Book Review: Casablanca Script and Legend by Howard Koch

Casablanca Script and Legend-Howard KochThis book has been in my collection for well over a decade. Until recently, I had only flipped through it to read excerpts from the script.

Two days ago, I was inspired to pull it from my bookshelf and read the surrounding material—preface, foreword, introductions, essays, and reviews—by such notable names as Ralph J. Gleason (renown music critic and founding editor of Rolling Stone magazine), film scholar Richard Brown, Charles Champlin (retired arts editor and columnist from the LA Times), Roger Ebert (practically a household name as film critics go), TIME magazine film critic Richard Corliss, author and historian Aljean Harmetz, and Umberto Eco, professor of semiotics at University of Bologna.

Eco and Corliss provide the most in-depth analyses of Casablanca with Eco delving into the myriad symbolisms and subtexts of the film, while Corliss focuses on the characterizations, relationships, and dialogue.

All of that—in addition to the brilliant script started by Julius and Philip Epstein and finished as breakneck speed by the then untried Howard Koch—and the scattered still shots from the film, make this 50th anniversary edition a treasure for any Casablanca fan and/or film scholar.

 

Star Trek Fan Fiction – Week Four

Today, I bring you the conclusion of “Star Trek: The Clearer Path,” which I wrote in September 1998 as a sequel to my very first classic Star Trek story, “A Passion For Peace.”

Click here to read “Star Trek: A Passion For Peace”

Click here to read Part One of “Star Trek: The Clearer Path”

Click here to read Part Two of “Star Trek: The Clearer Path”

Click here to read the conclusion of “Star Trek: The Clearer Path”

For next weekend, I’ve queued up another Romulan adventure, this time from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Harlan Ellison Did Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Harlan Ellison once said of the term “blog” that it sounded like  “something you upchuck or go to a hospital to have removed from your body.”

Harlan Ellison at TypewriterHarlan  Ellison didn’t care much for personal computers and despised the Internet. He used an Olympia manual typewriter throughout his enviable writing career, which spanned approximately fifty years and over 1,700 stories, articles, scripts, comic books, and novels.

Harlan Ellison was one of the most honored writers of all time, having won multiple Nebula, Hugo, and Edgar awards and many others. Click here to take a tour of his awards.

Harlan designed the Bram Stoker award for the Horror Writers Association. He was named Grand Master of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 2006 by SFWA (but don’t call Harlan a Science Fiction writer, he preferred “speculative fiction” or “fantasist”).

Harlan Ellison was also a fearless purveyor of passionate opinions, a man who harbored absolutely no inhibitions toward expressing his thoughts to anyone at any time. In that way, he was probably one of most courageous people I ever met. Click here to watch Harlan’s touching tributes to writer Robert Bloch and Isaac Asimov and tell me you don’t get choked up.

Or click here to watch Harlan’s impassioned plea to the SFWA to grant the Grand Master award to several aging legends of the genre.

I use the past tense because today, Harlan Ellison died.

I started reading Harlan’s work in high school and never looked back. I have several signed short story collections such as Paingod and Other Delusions, The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World, Ellison Wonderland, and Shatterday as well as the famous anthologies he edited—Dangerous Visions, Again Dangerous Visions— and of course, no Ellison fan should be without The Essential Ellison.

In recent  years, I managed to add Partners in Wonder, Phoenix Without Ashes, No Doors, No Windows, Memos From Purgatory, The Other Glass Teat, Stalking the Nightmare, and The Deadly Streets.

I took some of these to a convention called I-CON back in 1999, along with several Star Trek and Starlog magazines, and his book documenting his experiences writing the best original Trek episode, “The City on the Edge of Forever”. Among all of these was a book called Doomsman which I had not yet read.

Doomsman/Thief of ThothI was nervous yet exuberant when I stepped up to the autograph table and placed my stack of books before the master. Harlan began signing them and restacking them… until he came to Doomsman. He offered to buy it. I said No.

I said “No” to Harlan Ellison. People make mistakes in life. They step on land mines, they play with loaded guns, they say “No” to Harlan Ellison. All typically suffer the same general consequences.

Harlan tossed the book across the table at me. “Then I’m not gonna fuckin’ sign it.”  I was at once embarrassed and elated. Harlan dropped the “F” bomb on me. It was akin to earning a badge of honor. I knew I would wear it proudly for the rest of my writing days.

Ellison WonderlandThen one of us, either Harlan or I, came up with the idea of trading Doomsman for another book on his table. This was how I ended up with Ellison Wonderland. Once the deal was done, Harlan held his treasure high over his head and yelled, ” I got a Doomsman!” That seemed to break the ice. He signed the rest of my books, took a photo with me, and that was it—all in the span of maybe 5 minutes.

In such a short time, I met one of my literary heroes, pulled the pin out of a grenade, had a photo op, and walked away with a memory I hope to cherish until I die… or end up with Alzheimer’s… whichever comes first.

Harlan Ellison_Phil Giunta ICON 1999

But that ain’t the end of the story, folks. At that point, I still had no idea why Harlan was so determined to obtain my copy of Doomsman.

