but still easy to understand for any reader.

BONUS :
The two paints in the room where is Dave Bowman in the end of his journey :

Pont en Arles de Van Gogh :


Christina’s world de Wyeth :

GLOBAL VALUATION :
1 – to Avoid
2 – Not really interesting
3 – It is worth reading
4 - Excellent

"Martian chronicles" (Bradbury - 1951)

KIND OF LITERATURE : poetic science fiction

LANDSCAPES :
On Mars, a house made of cristal, and, in the background, wide sand landscapes : valleys, hills, the famous martian channels ( with or without water, depending on the epoch), old ghost cities made up with white stone and wonderful mosaic floorings (see the pictures below, from the TV serie I had the chance to watch here in France when I was a teenager):

STORY :
The harmonious life of the true last martians, next the human conquest of Mars through 4 expeditions (the astronauts of the 3 first one have been killed by the martians). In the end, a bacterium, the chickenpox, brought by men, kill the last true martians. We observe how the men destroy what’s left of the martian civilization, the same way they have destroyed the human civilization on Earth, which is about to self – desctruct.

TOPICS :
- The conquest of a foreign planet by the mankind
- The martians depicted as pacific and the men as violent, proud and stupid (There is here a contradiction, because don’t forget the nice martians have destroyed the first 3 expeditions ( by self defense I suppose)
- How men use to destroy their world by racism, intolerance (against some kind of art – The”Usher’s house” -), violence…
- Telepathy, hypnosis

CONTEXT :
1945 : End of racial segregation in the USA
1950 / 1953 : Cold War, Mc Carthysm in the USA (paranoia about the “reds”, the communists , being everywhere in the American society : Politics, arts,…. We call it “witches chase” here in France.

COMMENTS :
You musn’t miss this book. This story, very well written in a very simple style, is made up with many short stories describing either the human point of view, or the martian’s. There’s a lot of poetic moments, especially in the ”nocturnal meetings” and “The long years” chapters. The men arrived more and more numerous on Mars, with no envy to know who was here before them. The vision of Bradbury is of course a little bit excessive : The evil men against the nice and innocent martians…but that doesn’t interfere with the very great charm of this story, a great science fiction classic .

GLOBAL VALUATION :
1 – to Avoid
2 – Not really interesting
3 – It is worth reading
4 - Excellent

How to have a science fiction culture ??

When I was a teenager, I have read some great classics of scifi, such as "Martian Chronicles", "2001 space Odyssee", some Lovecraft stuffs,...

Now, I feel interrested again by this type of literature in which we can observe our own world, which make us think about what we will be in the future according to what's happening now.

So I would like to rediscover this great classics, and some new writers too, to make my own science fiction culture.

This is the reason of this blog : At first, to keep some traces of what I have read, and to share them with others maybe like me, that are just at the beginning of the journey...

Because it's not easy to find its way in this jungle of styles (fantasy, cyberpunk, new wave, space opera, ...) and of writers from about 1800 to nowadays...And when you are in front of a bookshop display, it's worse...What's hidden behind these short description and colourful cover, uhh ????

Of course, there is the awards ( Hugo, Locus, Grand prix de l'imaginaire, and so on...) to guide us, but that's not enough...If the story doesn't catch my attention, well...I won't by it.

I should say that the best books are the ones we prefer...

"The mysterious island" (J. Verne - 1874)

KIND OF LITERATURE : Classical Science Fiction

LANDSCAPES :
An island with many views : Forests, beaches, grotto,…and the sea, out of sight

STORY :
During the Sessession war in the USA, 3 prisoners escape in climbing into an airship. A storm comes, they send away all their possessions to help the airship to fly higher, in vain. In the end, they land by force on a desert island.

The book describes how the 3 men will cope with that situation without any tool to help them to survive. By chance they have with them an engineer, who will be a great help to organize their survival by building a mill, a bridge, an so on.

