HAL meets fantasy artist Frank Kelly Freas, and it's pure sorcery
01/02/2001 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 

Uncle Geoff's reading shelf has been creaking this month with the books that have flowed in for review. He brings you the best of the litter …

1. HAL’s Legacy: 2001’s Computer As Dream And Reality
edited by David G. Stork
Pub: MIT Press. 384 pages. Price: £12.50. ISBN: 0-262-69211-2

This book was released in 1997 to coincide with the HAL 9000 computer’s operational birth in Arthur C. Clarke’s novel version of ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. As its editor points out, this is 5 years later than what Kubrick gave it in the film. Even so, neither date has been considered that realistic for having an Artificial Intelligence (AI) computer in our own reality.

How do they know? Simple. This book has 12 leading computer experts discussing all aspects of AI as related to HAL and the problems as they see it happening. It also covers the current state of the hard and software. Developments in space travel didn’t keep up with the progress that was anticipated had there been a serious effort to develop a Moon colony before progressing to the other planets and infinity.

These aren’t experts debagging the film as such, as many of them were inspired by the film to take up the profession, but going over many of the problems that would need to be resolved to make HAL a reality.

Much of this book is given in layman terms and would be ideal fodder for any aspiring SF writer to read before creating an AI for their stories. Had I known about this book last year, it certainly would have appeared in the bibliography section of my SF Nomenclature website chapter ‘Memory Bytes But The Machinery Lingers On’ as a must-read. It isn’t and hence this late review.

I wasn’t exactly being totally honest when I said 2001 wasn’t totally debagged. There was some comment about the differences in computer technology as depicted in 1966-68 (the time the film took to make) and what we have today. I’d defy anyone to be that accurate or, under so much scrutiny, to make such a totally accurate prediction myself that far back.

When I first saw 2001, computers were still regarded as something only experts could come to grips with, let alone contemplate that we might all have one at home 30 years hence.

The problem with books discussing computers is how quickly they can date. As work in AI has still to make any really significant breakthroughs, the thoughts in this book are still reasonably valid.

You might not want to buy the book but you’d certainly want to look at a library edition. If you’re a total 2001 nut, you’ll love the selection of widescreen photos included in this book. Those reading the bibliography of Arthur C. Clarke’s introduction are also going to be wanting to order a special book on HAL in the not to distant future.

2. Frank Kelly Freas: As He Sees It
text by Frank Kelly Freas and Laura Brodian Freas
Pub: Paper Tiger. 112 pages. Price: £20.00. ISBN: 1-85585-848-7

Check the website: www.papertiger.co.uk for their other books.

Check the website: www.kellyfreas.com from the man himself.

Any SF fan worth their salt doesn’t need an introduction to who Frank Kelly Freas is. Winner of 10 Hugo Awards for his incredible art that has amused and inspired all who have seen it. Even better, Freas wrote the text himself so you get a personal insight into both the man, his opinions and his art.

This book explains something about the techniques that Freas applies to his commercial work that will delight artists who want to know how he does his work.

There is also his perspective on the SF community that he clearly adores, the attitudes of critics and those who buy art. If you want an insight into what make Freas ticks, then this is one book that you’ll be proud to have on your shelves.

The fact that his original art isn’t bigger than A3 also means very few of his pictures in this book overlap the centre spine. If I was to be overtly critical, I wish there were more pictures than shown here but I’m spoilt by his first book, ‘The Art Of Science Fiction’.

The pictures just seem to run out here. Considering how prolific Freas is, there’s a sure bet that we’ll see another book in a year or two.

3. The Mammoth Encyclopaedia Of Unsolved Mysteries by Colin Wilson and Damon Wilson
Pub: Robinson. 662 pages. Price: £ 7.99. ISBN: 1-84119-172-8

Check the website: www.constablerobinson.com for their other books.

Not quite sure why the Robinson publishers thought this book would be under my remit but as such books are usually in the shelves next to SF, I defy any fan not to take a more than casual interest in things that are considered out of the ordinary.

