Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
07/31/20 -- Vol. 39, No. 5, Whole Number 2130
Co-Editor: Mark Leeper, *mleeper@optonline.net *
Co-Editor: Evelyn Leeper, *eleeper@optonline.net *
Sending Address: *evelynchimelisleeper@gmail.com
*
All material is the opinion of the author and is copyrighted by the
author unless otherwise noted.
All comments sent or posted will be assumed authorized for
inclusion unless otherwise noted.
To subscribe or unsubscribe, send mail to *eleeper@optonline.net
*
The latest issue is at *http://www.leepers.us/mtvoid/latest.htm
http://www.leepers.us/mtvoid/latest.htm*.
An index with links to the issues of the MT VOID since 1986 is at
*http://leepers.us/mtvoid/back_issues.htm
http://leepers.us/mtvoid/back_issues.htm*.
Topics:
Dog Talk (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
Science Fiction (and Other) Discussion Groups, Films,
Lectures, etc. (NJ)
My Picks for Turner Classic Movies in August (comments
by Mark R. Leeper)
THE CITY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT by Charlie Jane Anders
(book review by Joe Karpierz)
BRIEF ANSWERS TO THE BIG QUESTIONS by Stephen Hawking
(book review by Gregory Frederick)
Opera Languages (letters of comment by Paul Dormer and
Dorothy J. Heydt)
Understanding and Doctor Who (letter of comment
by Dorothy J. Heydt)
Jalapeno Peppers and Hot Food (letter of comment
by Jim Susky)
BITTEN Meets WOLFBLOOD Meets HANNAH Meets DAREDEVIL
(television review by Dale Skran)
This Week's Reading (UP IN THE OLD HOTEL) (book comments
by Evelyn C. Leeper)
===================================================================
TOPIC: Dog Talk (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
I thank Evelyn for pointing out this guide to the body language of
dogs from the Animal Channel. A few of these postures I was aware
of, but I did not know there were known postures of dogs.
*https://tinyurl.com/y35275qx https://tinyurl.com/y35275qx*
[-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: Science Fiction (and Other) Discussion Groups, Films,
Lectures, etc. (NJ)
Needless to say, everything here is tentative. The Old Bridge
group did hold a socially distanced meeting at one of the
members' homes on July 23 to discuss ROBUR THE CONQUEROR.
All Middletown meetings cancelled/postponed until further notice
September 24, 2020: THE DARK FOREST by Cixin Liu,
Old Bridge Public Library or member's home TBD,
6PM or 7PM (depending on whether the library is open,
whether members are commuting to work, etc.)
November 19, 2020: Rudyard Kipling:
"A Matter of Fact" (1892)
*https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16578
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16578*
"The Ship That Found Herself" (1895)
*https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2569
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2569*
".007" (1897)
*https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2569
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2569*
"Wireless" (1902)
*https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9790
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9790*
"With the Night Mail [Aerial Board of Control 1]" (1905)
*https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29135
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29135*
"As Easy as A.B.C. [Aerial Board of Control 2]" (1912)
*https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13085
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13085*
"In the Same Boat" (1911)
*https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13085
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13085*
Old Bridge Public Library, 7PM (though see above)
Northern New Jersey events are listed at:
*http://www.sfsnnj.com/news.html http://www.sfsnnj.com/news.html*
===================================================================
TOPIC: My Picks for Turner Classic Movies in August (comments by
Mark R. Leeper)
Well, we are back to late summer and this living is easy. Well,
perhaps not as easy as it was late summer last year. Actually I
think the planet will not have a whole lot of easy living for a
long, long time. I think we should all do what we can for the
unemployed and the hungry.
One of my favorite kinds of mystery story the is not the who-dun-it
but the what-is-going-on? MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS is a good example.
Perhaps one reason this film is not better known is the lackluster
title. The viewer asks themselves, "Why should I care what this
unknown fictional person's name is?" But identity becomes the
center of the mystery.