It wasn’t until a Farpoint convention some years later that the late Ann Crispin revealed to me that Harlan was on a quest to collect as many copies of Doomsman as possible—and destroy them. After researching this later, I found corroborating testimony from fans who either sold or traded their copies of Doomsman only to have Harlan tear the book in half on the spot and hand them back the other story, either Telepower by Lee Hoffman or Thief of Thoth by Lin Carter.

Doomsman/TelepowerApparently, the publisher (Belmont) had reprinted an early Ellison story, “The Assassin,” and retitled it Doomsman without Harlan’s knowledge. Remember what I said about pulling the pin from a grenade?

Finally, after that little mystery was solved, I came upon a later printing of Doomsman from a used book dealer at a Balticon. This one is staying in my collection.

The truth is, I love the guy. Harlan Ellison inspired me to pursue the craft of writing with courage and confidence. I admire his chutzpah, his talent, his honesty. Many were offended by his irascible, cantankerous demeanor, to the point of creating an organization called the Enemies of Ellison. Harlan’s fans, of course, responded by forming the Friends of Ellison (F.O.E). Friends of Ellison button

The 2008 documentary, Dreams With Sharp Teethcovering Harlan’s life and career—is entertaining, edifying, and utterly addictive. I have it on DVD and I watch it at least four times per year. I recommend it not only for Ellison fans, but for writers of all genres. It also features appearances by Robin Williams, Neil Gaiman, and others. Rotten Tomatoes gives it 100%.

Funny, every time I visit a used book store lately, I note the absence of Harlan Ellison books. They’ve become almost impossible to find these days. I wonder… could it be that people are unwilling to give them up?

I sure as hell won’t.

Star Trek Fan Fiction – Week Three

Welcome to the third week of my Summer of Fan Fiction! If you’re just tuning in for the first time, I just posted part two of “Star Trek: The Clearer Path,” which was written in September 1998 as a sequel to my very first classic Star Trek story, “A Passion For Peace.”

Click here to read “Star Trek: A Passion For Peace”

Click here to read Part One of “Star Trek: The Clearer Path”

Click here to read Part Two of “Star Trek: The Clearer Path”

In the coming weeks, I’ll post stories from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and more. Thanks for reading!

Book Review: Digging Deep by Aaron Rosenberg

Digging Deep by Aaron RosenbergThrough a gaping hole in one of the lowest tunnels of the New York City subway system emerges a horde of bloodthirsty reptilian creatures from another realm who begin terrorizing and slaughtering everyone from the city’s homeless “Mole People” to subway passengers and finally, the transit police and even the city’s Emergency Services Unit. In addition to the attacks, strange glyphs are carved into the stone and metal walls of the subway system seemingly by incredibly sharp blades… or possibly claws.

When a teenage graffiti artist manages to survive an attack in the tunnels and emerge bloodied and battered at one of the subway stations, his presence is sensed by young Polynesian empath, Malana Tai. Aided by her abilities, she is able to point two transit cops, Cole and Sand, in the right direction to intercept the ravaged teen and save his life. For Malana, however, the adventure doesn’t end there.

It isn’t long before news of these incidents reaches RC Hayes, head of the Orphic Crisis Logistical Task Force (O.C.L.T.). Unfamiliar with New York City’s labyrinthine subway system, Hayes reaches out to fastidious Columbia anthropology professor Hideyoshi Tidijin for assistance. After a briefing on the situation, Tidijin enters the subway tunnels with the police to analyze the symbols carved into the walls and the aftermath of the creatures in an attempt to gain measure on them.

Later, armed with photographs of the glyphs, Tidijin visits linguist Elizabeth Lapsey of the Natural Museum of History to consult with her—with Malana Tai furtively tracking his every move. No sooner does Tidijin arrive at the museum then Malana’s senses are overwhelmed by unfettered rage and anger from somewhere below the museum. Disrupting the meeting between Tidijin and Lapsey, Malana warns that another attack is imminent.

Moments later, the trio emerge in the subway station below the museum directly into a scene of carnage as the giant reptilian creatures impale and slash civilians and police alike until the unflappable Professor Tidijin pulls the fire alarm to evacuate the station—both of humans and creatures. The latter retreat in fear and pain from the flashing lights and strident screech of the alarm.

Lapsey and Malana decide to join Tidijin in a crusade to send these creatures back through the pit from whence they came. They are joined by O.C.L.T. member and Vatican soldier Isabella Ferrara, a tall, stunning blonde whose prowess in combat—as well as her experience with inhuman and otherworldly opponents—makes her eminently suitable to the task of eliminating the creatures.

Together, this eclectic crew of four disparate personalities bring their unique skills to bear as they fight to save New York City, despite the staggering odds against them.

Digging Deep is a thoroughly enjoyable adventure with distinct and endearing characters. Rosenberg’s detailed explanations of Malana Tai’s empathic impressions of those around her—human or otherwise—is especially remarkable, as are Tidijin’s perspicacious analysis of the behavior and culture of the unnamed creatures and Lapsey’s rapid ability to reconstruct their written language. I can only imagine the amount of research that went into crafting this story and Rosenberg masterfully weaves just enough of that information into the plot without stunting the story’s pace.