This page is now complete. 8 books reviewed by Pangborn in this segment.
Cover art by Ark Wong
Edgar Pangborn (1909-1976) was an American musician, composer, and writer. His mother and sister both were writers of supernatural fiction. Many of his musical compositions only came to light after the year 2000. His first SF story was published in 1951, in Galaxy.
This novel, as the cover states, won the International Fantasy Award in 1955. This was an annual award that ran from 1951 to 1957 (not given in 1956) in the UK. There was an award for the best fiction novel, and also one for non-fiction, in the field of SF or fantasy. Some of the other winners were George Collier, Arthur C. Clarke, Theodore Sturgeon, and Tolkien (for LOR)! So Pangborn is in rather good company. The award was chosen by a panel of experts and given out at small, invitation-only gatherings. Read more here if interested.
This novel, as the cover states, won the International Fantasy Award in 1955. This was an annual award that ran from 1951 to 1957 (not given in 1956) in the UK. There was an award for the best fiction novel, and also one for non-fiction, in the field of SF or fantasy. Some of the other winners were George Collier, Arthur C. Clarke, Theodore Sturgeon, and Tolkien (for LOR)! So Pangborn is in rather good company. The award was chosen by a panel of experts and given out at small, invitation-only gatherings. Read more here if interested.
Looking back through the wonderful books read so far in this remarkable series, the word "masterpiece" has not yet reared its inevitable head. Many readers today, especially younger ones, seem to want nothing to do with the old guard of SF writers. They assume, sometimes correctly but more often incorrectly, that these books are dated beyond repair and can offer the modern reader nothing worthwhile. This blog is not likely to change anyone's mind about such things. However, keep in mind that humans and their problems haven't changed that much over the years (centuries), and neither has biology or chemistry. Aliens have pretty much been anticipated in all their strange forms, too. Thus, much writing from the 1940s and 50s is still actually quite as valid today as it was way back then.
A Mirror For Observers seems to come closest to earning an approved (by me) "Masterpiece" rating. In my previous blog discussing the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series, I used a 5-star rating system, awarding the highest rating to several unqualified masterpieces of fantasy. Restricting myself to a 4-star system for this blog has worked fine, until now. If I could, I would award this novel 4 1/2 *s. That is indicated by a "plus" sign following the rating, below.
The three main characters are all fascinating, and include the Martian observer, Angelo the child genius, and Sharon, the little girl who could (and did). Though the characters are all unrelated, and one is an alien, they form one of the best families I have ever come across in any fiction. It is the relationship between them that moves the story along, and not so much the plot, wherein a "bad" Martian wants to create anarchy on Earth and essentially wipe out the population, thus allowing the remaining Martians, very small in number, to take over. The "good" Martians don't want to do things this way, and have other plans for being welcomed someday by humans. And so it is the relationship between people that counts here, and how they learn from one another and grow closer together despite obvious differences.
It is also a story that has very strong moral beliefs, and isn't afraid to stick to them, something that seems to have gone out of fashion in a lot of modern writing. There are so many wonderful quotable parts to this book, and the second time I come to it I will do so with notebook in hand. The book is also very special to me as I have finally come across a SF writer who knows and understands great music, especially Bach. Some writers pay lip service to music without really knowing much about it or understanding it even a little. Pangborn knows his stuff, and it added immensely to my enjoyment. He also knows his Plato and his Ethics, and his human beings.
This is likely my favourite novel to date in this series. The entire Avon series should be read by SF buffs of any age, but this novel will always have a special place on my bookshelf. Highly recommended.
****+ stars. Reviewed May 13th/17
My version of West of the Sun came from this Kindle edition.
WEST OF THE SUN
Jacket of the Doubleday edition.
Pangborn's first SF novel is from 1953, two years before his masterpiece A Mirror For Observers. A lot of growth took place in that time. At 224 pages, West of the Sun is a good, sturdy SF novel. It is one of those novels that hasn't dated itself much, as it takes place on an alien planet and features aliens. Those type of planets never really date themselves very much if skillfully handled.
