You bust your Malzberg cherry, well done. I've been telling people for many years that he should be considered as important as PKD and Silverbob. And if more SF fans read Mishima, that would sharpen their game, I feel. Shame you didn't enjoy the Aldiss so much, that's long been a favourite of mine, but there are plenty more where that came from.
Thanks Steve. I think you're probably Malzberg's most vocal advocate and I'm happy to throw my hat in that ring now as well. I am still an Aldiss fan. Hope you're well.
@@Bookpilled I first came across Malzberg when F&SF devoted an issue to him (back when I subscribed, maybe 15 years ago), my impression was that his forte was the short story, certainly he was brilliant at it, if you have a chance to get ahold of that issue, it's great.
I am reading my first Malzberg, The Day of the Burning, and enjoying it. The characters are well drawn, and yes, there is sex, which is amusing in context. I will be reading more of Malzberg. Vivian
Your ability to try media despite the actions of the creator and not having a total mental episode is welcoming as a fan of your videos. It's okay to be critical or judgemental towards people opposite of your spectrum while giving whatever they made a chance for whatever the reason. One shouldn't shut their mind off of possibly having new information or experience that can be either detrimental or positive to your mind. It allows for growth to read at all fronts and offers the best thing you can get from reading from someone you don't particularly like which is an 'understanding'. A better understanding of their stance on things and a better understanding of your own stances, which often times might strengthen it just by discovering how wrong they are at a more intimate level. I don't know I think it's important to not let your ego get in the way of reading a book that could end up being something magical.
You have my curiosity with the Mishima review. I've found it best to ignore the politics of an artist/author. My own political/cultural opinions have changed numerous times over the years and I hope people won't judge my accomplishments(or lack thereof) by those shifting worldviews. Wonderful reviews.
Good luck with the Patreon. You've certainly earned it. Sometimes when you see other RU-vidrs doing a Patreon, it can be a bit suspicious. Clearly, you're all in on your new venture, and anything you can get for it, do it.
Have you ever read The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein? By Peter Ackroyd? I might be wrong, but he is/was a Shelley (the poet) scholar. It was a random pick I ended up enjoying; I'd never heard of him before reading it. No time machines, etc. It reads like historical fiction (told in 1st person), with an exquisite attention to details of speech, daily life, without bogging down the story. (Ackroyd is British and sets the bulk of it in England.) Shelley appears in the novel. If you want an interesting more historical retelling of the story, with a decidedly Freudian bent (I think Freud even makes a minor appearance in it, but there is definitely an "alienist" in the novel who plays a key role), I recommend it. Great video, BookPilled.
3:15 "In a political stunt..." I take some measure of exception to that wording. It doesn't color, nor really influence in any way, my high regard for you. I happen to share many of your feelings on Mishima's personal life and public conduct. However, when Mishima committed seppuku to emphasize his strongly held beliefs, I think that rises to the level of political statement, not a stunt. Thich Quang Duc, the monk who immolated himself in Saigon was making a statement, not a stunt. Protestors gluing themselves to the ground is a stunt.
I’ve only read “Sailor…” by Mishima, your review compels me to want to read more. Malzberg is on the TBR, I’ll get to it eventually. Congratulations on getting a Patreon page up and running. We’re looking forward to enjoying the deep dive with you.
Great video, you should consider adding a decimal system to your ratings! 7.1, 6.3 for example. Gives you 90 more ratings to work with and lord knows not all 6’s are equal.
Just finished Frankenstein. It's about a genius who creates a sentient, emotional being who in turn resorts to vengeance when he is spurned by Man, most notably by his creator. I don't think nuclear weapons are an analogy that makes sense. They are not going to set themselves off because they feel hated.
Really great video, and what a reaction to Mahlzberg! I keep feeling like I've missed out on some of the greatest science fiction writers of all time. I will forever be grateful to you for turning me on to Samuel R Delany - where has he been all my life?!! The fact that you've just straight out said you "love" Beyond Apollo is an instant recommendation for me. Keep it up, and good luck with the Patreon!
just started blindsight, but beyond apollo is a must for this summer. frankenstein unbound was adapted into a 1990 roger corman movie w/raul julia & john hurt. never saw it though.
Have you ever read Blood Meridian? It's stuck with me more than anything and has one of the greatest antagonists in fiction. Since you are doing some reviews outside of SF I thought it was worth mentioning.
Another great vid Matt! Ive been waiting to support you via Patreon since you first mentioned it a while back, so im glad i can finally do so. Keep up with the great work!
