"Do It For Mama!" by Jerrold J. Mundis
In an American city riven by factional tensions, fuelled by hard-line conservatives and stoked by media disinformation, with riot police on the streets to enforce authoritarian legislation, the Home Guard is controversially ordered in to quell protests, resulting in hundreds of deaths.
So to take my mind off all that, I've read Mundis's prescient 1971 story set in a New York in which dog ownership becomes ⬇️
"Now, in 1971, it isn't possible to look the other way. It is the daytime, suburban side of our existence that has become our nightmare...These are not catastrophes of the imagination - they are what's happening...I get the feeling I'm playing Russian roulette: each passing month that the Worst hasn't happened is an empty chamber of the revolver. But one of them, sure as hell, *is* loaded."
- Introduction, Thomas M. Disch
I fancied some scifi, and this 1973 collection of stories came to mind as I've just finished reading about the ruins of ancient Athens. Some of the Greats contribute to the anthology.
I started reading this in 1981 and paused it, but it's fair to say at this point that I'm starting it anew!
The cover blurb is sad from the current historical perspective, as we continue to head in the direction predicted in these tales of ecological apocalypse.
We're recording this right before Thanksgiving, giving us a chance to stand up for Thanksgiving food! After praising pies and casseroles, we discuss some recent books we've been reading on the side and giving out some gift ideas for the holidays. Finally, we pick our November book. It's a jammed pack episode this week and we hope you enjoyed your holidays with food and books!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3wlWajOpFuRIRltTssd1VU
pick(1980) The best stories in this collection feature rich imagery, complex characters, and ambiguous realities. My favorites were "The Death of Doctor Island," set in a psychiatric treatment facility in orbit around Jupiter; and "Tracking Song," whose amnesiac hero navigates a wilderness of violence and maybe cannibalism as he tries to return to the flying transport from which he may have fallen. This was my #DoubleSpin for April.
Winter comes to water as well as land, though there are no leaves to fall.
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
Rule 5 for how to read Gene Wolfe.
😂🤣😂 “Gene is throwing the knives.” 😂🤣😂
#NeilGaiman #TheViewFromTheCheapSeats #GeneWolfe
#OneInAnOccasionalSeries 6mo