Julia Ross is a working woman in London: no husband; no family. She
just lost her second career. Work is very hard to get, but she has
to eat. Then she sees in the newspaper a help wanted ad and it
looks like something that might work for her. She goes to the
employment agency and unexpectedly is simply charmed by the loving
manners of her interviewing supervisor. When she is told that she
will be caring for an elderly woman and may have to drop her work
with the old woman she has no objections. This is especially true
because the old woman is so likable. Julia goes to sleep that
night happy that she has found such a nice job and so pleasant a
set of new friends. She sleeps for two days and wakes up in a very
wealthy estate in Cornwall. All her possessions are gone, and
everybody tells her previous life is a fantasy and her real name is
and has always been Marion Hughes.
[MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS, Saturday, August, 15 2020 @ 10:15 PM]
BEST OF AUGUST
In this monochrome historical epic, Charlie Chaplin combines
believable historical detail with his own brand of comedy. This is
a film comparable to Buster Keaton's THE GENERAL.
[THE GOLD RUSH. Saturday, August 8 @ 09:30 AM]
[-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: THE CITY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT by Charlie Jane Anders
(copyright 2019, TOR, 366pp, $26.99 hardcover, ISBN978-0-7653-7996-
2) (book review by Joe Karpierz)
THE CITY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT is Charlie Jane Anders'
successful debut novel, 2016's ALL THE BIRDS IN THE SKY. That
novel won the Best Novel Nebula Award and Best Fantasy Novel Locus
Award in 2017, as well as being a Best Novel Hugo finalist in 2017.
CITY (because I could be typing all night long), has already won
the Best Science Fiction Novel Locus Award in 2020 and is a
finalist for Best Novel Hugo in 2020. However, these two novels
are not at all like each other, and are in many ways completely
opposite of each other. BIRDS felt bright and optimistic, while
CITY is much more dark, gritty, and while not necessarily
pessimistic, the reader doesn't feel like there's a light at the
end of the tunnel for the characters.
The setting is classically science-fictional. The planet January
is a long way from Earth and is tidally locked. Settlers from
Earth came here to start again after some catastrophe on the home
planet caused them to abandon it. It may puzzle the reader as to
why humanity chose this hostile planet to settle, given that there
is only a narrow band of the surface that life can actually survive
on, but that is not the focus of the book and thus is never
explained. The ship that brought the settlers to January, which
they dub "the mother ship", is still up in orbit. There are two
cities built by the settlers, and these two cities are where most
of the story takes place (yes, there is a third, because otherwise
you couldn't have the titular city, but we'll get to that later).
The two cities are Xiosphant, a rigidly run society that lives by
the tick of the clock, where even talking after sleep time has
begun is against the law, and where everyone wakes up at the same
time, goes to work at the same time, and even takes breaks at the
same time; and Argelo, where anarchy reigns, residents can do
anything they want, and which is run by several criminal warring
factions. Our two lead characters are Sophie and Bianca, and they
are friends who live in Xiosphant.
That's about all they have in common. Sophie is a poor kid from
the wrong side of the tracks in Xiosphant, and Bianca is a rich kid
with all the privileges and (potential) problems that come along
with wealth. Without it being said early on, Sophie loves Bianca,
and wants to be what Bianca is. But what Bianca is is a girl that
both wants to be a revolutionary and have her cake and eat it too
by going to fancy parties and living the high life. Sophie admires
this, and when Bianca steals some petty cash to buy drinks for her
friends, Sophie takes the blame so Bianca can live her life the way
she wants without it being ruined. Sophie's punishment is death,
and Bianca's punishment is nothing more than grief for her lost
friend.
Except she is not lost, as she is saved by what the settlers call
crocodiles, and what Sophie calls Gelet. The Gelet are the
intelligent native species on January. The Gelet communicate using
telepathy, and are a kind of gestalt when it comes to memory; every
Gelet knows everything every one else has ever known, and can relay
those memories to anyone they want. The Gelet are hunted by
humans, which of course is entirely consistent with the way humans
typically act around things they don't understand.