Six people from Earth take 12 years to travel to a planet around another sun. Their landing leaves a lot to be desired, and they end up losing a lot of what they brought with them, including books, when the main ship crashes and sinks into a very deep lake. They are soon beset by formidable native creatures, and natives. One type of humanoid is over 8 feet tall. The others are pygmies.
The first part of the book describes their first few weeks as they become established and make contact with intelligent life forms. There is quite a bit of Edgar Rice Burroughs in this story, along with some H. Rider Haggard. The humans find that their voices are not properly pitched to speak the native languages, so they set out to teach English to the natives. They make friends, and seem to be getting along quite well.
The second part of the book takes up things a year after their arrival, as they and their new allies prepare for war against the dominant Pygmy tribe. Our side is vastly outnumbered and know they are going to lose. However, the leader of the human expedition has located an island, a safe refuge, and plans to lead everyone there. The battles are gruesome, and most of the allies are killed or wounded, and their villages destroyed. A very few manage to make it to the island. This part of the book is quite exciting, again giving flashbacks to Burroughs and Haggard.
The final part of the book is also the shortest, and begins 10 years after landing. Things have settled down quite a bit on the island paradise, and the three kinds of human survivors have set up a pretty decent version of Utopia. Another ship from Earth arrives, and the book ends shortly after its arrival. One of the original humans, Spearman, more or less goes insane. He never could stand the others, and only listened to his own advice. He tries to take over the winning (alien) side after the main battle in Year 1, and does a damn poor job of it. However, because of his actions the island colony, bolstered by four new recruits from Earth, will be left alone to develop without any further interference for a very long time.
The book is realistic in many ways, and obviously fiction in others. Pangborn develops a wonderful society of many types of people (and animals), and allows them all to get along. The Earth people become like gods to the natives, who learn truths from them, as well as how to think for themselves, and learn about others. The very best ideals of Earth are passed on, with no illusions of planet Earth itself being in any great way like those ideals. However, it is always worth a try to get things right if the opportunity arises, and Pangborn, though stretching our credulity to its limit, works hard at making us believe that it is possible. I like optimism as much as the next person, especially if there is some probability of it working out.
This is a good book, and quite amazing as a first SF novel. Often these kind of attempts of settling other planets don't quite work out so well (Farmer, Russell, Anthony, and others). This time at least, things seem to be going in the right direction.
*** stars.
WILDERNESS OF SPRING
A hardcover print edition. I read the e-book megapack version.
From 1958 comes this epic novel (374 pages) of Massachusetts in the very early 1700s. The story follows two young brothers, Ben and Reuben Cory. The boys are 14 years old and 12 years old at the beginning, and we follow their growth for four years. This well written and highly researched story begins in Deerfield, MA in 1704, during the actual infamous raid of the village by the French, and natives under their control. With their parents killed in front of their eyes, and their house and village in flames, the boys escape into the late February night with a servant.
The book is divided into three sections, and Part One deals with the boys' travels through the winter wilderness as they escape to the house of their grandmother. As she is a cruel-hearted and unforgiving Puritan, they soon abandon her abode in nearby Hatfield, making for Roxbury/Boston to be with their uncle. Thankfully, we escape most of the hideous history of what passed for religion back then, though we get enough of it to leave a wretched taste in our mouth.
In Part Two the boys grow up living with their kindly and wise uncle, and are tutored in the Classics and Latin by a live-in teacher. Ben, the eldest, discovers girls, and younger Reuben makes friends with an older man, a physician who becomes his mentor and best friend. The boys are constantly questioning things, learning about life, and always supporting one another through any trials that may occur. We also see them growing in totally different directions from one another.
Part Three sees the boys split apart, as Ben is kidnapped and spends an adventuresome year at sea, while Reuben continues his studies with his physician friend and the home tutor. Reuben is the scholar of the two, and Ben the one yearning to go to sea.
