Score Five

Had a rare, free weekday morning off from watching the girls. So what does LE do? Drive down to his extra-cool fantastic used book store to score some fab product. Yeah, it’s a borderline addiction.

No, it’s an addiction.

Anyway, I give the trip a B+. Brought my Acquisitions List with me, and I’m looking forward to digging in, after I’m done with the escapades of Colonel Lawrence and the extrapolations of St. Thomas. Here’s the probable order I’ll hit them, with, of course, cogent and jocose critiques to follow heelishly.


1. Escape on Venus, by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Classic Burroughs! Not only did I read the Princess of Mars series (or at least two or three), but I also read his Venus stuff, too, way back in the golden days of my youth. Not sure if this is the Venusian story I read as a kid; perhaps if I’m assaulted with vujà dé as I’m motoring through it in a week or two I’ll know. Should be lots of fun, provided I can kick that suspension-of-belief into overdrive. Which shouldn’t be too hard.


2. Inherit the Stars, by James P. Hogan

Hogan just died earlier this summer. Never read any of his stuff, but a lot of it’s highly acclaimed. If I’m not mistaken this is the one that Started It All for him. And It All Starts with the odd discovery of a 50,000 year old skeleton, clad in a bright red spacesuit, found on the moon …


3. Guardian, by Thomas F. Monteleone

Taking a bit of a chance with this one. Monteleone is another SF writer I’m pretty much unfamiliar with. However, back in high school a hundred years ago a buddy of mine lent me a book he wrote that sent chills up and down my spine. It was about the city of Chicago, specifically, how it attains sentience in the decades and centuries of the future. At least two blood-curdling tales that genuinely horrified me (the book was a compendium of ten or twelve short stories around this Windy City theme). Have never been able to find that book. So, in lieu of that one, this one.


4. Night of the Dragonstar, by Thomas F. Monteleone and David F. Bischoff

See preceding paragraph.


5. The Missionaries, by D. G. Compton

Must confess I’m really unfamiliar with this one. Don’t know the author (or even his or her gender). Seems to be about a spaceship landing on earth containing – alien missionaries bearing the fruits and gifts of a new religion. Hmmm. I like already. Must’ve read some good buzz about it somewhere, being it’s on the Acquisitions List and all.


Well, I’m engladdened. More escapist material for me, more fodder for you care of The Recovering Hopper.