There is certainly a lot going on in this novel, a lot to get your
hooks into. There is of course a lot of conflict, but really since
most of the folks in this story are flawed in one form or another--
aside from Sophie and Bianca (who is the worst of the lot), the
character called Mouth leaves a lot to be desired, although she
does try to be better than she is--it's not really good versus evil
in the traditional sense. And of course the settlers turn out to
be fairly rotten too, when it comes right down to it, as we
discover via the Gelet and Mouth's story.
But is there any good in here? In the end, sure there is. Because
I think the lesson that Anders is trying to impart--a lesson that
is obvious, of course--is that we really all need to get along. We
all need to be one people, whether we come from Xiosphant, Argelo,
or the titular city in the middle of the night where the Gelet
live.
While, in my opinion, not as good a novel as ALL THE BIRDS IN THE
SKY, this is still a strong work, and one that is worthy of the
accolades it is receiving and will continue to receive. [-jak]
===================================================================
TOPIC: BRIEF ANSWERS TO THE BIG QUESTIONS by Stephen Hawking (book
review by Gregory Frederick)
A great scientist died in 2018 and that scientist was Stephen
Hawking. This review is about his last book. In this science book
Hawking tries to give his answers to ten of the big questions that
people can have, questions that include topics such as: is there a
God, how did it all begin, is there intelligent life in the
universe, is time travel possible and some other very interesting
subjects. His answers can be rather open ended for some subjects,
indicating that future discoveries will provide more complete
answers. But Hawking does think that the structures in the
Universe (galaxies, stars and us) began as quantum fluctuations due
to the uncertainty principle. This occurred during the
inflationary period of the Big Bang. I have now read four of
Hawking's books; all are great reads if you like science. [-gf]
===================================================================
TOPIC: Opera Languages (letters of comment by Paul Dormer and
Dorothy J. Heydt)
In response to comments on what languages in which operas are sung
in the 07/24/20 issue of the MT VOID, Paul Dormer writes:
In London, the Royal Opera usually performs operas in the original
language, English National Opera usually in English.
I remember going to a performance of Tchaikovsky's EUGENE ONEGIN at
the Royal Opera House in the eighties and it claimed it was the
first time it had been sung there in Russian. The previous post-
war stagings had been in English, but earlier, it was sung in
Italian!
A couple of years ago I went to see Berlioz's BENVENUTO CELLINI at
the Bastille Opera in Paris. (The staging was by Terry Gilliam of
Monty Python fame and had originally been done at English National
Opera in English.)
The production was in French but, curiously, the surtitles were
both in French and English. And I knew enough French to realise
the translations were not always literal. (Fun production, by the
way. Another staging of the production, I think it was in the
Netherlands, came out on DVD.)
Which reminds me of a story some friends of mine keep telling me.
They went to see PARSIFAL at English National Opera and when they
got there, they found that the singer in the role of PARSIFAL was
ill and the replacement was the great Wagnerian tenor Siegfried
Jerusalem. He only knew the role in German, the rest of the cast
were singing in English. A great performance, from what I've
heard.
However, another friend found out this was about to take place when
she was on the ferry on a trip to Bayreuth. She almost demanded
they turn the boat round. [-pd]
Dorothy J. Heydt writes:
Sometimes you don't *want* to understand the words. Shaw, in "Man
And Superman", quotes Beaumarchais(?) as "Whatever is too silly to
be said can be sung," and I'm thinking particularly of Handel's
Italian operas, whose plots do not border on the ridiculous, they
fall right into it and sink. I also have an everlasting hate for
Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde", where the two mooncalves go into a
tender romantic duet about the sweet little word "und".
My third-year Spanish teacher gave us an entire dittoed sheet of
deceptive cognates and other things not to say. "Caramba, caray,
caracoles, are all right, but beware of other words beginnning in
ca-." This was in the mid-1950s, Orange County, California, where
hardened conservatives went to retire and eventually die, and the
teacher was not allowed just to say, "Don't say 'caca'." [-djh]
===================================================================
TOPIC: Understanding and Doctor Who (letter of comment by Dorothy
J. Heydt)
In response to Mark's comments on understanding in the 07/24/20
issue of the MT VOID, Dorothy J. Heydt writes:
[Mark writes,] "What are the dreaded words that we all think but
only few have the courage to say out loud. The words are 'I don't
know what you are talking about. I don't understand.'" [-mrl]
Oh, my grandson says that all the time. He has no fear. Hal is
doing his math instruction, hoping he will catch up by the time
that school re-starts (entirely online; Hal is taking care of
that), and if Vincent is in a contrary mood, to every question he
howls, I DON'T KNOOOOOOOOW!!!!"
