T.K. Wade -- Author: April 2023

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Button, Button [Short Story Review]

[This blog entirely spoils the story.]

"Button, Button" is a short story written by Richard Matheson. It was first published in 1970 for Playboy. It has been since adapted to both a Twilight Zone episode and was also made into a really good movie called "The Box."

The only reason I chose to read this story was because I loved the movie. "The Box" is actually one of my favorite films of all time. I have seen it multiple times since it came out in 2009. The Twilight Zone episode was fascinating, but there were some problems with it.

The whole idea of the story was that a man named Mr. Stewart delivers a box with a button in it. He says to the wife of the household that if she presses the button, she will receive $50,000, but someone she doesn't know, somewhere in the world, will die. This poses an extreme moral dilemma for the wife, something the husband is drastically against. She is against it too... but she just can't stop wondering about it.

Now, I am about to do some spoilers here, and the reason I am going to do it is because there is a problematic aspect of the short story. It is a problem that the Twilight Zone episode and the movie did not have. It has to do with the ending. I really did think that the two film versions were good enough as far as the message and how everything is ultimately handled, but sadly the short story ends in something that feels like a tongue-in-cheek joke.

In the story, the woman ends up pressing the button despite her husband being against it. A short while after she does this, she gets a call that her husband has been killed. She cries out to Mr. Stewart over the phone that he said that it would be someone she didn't know, to which he replies, "My dear lady, do you really think you knew your husband?"

I groaned. I mean, I get the joke, but there was clearly a better way to end this story, namely the way the two film versions ended, which I won't be spoiling in this blog. I was so disappointed that the whole story just ended up being used to deliver some dark humor. That said, it did have a point. I'll give it credit for that, but I don't think it really lands as good as later versions.

I don't really recommend "Button, Button" as much as the movie. Go see "The Box." Just do it. It's an amazing film that gives you a full disclosure about what is really going on. It's very satisfying.

This blog was written on April 18, 2023.

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Monday, April 24, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Spurs [Short Story Review]

[This blog spoils almost the entire story.]

"Spurs" is a short story written by Tod Robbins. It was published in 1923. It is a horror story that inspired a rather shocking film of which I'll talk about in a bit.

The story of "Spurs" centers around a wealthy midget named Jacques Courbé who falls deeply in love with a beautiful horse-rider named Jeanne Marie. The problem was that she was presently in love with the circus' strongman, Simon Lafleur. And here we have the major hurdle of the story: the choice between lust and money.

Jeanne lusts after the body of the strongman, but she would be potentially living in the lap of luxury if she were to marry a rather unsightly midget instead. Neither one of these choices are particularly moral. In both cases, she is thinking very selfishly.

But in the end, money wins out. Thinking she can easily handle someone so tiny and silly looking, she choses to marry the midget and so leaves the circus forever. But as it turns out, Jacques is a slave-driver of a husband, and he uses his pet wolf to enforce his laws. From this point on, it turns into horror story where she lives a miserable life and forced to work like cattle on his large estate.

I won't spoil the full details of all the ways he dominates her, but I will hint that the title of the book, "Spurs" actually does mean something, and the connotations of it are very shocking. The very idea of it made me gasp a bit.

As I said earlier, "Spurs" was adapted into a film called "Freaks" in 1932. Although it has some similar scenes from the story, it is really it's own thing. It's just as good, however, and if you can find a copy of it, you really should give it a watch. I actually like both the story and the movie for entirely different reasons.

"Spurs" is a short story that I definitely recommend. It is an easy read--not hard to understand at all. Apparently, this author has fallen out of favor for much of the last century. Nobody is really interested in publishing his works. It's really a shame. This was a great piece of literature.

This blog was written on April 16, 2023.

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Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Who Goes There? [Book Review]

"Who Goes There?" is a science fiction book written by John W. Campbell. It was published in 1938. It is the inspiration for the 1951 movie "The Thing from Another World, and the 1982 movie "The Thing."

"Who Goes There?" details the events of a changeling type monster found in Antarctica. It doesn't just kill other biologicals, it replaces them in a 1 to 1 fashion. If it copies a human, the creature even thinks it is human. It is the way it hides. Really scary stuff actually.

The bulk of the story deals with the men trying to figure out who is human and who is the monster. The paranoia they go through is extremely nerve-wracking. Imagine the stress of not only knowing which one of your fellow humans was a monster... but that the monster might actually be you. That's insane.