Your Aldiss reviews have helped me postpone adding any more of his works to my TBR list. Although I've only read his Non-Stop and Greybeard, I found both to contain very interesting concepts but with very average execution. Although I've been intrigued by the title since it was first published, Frankenstein Unbound sounds to be the same.
I love your reviews. And your description of Beyond Apollo has pushed it to the top of my TBR. But I do feel that you gave too much info about the story. I still want to read it though. I'm having a little trouble finding a copy. It's currently out of stock at Amazon and strangely, it isn't in my public library system which usually has or can get almost anything I want. Nonetheless. I love your channel and your excellent intelligent expression of your thoughts.
The whole notion of a gay, right wing, regressive individual is confounding unless you've grown up in a right wing environment. It's always back to Mississippi with me, but I truly can't count the number of deeply conservative, deeply regressive, self hating, southern gay men that I've known. They are always complicated creatures that draw equal parts pity, anger and fascination. It's easily dismissed if they are redneck chucklefarts, but when they are introspective, extrospective and talented, it's an even harder nut to swallow. What happens to a person that dissolves their empathy so completely?
Are you an angry or aggressive reader? Do you keep tearing the covers off your books in a fit of intense passion? 😅There is an antidote for that. It’s UBIK. Speak to your doctor about it today.
I feel the same way about Mishima that I do about Ezra Pound. Just roll your eyes at the parts where he says poetry should demonstrate how great your nation is and move on.
Mishima was an anachronism, BP. A strangely compelling anachronism and universally misunderstood (especially by me). But his writing/prose, to my mind, is akin to Japanese graphic art, (arguably the best graphic artists in the world, those Japanese) insofar as it is peerless, as you stated regarding his style. Thanks for the Beyond Apollo review, it's on my TBR for this coming winter now. Couldn't get far into the Aldiss, don't know why, just didn't engage me I guess. Really enjoyed this one, as I do all of your posts. Thanks. Cheers.
I love how God grants such creative gifts to such troubled eccentric characters, to such at times tragic marginalised people, as Mishima, Emily Dickinson, Dostoevsky, Phillip K Dick, in literature, as Van Morrison, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin etc in music.
I also recently read Beyond Apollo after seeing it recommended by Outlaw Bookseller (I think) and I enjoyed it the same way you did. I immediately picked up The Falling Astronauts, and I will tell you, I think it’s even better. I realize you may not be able to get a copy where you are currently, but strongly recommended.
im back - it appears falling astronauts (1971), revelations (1972) and beyond apollo (1973) are a nasa critique trilogy. galaxies (1975) sounds very cool too.
@@meesalikeu I actually have read all three now - there is a very cheap Kindle version of Revelations. The themes of all three are the same, but I think The Falling Astronauts is the most effective (with an ending I didn’t see coming). Revelations was least effective to me, but to be fair, I read all three within about a week, so that may be coloring my experience. I have Galaxies as well, but I’ve only just started it. Cheers.
When I heard the title, Frankenstein Unbound I thought it would be about 'the monster' becoming freed, basically, and living his life, like a travelling intellectual sort of?
The sailor who fell from grace with the sea sticks in the mind. I thought the dracula unbound was the better book of the aldiss trilogy... moroues other island being next and I didn't like frankenstein unbound. Not got to beyond apollo yet have a copy though
I find it a little odd that you can be so moved by a book and not acknowledge the translator. I don't mean you need to name them or praise their achievement to the heavens. I don't doubt that Mishima is a great writer but you didn't exactly read his actual words, you read a great translation from Japanese. Likewise, although he was living in the US, I believe Franz Werfel still wrote in German. Anyway, I believe my mask has slipped and my former profession is showing.... I'll let myself out.
Lol as a gay man I do like seeing some representation of lgbt people/lifestyles in sci fi but some of these representations in older sci fi can be so off the wall 😂
There was a time when homosexuals were underrepresented in science fiction. Now, they are overrepresented. Agreed much of the science fiction of the 1960s and 1970s was downright odd.
I consider myself right wing and don't see it. Everyone has their biases and BP is very up front about his, yet is willing to read and praise someone like Mishima who was about as far-right as you can get. This is how people in a civilized society act, or should act, and certainly used to act more than now when everyone has to be hyper-polarized and shout their politics to the rooftops. He's probably going to like Red Mars more than myself because of it's political underpinning and that's fine, I'll just give it a miss.
Well,.. at least I agree with you concerning your first author's political/world view. That first Japanese author sounds like a real distasteful person/mentality, of which any of his writings I would certainly never patronize with my money, based on him alone.
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