[Mark writes,] "But deep down most of you are like that, going
through life afraid to admit that you don't understand something."
[-mrl]
Well, I don't. I am married to a programmer/engineer who tells me
what he's doing with the latest wrinkle on [one of] his Pi[s], And
I am not ashamed to say something like "that noise you just heard
was all that whooshing over my head," or "you are giving me more
information about penguins than I care to have." It gets
interesting when our son-in-law comes downstairs and they talk
computer stuff. SIL is not an engineer; he spent his time in the
Air Force as a plumber; but he understands what Hal tells him. I
don't even try. [-djh]
In response to Mark's comments on Doctor Who in this regard,
Dorothy J. Heydt writes:
Heh. DOCTOR WHO would be in its fifty-seventh year if there hadn't
been a hiatus if there hadn't been a hiatus (of eighteen years, if
my math is right) which was filled in with radio dramas,
paperbacks, and comic books. I am now watching the Third Doctor on
Britbox, trying to fill in the gaps. [-djh]
===================================================================
TOPIC: Jalapeno Peppers and Hot Food (letter of comment by Jim
Susky)
In response to Mark's comments on jalapeno peppers in the 06/19/20
issue of the MT VOID, Jim Susky writes:
It's my fervent hope that, by Mid-March, some semblance of normalcy
will return and I will meet up with my friends in Scottsdale for
Cactus League exhibition games.
Now that Mark has recycled part of his restaurant journal...
(more, please)
... and has "cursed" American Jerks with the farina label, I will
use that label.
One of my friends, in particular, is notably unadventurous at the
table. I plan not to address him directly, but to mention "Farina"
with appropriate context generally, without "pointing a finger"
(let him squirm). I have seven months to figure this out.
Best Regards
Jim Susky
P.S. Mark might try doctoring a selfie before "dying (his) skin
before going to Indian Restaurants"--somehow, I don't believe he
would pass as an Indian national without prosthetics.
P.P.S. Your occasional treatises regarding the "Scoville factor"
in food begs for some form of calibration. And an update. For the
latter, perhaps a field report on the state of the Jalapeno in
America would be useful--both fresh and marinated. Marinated
peppers would have the advantage of being somewhat standard--
consistent in New Jersey and Alaska. For instance Costco's
constant inventory includes sliced, pickled Jalapenos. Do those
qualify as "mild" (not so "new" after 26 years)?
Finally, I would suggest another "calibration". Publish a favorite
spicy recipe. Use a "standard" pepper--perhaps Cayenne powder--
easy to measure and consistent in "heat".
(Wikipedia states: "Most varieties are generally rated at 30,000 to
50,000 Scoville units".) [-js]
===================================================================
TOPIC: BITTEN Meets WOLFBLOOD Meets HANNAH Meets DAREDEVIL
(television review by Dale Skran)
The "Call of the Wild" theme represented by superheroes like
Wolverine and the Hulk has long held a fascination for fans. Many
find a deep attraction to a character who can throw off the
strictures of civilization in a wild burst of animalistic rage.
This same desire underlies the enduring appeal of the werewolf.
Just as the vampire has evolved, we have seen new depictions of
"werewolf-like" species. Two moderately recent examples are
BITTEN, which I have previously in the MTVOID, and the British teen
series WOLFBLOOD. In this series although the "wolves" are of a
supernatural, or at least have a supernatural connection to the
Moon, there are many naturalistic touches, including the idea that
the "Wolfbloods" are a species, with a genetic basis. WOLFBLOOD
lacks the violence and sex of BITTEN, but is surprisingly smart and
thoughtful within the limitations of the teen format.