This is a bold book for 1958, as Pangborn does not allow religion to cloud the boys' thoughts, nor their uncle's. They still have to lay low on the Sabbath, but they never appear at church. Both boys pretty much gave up on God when they saw their parents brutally murdered. Also, Reuben turns out to be gay, so not interested at all in girls. He realizes that if anyone ever finds this out that he will likely be hung. Likewise with his older physician friend. Both are interested in the pursuit of knowledge, especially how it applies to the study of medicine and healing. It is people like this that move society along, certainly not the ones who pray all day and then damn others because they do not pray.
In telling the story, the author allows the boys their inner voices, and we get to follow their thinking process as events unfold. Pangborn's story also jumps around a lot, as the boys flash back to events from that fateful night in Deerfield, and other events that have occurred. In other words, the author sometimes captures exactly how our minds work.
While I really enjoyed Part One and Part Two, I found Part Three just a little tiresome sometimes, as Ben must wait a year on board the ship before he can act against the pirates he sails with against his wishes. During that year he becomes a man, mostly by growing physically strong and morally incorruptible, and very soon afterwards he finally makes his decisive move towards freedom. It's not that the writing suffers here, or the story. I just like the parts where the brothers are physically together much more than when they are separated. They have a strong, very unique loving bond with one another, and Pangborn handles this so expertly.
Of the many minor characters in the story, the one that really stands out is Charity, younger sister of the girl Ben is wooing. She is sketched in wonderful detail, despite her somewhat rare appearances. At thirteen she falls hopelessly in love with Ben, through one or two innocent small acts of kindness he shows towards her. Another colourful character is Jesse Plum, who only appears in Book One, but is often in the boys' thoughts. He escaped Deerfield with the boys, but is badly wounded when his own gun explodes during the battle.
Though clearly a novel of historical fiction, it is not a romance story. And this is not a book I would have ever picked up and read on my own. Only after deciding to read all of Pangborn's fiction, thanks to his wonderful novel in the Avon/Equinox series, did I find myself undertaking the challenge. Pangborn is a gifted writer, and I am really happy to have come across this novel. I can highly recommend it.
***1/2 stars. Reviewed July 12th/17
This is a bold book for 1958, as Pangborn does not allow religion to cloud the boys' thoughts, nor their uncle's. They still have to lay low on the Sabbath, but they never appear at church. Both boys pretty much gave up on God when they saw their parents brutally murdered. Also, Reuben turns out to be gay, so not interested at all in girls. He realizes that if anyone ever finds this out that he will likely be hung. Likewise with his older physician friend. Both are interested in the pursuit of knowledge, especially how it applies to the study of medicine and healing. It is people like this that move society along, certainly not the ones who pray all day and then damn others because they do not pray.
In telling the story, the author allows the boys their inner voices, and we get to follow their thinking process as events unfold. Pangborn's story also jumps around a lot, as the boys flash back to events from that fateful night in Deerfield, and other events that have occurred. In other words, the author sometimes captures exactly how our minds work.
While I really enjoyed Part One and Part Two, I found Part Three just a little tiresome sometimes, as Ben must wait a year on board the ship before he can act against the pirates he sails with against his wishes. During that year he becomes a man, mostly by growing physically strong and morally incorruptible, and very soon afterwards he finally makes his decisive move towards freedom. It's not that the writing suffers here, or the story. I just like the parts where the brothers are physically together much more than when they are separated. They have a strong, very unique loving bond with one another, and Pangborn handles this so expertly.
Of the many minor characters in the story, the one that really stands out is Charity, younger sister of the girl Ben is wooing. She is sketched in wonderful detail, despite her somewhat rare appearances. At thirteen she falls hopelessly in love with Ben, through one or two innocent small acts of kindness he shows towards her. Another colourful character is Jesse Plum, who only appears in Book One, but is often in the boys' thoughts. He escaped Deerfield with the boys, but is badly wounded when his own gun explodes during the battle.
Though clearly a novel of historical fiction, it is not a romance story. And this is not a book I would have ever picked up and read on my own. Only after deciding to read all of Pangborn's fiction, thanks to his wonderful novel in the Avon/Equinox series, did I find myself undertaking the challenge. Pangborn is a gifted writer, and I am really happy to have come across this novel. I can highly recommend it.
