THE MT VOID
06/13/25 -- Vol. 43, No. 50, Whole Number 2384
Editor: Evelyn Leeper,
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Topics:
Mini Reviews, Part 15 (EL ETERNAUTA/THE ETERNAUT,
DREAM SCENARIO, ISLE OF DOGS) (film reviews
by Evelyn C. Leeper)
NYT Summer Bucket Reading List
THE TAINTED CUP by Robert Jackson Bennett (audio book
review by Joe Karpierz)
"The Essential Terry Pratchett" (letter of comment
by Paul S. R. Chisholm)
Magna Carta, The Book of Kells, and the Sears & Roebuck
Catalog (letters of comment by Scott Dorsey,
Gary McGath, and Blueshirt)
THE SEVENTH VICTIM (letter of comment by Jay Morris)
This Week's Reading (THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS)
(book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
===================================================================
TOPIC: Mini Reviews, Part 15 (film reviews by Evelyn C. Leeper)
EL ETERNAUTA/THE ETERNAUT (2025): EL ETERNAUTA is a Netflix series
whose title implies some sort of time travel. But the first six
episodes have no time travel; only at the end of the sixth episode
is there even a hint of it. Which is the other major problem: the
implication was that this was a limited series, but it ended on a
cliffhanger, a second season has been announced, and in general
continuing means committing to an indefinite amount of time.
Given that what has appeared so far seems basically "War of the
Worlds" with some possibly magical elements(*), I think I will
give up on it.
It is based upon a science fiction comic from Argentina which was
quite a cultural phenomenon there, but apparently unknown here.
By the way, in spite of the ending "eternauta" appears to be a
masculine noun.
(*) There is a battle scene where the shots from the point of view
of one side seem to be in bright sunshine, while from the other
they have an overcast sky. Is this intentional, or just bad
continuity?
Released streaming 30 April 2025.
Film Credits:
<
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27740241/reference>
What others are saying:
<
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_eternaut>
DREAM SCENARIO (2023): The premise of DREAM SCENARIO is
intriguing: Nicholas Cage's character starts appearing in random
people's dreams. At first he is merely a bystander and observer
to events, but gradually he becomes mote threatening, and then
actually brutal. In parallel, at first he is merely a social
media phenomenon because of his ubiquity. But as his personality
in the dreams changes, so do people's attitudes towards him. The
problem is this is all rather obvious, and unexplained, and
(SPOILER) remains unexplained. (It's a bit like PICNIC AT HANGING
ROCK in that regard.) There is a development at the end, but it
does nothing to explain the phenomenon, but just build on it.
This was a disappointment.
Released theatrically 10 November 2023.
Film Credits:
<
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21942866/reference>
What others are saying:
<
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dream_scenario>
ISLE OF DOGS (2018): Director Wes Anderson seems to bounce back
and forth between animation and live-action films. Before the
animated ISLE OF DOGS, he did live-action film THE GRAND BUDAPEST
HOTEL, and after he did the live-action films THE FRENCH DISPATCH
and ASTEROID CITY, then a series of animated shorts for Netflix,
and more recently the live-action film THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME.
ISLE OF DOGS may be his most political film; consider this speech:
[Mayor Kobayashi speaking in Japanese as Simul-Translate Machine
translates]
Simul-Translate Machine: As you know, we all hate dogs. Chairman
Fujimoto-san, President of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical. You
secretly introduced mega-quantities of infected fleas and
contagious tick-larvae into a metropolitan city center,
creating an unprecedented animal disease outbreak. Thank you.
[applause]
Simul-Translate Machine: General Yamatachi-san, Commander of the
Megasaki Municipal Task Force. You oversaw the deportation
of over 750,000 caged-animals to a nearly uninhabitable
offshore refuse center. Good work.
[applause]
...
Simul-Translate Machine: Yakuza Nakamura-san, Head of the
Clenched-Fist Gang. You eliminated all Pro-Dog opposition
through the use of bribery, extortion, intimidation, and
violent force. My compliments.
[applause]
Simul-Translate Machine: Brains have been washed. Wheels have been
greased. Fear has been mongered. Now we prepare for the
final stage of our conspiracy theory: the permanent end to the
Canine Saturation Crisis.
