September 2026 is 'England as it was' month

September 2026 is ENGLAND AS IT WAS month at the PorPor Books Blog

Here at the PorPor Books Blog we like to take a month off from reviewing and archiving sci-fi and fantasy media, and pop culture detritus, from days gone by and instead focus on something a little more off-topic.

For September 2026, we'll be taking a look at the UK as it was in the interval from the 1950s to the first decade of the 21st century. A country that, during that time, went to war in the South Atlantic, that endured economic troubles and social disruptions, but as always, treasured football. 

 

So we'll review books about the UK and its popular culture: football (of course), a novel about some unpleasantness with the younger generation, an American's observations on Albion back in '82 (when the War was on.....along with railway strikes, too !), and Nik Cohn's examination of life in the prole neighborhoods of the UK at the turn of the century.

 

Let's get our copies of the Eagle, some ice lollies, our holiday gear, and set off for Butlins, then !  

Book Review: The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

Book Review: 'The Great Hunt' by Robert Jordan

4 / 5 Stars

August in Central Virginia means sweltering temperatures and an overabundance of mosquitos, thus, it's as good a time as any to sit indoors with the A/C running and read a lengthy, 714-page novel...........thus, I picked up the second installment in the 'Wheel of Time' franchise.

'The Great Hunt' first was published in November, 1990, by Tor books. It since has been reissued in multiple formats. I read the 'Hunt' volume included in the boxed set (volumes 1 - 3) released in 2019 as a tie-in with the amazon streaming series (airing late in 2021).

As mentioned, 'Hunt' is the second volume in what currently stands as 14 novels in the Wheel of Time franchise. My reviews of the prequel, 'New Spring,' and the first volume in the series, 'The Eye of the World,' are here.

'Hunt' starts off right where 'Eye' ended, with our protagonist (and Frodo Baggins counterpart) Rand al'Thor enjoying a respite from the violent confrontation with the (Sauron counterpart) Dark Lord Ba'alzamon, in the northern region of Randland known as the Blight. Rand and company are housed in the fortress city of Fal Dara, but things don't stay quiet for long, as the head sorceress of Randland (fandom's term for the world of the Wheel), a woman named Amyrlin Seat, has - along with a large retinue - arrived at Fal Dara. 

Amyrlin has come to decide whether Rand is indeed the latest incarnation of a savior-like figure, the 'Great Dragon,' who arises every hundred years or so to combat the machinations of Ba'alzamon, and save the world from tyranny. Complicating the whole Dragon narrative is the fact that past Dragons have tended to cause chaos and destruction, via massive bursts of psychic powers, in the course of their endeavors. 

Rand shrinks from any association with the Dragon, as he feels acknowledging he is the Dragon Reborn will make him a danger not just to his companions, but to the world at large. 

The first one hundred pages of 'Hunt' are rather plodding as author Jordan expends considerable energy reintroducing the large cast of characters and their various personal intrigues, as well as the backstory to the events in 'Eye.' 

Jordon is fond of exposition; for example, the reader is treated to detailed descriptions of the clothing, fabrics, styles, and accessories of the lead characters. There is considerable attention paid to tense conversations and mind games deployed among the fractious cliques of the 'Aes Sendai' sorceress clan. And Rand's constant bouts of self-doubt and apprehension over his fate as the Dragon, reminded me of the tedious psychodramas of the protagonist in the Stephen R. Donaldson 'Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever' fantasy novels...... 

This unnecessary exposition retards the narrative. Indeed, later in the book in the chapter titled 'Practice,' the reader must endure a lengthy passage, involving the female characters Engwe, Nynaeve, Elayne, and Min, that is a kind of slumber party at the School for Sorceresses. Excising these sorts of passages from 'Hunt' would have made the novel shorter and more engaging.  

Anyways, after page 100 the eponymous Hunt gets underway, as the malevolent Padan Fain conspires with the forces of Ba'alzamon to steal the mystical artifact the Horn of Valere, and make for destination(s) unknown. Rand and his comrades set off in pursuit, and this pursuit occupies the main plot thread in the novel. 

 

To me, the most interesting character in 'Hunt' indeed was the villain, Padan Fain. In marked contrast to the dithering Rand, Fain is self-assured and dedicated to his mission: any slights or insults Fain suffers will, he assures himself, be returned to the violating party with interest. While Fain may, for expediency, ally himself with Ba'alzamon, Fain has his own dark ambitions, and thus serves as something of a wild card in the overarching plot of the 'Wheel' franchise.  