When I went into this, I actually expected the story to be kind of corny. Science fiction from the 30's tends to be a little on the goofy side. I was pleasantly surprised to not only find it to be quite gritty, but it was a whole lot like the 80's film. Or should I say the 80's movie was like the 30's book? Either way, the story was presented in a way that seemed ahead of its time.

I do have a major criticism though. This is more of a writing criticism, to be clear. It is important that, when you write a book, you have a good balance between dialog and narrative. They are suppose to help each other out so that the reader doesn't get bogged down by either over-written exposition or too much dialog. "Who Goes There?" suffers from way too much from a constant streams of dialog. It feels like one single conversation that just goes on and on right through the entire book.

This issues comes with two problems. Firstly, it becomes increasingly difficult to know who is talking and what those people are like. It also will wear the reader out. This story does feel imbalanced in its writing, and that's really too bad. It is much like the author just hammered out what the characters would say while arguing to each other and just wanted to get it all out at once. In many ways, it reads like a script, but it isn't a script. It's a proper book.

Despite this flaw, I still recommend that you read "Who Goes There?" If you can get past the heavy dialog of the story, you will find yourself reading the tale that inspired "The Thing." It's good. It's really good, and especially surprising to see something this gritty from the 30's. Oh, and real quick: I like the title "The Thing" far more than the book's title. It is called a "thing" constantly in the story. That's just my opinion though.

This blog was written on April 13, 2023.

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Monday, April 17, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Fairy Well of Lagnanay [Poem]

"The Fairy Well of Lagananay" is an Irish poem by Samuel Ferguson. Although I could not find the year it was first published, it appears to be from the 19th century. I'll be honest: I'm not very good with poetry, but this one still fascinated me with its language about fairies. Rather than review it, I'm just going to give it to you. Enjoy!

-----

Mournfully, sing mournfully-

"O listen, Ellen, sister dear:

Is there no help at all for me,

But only ceaseless sigh and tear?

Why did not he who left me here,

With stolen hope steal memory?

O listen, Ellen, sister dear,

(Mournfully, sing mournfully)--

I'll go away to Sleamish hill,

I'll pluck the fairy hawthorn-tree,

And let the spirits work their will;

I care not if for good or ill,

So they but lay the memory

Which all my heart is haunting still!

(Mournfully, sing mournfully)--

The Fairies are a silent race,

And pale as lily flowers to see;

I care not for a blanched face,

For wandering in a dreaming place,

So I but banish memory:--

I wish I were with Anna Grace!

Mournfully, sing mournfully!

Hearken to my tale of woe--

'Twas thus to weeping Ellen Con,

Her sister said in accents low,

Her only sister, Una bawn:

'Twas in their bed before the dawn,

And Ellen answered sad and slow,--

"Oh Una, Una, be not drawn

(Hearken to my tale of woe)--

To this unholy grief I pray,

Which makes me sick at heart to know,

And I will help you if I may:

--The Fairy Well of Lagnanay--

Lie nearer me, I tremble so,--

Una, I've heard wise women say

(Hearken to my tale of woe)--

That if before the dews arise,

True maiden in its icy flow

With pure hand bathe her bosom thrice,

Three lady-brackens pluck likewise,

And three times round the fountain go,

She straight forgets her tears and sighs."

Hearken to my tale of woe!

All, alas! and well-away!

"Oh, sister Ellen, sister sweet,

Come with me to the hill I pray,

And I will prove that blessed freet!"

They rose with soft and silent feet,

They left their mother where she lay,

Their mother and her care discreet,

(All, alas and well-away!)

And soon they reached the Fairy Well,

The mountain's eye, clear, cold and grey,

Wide open in the dreary fell:

How long they stood 'twere vain to tell,

At last upon the point of day,

Bawn Una bares her bosom's swell,

(All, alas and well-away!)

Thrice o'er her shrinking breasts she laves

The gliding glance that will not stay

Of subtly-streaming fairy waves:--

And now the charm three brackens craves,

She plucks them in their fring'd array:--

Now round the well her fate she braves,

All, alas! and well-away!

Save us all from Fairy thrall!

Ellen sees her face the rim

Twice and thrice, and that is all--

Fount and hill and maiden swim

All together melting dim!

"Una! Una!" thou may'st call,

Sister sad! but lith or limb

(Save us all from Fairy thrall! )

Never again of Una bawn,

Where now she walks in dreamy hall,

Shall eye of mortal look upon!

Oh! can it be the guard was gone,

The better guard than shield or wall?

Who knows on earth save Jurlagh Daune?

(Save us all from Fairy thrall! )

Behold the banks are green and bare,

No pit is here wherein to fall:

Aye--at the fount you well may stare,

But nought save pebbles smooth is there,

And small straws twirling one and all.