There are also two haiku. Everyone seems to remember the one from
the end of the film:
Whatever happened
To man’s best friend
Falling spring blossom.
But I found the one at the beginning far more striking:
I turn my back
On mankind!
Frost on window pane.
Released theatrically 13 April 2018.
Film Credits:
<
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5104604/reference>
What others are saying:
<
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/isle_of_dogs_2018>
[-ecl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: NYT Summer Bucket Reading List
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/books/summer-reading-bucket-list.html
Briefly:
1. Read one of The New York Times’s Best Books of the 21st Century
2. Read a book published in the last year
3. Read a book in a genre you don’t typically read
4. Read a book in translation
5. Read a book by a writer you’ve never read before
6. Reread a book you loved as a kid
7. Listen to an audiobook
8. Read a book set somewhere you’ve never been
9. Read a book that takes place during the summer
10. Check out and read a book from your local library (bonus
points if it’s recommended by a librarian!)
Well, for science fiction and fantasy fans, number 8 is not a
problem. :-)
And Hugo voters are pretty much covered in number 2.
There are several SFF books on the "Best Books of the 21st
Century" list:
Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel 2014
The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis 2010
Pastoralia, George Saunders 2000
The Plot Against America, Philip Roth 2004
The Fifth Season, N.K. Jemisin 2015
Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell 2004
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon 2000
The Road, Cormac McCarthy 2006
Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro 2005
I highly recommend THE COLLECTED STORIES OF LYDIA DAVIS (reviewed
in the 06/15/2018 issue of the MT VOID). [-ecl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: THE TAINTED CUP by Robert Jackson Bennett (copyright 2024,
Random House Audio, 13 hours and 51 minutes, ASIN: B0C6YMCRBM)
(audio book review by Joe Karpierz)
One of the benefits of voting for the Hugo Awards every year, and
thus reading all the novel Hugo finalists, is reading authors that
are new to me. I say new to me simply because I end up
discovering that an author that I'd never heard of has quite the
list of novels in their catalog. Such is the case with the author
of THE TAINTED CUP. Robert Jackson Bennett has apparently been
around for quite awhile, and has a goodly collection of fantasy
novels (which may explain why I'm not familiar with him, given
that I prefer reading science fiction over fantasy, although if
the fantasy is good or the author is terrific, I branch off in
that direction) to his credit, some of which were award-worthy.
This is also something I didn't know, but after having read THE
TAINTED CUP, I can see why.
Dinios Kol (Din for short) is a new apprentice investigator
assigned to Investigator Anagosa Dolabra (Ana, as you might
guess). Ana is an unusual investigator in that she stays in her
own abode most of the time and remains blindfolded in order to
avoid overstimulation. Ana claims this allows her to concentrate
better, and that may be true, but I suspect that the real reason
is that she has a disability that makes it difficult to be around
other people or external distractions. Thus, she sends Din to do
the investigating for her, he reports back what he has found, and
she uses incredible reasoning skills to figure out what's going
on. Din is helped by the fact that he is an Engraver, a sublime
(we'll get to that) who is imbued with perfect memory. This
ability allows him to recall conversations, pictures, writing
(although that is difficult for him as he has much trouble reading
(we'll also get to that)) and all sorts of things that make him
invaluable to Ana.
It's probably time to talk about sublimes and a little bit of the
world of THE TAINTED CUP. The Empire of the story spends a good
deal of time trying to repel the incursions of leviathans, which
break through the walls protecting the Empire. Sublimes are people
who are modified to have special skills--mathematics, strength,
and perfect memory. The modifications allow them to serve in the
protection of the Empire. Din is an odd one. He passed his
Engravers test, but failed all the other exams, probably mostly
due to his inability to read. Of course this bit of information
comes into play during the course of the novel.
Ana and Din are assigned to investigate what turns out to be a
very unusual death. The deceased, Engineer Blas, is found dead in
a mansion owned by a very wealthy and influential family, the
Hazas. The death was unusual in that Blas was killed by a tree
that grew through his body. As this death occurred during a
season in which a leviathan is about to attack the defending wall,
Ana and Din are sent to the canton of Talagray, near the front
line of the leviathan attack, to further investigate the death
(which is now presumed to be a murder). And so the story
continues from there.