***1/2 stars. Reviewed July 12th/17
THE TRIAL OF CALLISTA BLAKE
http://cache.coverbrowser.com/image/dell-books/2093-1.jpg
I read the Kindle version from the Edgar Pangborn Megapack, pictured just below the top of this page. The novel was published in 1961, and runs to just over 300 pages. Pangborn was obviously trying to leave SF writing behind him. Either that, or he did not like to repeat himself. This courtroom drama certainly is an unpredictable turn from his previous novels.
As in Wilderness of Spring, Pangborn has the uncanny ability to tell a story from inside the heads of many characters. This time he concentrates on four main characters, and the narrative flows mostly from the shifting viewpoint of one or the other of these people. Callista Blake, 19 years, is accused of killing the wife of her former lover, and the circumstantial evidence is enough to get her tried on 1st degree murder, which brings the death penalty. Her attorney is Cecil Warner, 68, a friend and someone who mostly understands her complex, artistic, aloof personality. Edith Nolan, 38ish, is Callista's employer at her own photo portrait studio, and is also Callista's best friend. Terrance Mann, 48, is the judge who has the bad luck to draw this case, his first regarding penalty by death. The trial will change him drastically forever.
Like the Salem Witch Trials, which is referred to, Callista is doomed because she is so different from those around her in the community. She is an outsider, not like other people, is attractive to men, and has an off-colour sense of humour. That is enough right there for many people to wish her dead. Her mother is a religious flake who does not understand nor love her daughter at all. Callista's dad died when she was 7, but she loved him and clings to the few fleeting memories of him she has. He, too, was an artist, but mom destroyed all his works upon his death, and forbade his sister and her husband to have any contact with Callista. If anyone is guilty of a major crime in this story, it is mom.
Anyway, we get an excellent blow by blow of the trial, which is pretty simple and straight forward. Though the plot moves slowly ahead bit by bit, we keep reliving memories, thoughts, ideas, and distractions from within the heads of the four main characters. Rather than distractions, these become insights into the thinking process of intelligent people who believe the death penalty has no place in a truly civilized society, and that no one has the right to judge another person and condemn them to death. Though all four characters are interesting and likable, it is Judge Dunn, an amateur pianist, that really steals the show. He is not a complex man, but has the ability to see deeply into things at a glance. He likely knows Callista is guilty, but of what? Certainly not of first degree murder.
This is an excellent story, another masterpiece I would not have come across it had it not been for Pangborn's inclusion in the Avon/Equinox library, and my curiosity to go beyond the books in that series and read more works by those authors. This one is highly recommended, more so if you enjoy courtroom drama at its very best.
**** stars. Reviewed Aug. 15th/17
DAVY
From 1964. 1982 edition cover art by Boris!
Pangborn wrote very few novels, and sadly I am coming towards the end of them. Nine years after writing A Mirror for Observers, Pangborn returned to SF, following up from his riveting historical drama Wilderness of Spring, and a superb courtroom drama, The Trial of Callista Blake. The references to music in Davy certainly bring to mind Pangborn, himself a composer and a musician. But as for the rest of the story, he has once again completely reinvented himself as a writer. This story is a little bit like Huck Finn, Three Men In a Boat, and a 60s road trip! It goes without saying that it is a bit tricky to categorize.
The story takes place just over 300 years after a world wide catastrophic atomic war, and the action focusses on the geography of the American Eastern seaboard, in and around the original colonies of 1776. Davy is 14 and bound for greater things than simply being a lowly servant at an inn. He is an orphan and has no last name. The society in which he lives is essentially medieval, with technology suppressed by the "Murcan Church." Many babies are born deformed, and are usually killed at that time.