As if to compensate for the slow pacing of the first 100 pages, the final 100 pages of 'Hunt' provide considerable action and suspense as Rand and company must deal with an army from across the sea, an army on a mission to ruthlessly conquer Randland in the name of a long-dead legendary hero. The novel ends on a high note that left me interested in proceeding to the next installment in the series, 'The Dragon Reborn.'

As with 'The Eye of the World,' if you're partial to lengthy fantasy novels with intricate world-building, then you likely will find 'The Great Hunt' rewarding. 

Deathlok M-Tech Marvel Comics 1999

Deathlok: M-Tech

1999

Marvel Comics

In 1999 Marvel decided to try and leverage the excitement surrounding cyberpunk by issuing an imprint, called 'M-Tech,' that took existing characters and presented them in a cyberpunk milieu. The three comics in the imprint were Machine Man (re-christened X-51, to try and draw in X-Men fans), Warlock, and Deathlok.

None of the titles sold well enough to survive a year. The M-Tech Deathlok appeared in 11 issues, from September, 1999, to June, 2000.

 

Being a fan of the Deathlok franchise, I am interested in showcasing the good and bad of the M-Tech incarnation of the character to any party who may be wondering if this limited series is any good.

 

[ My previous post on Deathlok's first appearance, in 1974 in 'Astonishing Tales,' is here; an overview of the compilation of that early run of Deathlok is here; Deathlok's 1983 team-up with Captain America is here; an overview of the 1990 Prestige format incarnation is here; and an overview of the 34-issue followup of that incarnation, is here.]

 

The M-Tech version of Deathlok was completely independent of the earlier incarnations, with this Deathlok being a cyborg containing the soul and personality of a deceased SHIELD agent named Jack Truman. 

The Truman Deathlok was intended to be a super-soldier in service of SHIELD, but predictably he was uneasy with any role as a utility man / assassin for the organization. Throughout the 11 issues there is much psychodrama on the part of Truman and his struggle to accept that he is part man, and part machine.

 

The initial issues of the M-Tech character see Truman fighting a rogue SHIELD force and leveling a good chunk of Las Vegas in the process. During this struggle, Truman / Deathlok utilizes a 'Tibetan Mind Trick' to transfer his consciousness into that of a boy named Billy Bailey........?! This idea is fully as lame as it sounds, and after issue 3 the Billy storyline abruptly vanishes. 

The major story arc in the series involves a new supervillain, dubbed the Clown, who is introduced in issue 4, as a hitman whose path eventually crosses that of Jack Truman.

One of the more high-profile guest stars in the series is Nick Fury.

Where the M-Tech Deathlok does well is with the artwork by Leonardo Manco. It has the super-detailed, stylized nature of 1990s comic book art, and is ably colored by Mark Bernardo, with letters by Comicraft.

For two issues, there is fill-in artwork, assigned to Matthew Smith and Eric Canete, with (in my opinion) less than stellar results.........

Casey's writing is the weakness of the M-Tech Deathlok. Aside from the above-mentioned Little Boy Billy Bailey plot device, and the regular references to personal angst and existential despair, the writing has an ad hoc, disjointed quality, as if Casey paid only partial attention to the series. The Clown character is introduced in issue 4 but soon recedes to the background, sharing story beats with the legacy (i.e., 1941) villain the Ringmaster. The rivalry between the two villains get resolved in the final issue, so things are not left dangling as they could be with some book cancellations.

For all of the intent on cyberpunk that underlined the M-Tech imprint, in Deathlok, the cyber aspects are at best an occasional motif, with Deathlok 'jacking in' every now and then to advance a plot point.

Summing up, the 1999 M-Tech edition of Deathlok never really does much with the cyberpunk concept and comes across as something of a missed opportunity. If Marvel's management had stuck with the series for another year, and there had been some concentration in terms of the writing duties, it's possible the series could have done better. But as it stands, it's best recommended to diehard Deathlok fans.

If you're going to investigate the M-Tech version then I recommend purchasing the 456-page 2015 trade paperback, 'Deathlok: Rage Against the Machine,' which not only features the 11 issues of the Deathlok title, but several issues of Cable and Uncanny X-Men that lay out the backstory to the life, death, and 'cyborgization' of Jack Truman. There also is a Kindle edition available.

 

Greatest Science Fiction Hits II

Greatest Science Fiction Hits II
by Neil Norman

GNP / Crescendo Records, 1980

 

Neil Norman had success with his 1979 LP, Greatest Science Fiction Hits, and reasonably enough, a year later he was back with Greatest Science Fiction Hits II.

 

You can listen to the LP here. 