THE TAINTED CUP is a fascinating and well thought out murder
mystery. It involves a good deal of political intrigue,
espionage, and complicated plots within plots, as the count of
murder victims mounts as well as the number of murderers. All
throughout the investigation, Din displays special talents and
initiative, going places and doing things that no normal
investigator would do. As for Ana, the reader can envision her
sitting on a throne, pronouncing the truth of what is going on as
more and more clues are revealed making connections that anyone
unfamiliar with murder mysteries would just shake their head at in
wonder (like me, for example). The final revelation, and how Ana
arrived at is, is quite amazing.
THE TAINTED CUP is a tightly written novel with several
interesting and engaging characters. My favorite, really, is Ana.
She reminds me a little bit of Avasarala from The Expanse novels.
Nowhere near as profane--check that, not profane at all--as
Avasarala, but quick witted, with a sharp tongue that can make
anyone wither if they are the object of her diatribes. But the
other thing that's fascinating about the novel is that if you
squint a little bit, and tilt your head to one side, you could
think that this book could be considered science fiction. Genetic
mutations? Check. Chemicals that trigger certain reactions in
sublimes, especially Engravers? Check. Large monsters that are
attacking cities? Think Godzilla. So while THE TAINTED CUP looks
like a fantasy, tastes like a fantasy, and smells like a fantasy,
it might not be a fantasy. But it was probably intended to be a
fantasy, so we might as well go with it. I did like this novel,
and might be tempted to read the second book in the series. I
think it might be worth a try.
The real reason that I read THE TAINTED CUP is that it's a
finalist for the Best Novel Hugo this year (2025 if you're coming
upon this review a few years from now). I listened to the audio
book rather than read a printed (or electronic) copy because I
consume most of the novels I read that way. It's hard to not let
the narration of the novel affect my view of any book, but I will
say that narrator Andrew Fallaize was terrific. His portrayal of
Ana was terrific, and what made me think of Avasarala. While I
don't listen to an audio book based on the narrator (with maybe
the exception of Jefferson Mayes, who narrated The Expanse novels
as well as James S. A. Corey's new book), I'd be more than happy
to listen to other books that he narrates. [-jak]
===================================================================
TOPIC: "The Essential Terry Pratchett" (letter of comment by Paul
S. R. Chisholm)
In response to the link on "The Essential Terry Pratchett" in the
06/06/25 issue of the MT VOID, Paul S. R. Chisholm writes:
This is less a list of "essential" books than the reviewer's
personal favorites. She suggests one might "find the flow charts
daunting." For those who do, I recommend the text in:
<
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld#Storylines>
For those who don't, there's a link there to a flowchart.
If you're still daunted, here's my recommendation: start with
GUARDS! GUARDS!, read the other Watch novels in publication order
at least through NIGHT WATCH. Then go nuts. [-psrc]
===================================================================
TOPIC: Magna Carta, The Book of Kells, and the Sears & Roebuck
Catalog (letters of comment by Scott Dorsey, Gary McGath, and
Blueshirt)
In response to Evelyn's comments on the Magna Carta in the
06/06/25 issue of the MT VOID, Scott Dorsey writes:
In reference to the Magna Carta, Evelyn Leeper writes, "One might
claim, I suppose, that it is often cited in the same way as the
Bible--by people who take pieces out of context and are unfamiliar
with the entirety." [-ecl]
In my father's Orange family, this was taken in an almost-humorous
way by the Book of Kells. "Male prostitution? Oh yeah, that's
in the Book of Kells." "You need a recipe for pie crust? It's
probably in the Book of Kells."
Many years later, I went to Dublin for the Worldcon and actually
saw the Book of Kells and it was not as comprehensive as I had
been led to believe. [-sd]
Blueshirt explains:
That's because the folios that had the pie crust recipe were
among the ones that were lost in medieval times... [-bs]
Evelyn notes:
Magan Etheridge reminisces about the Sears & Roebuck catalog the
same way:
"That big catalog was the source for most store-bought merchandise
needed on the farm and the principal reference book in addition.