More recently, Amazon has produced a serial version of HANNAH based
on the 2011 movie. Amazon's HANNAH is now in its second season,
which to my taste is a good bit better than the first. Season 1
retold the tale of the movie version, but lacking most of the charm
of the movie. Season 2 moves into new territory, and is both
better put together and more satisfying. The titular Hannah was
genetically engineered to be a super-soldier via the addition of
wolf DNA. Rather than succumb to animalistic rage, she fights with
a detached coolness no human could maintain for any length of time
and remain sane. In the film, Saoirse Ronan captured this kind of
infra-human detachment very well. She is interested in what it
means to be human, but somehow distant from it as well. In the
Amazon version, star Esme Creed-Miles struggles to capture this
vibe in season one, but has mastered it by season two.
To give a flavor of the difference between these three species of
"werewolves" I thought it would be fun to compare their abilities
between them, and also with Marvel's Daredevil.
Table 1, comparing BITTEN and WOLFBLOOD:
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Area of | BITTEN | WOLFBLOOD |
| comparison | | |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | Involuntary at |
| Transformation | At will, with | full Moon, but |
| | some capable | can transform |
| | of partial | at other times |
| | transformation | as well |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Hearing | Superhuman | Superhuman |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Touch | Not discussed | Not discussed |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Smell | Superhuman but | Superhuman |
| | stronger in | |
| | females | |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Sight | Great night | Presumably excellent |
| | vision | but not featured |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Speed/Endurance | Superhuman | Superhuman; superb |
| | | long-distance |
| | | broken-field runners |
| | | in human form |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Strength | Mildly superhuman | Superhuman; strong |
| | | and fast enough they |
| | | appear to have no |
| | | need for martial |
| | | arts skills |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Agility | Excellent but not | Superhuman |
| | obviously | |
| | superhuman | |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Aim | Excellent | Superhuman |
| | especially | with no training |
| | with training | |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Lie detection | Not discussed | Superhuman; based |
| | | on heartbeat, smell, |
| | | etc. but not perfect |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Fighting skills | Extensive martial | No training visible; |
| | arts training; | strong natural |
| | every pack member | fighters; no need |
| | is a very good | for training when |
| | hand to hand | fighting humans; |
| | combatant; | |
| | | Wolfbloods fight |
| | Elena Michaels is | each other as |
| | a better fighter | wolves. |
| | than most. | |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Other abilities | Precognitive dreams | Eolas -- a |
| | in the case of | supernatural |
| | Elena, a rare | form of remote |
| | female wolf. | viewing; blocked |
| | | by electricity; |
| | | can be addictive; |
| | | common among |
| | | "wild" Wolfbloods, |
| | | less so among |
| | | the "tame" |
| | | |
| | | Ansion -- a higher |
| | | form of Eolas that |
| | | can look back in |
| | | time, even 100s |
| | | of years. |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Role of females | There are virtually | Females have major |
| | no female wolves | roles and are |
| | except for the main | often pack |
| | character, Elena | alphas |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Weaknesses | Odd avoidance of | Fear of fire, |
| | firearms; sense | |
| | of honor can lead | love of meat |
| | to foolish battles | can lead to |
| | | consuming |
| | | poison or drugs; |
| | | |
| | | pack politics; |
| | | |
| | | strong smells/ |
| | | sounds |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Intelligence | Human level, or | Smart for a |
| when | nearly so | wolf, but not |
| transformed | | human; can be |
| | | tricked by humans |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| How ability is | Via a bite or by | Via birth or |
| gained | birth; being a | the Wolfblood |
| | wolf is a disease | serum that |
| | you catch | Kincaid created |
| | | in Season |
| | | Three |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Leaping/jumping | Excellent, but | Superhuman; can |
| ability | not used much | |
| | | jump |
| | | in human form |
| | | easily over a tall |
| | | fence, or land |
| | | unharmed from a |
| | | fall that would |
| | | injure a human |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Science/ | Except for the | Feels like science |
| Supernatural | precognition, | but clearly |
| | scientific; | supernatural; |
| | characters go | clothes appear |
| | naked to transform | and disappear |
| | | during |
| | | transformation |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Powers as a | The actual powers | Pretty much |
| wolf | of a wolf, plus | like a real wolf |
| | being much bigger | |
| | than a wolf | |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Healing | Superhuman but not | Superhuman but |
| | unlimited | not unlimited; |
| | | includes disease |
| | | resistance |
| | | that is superhuman |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
| | | |
| Exemplar | Elena Michaels, | Jana, a "wild" |