 

Most of the tracks on Hits II are Norman's versions of known film and TV themes; there also are some compositions from Les Baxter, a pioneer of 'space' lounge music. As was the case with Greatest Science Fiction Hits, Norman is good at retaining the sensibility of the original music while giving it a bit of novelty in terms of his own arrangements. Probably the best track on the LP is 'Dr. Who,' with its marching beat and synthesizer melody.

 

As with first LP, Baby Boomers are going to be the main audience for this second of Norman's sci-fi records. It's all about the nostalgia of the way things were 46 years ago, when accessing genre media was a labor of love that required dedication on the part of the fan base......

 

All of Neil Norman's sci-fi recordings are available at the GNP/Crescendo website.

National Lampoon August 1976

National Lampoon

August 1976

August, 1976, and the top single in the land is from Elton John and Kiki Dee (sporting a fine 70s 'shag' hairdo): 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart.' In the second spot is 'You Should Be Dancing' by the Bee Gees, because disco music has the country in its grip - ! At number 7 is a Mellow Seventies classic from England Dan and John Ford Coley. 

 

Some good stuff on the chart, 50 years ago....

The front cover of the August National Lampoon promises lots of illicit thrills - 'Compulsory Summer Sex Issue !,' but the cold reality is that this issue is a dud........ 

 

Advertising-wise, we have a new album from James Taylor, In the Pocket, with the track 'Shower the People' soon to become another anthem of the Mellow Seventies Sound. Jethro Tull, another act that peaked in that decade, has their own new album out: Too Old to Rock n' Roll: Too Young to Die. And there are lots of cool Lampoon tee shirts available, showcasing regulars from the magazine's 'Funny Pages.' Back in '76, a full color tee shirt cost less than $6.50.

In the humor department, well, Lampoon cartoonist Sam Gross does some tasteless, offensive stuff with his portfolio 'Jammin' with Sam.'

Back in the days when singles looking for love and adventure used the Personal Ads in the paper (Tinder had yet to be invented), the Lampoon boys made fun of their own market value....

Also taking aim at the singles scene in New York City is Ellis Weiner's 'Looking for Ms. Goodbod,' a satire of the popular novel 'Looking for Mr. Goodbar' by Judith Rossner. 

Weiner's protagonist is a nerdy but sincere Jewish guy named Ronald Green, who plays the oboe and '....subscribed to the Penthouse Forum.' It's a pretty good piece, but at the same time, I felt Lampoon writer Chris Miller could have taken the premise and done something memorable with it.

The Funny Pages have their usual giggles, but do feature a rare contribution- 'Dementia Americana' - from underground comix legend Jim Osborn.
 

If all else fails, well, the Lampoon and 'Foto Funnies' do come through with some boobies !

So that's pretty much it for our August issue. Hopefully, the issues ahead for the remainder of the year are more rewarding.........?! 

Book Review: Floating Dragon by Peter Straub

Book Review: 'Floating Dragon' by Peter Straub

1 / 5 Stars

'Floating Dragon' first was published in 1982 in hardback by Underwood-Miller. This Berkley Books paperback edition (595 pp.) was issued in  March, 1984.

 

I remember reading this Paperback from Hell back in 1984, and finding it underwhelming. Is it any better when revisited 42 years later ? The answer is, unfortunately, no..........

 

The novel is set in May, 1980, in the idyllic bedroom community of Hampstead, Connecticut. Hampstead is all about suburban affluence and comfort, steeped in Old Yankee history - some of this history a trifle unpleasant, involving long-ago murders committed by unstable individuals.

 

As 'Floating Dragon' opens, a laboratory researching clandestine bioweapons has an accident, and an aerosol known as 'DRG-16' escapes into the atmosphere. This 'floating dragon' of the novel's title has varied effects on those exposed to it; some people die instantly, others succumb more gradually. Some people are psychologically deranged, while others seemingly are unaffected. The cloud drifts over Hampstead, and mayhem ensues.

 

Adding to the tragedy, it turns out that a colonial-era warlock, named Gideon Winter (aka The Dragon), has been reincarnated in his past home of Hampstead. Winter is reincarnated every 100 years or so, and he's quite happy to add to the body count triggered by DRG-16. While his true appearance is not very appealing, as in Douglas Wayne Barlowe's portrait (below), Winter has the sort of shapeshifting ability enjoyed by the creatures known as the 'wendigos,' in Straub's 1975 novel 'Ghost Story.' This makes him a particularly worrisome adversary for the hapless residents of Hampstead. 

 

As in a number of novels by Straub and his collaborator Stephen King, there is a Magical Child present in 'Floating Dragon,' in the persona of an adolescent boy named Tabby Smithfield. Like Charlene 'Charlie' McGee in 'Firestarter,' Jack Sawyer in 'The Talisman,' and Danny Torrance in 'The Shining,' Smithfield has some otherworldly abilities, such as precognition and esp. 