As the title suggests, this book covers unsolved mysteries on this planet spread over 63 chapters. From the customary ones like Nessie and UFOs to more obscure items like Patience Worth and Jane Norkot.

About the only things really missing is a chapter on whether there are blank panthers roaming around on Exmoor and in Wales and an examination of ESP. Not all of the chapters are unresolved. There are several that draw conclusions that have neatly left them as files closed, at least until more information comes to light.

Author Colin Wilson already has a reputation for specialising in such subjects and does know what he’s writing about. If I was to be overtly critical, I wish there was more of a conclusion of what he thought about such matters towards the end of the book but this no doubt keeps it within the encyclopaedia framework.

Several times he refers to ‘The Unexplained Encyclopaedia’ - something I’ve also read - and at the time, I often wondered why none of their specialists compared notes on their various subjects for similarities rather than treat them as things apart. From this, it’s pretty obvious that this still hasn’t happened.

If you want to be reasonably up to date in this type of material then this book is good value for its price. It would have been nice to have had a photo section included but that would no doubt have added to the price. As a personal aside, any photographic proof raises these kinds of book beyond their author’s opinion level.

Although I read this book from cover to cover, strictly speaking I suspect most readers will browse rather than do what I did. Saying that, don’t under-estimate the chapters that might not automatically take your interest by the title alone as, often as not, the subject gets much wider once past the first couple pages.

The knowledge might be encyclopaedic but it would have made more sense to conform to some semblance of order even if it did make it easier for me to read through.

4. Cobra Trap: a Modesty Blaise collection by Peter O’Donnell

Pub: Souvenir Press. 267 pages. Price: £16.99. ISBN: 0-285-63332-5

OK, so why is a thriller being listed in what is predominately a SF review column? Well, largely because there aren’t many SF fans who don’t include Modesty Blaise novels in their collections.

This is also a second hardcover printing suggesting that it is highly unlikely that there will be a paperback release of what is essentially the last and twelfth book in the series. Had I known that, I would have made efforts to have got a first edition when it came out.

I still can but can’t afford the price that is currently being touted for it. That alone should be an indication of the character’s popularity.

This is the second Modesty Blaise short story collection. The other was ‘Pieces Of Modesty’. This book covers events in Modesty and Willie Garvin’s lives together as a team from the beginning during The Network days until the fifth and final story here. The middle stories cover what could be regarded as inserts around the novels with indicators as to where they fit for the completest's sake into the continuity.

As with other authors who don’t wish to see their characters continue forever more in other people’s hands, Peter O’Donnell has crafted the final story that draws these characters to a final end that hasn’t hit me as hard since Anne McCaffrey chronicled Robinton’s death in her Pern novels. This should be an indication of how well-written, fleshed out and familiar O’Donnell has been over the years with his characters. They’ll be sorely missed.

The Modesty Blaise novels started in the mid-60s following the success of the newspaper strip. Modesty is a retired criminal boss with her own sense of justice willing to help people in her own unique style. If anything, it is often the attraction of danger that keeps her active and away from a boring retirement.

Starting in the 60s itself should be regarded as a weakness since the characters have to age as they adapt to the times. It was apparent to me from ‘Dead Man’s Handle’ - the eleventh book - that O’Donnell was beginning to have problems with how to deal with Modesty and Willie in the 80s, let alone any future decade simply because he would have to admit to their ages.

This is largely what has made the non-Fleming James Bond novels totally absurd today because he must be a doddering 90-year-old by now.

Peter O’Donnell is a superb craftsman storywriter that all over writers can learn from. His speciality is ‘get-me-out-of-this’ plots which he cleverly lays the establishing info for the reader to follow through. Oddly enough, he doesn’t really depend on this too much in these short stories.

If anything, this is more character-orientated stories than anything else. It wasn’t until I finished the book that I realised he had stopped both lead characters from smoking. Whether this was a tip of the hat to removing a bad habit or not essential to the plots is debatable. This book is a definite page-turner.