| | who can partially | Wolfblood who |
| | transform her hands | eventually |
| | into claws and is | becomes a top |
| | the pack's best | agent at Segolia, |
| | tracker and #2 | a Wolfblood |
| | enforcer;skilled | controlled biotech |
| | but savage fighter; | firm. Jana is a |
| | favored move is | master of Eolas |
| | tearing out an | and Ansion, as |
| | opponent's heart | well as an alpha |
| | with one | female; favored |
| | transformed hand. | technique is to |
| | | organize her pack |
| | | against an |
| | | opponent |
+-------------------+----------------------+------------------------+
Table 2, comparing HANNAH and Daredevil:
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| Area of | HANNAH | Daredevil |
| comparison | | |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | None; her powers | Puts on costume |
| Transformation | are genetically | anytime |
| | engineered | |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| Hearing | Superhuman | Superhuman, probably |
| | | better than the |
| | | "wolves" |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| Touch | Not discussed | Great ability to |
| | | absorb knowledge via |
| | | touch alone; |
| | | superhuman |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| Smell | Superhuman; | Superhuman |
| | similar to a wolf | |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| Sight | Apparently | Blind |
| | excellent, | |
| | but not featured | |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| Speed/Endurance | Superhuman | Olympic level |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| Strength | Superhuman | Olympic level |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| Agility | Superhuman | Superhuman |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| Aim | Excellent; with | Superhuman; |
| | extensive training | defeated Bullseye |
| | probably better | |
| | than any human | |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| Lie detection | To some degree | Superhuman, based |
| | | on heart beat; |
| | | can be fooled |
| | | with pacemaker |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | Highly trained |
| Fighting skills | Extensive martial | martial artist; |
| | arts, military, | among the best |
| | and spy training; | in the world, |
| | raised to | master of many |
| | be a living | arts |
| | weapon. | |
| | Hannah has been | |
| | trained from | |
| | birth by her | |
| | "father" | |
| | in survival and | |
| | fighting skills | |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| Other abilities | Mental flexibility | "Radar sense" |
| | and high | based on |
| | intelligence | echolocation |
| | allow her to | |
| | navigate | |
| | the modern world in | |
| | spite of having been | |
| | raised in the wild; | |
| | disguise and other | |
| | spy skills. Calm, | |
| | detached, and | |
| | lacking empathy | |
| | when fighting. | |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | For some reason | |
| Role of females | not explained, | Male character |
| | only females | from an era of |
| | can survive the | mostly |
| | addition of the | male superheroes |
| | wolf DNA, so | |
| | all "wolf agents | |
| | are female | |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| Weaknesses | Loyalty to friends | Overwhelming |
| | can lead to errors, | smells and sounds |
| | can be tricked or | |
| | misunderstand what | |
| | is happening | |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| Intelligence | Not applicable, | When wearing |
| when | but genetically | may undertake |
| transformed | engineered for high | heroic but foolish |
| | intelligence | quests; successful |
| | | lawyer |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| How ability is | Genetic engineering; | Truck dousing you |
| gained | intensive training | with radioactive |
| | | waste, extensive |
| | | training by the |
| | | Chosen |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| Leaping/jumping | Superhuman; can jump | Olympic gymnast; |
| ability | over a high fence | leaps from the |
| | | structure to |
| | | structure |
| | | using his Billy |
| | | club to help |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| Science/ | All science | Supposedly |
| Supernatural | | scientific |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| Powers as a | She is always | Not applicable |
| wolf | a wolf, and | |
| | always human, | |
| | since she is a | |
| | meld. | |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| Healing | Superhuman but not | Normal human level |
| | unlimited | |
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
| | | |
| Exemplar | Hannah, the last | Daredevil, Marvel's |
| | surviving member | blind superhero. |
| | of the first batch | Between Murdock's |
| | of UTREX | extensive Ninja |
| | super-soldiers. | fighting training, |
| | In addition to her | years of fighting |
| | wolf-DNA abilities, | experience, and |
| | her life-long | super-human senses |
| | training | and agility, |
| | by a top former | Daredevil |
| | UTREX agent makes | is not to be |
| | her extremely | discounted |
| | dangerous with any | easily. |
| | weapon, or no | |
| | weapons. | |
| | | Favored fighting |
| | Favored fighting | technique is a |
| | technique | highly modified |
| | is two high-caliber | and engineered |
| | semi-automatic | club with a curved |
| | handguns. | handled that doubles |
| | | as a cane when |
| | | he is "acting blind".|
+-------------------+------------------------+----------------------+
And now, drum roll, the ratings:
BITTEN: Going with a +1 here, but only for adults. Violent and
sexual, with torture scenes.
