Bookstooge's Reviews On the Road: Edmond Hamilton

Showing posts with label Edmond Hamilton. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Across Space 3Stars

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Title: Across Space
Series: -----
Author: Edmond Hamilton
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 67
Words: 21K

This was a serialized story in one of those old pulp magazines, Weird Tales, and was a decent adventure novella. The beginning, where the populace of the world panics reminded me EXACTLY of When Worlds Collide. So much so that I went and looked up the publication date for this and Worlds to see which came first. Worlds was published in 1933. Across Space was published in 1926, which leads me to speculate whether the authors of Worlds had read this story originally and allowed it to color their story telling. We’ll never know.

I’m also giving this the “Scyenze” tag because it’s obvious the author worships Science as his god and thinks it will solve every problem encountered by mankind. I don’t hold that personally against him, as a lot of people thought that, but it is something to be aware of as that kind of thinking still persists today. If you find yourself automatically obeying some Butcher (who explicitly wants to experiment on death viruses without thought of the possible consequences, aka Anthony Fauci) because he has some letters after his name, you too might belong to the Cult of Scyenze. Don’t reject what they say automatically, but understand their background and the biases they are hiding while they proclaim their “great wisdom”.

Ok, I’m getting off my soapbox now.

This was a good story with cosmic horror overtones. Call of Cthulhu wasn’t published until 1928, but Lovecraft had published other stories in Weird Tales previous to this story, so it is entirely possible Hamilton was influenced. Either way, it didn’t feel like a rip off, just gave off that weird vibe. Which is what most stories needed I suspect to be included in Weird Tales.

This was also a straight up adventure story with no characterization, very little setting and most of that was held for the underground world inhabited by the ancient Martians.

When I read Hamilton’s Starwolf Trilogy, I wasn’t sure if wanted to read more by him or not. After reading this novella, I definitely want to explore more by him. I have collection of his works that’s about 6800 pages long. Not sure if it’s a complete collection, but it is in publication order and it should give me enough. I suspect I’ll read a story or two and then take a break and then come back. Let him steep in the Bookstooge Percolator as it were.

★★✬☆☆

From Bookstooge

One night astronomers discover that Mars has stopped dead in its orbit. The next night Mars begins falling towards Earth. This causes chaos and hysteria among the populace. One man, our hero, knows a famous Scientist. He goes to him and asks what is going on. Said scientist goes all “secret’y” on him and flies him down to Easter Island, where a previous scientist and his group have gone missing. They find that a group of subterranean Martians, with their super scyenze rays, are drawing Mars close enough to Earth to facilitate an invasion, allowing them to rule the earth. Our Hero and The Scientist figure everything out, overcome their psychic guards and reverse the deadly ray, thus putting Mars in orbit around one of the other large gas giants. The Scientist sends Our Hero away ostensibly to get reinforcements but uses the time to explode the Ray Machine and trap all the malevolent Martians underground, and quite possibly killing them all. Our Hero sheds a tear and goes on with his life.

All of My “Edmund Hamilton” Reviews

Tuesday, April 09, 2024

World of the Starwolves (Starwolf #3) 3Stars

Title: World of the Starwolves
Series: Starwolf #3
Author: Edmond Hamilton
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 158
Words: 48K

And we are back to the level of the first book. Not a bad book, but not nearly as imaginative and exciting as the second. Chane’s reunion with the Starwolves isn’t sad, happy or even melancholy. It’s just bland. Hamilton can’t infuse either his characters or the situation with any sort of believable emotion. It takes more than just “macho talking” to infuse a book with manly feelings.