A while after their arrival on the island, some strange events will happen : Each time one of them is endangered, some kind of invisible power will save them .We learn in the end that this mysterious and kindly presence is the Captain Nemo, who has been living under the seas for 30 years…

TOPICS :
- The conquest of a new earth by the Man
- Nature is sometimes stronger than men
- Brotherhood, necessary to survive ( Verne, very optimistic, never talk about some fight between the 3 men…a little bit hard to believe in this kind of situation)
- The rational (Cyrus the engineer) opposed to the supernatural (Pencroft the dreamer)
- Efforts bring always a reward
- Science is powerful
- The notion of positivism : the Man has to question himself about how to do things and not on why doing things

CONTEXT :
Industrialization begins in Great Britain in 1770 with the steam machines. This technology arrives in France in 1820/1830, and the electricity arrives in 1870, 4 years before the writing of this book.

COMMENTS :
The style is very precise, fluent and visual. The intrigue is very well kept until the end, with many rebounces. As a result, I read the 800 pages in 9 days !

Verne lays the stress on the ability of the human kind to improve oneself whether in the skills fiels (the characters have learned may jobs to fit out their island), or in the behaviour aspect ( redemption of Ayrton and Captain Nemo)

The cover (silver and red) made by the french editor “Le livre de poche” is really wonderful, plus the original engravings inside. A short description of what will happen at the beginning of each chapter is a good idea to go always further in reading… and also if you want to read quicker in avoiding some pages…

In conclusion, a very pleasant reading. Of course, you can argue that the story has nothing to do with science fiction, which is not completely wrong… But I have not enough knowledge on how building a mill or a bridge to say the Jules Verne described some future technologies to build them ( maybe it is the case ????)

GLOBAL VALUATION :
1 – to Avoid
2 – Not really interesting
3 – It is worth reading
4 - Excellent

"Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde" (R. L. Stevenson - 1886)

Kind of literature : Science Fiction

Landscape :

A little street in London, a big house with a laboratory. A lot of sceneries behind the doors, nearly none outside.

The story :

Mr Utterson, a notary, has a walk in London with a friend. They walk near a strange black door, and the notary tells his friend the story of who was inhabitting behind this door, the Dr Jeckyll.
It was a Doctor specialised in medecine, Rights, a member of the Science Royal academy, who gained a certain notoriety.During his work, he discovered that some crystals are able to make the human's black side materialise in a kind of malefic entity.

Trying that on himself, the good Dr Jekyll turns into the bad Mr Hyde, who steal, cheat, and so on.There is next a hide-and-seek-game between Mr Hyde and the policemen. The Dr Jekyll, once in the Dr Hyde shoes feels free like he never was in his life and begins to appreciate this life where he can break all the rules.Then, the Dr Jekyll become weaker and weaker to escape from Dr Jekyll, and he understand that he will no longer be able to produce the strange crystalls allowing the transformation, because the strange event the transformation-was due to a mistake in chemical manipulations.The only solution for him to escape to Mr Hyde is to die, so does he.

The topics :

- The dualism of human beings : Half angels, half demons

- The fight to stay on the good side

- God punishes human who try to take his place in changing the human Nature by Science

- The hideous aspect of Dr Hyde symbolises the Evil, the bad side, the Beast

Context :

Stevenson founded the idea for this book in a nightmare !! Of course, we can draw a parallel between the chemical side of this story and the Industrial Revolution, that happened at that period...

Comments :

The intrigue rythm is flat, monotomn. In fact, this story could have been told only with the first and the last chapter, the most interesting one, where the Doctor gives his point of view on this strange experience. The other chapters are more like a crime story , not SF or fantastic, and I am not very found of this style. Moreover, as we all know what this story is about (a worldwide myth) , there is no surprise when you read it, and it's a pity....By chance, the book is not very thick...

"The Horla and Other tales" ( Maupassant - 1881 / 1890)

Kind : Fantastic

Landscapes :
A little house in front of the river called "La Seine" near Paris , in a quiet street, just like in this paint by Sisley...

"The Horla" :
They are all beginning in the "normal" life. Then, a strange phenomenon happens. In the "Horla", it is an invisible presence, which follows everywhere the main character who becomes mad...In fact, Maupassant lets the reader decide if the character has really become mad, or if this strange presence really exists....