There are three inter-related narratives in the novel, all told in the present tense, which forms one of the stories. An educated Davy writes his memoirs later in life on one of the Azore Islands, where he and a number of friends have escaped to start their lives over, without church interference. Most of Davy's book details the adventures of the 14 year old Davy, a time of awakening for him. He leaves his fortified town and girlfriend, takes up with two other men and a woman, then eventually becomes a member of the Ramblers, a travelling group of entertainers. The adventures chronicled are often very funny, though a few are deadly serious and life-changing for Davy, and some are quite mundane, the sort of things that could happen to anyone during a busy lifetime.
Algis Budrys reviewed the book at the time, and though he praised aspects of it, he strongly disliked it overall. I think he may have missed the point of the book. Davy is not your average post-apocalyptic character. He is searching for something meaningful, and very often catches hold of it, but only temporarily. His childhood orphanage friendship with Caron is one meaningful thing, his brief love affair with the landlord's daughter in his home village is another, as is his fellowship with Sam and Jed and Vilet, along with his four years with the Ramblers, and his most recent times with Nickie and Dion. None of these meaningful relationships were lasting; events either conspired to disrupt or take lives, or Davy felt it was time to move on. Even at the very end of the book, Davy is still moving on, looking for something.
What is that something? Well, for one thing he is looking for healthy signs of Old Times, before the atomic destruction. He can't believe much of what he reads and hears about those days, and wants to discover for himself how things might be better than they have been in his lifetime. For another, he is filled with the wanderer's spirit, and probably isn't happy unless he is moving on to new horizons. And of course he is searching for himself, often without knowing it. Who is he, what is he, why is he? These are the age old questions that face intelligent people every day of their lives. When you cut things right down to the core, Pangborn gives us a peek at a character that many of us might find pretty fascinating. It is a small slice of life, featuring someone no one ever heard of, and who no one ever will hear about. Davy is like many of us readers. We aren't meant to be fully enlightened by this book. And yet we are meant to be slightly more than just entertained. I found the book difficult at times, and a breeze to read at others. All in all, it is one of the best books I've ever read.
One example of some very funny humour can be found on page 163 of my 1982 Del Ray edition. Davy is drunk, though we don't discover this until the next page. He is writing late at night about a past experience of staying in a crappy room at an inn. The entire page of writing is devoted to the topic of bedbugs, and has to be one of the funniest monologues I have ever read. Yet at the same time we learn a lot from this page, and not only about bedbugs! Other funny anecdotes have to do with Davy stealing clothes from a clothesline, and the adventures that entails. Again, while being highly entertained by the proceedings, we also learn a lot about the times, about people who are out to make a fast buck, and we learn that often we never get to learn the end of a story. Life does go on in places, even when we aren't there.
I recommend this book very highly. It can barely be called SF, especially since most science has been banned by the church. The skewering that Pangborn gives to priests, churches, and religion is relentless and, to me, life-affirming, and one of the main reasons I loved reading this book, and will read it again. I will also force it upon my friends.
**** stars. Reviewed October 13th/17
THE COMPANY OF GLORY
Cover artist uncredited (it is signed, but I can't read it).
It is a very silly cover for this book anyway.
From 1975 comes this 174 page novel, taking place 50 years after an atomic war has devastated the world. It can be considered either a follow-up novel to Davy (see above), or a prequel to it. Davy takes place in very similar settings, but 250 years after the present story. Instead of a young boy, our hero is a 60-year old man. He was 13 when the world was bombed, and survived the earthquakes that came after, as well as the plagues.
He is a fascinating character, one who loves to tell stories. Aside from his job as a janitor and gardener at a local house of prostitution, he will often go into the village and put out his hat, telling stories for some added income. His stories, especially of the past history of the present town, are eventually outlawed, and Demetrios must move on.
Though the novel eventually becomes a road trip (walking, of course), a large part of it is set in the home village of Nuber. Here we are introduced to his friends and a lover, and we get a lot of background on Old Time (pre-atomic blast) and where some of the older people came from and how they survived. Those born after the blast don't seem that curious about the wonders of Old Time, though Demetrios, when telling his stories, has a way of drawing them in.