This Starwolf trilogy was ok, but it certainly wasn’t a grand slam in terms of showcasing Hamilton’s talents. If he HAS talents that is. The Jury is still out on that particular question. I do have one of those megapacks and I’m debating whether to dive into it or to leave Hamilton alone. He wasn’t bad but he wasn’t that good either.
★★★☆☆

From Bookstooge.blog

Captain Dilullo has retired but has found that you can’t go back home. Chane is bored as well and enlists all the Mercs to raid a hidden planet where a galaxy’s worth of wealth is hidden away by evil geniuses. They fail and are taken hostage by another criminal as the price of their failure. Chane manages to escape to the world of the Starwolves and finagles them into raiding the hidden planet. He succeeds and gets the most valuable piece of the treasure for himself. This buys the Mercs’ freedom and sets them all up for financial freedom. The book ends with Dilullo and Chane both realizing that you can’t go backwards to where you came from.

Saturday, February 24, 2024

The Closed Worlds (Starwolf #2) 3.5Stars

Title: The Closed Worlds
Series: Starwolf #2
Author: Edmond Hamilton
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 151
Words: 46K

This was MUCH better than the previous story. This had all the adventure and daring-do that I was expecting from a golden age SF writer. Chane the Starwolf plays a part but not the central part. He is now definitely part of the Mercenary group and not some Lone Wolf (ha!) all by himself.

Most of the action took place on the planet as the Mercs, led by one of the woman of the Opposition, tried to find out a rich archeologist. They ran into some decidely deadly created life forms several times and I thought Hamilton did a great job of showing how deadly the creatures were, either singly or in a massive pack. Of course, they weren’t enough to stop Chane the Starwolf, but come on, he wouldn’t be much of a hero if they had.

Another aspect that I liked was that when Chane was caught in the Astral Projection Machine, trying to rescue the woman, he fought tooth and nail to get back to where his body was. He wasn’t just tough in body, but in mind and spirit. During his time he visited the Starwolves’ home planet, which set things up nicely for the final book in this trilogy.

This was just the right length, with just the right amount of spaceships, just the right amount of jungle and freakish creatures and just the right amount of hand to hand fighting. Had a very good time while reading this and am now looking forward to more of Hamilton’s works.

★★★✬☆

From Wikipedia & Bookstooge.blog

Synopsis – Click to Open

While on Earth, Morgan Chane, captain Dilullo, Bollard, and others once again team up to get a new mission. This time they are hired by a wealthy earth businessman and trader James Ashton for $500k to find his brother, Randall Ashton, who disappeared in the Closed Worlds. The latter are notable for being so dangerous and so mysterious that even starwolves don’t dare to step their foot on – they have laws that bar them from landing on Arkuu, the planet of the Closed World, where natives don’t wellcome anyone. The mercs accept the deadly offer and leave for the Closed Worlds.

The Mercs find evidence of Randall and his crew. With the help of a woman of the Closed Worlds who is in opposition to the policy, set out to find the lost expedition. They are pursued by government forces. The Mercs find Randall, who has re-discovered what the Closed Worlds were trying to hide, an astral projection machine for the mind that allowed the user to wander the universe as long as the body was taken care of. It was destructively addictive and was the reason the Closed Worlds shut themselves off from Galactic Civilization. The Mercs rescue Randall against his will and the woman figures out a way to make use of the machine that won’t be destructive.

Sunday, January 07, 2024

The Weapon from Beyond (Starwolf #1) 3Stars

Title: The Weapon from Beyond
Series: Starwolf #1
Author: Edmond Hamilton
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 158
Words: 47K

I would have enjoyed this a lot more 15-20 years ago, maybe even 30.

Hamilton either didn’t know that space is three dimensional and thus when giving out coordinates, you need an X, a Y AND a Z or he was using terms that I am quite familiar with in ways they weren’t meant to be used. You can’t navigate space using degrees and azimuths as separate things, because they ARE the same thing. What Hamilton needed was “declination”, the up/down part of describing movement within a globe. So yelling out “they are heading out at fourteen degrees and double that for the azimuth” is absolute nonsense. It is meaningless technobabble, but it’s not really technobabble, but misapplied terminology to what we already do know. This is why authors need to be careful. Because some guy is going to come along and read their book and he is going to know the meaning behind the babble and will simply shake his head in disgust and say things like “this is for kids”.