An example of this function is that when I asked how to spell
'genuine' I was sent to the saddles and found the word in the
description: the saddle was made from 'genuine leather,' of
course. The catalog also provided a detailed education as to
what ladies wore under their dresses ... the country boy’s Playboy
magazine years before that came about!"
<
https://tryondailybulletin.com/2019/06/21/remembering-sears-roebuck/>
[-ecl]
Gary McGath observes:
There was a Robin Hood movie I saw where the Magna Carta is
supposed to contain guarantees of rights to all the people, far
beyond anything it actually said, and King John immediately tore
it up (which also isn't historical).
When discussing it afterward, I suggested there was a first draft
which he found unacceptable (and somehow escaped the notice of
history), and he later signed a more limited one. [-gmg]
===================================================================
TOPIC: THE SEVENTH VICTIM (letter of comment by Jay Morris)
In response to Evelyn's comments on THE SEVENTH VICTIM in the
06/06/25 issue of the MT VOID, Jay Morris writes:
[Evelyn wrote,] "One thing that never made any sense to me was why
Esther (who owned a cosmetics company) was so upset that her
employee Frances was talking about the company's logo. It was the
symbol of the Palladists, but if it was so secret, why did Esther
put it on all their products?"
Was the logo known outside the group to be the symbol of the
Palladists or just the logo of some cosmetics company? If the
latter, and Frances was talking about the former, that could be a
problem. [-jm]
Evelyn replies:
If I recall correctly, it was just as a logo. [ecl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: This Week's Reading (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
Listening to the BBC adaptation of THE LORD OF THE RINGS, I found
myself wondering why all the characters in that and in THE HOBBIT
react differently to the Ring. To take it chronologically after
Isildur loses The One Ring (TOR), first we have Deagol who finds
TOR. Almost immediately, Smeagol murders him for the Ring. So
both of them seem to have been corrupted by merely being in the
presence of TOR.
Then Smeagol has it for a long time, and it turns him into Gollum.
I won't list all the ways he changes, but it seems to be
physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Then Bilbo finds it. He has it a long time (possibly not as long
as Smeagol), and he uses it, but it doesn't seem to have a
negative effect on him, rather than his "feeling stretched" or
"spread thin". The only negative effect seems to be when Frodo
shows him TOR in Rivendell and he goes quite fierce for a
second.
But he leaves TOR for Frodo at Gandalf's suggestion/insistence.
He has some unconscious reluctance when he keeps forgetting to
actually put it on the mantel.
Frodo has TOR for a while, but apparently has just kept it in a
trunk or something. Then Gandalf returns with more knowledge of
TOR, and that it is dangerous. Frodo offers him TOR, but
Gandalf flatly turns it down, so somehow he is able to resist the
effect.
They go to Rivendell, where the fellowship is formed. None of the
elves there seem affected by the presence of TOR. For that
matter, most of the fellowship (Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Merry,
and Pippin) don't seem to be affected at all despite their
extended time physically near TOR.
They go to Lothlorien, where again no one seems to show any
effects. Frodo offers TOR to Galadriel, who seems tempted, but
ultimately refuses TOR. (Or is she just telling Frodo what the
offer implies?)
But the as they are traveling, Boromir suddenly decides to try to
get TOR from Frodo. Why? And why then? And why does his
brother Faramir later declare (quite honestly) that he has no
desire for TOR?
Meanwhile Frodo has been carrying TOR a long time, yet seems
unaffected by it. Only when Sam offers to carry it, and later
does carry it briefly, does he "fly off the handle."
Sam, on the other hand, seems totally unaffected by his contact
with TOR. Yes, it was brief, but it took no time at all for
Deagol and Smeagol to get taken over.
So how does TOR work? It's not a question of time (Deagol and
Smeagol), nor of physical proximity (most of the fellowship), nor
of race (we see beings of each race who are affected and beings
who aren't). I know Tolkien was very diligent about his
world-building, but I can't help but feel he was not as careful
with this aspect. [-ecl]
===================================================================
Evelyn C. Leeper
evelynchimelisleeper@gmail.com Never fight an inanimate object.
--P. J. O'Rourke
MT VOID, 06/13/25 -- Vol. 43, No. 50, Whole Number 2384
Re: MT VOID, 06/13/25 -- Vol. 43, No. 50, Whole Number 2384