Books: The Literary Reflection, XIX

Welcome back to 'The Literary Reflection', where we get the shorter reviews and comments about books that didn't quite merit a post of their own. It has been an awfully long time since a book got a post of its own, though. Nolhing is standing out as likely to break that trend, either. Still, you never know.


'Rumpole's Return' (Rumpole) (1980) by John Mortimer
We begin with a significant gap in continuity. Apparently, since we last saw Rumpole, when he was quite determinedly not retiring, he has been savaged by his judicial nemesis, the judge he calls 'The Mad Bull', lost to him ten times in succession, and finally given in to retirement and boredom with his son's family in Florida. So secure are people that this retirement is the genuine article that his room in Chambers is reallocated and the world has marched on. However, this is not to be...

Since 'Rumpole's Return' (both the book and the television special) comes so quickly after the previous story, in which Rumpole very definitively chooses not to retire, this is a bit confusing in the beginning, but then begins to make more sense. It is a very strange read, though, which definitely feels forced. Clearly, Rumpole was forced into retirement to make the television version double-length. It just doesn't flow at all. There's also a rather oddball subplot about Phylidda (formerly Trant) Erskine-Brown having an affair with Rumpole's replacement and an unlikely brief for Rumpole himself, in defending a seller of kinky literature.

I'm really not sure where to land on this one. It's strange. Is it all part of some grander plan?


'Triplanetary' (Lensman) (1948) by EE Smith
Oh, the killing, the killing! If it weren't for the killing, it would be an instant classic! 'Triplanetary' is the first (or at least it was retroactively adapted to be the first) entry in the 'Lensman' series. It's an epic concept for a series: Two ancient and powerful races, supporting and opposing civilization. The supporting alien race, the Arisians, conceal themselves from all and avoid a direct confrontation, instead seeding various civilizations that will develop over the eons to take on the domineering Eddorians. Of course, Earth is host to one of those species, and we get a fascinating glimpse at some portions of history that were influenced by the secret Arisian and Eddorian manipulations.

'Triplanetary' becomes much less interesting when it reaches it's own present day. There are space battles galore, mass killings on both sides when humans make a disastrous first contact with their first alien life outside the solar system. Oh, such massacres, complicated even further by an Eddorian masquerading as a murderous pirate known only as Roger. It's hard to feel good about your primary characters when they have a penchant for deadly gas attacks. Some of the speculative science is quite nice, though, and there is magnificent world-building.


'The Fourteen Carat Car' (1940, translated 2016) by Jenő Rejtő
A gift from a dear friend, I did not know anything about this (Hungarian) author. 'The Fourteen Carat Car' is a nonsensical comedy caper, an adventure and a crime story. Weaving together the consequences of a past diplomatic mission, a madman's quest to gain the hand of the woman he loves, a car laden down with gold finishings, an elderly circus lion, and quite a lot of very eccentric Continental villains, Rejtő does something pretty special. It's not quite as strong as 'Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency', or 'Bridge Of Birds', but the humour works consistently and it's a very good read. In fact, the only thing I didn't like was the mild hopping around in time in order to tell the stories of the different characters. It didn't always work, and was sometimes confusing. However, that was a minor quibble. Read this if you like funny nonsense with a hidden structure.

Paradoxical? YES! Sometimes very funny? Yes! Running gags? Yes. Monumental? No.


'Home Is The Hunter' (1990) by Dana Kramer-Rolls
Recently, I've been occasionally re-reading some of the vast dusty mountain of 'Star Trek' novels that looms in one part of the room, hoping to not have long-ago memories spoiled. Some of the time they're good, and some of the time they're lacking in one way or another. 'Home Is The Hunter' works, both in its simplicity and in its fidelity to the source material. There are four stories, all in parallel, following on from a planet's mysterious god figure sending Scotty, Sulu and Chekov into their cultures' pasts, as a punishment for a landing party's clash with a Klingon group. The three time travellers are thrust into seemingly hopeless positions fighting lost causes. The fourth story is Kirk's, as he deals with the fallout of the incident on his own conscience and on the crew of the opposing Klingon ship. This is overall a very fun and interesting novel, with some interesting historical details for historical Japan, World War II, and the Scottish Uprising of 1745. Characterisation is solid, and we get an intermediate version of the Klingons. Recommended if you like 'Star Trek'.

O.