Other than that, this was a decent SF adventure story about some guy all by himself moving from one group to another. Very macho and heroic and manly. I still need to read stories with those elements, I just need them woven in a bit more subtly. Like I said, 16year old me would have glomped onto this like I did with Wayfarer back in the day.

Finally, the cover. While it’s old skool to the max (this was published in 1967), it actually has a scene from the story instead of just some random picture of a space guy. Covers should be representative of what is inside, not just a lure to get you to pick the book up (they can be both and I have zero issues with the lure line of thought, it just needs to take a subordinate position).

★★★☆☆

From Wikipedia

Click to Open

Starwolf is a series of three novels by Edmond Hamilton featuring heavy-worlder Morgan Chane. Chane was the son of a human missionary family to a heavier-than-Earth-normal world (higher gravity) of Viking-like aliens. During the years of his life, his parents died and left him an orphan to be incorporated into the Starwolf society. As an adult he felt himself to be as much a Starwolf as his alien companions. After a dispute over plunder with a fellow Starwolf (leaving the other Starwolf dead), Chane flees (under threat of death) from Starwolf society. As a fugitive and hiding his ex-Starwolf status (the rest of the galaxy “declares a holiday when a Starwolf is killed”), Chane becomes part of a “Merc” human mercenary group commanded by a Merc named John Dilullo.

While in intersteallar space Morgan Chane survives a deadly chase by his ex-fellow robbers from Varnan, Starwolves, one of which he killed in a self-defence. On his escape he gets captured by an experienced starship captain, Dilullo from Earth who is leading a group of Mercs (mercenaries) with a mission to a planet called Kharal. Captain saves him, but quickly learns that he is one of Starwolves, well known robbers who raided almost entire galaxy and whom it’s usual to kill on spot. Learning about his trouble, captain Dilullo offers him to join his mission to Kharal and share reward. As usual for Mercs, the mission promised to be dangerous so in exchange for his help Captain offered to keep origin of Morgan Chane secret. After landing on Kharal they learn about details, reward, and about enemies of Kharal, the planet Vhol who they are at war with, and who are about to obtain super weapons capable to destroy entire Kharal. Mercs accept their mission and are tasked to find weapon’s whereabouts and destroy it before enemies of Kharali can use it. While on the Kharal, Morgan Chane gets jailed for trouble with natives of the planet. While in prison he gest contacted by Captain Dilullo who then tasks Morgan Chane with releaseing a Vhollian officer named Yorolin who was interrogated by Kharalli from the same prison where he was held.

Morgan Chane gets the job done and the team leaves for the Vhol unnoticed with prisoners on board. There, with great effort and trouble they learn about whereabouts of superweapons and set out toward nebulae. Vhol-lans send a cruiser after them. On their way they face Starwolves once again, but luckily appeared Vhol-lans cruiser gets involved and gives a chance for Mercs to escape the battle. By tracing cruiser’s path, they reach nebulae’s planet where super weapons were expected to be found, but find only enormous intergalactic spaceship wreckage. Mercs captured vhol-lans scientists present at the ship who explained that there was no super weapons and this ship belonged to an ancient powerful alien race called Krii, who accidentally landed on the planet, but survived in stasis for many years and were awaiting their rescuing fellows Krii-s who were expected to appear soon.

Mercs learn that Vhol-lans had one of their cruisers survived the battle with Starwolves and both landed on the planet. They prepared to storm Mercs positions, but soon the fight was interrupted by Krii-s second super-ship appearance. By using some unknown technology Krii-s made all weapons, power plants, and engines on the planet “frozen” and useless. Krii came to save their fellows and what was on the wrecked ship. Once they finished their job, the wreackage gets destroyed by Krii, leaving only trail in the sands and second ship disappears.

Mercs quckly depart for Kharal to get reward and set their way towards Earth.