 

Smithfield makes the acquaintance of three other Hampstead residents: Graham Williams, Patsy McCloud, and Richard Allbee, all of whom - like Smithfield- are Descendants of the town's original settlers. And, like Smithfield, they also have esper abilities. 

 

The plot basically involves having Winter, in some instances aided and abetted by DRG-16, whittling down the population of Hampstead, while our four heroes struggle to learn just who it is that Winter is impersonating. For all their esper skills, and the vivid hallucinations and visions generated by such skills, the witless four Descendants don't figure out who to target until very late in the novel. 

 

'Floating Dragon' has a lot of the weaknesses of many Paperbacks from Hell. For one thing, it's much too long; the novel would have benefited from being a good 250+ pages shorter in length. There's a rambling, unfocused quality to the narrative that made me fatigued well before the denouement. Indeed, nothing of real import happens until around page 250, when Tabby and some of Hampstead's juvenile delinquents get up to mischief.

 

The narrative is padded with interminable vignettes involving various Hampstead residents and their travails. Once in a while these lend something to the plot, particularly the misadventure of one man, who elects to take a trip into New York City and 42nd Street and its sleaze parlors. This gives 'Floating' a badly-needed episode of dark humor and imbues the narrative with some authentic early 80s flavor. But most of the vignettes Straub trots out aren't very engaging. 

 

The final confrontation with Winter drags on so long, and becomes so tedious, that by the novel's end I really didn't care all that much who lived or died and what became of Hampstead.

 

Summing up, when it comes to Paperbacks from Hell, 'Floating Dragon' is a real dud. It suffers from some of the same problems with wordiness and pacing that afflicted other of Straub's novels ('Koko' comes to mind here). Only those with a formidable patience are advised to pick up 'Floating Dragon.'  

 

P.S. my brother - the same one who coined the (mocking) term 'PorPor book,' just reminded me that when Tabby and the Descendants go to confront Gideon Warlock, they do so singing 'The red, red robin goes bob-bob-bobbing along' to keep up their courage. Fuck.....that's cringe !  

Playboy August 1971

Playboy

August 1971

August, 1971. Atop the Top 40 chart are the newly reunited Bee Gees, with their single 'How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.'

Looking at the cover of the August issue of Playboy magazine, we see an emphasis on 'hot pants,' a fashion sported by many young women in those halcyon days of '71. They arguably are the progenitor of the 'booty shorts' that are popular here and now, in 2026.

This August issue has fiction contributions from two well-known science fiction and fantasy authors. Robert Sheckley provides 'Three Sinners in the Green Jade Moon,' about a British man regularly dining at a restaurant sited on one of the Balearic Islands. There are allusions to jazz music, which didn't do all that much for me.

For his part, Ray Bradbury, in 'My Perfect Murder,' presents a 48 year-old man named Doug Spaulding who decides it's time to revenge himself on his childhood bully. It's a Bradbury story, not a Harlan Ellison story, so it ends on a predictable - lame - note of humanism.

A 'humor' piece, titled 'The Mole People Battle the Forces of Darkness,' comes from Jean Shepard (1921 - 1999), who probably is best known to modern-day audiences as the writer and narrator of the perennial TV movie A Christmas Story. I found 'Mole People' dull and uncomical, but it does feature that staple of Playboy in its glory days: a brilliant illustration (whose artist is, unfortunately, uncredited).

Another short story in this issue is 'Also Known as Cassius,' by Hal Bennett (1936 - 2004). Bennett was one of a number of black / minority authors who found a home in the pages of Playboy in the 1960s and 1970s. My review of Bennett's 1970 novel 'Lord of Dark Places' is here. 

 

'Cassius' is about a twelve year-old black boy's discovery of the how and why he and his mother live in the tony neighborhood of Glen Oaks, and not Niggertown. It's a great little story, one with unsettling overtones, and markedly superior to 'Lord of Dark Places.' 

In the late 60s and early 70s awareness was growing of high-end, sophisticated bicycles that went by the name 'English Racers' and were aimed at adults. 'The Bike Boom,' an article in this August issue, highlights a number of 'sleek machines' which range in price from $88 to $440, a lot of money back in those days. Note that back in '71, no one wore a helmet except those guys who were in bike races...........

The magazine offers a generous ten pages of 'Bunnies of 1971,' and I've no doubt that these ladies - whether blonde, brunette, short-haired or long-haired, well deserved that exalted status. 

 

 

And that's what you got for your one dollar, 55 years ago in those days of 1971.