Bookcover Spotlight

I like the futuristic city     

When The Green Star Calls

When The Green Star Calls is a fun throwback to an earlier time. It's the second of a series detailing the adventures of an Earthman who is astrally projected to the world of the Green Star- a faraway planet of immense trees and jeweled cities, of opal- winged dragonflies and swashbuckling adventure. The protagonist takes the form of a young boy- his previous adventures came to an abrupt end after his body was slain- and now, in his second sojourn to this world, he takes on a new identity- that of Karn of the Red Dragon tribe. It's a far cry from his earlier incarnation- the mighty warrior Chong-but at least he is back on the world of his dreams, once more on the trail of his lost love Niamh the Fair, princess of the jewel city of Phaolon. 

The Green Star books are a pastiche of the Carson of Venus books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Lin Carter is well known for his affectionate homages, and the style is very similar- there are princesses to be rescued, alliances to be made and lose, hair raising escapes and an abundance of swordplay. Karn finds himself taken in by a savant who lusts after ancient knowledge, meets a million year old descendant of the planet's ancient rulers, and has various other adventures, all while trying to rescue Niamh from her sinister captors. 

The point of view shifts from Karn to his companions- Janchan of Phaolon, a prince of that city who also seeks Niamh, and the mysterious creature from an ancient past who joins Karn on his quest. The result is a fast paced, never dull series of adventures and narrow escapes. And the writing- propulsive and always moving, albeit at times florid and overdone. This was the era of the pulp pastiches though- early seventies- and the spirit of Edgar Rice Burroughs flourishes. 

There's not really much to dislike for me here- books like this are a fun distraction. It's hard not to laugh at the coincidences, or the plot development that occurs in a few pages when they should take much longer- but the draw here is escapism, pure and simple. And this delivers.     

Can't Wait Wednesday #

 So here's a midweek round up of what I'm reading watching, etc. Plus Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Wishful endings. So sit back, raise a cuppa, and see what's new! And share what you're up to.  

This week my Can't Wait pick is         

What I'm Reading

What I'm Watching

Listening

Dystopia Playlist

Are we living in a dystopia? We have climate change, a population in America that a large number believe conspiracy theories, an attempted insurrection against the government... the list goes on and on. I thought I would put together a dystopia playlist- or even a post apocalyptic one- I mean, how fun is that? Songs that address dystopian ideas can be amazing. So... here are some music choices that I think evoke the dystopian mindset well.  

Oh, and to celebrate 2019 as the year Blade Runner was set in, I did a similar post back then. You can see that here if you want to compare. A dystopian view of the future, to be sure, but... it's now the present, not the future. A place where climate change is ignored and ignorance is celebrated in America.   

Last year we saw these.    

So... this is my first of a series of dystopian playlist choices. 

Top Ten Tuesday #239

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new Top Ten list will be posted. Everyone is welcome to join. Link back so everyone can check out other bloggers' lists. It's a fun way to get to know fellow bloggers

This week is new authors I read last year and I tried. I honestly did. My reading was so bad in 2020 I had trouble finding ten new authors- I mean, I had close to ten but honestly? I'm just not feeling it. So here is part three of my vintage SF covers. This is more fun.