Other stories :
An écorché hand who belonged to a murderer, and who still kills, even without being linked to a body, the ghost of a beloved woman who appears to his husband , a woman who has a special receipt to give birth to abnormal childs to sell them to circus, an antics's buyer who falls in love with hairs founded in an old furniture.
In the "Endormeuse", Maupassant devellops an interesting idea which could be used in our epoch where the euthanasia is unfortunately the only charitable solution for the patients "cured" with palliatives cares waiting for death to come : A company which proposes to his customers to leave peacefuly this world in smelling the scent of his favorite flower...


Comments :
The writing is very pleasant, and gives a sensation of "luxurious", by his "ancient" side, when you are in a very comfortable armchair, with the tic tac of a horloge, just like your grand parent's house. We feels like home in this writing style, maybe just because the sceneries depicted are simple and usual....
For me, the only mistake in those texts is to begin aways the same way : "I think I am becoming insane, whereas I was a healthy person before. I will explain you what happened to me...." I find it a little bit boring....
By chance, these short stories become after that intro colourful and very "tasty".They give to the reader a lasting impress.... Maupassant really knows how to create a tension in his stories, from clichés : ghosts, monsters,.....
It is as simple as that : When you begin to read these very short stories, you just can't stop until you have finished the book......
Congratulations, Mr Maupassant, for these little jewels....

"Frankenstein or the modern Prometheus" (M. Shelley - 1818)

Who is Prometheus ? According the Greek mythology, Promethée is a god who created the human kind from a piece of clay, despite Zeus (the God of gods) disapproval. Promethee learned them the metallurgy and fire. To punish Promethee, Zeus enchained him on a hill and let the Caucasian eagle eat his liver....Indeed, in the book, we could understand that God punished the scientist for having imitated him in giving life - by science...In other words, the scientist took the place of God...

Category : Science - fiction...

Landscapes : French Alps, gardens, forests, ...

The story :

A scientist, Victor Frankenstein, creates from dead bodies parts, a living creature, good in his heart. This creature escape from the laboratory where he was created, and unaware of his awful aspect, go to meet the Human kind. He hides some long months in a small shed in a garden , study how the inhabitants of the house are living and learn to speak in hearing to them talking.

One day, he decides to meet these persons and is violently chased. He understands that he will never have love or friendship from the humans, and becomes aware of his hideous aspect. He promises hell to his creator if he refuses to built him a female of his kind,in aim to never be alone again. The Dr Frankenstein refuses to do it and sees all the beloved people around him dying, whom his future spouse, strangled by the creature.

The doctor tries to find him all around the world to kill him but fail. He dies of exhausement and pain. The creature learns that his creator has died by his fault and realises the harm he has done , and killed himself.

The original manuscript is housed in the Bodleian Library of Oxford.

Topics :
- The responsability of a man for his creation
- Is the man good at the beginning of his life ?
- What does motivate a creature to do harm to someone else ?

historical context :
1820 : The Electricity has just been discovered. Lightning is particulary enlighted in the James Whale 's film during the creation of the creature process.

Reviews made when the book was first published :
One the one hand, "Frankenstein" was considered as an original and audacious story, but on the other hand, most of the reviews founded it blasphemous and not really plausible. But all agreeded to call it a "gothic" story, because of its frigntening aspect. ( Whereas nowadays, it is labelled as "Science fiction" - I hate labels !.... )

What the public thaught about it in 1818 :
The book was very well perceived, and Frankenstein has become a worldwide myth. A great success : The novel was adapted the first time for a play in 1823 in England, and the first film based on that story was a silent film, achieved in 1910 by Edison.

Comments :
I fouded it interesting to read this book to chase two set ideas :
- The creature, at the beginning is not bad. It is the men'sintolerance which made him wicked
- Frankenstein is not the name of the creature, but of his creator

The writing style is very easy to follow, you are not bored with the rythm of action....The book proposes both the scientist point of view, and both the creature's , which is very interesting. Moreover, Mary Shelley made a very subtle psychological analysis of the creature...When we know she wrote this novel at only 19 !!! She was surely very mature....