THE MT VOID
07/05/24 -- Vol. 43, No. 1, Whole Number 2335
Co-Editor: Mark Leeper,
mleeper@optonline.netCo-Editor: Evelyn Leeper,
eleeper@optonline.netSending Address:
evelynchimelisleeper@gmail.comAll material is the opinion of the author and is copyrighted by
the
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http://leepers.us/mtvoid/back_issues.htm>.
Topics:
History of the MT VOID (comments by Mark R. Leeper
and Evelyn C. Leeper)
What Is the MT VOID? (comments by ChatGPT)
THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS by Vajra Chandrasekera
(audio book review by Joe Karpierz)
This Week's Reading (MAXIMINUS THRAX)
(book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
===================================================================
TOPIC: History of the MT VOID (comments by Mark R. Leeper and
Evelyn C. Leeper)
As we change volume numbers in the middle of the year, this may be
a good time to once again describe the genesis of the MT VOID,
pronounced "Em Tee Void".
The MT VOID started as a zine for the newly formed Science Fiction
Club at Bell Labs in Holmdel in August 1978, but we have always
been the editors (and primary writers). It has been weekly for
decades, and has continued even after we retired and the Science
Fiction Club dissolved. The current issue is #2335, making it
(I'm pretty sure) the perzine with the most issues ever, and at
46 years, one of the longest running.
In July 1981, our area was split off and moved to Lincroft. At
that point we thought we needed to spin off a new club, so we
started re-numbering the MT VOID (not yet called that) at that
point. Hence the volume roll-over in July. Eventually we ended
up remerging the clubs and newsletters, but kept the new
numbering.
At some point in the 1980s we also renamed the club as the
"Mt. Holz Science Fiction Club". "Mt. Holz" came from the
inter-company mail designations for the three New Jersey locations
of AT&T et al where we once had meetings:
MT Middletown
HO Holmdel
LZ Lincroft
As the work environment changed, meetings eventually ended, but
the MT VOID kept rolling along. We retained the "Mt. Holz" name
in the heading until last year, when we decided it was misleading
to pretend there was an actual club behind this. [-mrl/ecl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: What Is the MT VOID? (comments by ChatGPT)
And for a second opinion:
The MT VOID is a weekly science fiction fanzine that has been
published continuously since 1978. Edited by Mark and Evelyn
Leeper, the fanzine is well-known within the science fiction
community and provides a platform for discussions on a wide range
of topics, including science fiction and fantasy literature,
movies, television, conventions, and other related subjects.
The title "MT VOID" stands for "Mark and Evelyn Leeper's MT
(empty) VOID," playing on the idea that a void is empty, which
fits with the newsletter's informal and often humorous tone. The
fanzine includes reviews, essays, letters from readers, and
various musings by the editors. Over the years, it has garnered a
loyal readership and is considered an important part of science
fiction fandom. [-ChatGPT]
Evelyn adds:
Well, this doesn't make any egregious errors, although I might say
the last part overstates its importance. [-ecl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS by Vajra Chandrasekera (copyright
2023, Tordotcom, Macmillan Audio, 12 hours and 20 minutes,
narrated by Sid Sagar, ASIN: B0BFG6JNJ3) (audio book review by Joe
Karpierz)
THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS, the debut novel by Vajra Chandraseker,
is the darling of the genre world right now. In addition to being
a Hugo finalist, it is also a finalist for the Locus Award for
Best First Novel, won the Crawford Award for best first fantasy
book of 2023, and just recently won the Nebula Award for Best
Novel. This happens every few years, when a book comes out of
nowhere to snap up every award in sight. And yet, as we all know,
there are some people that will declare a novel the greatest thing
since sliced bread, while other people will bounce off that same
novel, wondering what all the fuss was about.
