Skip to main content

Cover of the Week: The Black Corridor by Michael Moorcock

Mayflower 563 11640 X (1973)

It’s a shame that this British Mayflower paperback doesn’t list the cover artist because he/she deserves to be credited for creating this dramatic, surrealist cover that fits Michael Moorcock’s story perfectly. Mayflower reprinted many of Moorcock’s books in paperback, including several of his most popular books, like Stormbringer, Behold the Man (a fantastic book), and The Final Programme. Mayflower states that the book is “Science Fantasy,” which I think describes Moorcock’s work very well, although he leans toward the grimdark style of writing that is directly opposite of Tolkien’s “high fantasy” (he hated Tolkien’s work, by the way).

From the blurb on the back of the book (which deserves to be quoted for its over-the-top style:

“The world is sick. The Forces of Chaos have energized the planet. Leaders, fuhrers, duces, prophets, visionaries, gurus, and politicians are all at each other’s throats. And Chaos leers over the broken body of the Order.

So Ryan freezes his family into suspended animation and sets off for the planet Munich 15040, five years distant. There he will re-establish Order in a New World - and create a happier, healthier, saner, and more decent society with the ones he loves.

But they are suspended. And they cannot talk. And he is alone in space. And he has been traveling for three years. And he will still be traveling two years hence, and he cannot see his destination, and is ALONE and LOST and CRACKING UP…”



Popular posts from this blog

Welcome

Thank you for visiting my website. You'll find information about me and my activities/social media here. If you came here looking for the actor Richard Grove, you've found him. For some crazy reason, I chose to use Richard as my first name while working as an actor in Hollywood. I have a separate post devoted to Richard Grove's acting career.  At present, I am producing a podcast about paperbacks called "The Paperback Show", along with participating in a podcast about machinima (3D movies made inside of video games) called, "And Now For Something Completely Machinima".  I am also an online bookseller at eBay and Etsy under the "Grove Used Books" name. In addition to books, I also sell collectibles, DVDs, and comic books.  Lastly, I have social media pages on Instagram and Facebook. My Flickr page contains all of my found photographs and photos I've taken over the years.  You'll find more detailed info on each of these activities in sepa...
Read more

Johnny Mandel's Great Jazz Score I Want To Live!

  Johnny Mandel , a composer of pop and jazz music, won his first Grammy nomination for the sound-track to Susan Hayward's overwrought film, "I want to Live". The score is much better than the movie. It's filled with great jazz hooks and has an energy that stays with you long after you've finished listening.  Mandel went on to win 5 Grammy's (out of 17 nominations). In addition to popular albums and musical arranging for other artists, he composed many film tracks. I particularly love his work on Point Blank, The Last Detail, Being There and the Verdict.  Archive.org hosts a recording of the original LP of "I Want to Live". You can download the entire score there. 
Read more

Cover of the Week: Modern Barbecue Cooking by Ed Bell

“Barbecue cooking is man’s oldest form of meal preparation. Prehistoric man was the first to barbecue” - Ed Bell The Iliad Bookshop in Los Angeles has two huge tables filled with sale books. Most are a dollar or two. My partner, Lisa Morton , works there and is always on the lookout for a sale book she thinks will appeal to me. Yesterday, she brought home Modern Barbecue Cooking by Ed Bell , which cost her one dollar. Being a barbecue lover myself (anyone who grew up in Arizona is automatically a barbecue lover), I pored over the book and found it to be a lot of fun. Dated a bit (the book was published in 1966), especially when it comes to the technology of barbecuing. However, overall, it remains a quite useful cookbook. Unfortunately, the poor-quality photographs in the book make the food appear unappetizing. Take a look: My God, the food looks like something a cannibal would cook. It seems that all of the mid-century cookbooks have this color problem. Thankfully, most of the ill...
Read more