Hie thee home, and be thy pray'r,

Save us all from Fairy thrall.

-----

This blog was written on April 7, 2023.

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Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Enchanted Island of Oz [Book Review]

[Spoilers included for a book nobody reads anymore.]

"The Enchanted Island of Oz" is the forty-second book in the Oz series originally created by L. Frank Baum. It was written by Ruth Plumly Thompson and published in 1976. To my knowledge, this is the last Oz book written by Thompson before she passed away.

The story revolves around a boy from Pennsylvania named David Perry. When a circus comes to town, he ends up finding a talking camel named Humpty Bumpty who immediately takes him right into the land of Oz. This was the first striking thing about this story. There was little to no transition from the US into the magical land of Oz. They simply leave the circus tent and are immediately there. It was so sudden that it left me a little confused and disoriented for a time. This is explained later, by the way.

Along the way, they have a series of strange encounters. Most of them were not too bad and perhaps barely even needs mentioning here. They were Ruth's usual series of strange Fairyland encounters. They do, however, run into the tin castle of the Tin Woodman. This was a pleasant stop on the journey and a much needed look at what it is like in this castle that is talked about but not often explored in the Oz books. It also served to better explain that this story was, indeed, set in Oz... because most of the book doesn't do that so well.

In fact, the actual plot of the story doesn't really feel like it truly begins until three chapters to the end. The titular "enchanted island" is not mentioned until the last moment where David shows up and saves the day by making an impromptu wish. So by the time the story's main problem is announced, it is already solved and moving right into the final chapter. This is kinda bad by the way. It felt like the whole story was at the end of the book.

Perhaps the reason the book was written this way was because it was not intended to be an Oz story to begin with. It was originally a story called "The Enchanted Island." Ruth attempted to publish it in the 50's, but nobody wanted it. It wasn't until the 70's that the International Wizard of Oz Club offered to publish it if she converted it into an Oz book. She did this despite the fact that she just had a stroke. Her family had to help her from getting confused during the whole process. For this reason, I really have to applaud her efforts. Apparently she had another idea for an Oz story to follow this one, but all sighs point to her dying before she could write it.

I also want to mention something kinda neat. The Cowardly Lion finally gets a name in this one. He was given the name Cowy which he proudly accepted. The Hungry Tiger was also given the name of Tige. I thought this part was cute.

All in all, "The Enchanted Island of Oz" was charming enough, but you could certainly do a lot better with your time. It does really feel like a converted story, and there is not enough Oz in it to properly qualify recommending it. Too bad really.

This blog was written on April 6, 2023.

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Monday, April 10, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Sleeper Awakes [Book Review]

"The Sleeper Awakes" is a revised novel of a book published in 1899 by H.G. Wells. It was originally called "When the Sleeper Awakes," and Wells really hated that version. The revised version was published in 1910.

The whole concept of the story centers around a man named Graham who falls asleep during the Victorian era and wakes up 203 years later in a dystopian future. Upon waking up, he suddenly finds out that he is the leader and king of the entire world... which immediately causes a war.

Basically, he inherits the entire world while he was asleep, and a council is formed to make decisions for him. When he awakes, the council immediately loses power and decides it might be best to kill him. Fortunately, a rebellion prevents this from happening, and places him on the throne where he belongs.

This vision of the future is very interesting. Land vehicles are now obsolete because the roads themselves move like conveyor belts. They still have aircrafts that fly like bugs. Energy seemed to be entirely generated by wind. The fashion seemed to have devolved to simple colored robes.

The story goes into some politics and deals with concepts of socialism quite often. If you really dislike stuff like that, then you might want to pass this one up. It is a major theme of the book.

One thing that kind of blew my mind about this book was how it very meticulously covers every second of every moment that Graham experiences, especially after he wakes up. Every moment is described very carefully to make you feel like you are the main character, or at least seeing from his perspective.

This method of writing was especially interesting during intense scenes such as battles, chases, and flight scenes. And it should be noted that this story is very heavy on the action. It had an extremely exciting dogfight scene with the aircrafts. Top notch. It has a modern day action movie feel to it. Positively thrilling to imagine. I just about got air sick from just reading about it.

The only drawback of this writing style is that it can sometimes make the book a little boring. There were moments where I just wanted the book to get on with a scene, but it was much too busy explaining each and every second that Graham was experiencing. It isn't always bad, but it did overstay its welcome a number of times.