The novel carries in it much wisdom, simple wisdom. Pangborn writes like he has been writing at a high level for a very long time. His style is assured, his pacing is balanced (some slower parts, some very fast, some just at a walking speed), and his characters are drawn deeply and with great sensitivity. This is a short novel that manages to illuminate at least ten important characters in its pages, plus several minor ones, and is a treasure chest to behold.
Near the end of the book we learn who it was that actually narrated and wrote it, adding a nice touch of realism to a story that sometimes passes slowly as though through a great fog. Like Davy, the small company that eventually leaves Nuber, heading west, is looking for something. With the Midwest now a vast inland sea, they set their sights on settling upon a large island somewhere, and forming a small (perhaps large someday) republic of democracy.
This is a soft and tender story, and vastly different from the pacing and events of Davy. Either book can (and should) stand on its own. I'm not certain that both of them would appeal to the same reader, though in my case I consider them both masterpieces. Rembrandt painted self-portraits throughout his life, with his later ones becoming much more skillful and interesting than his earlier ones. If Davy can be considered an early masterpiece, than Company of Glory is a later one, with too much going on for me to be satisfied with one reading. A second reading of both books is a must, but I am looking forward to this later one again a tiny bit more. In my opinion this is required reading, and not just for SF fans.
**** stars. Reviewed Nov. 23rd/17
Page proofread on April 8th, 2019
GOOD NEIGHBOURS AND OTHER STRANGERS
Cover art by Andrew J. Rhodes.
A collection of 10 short stories published in 1972; this edition is 195 pages long.
Good Neighbours is 8 pages long. A 4-mile long escaped livestock creature floats over the Earth, eventually crashing and dying atop New York City. The alien spacecraft from which it escaped sends an apology, and a monetary reimbursement. A tragic tory but also quite funny.
*** stars.
A Better Mousehole is 15 pages long. An explorer finds an odd sphere on one of his jaunts, and brings it back home with him. Blue insects eventually hatch, and as they bite and suck blood from their victims they provide incredible dreams. An odd tale, with an even odder ending.
*** stars.
Longtooth is 54 pages, being more of a novelette. It rings with echoes of Lovecraft, with its snowbound setting in the deep woods of Maine. It lacks some of the eerie premonitions of Lovecraft, and the evil in the woods here has not contaminated the natural environment. However, the story, which is masterfully written and told, folds upon itself at the very end. Hoping for something a bit different, Pangborn gives us just another taste of an unusual event occurring with very few witnesses, and by the end of the story no credible evidence whatsoever is left behind. After the events unfold, only one man remains alive who really knows what happened, and he has no way of convincing anyone else of the truth. The ending thus had to be heavily manipulated, and it is. I would have to give too much away to back up my statement. Let me just say that the person who was shot did not need to be, and the person who should have been shot was not. No logic can explain this, nor does the author even try. It merely allows for all evidence to be washed away. A good story, but I found the ending frustrating.
*** stars.
Maxwell's Monkey is 10 pages long. A man is shadowed by his shadow, which happens to be rather simian in appearance. With difficulty it manages to stay with him throughout the day at the office in New York. It seems to be getting larger and larger, as is the monkey shadow of his new girlfriend from the office. A quick trip to see Mr. Pangborn soon sets everything straight. Amusing.
**1/2 stars.
The Ponsonby Case is 18 pages long. An officer of the law is summoned to the elephant enclosure at the zoo, and finds a naked man wearing only slippers sitting on the hay. We learn the unusual circumstances of his experience through the policeman's official report. Very funny, and reminiscent of something that Harry Harrison might have written.
***1/2 stars.
Pickup For Olympus is 5 pages long. A man and woman stop at a small service station in the country to ask for directions. The attendant is totally seduced by the vehicle, and has a one track mind concerning it during the short stopover. He fails to notice some important details about the driver and his companions, both female and animal. A fun story, and not without some scientific truth to it about failing to observe rather imposing details when one's mind is fixed on another task.
*** stars.
Darius is 6 pages long. Darius is a cat who accompanies a man on October 31st to a nearby knoll. After some strange lights and fireworks were seen up there, the cat returns, alone. This is a humourous but quite strange and subtle story. I had to read it twice.
