"...the Lords have inherited their weapons. What they haven't inherited or taken from others, they cannot get. The race has lost its ancient wisdom and skill; it has become users, consumers, not creators. So, a Lord must use what he has. And if these weapons do not cover every contingency, if they leave holes in the armor, then they can be penetrated.
"There is another aspect to this. The Lords fight for their lives and fight to kill each other. But most have lived too long. They weary of everything. They want to die. Deep in the abyss of their minds, below the thousands of strata of the years of too much power and too little love, they want to die. And so, there are cracks in the walls."
"The Gates of Creation" is the second book in Farmer's World of Tiers series, and was first published in 1966. I have yet to read the other books in this series.
The novel is centered around Robert Wolff, also known as Jadawin, a member of a race called the Lords. The Lords are godlike beings, who maintain their godhood through technologies others have invented. The Lords, powerful enough to remain virtually immortal and to create entire universes, lack the scientific understanding upon which their technologies are based. Their machines allow them to do wondrous things, but they are like children playing with toys, unconcerned with how their actions influence others.
The Lords perpetually war against one another, and all seek to overthrow their father, Urizen, who sits over and above the World of Tiers they have created. Urizen sets traps for his children, and delights in pitting one sibling off against another.
At the beginning of the novel, Urizen abducts Wolff's concubine, Chryseis, and forces Wolff and several other Lords into an open confrontation. Early on the Lords are deprived of their miraculous devices, and must rely upon Wolff to lead them. Wolff, having learned much from a brief stay on Earth, possesses a practical knowledge that all of the other Lords have lost.
In tone, the novel resembles a Robert E. Howard story, with bits of "science" thrown in for good measure. The characters are all lustful and larger than life, and the action flows seamlessly from beginning to end. It's definitely not the deepest sci-fi novel I've ever read, but I never felt like it was boring. It's a lot like reading a video game, with each chapter representing another level of the game.
I plan on reading the other books in this series, and I enjoy Farmer's more sexualized take on the science fiction genre. While "Gates of Creation" won't blow your mind in the way that "God Emperor of Dune" or "Lies, Inc." will, it offers a well-written adventure story, highlighted by gods who are engagingly human.
"Yes. Life always takes the side of life, and somehow the victims are blamed. But it wasn't the BEST people who survived, nor did the best ones die. It was RANDOM!"
Uh-oh, a serious comic book!
And yeah, I know that a lot of serious comic books are lame and uninspired, but this one is different. This one is actually good.
"Maus," recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, explored the Holocaust through the recollections of the author's father. Much of this comic book is autobiographical in nature, and flashes backwards and forwards between the 1980s and the horrors of places like Auschwitz. It is a very personal story, and there were parts of it that moved me very deeply.
I'm not planning to wholeheartedly switch over to "serious" comics anytime soon, but "Maus" is an excellent comic book, and as such is more than worth your time. There are plenty of uninspired, "third party" comics out there, but this is not one of them.
This hardcover is very boring and generally pointless. Half of the story is missing from it, and one would need to collect all of the other "Seige" hardcovers to get much out of this one.
The Asgardians, now dwelling in the midst of scenic Oklahoma, find themselves besieged by a host of other super-powered beings. Thor doesn't even show up until the end, and there follows a climactic battle in which he battles the cyborg Thor seen in The Ultimates. It's all very tedious and talky, and the lettering is hard to read.
I loved Walt Simonson's run on Thor, but I haven't found much to like in this character since then. I wish they'd stop making him speak "Olde English," I wish they'd give him a satisfying Achilles heel, and I wish they'd try to make Asgard something more interesting than the local Medieval Fair. As it is, I wanted the Asgardians to perish, if only to put their ceaseless bantering to an end. If Walt Simonson knew anything, he knew that gods should be more than extras from a Prince Valiant comic. Gods should be godlike. Make them too normal, and you destroy what makes them interesting.
Didn't like this one as much as I thought I would. In case you haven't seen the movie, a group of literary characters team up to battle evil. It sounds like a great premise, but then again Philip Jose Farmer explored a similar theme in his Riverworld series - long before this comic book ever appeared.
I remain a fan of Watchmen, but I can't help but feel that Alan Moore wasn't trying hard enough with this one. Beyond the central premise and a handful of gags, there's really not much in this comic book besides trivia.
Kevin O'Neill's art is always great when he's drawing grotesque, futuristic machines and acts of violence, but his drawing method adds little to the talkier parts of this comic. Unfortunately for him, this comic has a lot of talky parts.
This comic book IS much better than the movie - not that that's saying much. Taken on its own merits, I would have to say that the creative team behind this one has done much better elsewhere.
This anthology appeared in 1996, and I'm sad to say that this, the first volume, was the only one that saw print. According to the dust jacket, MJF Books was planning six more volumes in the series, with five volumes for the remainder of the twentieth century and a single volume for the first half. If these other volumes had seen print, I'd be tracking them down now.
The more famous authors in this anthology are Ray Bradbury, Philip Jose Farmer, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov, Jack Vance, Poul Anderson, and (of course) Robert Silverberg. Works by these "name" authors take up about half of the book, with the remaining half apportioned to authors whose fame was more specific to the 50s. Almost all of the stories are great. There are a couple average ones. Only one story, "Common Time" by James Blish, would be, in my opinion, bad.
I really enjoyed this book, and I'm looking forward to seeking out some of the less-familiar authors in this collection. After reading "Call Me Joe," I'm very eager to find some of Jack Vance's novels, and I have been encouraged to take another look at Philip Jose Farmer. I tried to read one of his books years ago - didn't like it - and gave him no further thought, but I'm thinking that his more famous science fiction might be worth a second look.
I'll let you know what I discover. It suddenly seems that I have a lot of reading to do!
This limited series was recently adapted into an animated feature which I have yet to see. Say what you like about Warner Bros. strategy for creating a "DC Cinematic Universe" - the fact remains that they've been working overtime when it comes to cartoons. I saw the "Flashpoint Paradox" cartoon not long ago, and I was surprised by its level of quality.
In "Public Enemies," Superman and Batman team up to foil a plan by President Lex Luthor. Jeph Loeb tries very hard to draw parallels between the two heroes, and to provide situations in which their abilities compliment one another. Loeb certainly shows a lot of versatility as a comic book writer, and what one sees in "Public Enemies" is VERY different from Loeb's work on "Red Hulk" or "The Long Halloween."
I'm not a huge fan of Ed McGuinness's art. He is obviously very competent, but I can't help but compare him to Tim Sale, who drew the introductory chapter to this series. I realize that comparing Sale and McGuinness is like comparing apples to oranges, but I can't help but think that McGuinness sacrifices style for the sake of technique, where Sale is all about style. In the long run, I think, style wins.
I'm also wondering if Zack Snyder has read this comic. Given that "Batman Vs. Superman" is now (officially) in the works, series such as this one might well provide a template for any script based on the two characters. The Justice League and supervillains could easily be excised from the plot, and what you'd be left with is a solid drama about two heroes learning to work together as a duo. This, in turn, would set up the future "Justice League" quite nicely.