WOLFBLOOD: A +1 again here, but fine for pretty much all kids over
5 or so. Some scary scenes, but no real violence at least up
through Season 3, and no sex period.
HANNAH: The first season is a 0, but season 2 in the +1/+2 range.
Some sex, some drug use, some torture, and lots of violence. Fine
for teens and up. You might want to see the movie version first to
understand the attraction of the character better, since season 1
just isn't that good. There is something subtle but scary about
HANNAH season two that I don't want to give away in this review,
but that raises the level of the writing above the original movie.
If you do want to watch DAREDEVIL, I suggest the Netflix version,
which appears to still be available there. It's not perfect,
Electra is not done right, and the later seasons are stupidly
violent, but overall, it is the best live-action Daredevil yet.
[-dls]
===================================================================
TOPIC: This Week's Reading (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
UP IN THE OLD HOTEL by Joseph Mitchell (Pantheon, 978-0-679-41263-
2) was listed by Michael Dirda as an essential non-fiction book (in
BOOK BY BOOK). But the first thing you need to know about it is
that it is not non-fiction. When Dirda wrote BOOK BY BOOK in 2007,
he thought Mitchell's essays were just as they were presented, non-
fiction. It was only with Thomas Kumkel's 2015 biography of
Mitchell, MAN IN PROFILE, that he realized Mitchell dealt in
composite characters, stitched-together interviews, and almost
definitely quotes that were constructed/created from memory rather
than verbatim notes. (Dirda reviewed Kunkel's book for the
"Washington Post".)
Even Mitchell himself admitted some of this in this omnibus volume,
with an introductory note indicating that at least some of them
were fiction, but he was not complete in his admission.
So far as I can tell, Mitchell was not as egregious as Stephen
Glass, who made up his stories from whole cloth, or Jayson Blair,
who plagiarized as well as fabricated details. And apparently H.
L. Mencken is known to have done something similar to Mitchell.
Still, times change, and what was considered perhaps acceptable
then (there is some evidence that Mitchell's editors at THE NEW
YORKER MAGAZINE knew or suspected what was going on) is certainly
considered wrong today. In journalism, as in many other aspects of
life, the argument "it was a different time then" can go only so
far towards excusing people.
(Mitchell's topics--and how he writes about them--will also raise
so eyebrows. He writes about "the King of the Gypsies" and "gypsy
women" (his term, not mine) describing a lot of the negative
stereotypes one would try to avoid these days. (For example, he
has his "King of the Gypsies"--one of his composite figures--
talking about how of course they all steal and commit fraud and so
on.) His writing about circus "freaks" is at the same time
insensitive and caring: not always thinking about how his questions
might sound, but also including Lady Olga's comments on what terms
they prefer to describe them.
The thing to note, though, is that Mitchell's writing is so
wonderfully vivid and evocative that even had these been (or were
they now) presented as straight fiction, they would be worth
reading. [-ecl]
===================================================================
Mark Leeper
*mleeper@optonline.net *
The nose of a bulldog has been slanted backwards so that
he can breathe without letting go.
--Winston Churchill