If you’ve never heard of Modesty Blaise before, then it is strongly recommended that you seek out the earlier books and read them in sequence or the references in this book will be totally lost to you.

There has never been a female heroine like Modesty Blaise since and those that have existed have always lived in her shadow.

5. Farscape: The Illustrated Companion by Paul Simpson and David Hughes

Pub: Titan Books. 160 pages. Price: £ 9.99. ISBN: 1-84023-178-5

Contrary to my erstwhile publisher, I felt that the TV series ‘Farscape’ had legs from the start. Indeed, it’s lived up well to that promise by daring to be different each episode with some rather unexpected twists with strong adherence to developing continuity.

This book chronicles the development of the series and Season 1 only with plenty of info for the trivia freaks and pre-production illustrations.

If I have to be critical of this book, it would be for the lack of colour photographs. Everything is in black and white. Fine for Chiana, but a bit poor when you consider how colourful the rest of the characters are.

No doubt some consideration was given here to keeping the price down but I don’t think fans would have objected considering how little material there is available in the paper publishing industry.

I have the usual quibbles where episode guides are incomplete by not giving their conclusions. It has to be pretty obvious to anyone reading an episode guide that the lead characters must have at least survived intact and it doesn’t help anyone who missed an episode to know just what has gone on.

More so, when this is a changing continuity with each episode growing from the last. Farscape Companion Season 2 is out in June 2000.

It’s been interesting to note that this book also doesn’t include pictures of what the cast look like without their make-up. Granted Claudia Black and Ben Browder must be extremely ugly for them not to be shown but can the same be true of the rest of the cast?

I’ve found pictures of the rest of them on the Net sans make-up so it’s hardly a complete secret of what they look like. About the closest to revealing anyone in the photographs is a picture of Rygel’s chief puppeteer, John Eccleston, and he was playing a role in one of the episodes to stay close to Sparky.

This book is selling extremely well. The distributor I got my local bookshop to get it from - we do do spot checks on this sort of thing after all - had a great deal of difficulty pulling me a copy. With Titan Books as the publisher here, can it be too long before they have a magazine out devoted to the subject?

6. The Art Of Rowena
text by Doris Vallejo and Rowena Morrill

Pub: Paper Tiger. 112 pages. Price: £20.00 ($29.95). ISBN: 1-85585-778-2.

Check the website: www.papertiger.co.uk for their other books.

Strictly speaking, Rowena Morrill’s artwork is seen gracing mostly fantasy as opposed to SF book covers. She also works strictly to what the cover editor wants for a book and from her biography, it is apparent that this has somewhat stifled her artistic development.

Although extremely competent, I can’t help but feel that there’s a personal spark missing on occasions. Saying that, there’s supposed to be another book coming out shortly with more personalised pictures of what she would paint unfettered.

This lady really does need to be encouraged to do more of her own thing to show cover editors that she deserves to have more latitude with their ideas.

As it stands, this collection is mostly a selection of her book covers with a few portraits and calendar shots thrown in for good measure. Morrill shows a remarkable use of oil considering she’s not an air-brush user - even if it doesn’t look apparent from the pictures here.

Morrill admits to a heavy reliance on models for her people. Fortunately, they mostly don’t appear to all come from the same mould as say with other artists. Again, with her years of experience, I can’t help but feel that such a reliance is limiting her pose capacity and think she ought to treat it as a challenge to paint without using them sometimes as a means to stretch herself more.

I’m not altogether sure if I would regard this as the best selection of her work. Looking through her bibliography in the book, there are only a couple items that that I actually own.

Looking through her 1993 Fantasy Art trading card collection, where many of these are also shown, I’m putting it down to personal taste as regarding which might have been better choices to have shown.

What is of interest to UK readers is a selection of McCaffrey ‘Dragonriders Of Pern’ covers that weren’t distributed in the UK. The ‘Dolphins Of Pern’ cover is breath-taking to say the least. Like all the SF and fantasy artbooks, if you’re a fan then you’ve probably picked this book up. If you haven’t then it’s certainly worth a look.

(c) G.F. Willmetts 2001