"The Sleeper Awakes" had a surprising action packed presentation for the time it was written in. If it was made into a movie today, it would get the full CGI, 3D glasses treatment. The reason it probably isn't talked about much is because it has quite a lot of politically incorrect stuff in it, but I still recommend it. It's too much of an oddity to pass up on. It also had one of the most exciting final chapters I have ever read in a book. Give it a go!

This blog was written on April 5, 2023.

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Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Anthem [Book Review]

[Somewhat spoils the ending of the book.]

"Anthem" is a book written by Ayn Rand. It was first published in 1938. Although similar in theme to Orwell's "1984," "Anthem" is very much it's own thing with a different point to make at the end.

The story of "Anthem" revolves around a society of humans who live in a dark age after the collapse of modern society. They are forbidden to use the word "I," and they have to see themselves as only a small part of a greater group. Anybody who shows any sign of individualism is punished or even killed for it. It's freaking awful.

The story's protagonist is a man named Equality 7-2521. Yes, that is his actual name. All the names are like that. He ends up finding a tunnel from the time before everything collapsed. He keeps the place a secret and learns about a small amount of science such as how electricity works. This jump-starts him on his journey to enlightenment.

Honestly, this is a good read, but it is hard to read because it's done in the first person. Since the character can't use the word "I," it makes it a little confusing how many people are in the room within a scene. But that's the idea, isn't it? It's a society where a group of people represents the whole of humanity. Really quite horrible.

Although the story is poignant to a degree, the ultimate solution is about as misguided as the problem. It replaces the weakness of group-think with overly aggressive egoism, which seems like it would just turn us into tribal animal people over time. In that respect, I didn't care much for the ending.

It also completely dismisses religion. You can do that, but you have to give a better reason for it than this book did. It sort of just throws it out without any solid lead up to it. This unfortunately is just the author being an Atheist and putting her own opinion into her book without much effort. The real fight here was about group-think, not religion, and the two are not the same thing.

All said though, a pretty good read about a very real problem with humanity. I recommend it, especially if you have already read "1984." It's pretty short, and you might even find a free copy somewhere. Give it a read.

This blog was written on March 23, 2023.

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Monday, April 3, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Gold-Bug [Short Story Review]

"The Gold-Bug" is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe. It was published in 1843. I think you will find that this story is like nothing he has ever written, but there are some things you need to understand about this one.

I admit to not liking Poe very much for his maddening, overly pompous writing style, full of quips written in other languages and the overuse of flowery language which is more befitting of poetry than prose. But here we find a story that has none of that. "The Gold-Bug" is actually written like a normal person. It is very easy to read and understand from beginning to end, and when I realized this, I began to enjoy the story. Keep that in mind for later please.

The story is less of a detective story and more of an unusual treasure hunt. I say this because it was included in the "Tales of Detection" section of my Poe collection. I think they did this because it has a mystery aspect to it which is expounded upon towards the end. I'm not going to spoil anything here because the fact this story exists in the way that it does is more interesting that what the story contains. If you are interested in treasure hunting stories or ones about cryptography, they are your only plot incentive to read this.

But was it good? Was it bad? What's going on with this one? And more importantly, do I recommend it? Listen... I really had to think about this one. Where it is true that I did enjoy it, it was in contrast to all Poe stories I hated. I liked it purely because it was more accessible to me. There were no quotes in other languages. The English language was simplified. The characters were simple to understand, although there was a small bit of dialect used. All in all, this was an easy read. Was it good though?

I was just coming out of his Dupin mystery series, and I expected this one to be just as bad... but it wasn't. It was a good read. I breathed a sigh of relief and did my best to enjoy it... and I did enjoy it... but not because it was a particularly good story. I was just happy that I wasn't frustrated by the writing.

The story of "The Gold-Bug"... is kind of... meh. It's... only mildly interesting. I'm not saying it's bad... but it didn't really thrill me by the time it was all said and done. And I think perhaps it may be a subjective point of view. I can see how someone can read this and think it was very good. It did not, however, speak to me very well. It only exists to me as a curiosity of a Poe story not written in the Poe style. It is essentially a Poe novelty.

"The Gold-Bug" is an "okay" story, but I don't really think it's good enough to recommend unless you are just curious to read a Poe story that is different than his usual fair. Since this is the last Poe story I will probably ever read, I should say that my favorite ones were "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" and "Hop-Frog." Those two are wonderful and I consider them to be his best works. I hear a lot of people saying that "The Tell-Tale Heart" was good too, and it is, but it isn't a favorite of mine. Either way, that gets a recommendation too. That's it. I'm moving on.

This blog was written on March 22, 2023.

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