‘Beyond Lies the Wub’ and ‘Vurfing the Gwrx’
Thanks to one thing and another (amongst other things…), this week has been a shocking week for getting any reading done. You probably noticed that I threw all my toys out of the pram and just didn’t bother posting at all yesterday ;o) Funnily enough, I thought I might have better luck yesterday when I had to pop out and pick up my prescription; a short bus ride is always a good moment to read a few pages… Nope, I packed my glasses but no book… Luckily, Brockley Books is fairly near the pharmacy so I popped in afterwards, just so I’d have something to read on the way back :o)
When I was a lot younger, I had a copy of ‘Peter Davison’s Book of Alien Planets’ but never came across its companion collection, the ‘Book of Alien Monsters’. When I saw a copy in Brockley Books then, I made sure that I grabbed it. My inner child deserved a little closure, plus the cover still looks awesome ;o)
Quick thoughts then on a couple of short stories that I read on the way home…
‘Beyond Lies the Wub’ – Philip K, Dick
It weighed four hundred pounds and was the most edible of monsters with the most persuasive ways…
You know how some titles just intrigue you… Well, I’d always meant to read ‘Beyond Lies the Wub’ but was constantly distracted by books that were closer to hand. When I saw it in the contents, I knew I had to check it out, especially as it was only ten pages long.
Was it worth the wait then? Definitely. ‘Beyond Lies the Wub’ has a lot going for it; being a humorous take on first contact that highlights how mankind’s base needs will inevitably fly in the face of something wonderful. And the Wub is so engaging that I wanted to sit down and chat with it, the crew could just wait their turn ;o) And a nice little twist, at the end, hints that mankind may well get a second chance. I might just have to see if I can find more of Philip K. Dick’s short stories if this one is anything to go by.
‘Vurfing the Gwrx’ – Mike Scott Rohan
It looked like an ordinary space invaders machine – but it was anything but a game…
This was another easy choice, I love Rohan’s ‘Winter of the World’ books so will pick up anything else that has his name next to it.
‘Vurfing the Gwrx’ almost does its job a little too well… Rohan really lays it on thick with just how alien this encounter is and when you factor in two kids who have no idea what they’re looking at (they thought they were just playing a video game)… It’s a little difficult to work out what’s happening at times. You get the general gist though and in that sense, ‘Vurfing the Gwrx’ does its job as a cautionary tale about playing video games in strange arcades. Thinking about it actually, I’d still play it ;o)
And that’s probably all you’ll hear about this book here. There’s a Robert Holdstock tale (‘Ocean of Sound’) that I’ll check out at some point, nothing else stands out as ‘must read’ though. I wonder if I still have that copy of the ‘Book of Alien Planets’...
Quick thoughts then on a couple of short stories that I read on the way home…
‘Beyond Lies the Wub’ – Philip K, Dick
It weighed four hundred pounds and was the most edible of monsters with the most persuasive ways…
You know how some titles just intrigue you… Well, I’d always meant to read ‘Beyond Lies the Wub’ but was constantly distracted by books that were closer to hand. When I saw it in the contents, I knew I had to check it out, especially as it was only ten pages long.
Was it worth the wait then? Definitely. ‘Beyond Lies the Wub’ has a lot going for it; being a humorous take on first contact that highlights how mankind’s base needs will inevitably fly in the face of something wonderful. And the Wub is so engaging that I wanted to sit down and chat with it, the crew could just wait their turn ;o) And a nice little twist, at the end, hints that mankind may well get a second chance. I might just have to see if I can find more of Philip K. Dick’s short stories if this one is anything to go by.
‘Vurfing the Gwrx’ – Mike Scott Rohan
It looked like an ordinary space invaders machine – but it was anything but a game…
This was another easy choice, I love Rohan’s ‘Winter of the World’ books so will pick up anything else that has his name next to it.
‘Vurfing the Gwrx’ almost does its job a little too well… Rohan really lays it on thick with just how alien this encounter is and when you factor in two kids who have no idea what they’re looking at (they thought they were just playing a video game)… It’s a little difficult to work out what’s happening at times. You get the general gist though and in that sense, ‘Vurfing the Gwrx’ does its job as a cautionary tale about playing video games in strange arcades. Thinking about it actually, I’d still play it ;o)
And that’s probably all you’ll hear about this book here. There’s a Robert Holdstock tale (‘Ocean of Sound’) that I’ll check out at some point, nothing else stands out as ‘must read’ though. I wonder if I still have that copy of the ‘Book of Alien Planets’...
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