**1/2 stars.
Wogglebeast is 12 pages long. It is a sad and tragic tale about a woman who could never conceive, but after making a wish known to her tiny wogglebeast, she is suddenly pregnant. None of it ends well, but the little beastie did try.
*** stars.
Angel's Egg is 44 pages long, and was Pangborn's first published story. It's one of those rare, very beautiful stories that promises hope from a first encounter with aliens. This is the best story in the book, and one of the best SF novelettes I have ever read. Find it and read it.
**** stars.
The Wrens In Grandpa's Whiskers is 14 pages long. Bird-like critters are nesting in great grandpa's very long beard. He sits out on the porch all summer with them. Three broods make it! A lovely little story, full of wisdom, peace, and humour. Recommended.
***1/2 stars.
Reviews completed Dec. 26th/17
**1/2 stars.
The Ponsonby Case is 18 pages long. An officer of the law is summoned to the elephant enclosure at the zoo, and finds a naked man wearing only slippers sitting on the hay. We learn the unusual circumstances of his experience through the policeman's official report. Very funny, and reminiscent of something that Harry Harrison might have written.
***1/2 stars.
Pickup For Olympus is 5 pages long. A man and woman stop at a small service station in the country to ask for directions. The attendant is totally seduced by the vehicle, and has a one track mind concerning it during the short stopover. He fails to notice some important details about the driver and his companions, both female and animal. A fun story, and not without some scientific truth to it about failing to observe rather imposing details when one's mind is fixed on another task.
*** stars.
Darius is 6 pages long. Darius is a cat who accompanies a man on October 31st to a nearby knoll. After some strange lights and fireworks were seen up there, the cat returns, alone. This is a humourous but quite strange and subtle story. I had to read it twice.
**1/2 stars.
Wogglebeast is 12 pages long. It is a sad and tragic tale about a woman who could never conceive, but after making a wish known to her tiny wogglebeast, she is suddenly pregnant. None of it ends well, but the little beastie did try.
*** stars.
Angel's Egg is 44 pages long, and was Pangborn's first published story. It's one of those rare, very beautiful stories that promises hope from a first encounter with aliens. This is the best story in the book, and one of the best SF novelettes I have ever read. Find it and read it.
**** stars.
The Wrens In Grandpa's Whiskers is 14 pages long. Bird-like critters are nesting in great grandpa's very long beard. He sits out on the porch all summer with them. Three broods make it! A lovely little story, full of wisdom, peace, and humour. Recommended.
***1/2 stars.
Reviews completed Dec. 26th/17
STILL I PERSIST IN WONDERING
Cover art uncredited
Published in 1978, the book contains 7 short stories that are related to the world of Davy, The Judgement of Eve, and The Company of Glory. I highly recommend reading these three novels first. There are 288 pages in this volume altogether. These include one of the best forwards I have ever read. The Country Called Edgar: A Personal Memoir by Spider Robinson is required reading, in my opinion. Out of all the wonderful Avon/Equinox authors I have been introduced to by reading this series, Pangborn has come out as my favourite so far. Reading this short introductory essay reaffirms my belief that Pangborn is likely one of the most under-appreciated authors to have ever lived. The book concludes with a bibliography of the author's published works. Several shorter works are not available to readers to this day.
The Children's Crusade is from 1974, and is 53 pages long. Malachi Peters of Melton Village joins a religious crusade that passes through town, luring most of the young people along with it. As the village elder and mostly wise man, he is not going along for the usual reason. Rather, his young protege Jesse has been lured into joining the crusade, so Malachi goes along to keep an eye on him. The story is wonderful, and is about many things. At its core, though, it is about a young boy suddenly growing up and becoming an adult. It is a beautiful story, one of the best I have ever read. Highly recommended, if you have read Davy.
**** stars.
Harper Conan and Singer David is from 1975, and is 33 pages long. Two young and gifted musicians team up and try to spread their art and talent across the countryside. The story contains some of the best discussion and words about music that I have ever come across. A truly wonderful story, with special meaning if you are, like me, a musician. Worth many readings.