I find this book difficult to review because I bounced right off
it. A large portion of my novel reading these days is via audio
books. As I was listening, I found myself drifting away from the
narrative, wondering about work that day, or maybe what I was
going to have for breakfast. This book did not hold my interest
in the least. I freely admit that it's most likely that this book
just isn't for me, and I do accept that. It's beautifully
written, and narrator Sid Sagar does a wonderful job of portraying
the characters to the reader, as well as the physical setting the
story takes place in and the social and political landscape of the
novel. For me, the story was not compelling or interesting. But,
as your humble reviewer, I will try to give a coherent review of
this novel that a lot of people love so much.
Fetter is a young boy with supernatural abilities who is trained
by his mother to assassinate his father, who just happens to be
the powerful head of a cult. Fetter goes to the big city to
follow through on his training. He just ... doesn't. Doesn't
care. Doesn't want anything to do with it. Instead, he makes a
bunch of friends, gets a boyfriend, settles down, and becomes
involved in the study of the titular Bright Doors that are
scattered all over the city. He gets involved in other things
too, just trying to live a normal life away from his mother. As
you might guess, he can't get away from his heritage, his mother,
father, and anything else he wants to avoid.
Another problem with reviewing this book is actually trying to
tell readers what it's about. It doesn't follow the norms of
storytelling, or at least any norms that we're used to. Fetter
really has no direction in his life, isn't trying to do anything
heroic, and really only wants to go about his business. It is
very difficult to relate what a particular book is about when the
person trying to relate the story has no idea how to summarize it
to begin with. You might almost say that it defies summarization.
In fact, at one point I was talking with my wife about the book,
and she asked the usual question: "What is it about?" My answer
was that I was three quarters of the way through the book and I
had absolutely no idea what was going on, and no idea where it
might be going.
Yes, there are genre elements in the book. The Bright Doors are
mystical. There are devils, and people with magical power. Heck,
Fetter's mother takes away his shadow early in the book. But for
me, if a book's title implies it's about Bright Doors, it really
ought to be about those Bright Doors.
Again, this is a beautifully written, highly literary, and
terrifically narrated book. It's just not for me. [-jak]
===================================================================
TOPIC: This Week's Reading (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
There were dozens of Roman emperors (a precise count is not
possible, given the number of usurpers whose "reigns" lasted only
a few days). But many were fairly boring. The worst emperors
were colorful in their own ways, but Maximinius Thrax managed to
be colorful without being a total dumpster fire. (For a colorful
dumpster fire of a emperor, I would nominate Elabagablus, a.k.a.
Heliogabalus, as the leading contender.)
Unfortunately, little is definitively known of the colorful
aspects of Maximinius Thrax. His origins are obscure, his early
life mostly undocumented, and even his physical characteristics
seem to be in question. So MAXIMINUS THRAX: FROM COMMON SOLDIER
TO EMPEROR OF ROME by Paul N. Pearson (Pen & Sword Military, ISBN
978-1-399-07478-0) spends a lot of time giving us the background
of the Roman empire and the emperors preceding Maximinius, and
then the empire and the emperors following Maximinus instead.
Indeed, the first third of the book is basically a history of Rome
from Commodus through Pertinax, Didius Julianus, Septimus Severus,
Geta, Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus, and Alexander Severus, with
occasional references to what Maximinus might have been doing at
the time. (He joined the army when Septimus Severus was emperor,
so he was around for at least some of this time.) The last
quarter is a series of appendices on sources, chronology, etc.
And about 5% is devoted to a discussion of a single statue in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art which may or may not be Maximinus.
Pearson does discuss Maximinius's physical appearance. One of the
leading theories of what made Maximinius a giant was acromegaly.
(Think Richard Kiel or Andre the Giant.) The descriptions of his
brow, nose, and jaw fit the effects of acromegaly. He was
described as "eight feet one finger tall" (2.4 meters) and while
this is probably an exaggeration, he was definitely taller than
normal. He apparently got into the army because he managed to
defeat something like ten gladiators in a row, and then ran
alongside the emperor's horse for many miles without tiring.
Surely this would make an exciting movie. [-ecl]
===================================================================
Mark Leeper
mleeper@optonline.net Nothing is more miserable than man,
Of all upon the earth that breathes and creeps.
--Homer, Iliad
MT VOID, 07/05/24 -- Vol. 43, No. 1, Whole Number 2335