**** stars.
The Legend of Hombas is from 1974, and is 24 pages long. This is a story about a man who had the chance to abolish Death, and chose to set it free again from its captivity. Why would someone do that? Read the story and find out. Gentle and wise, the story could easily be turned into a wonderful oration, in the old tradition of story-telling. A masterpiece of fiction.
**** stars.
Tiger Boy is from 1972, and is 38 pages long. The subtitle of this story collection is "Tales of a darkening world." The main title, Still I Persist In Wondering, has more words that come after it. The rest goes like this..."whether folly must always be our nemesis." That should be warning enough for what is to come, but for me it wasn't. Ignorance and superstition win out over beauty, love, and poetry. And if you are different from others, beware, especially in a Pangborn story. A very sad story. Too sad.
*** stars.
The Witches of Nupal is from 1974, and is 27 pages long. A coven of teenagers gets up to a bit of mischief in the woods at night, following a charismatic older boy. A few girls from the village decide to take their revenge when they are not allowed to join. Remember the Salem witch trials? This is a repeat performance, Pangborn style. When an old woman gets blamed for bewitching the girls, she is beaten and sent to jail. A good turn is done to free her, but the older boy who leads the coven goes too far in his revenge. The story starts out innocently enough, but ends tragically and unpredictably.
**** stars.
My Brother Leopold is from 1973, and is 64 pages long. It is another story of religious persecution, as an innocent and loving man is accused of blasphemy. While these stories take place in a fictional post-apocalyptic world, they strongly echo real tales from religious history, and even contemporary accounts. This story, despite its inevitably graceless ending, has an added twist of the knife waiting for readers. Pangborn continues to express his distrust and distaste for organized religion, and their intolerance of anyone different from themselves. He has my full support.
**** stars.
The Night Wind is from 1974 and is 25 pages long. It might be the finest short story ever written. At the very least it is in the top ten. Not to be missed. Exceptionally fine story telling.
****+ stars. Reviews completed January 27th/18
*** stars.
The Witches of Nupal is from 1974, and is 27 pages long. A coven of teenagers gets up to a bit of mischief in the woods at night, following a charismatic older boy. A few girls from the village decide to take their revenge when they are not allowed to join. Remember the Salem witch trials? This is a repeat performance, Pangborn style. When an old woman gets blamed for bewitching the girls, she is beaten and sent to jail. A good turn is done to free her, but the older boy who leads the coven goes too far in his revenge. The story starts out innocently enough, but ends tragically and unpredictably.
**** stars.
My Brother Leopold is from 1973, and is 64 pages long. It is another story of religious persecution, as an innocent and loving man is accused of blasphemy. While these stories take place in a fictional post-apocalyptic world, they strongly echo real tales from religious history, and even contemporary accounts. This story, despite its inevitably graceless ending, has an added twist of the knife waiting for readers. Pangborn continues to express his distrust and distaste for organized religion, and their intolerance of anyone different from themselves. He has my full support.
**** stars.
The Night Wind is from 1974 and is 25 pages long. It might be the finest short story ever written. At the very least it is in the top ten. Not to be missed. Exceptionally fine story telling.
****+ stars. Reviews completed January 27th/18
The Music Master of Babylon is from 1954, a stand-alone story in my Gollanz Kindle megapack edition of works by Pangborn. The 25 or so pages first appeared in Galaxy SF Magazine in November of that year. Tied in to the world of Davy, the story takes place 25 years after the final war has left America devastated. An old man, once a concert pianist, lives alone in a great museum. He has not seen or heard anyone in 25 years. He is eventually visited by a young couple in search of an elder to marry them. The pair of elders they lived with recently died, and they need a new one. Yet another very beautiful story, though the ending is a bit frustrating. There are so few very good SF stories about music. This one, along with A Mirror For Observers, is greatly treasured by me.
**** stars. Reviewed January 29th/18
Page proofread on April 8th, 2019
Mapman Mike
