For this all-sci-fi column, I need to put the blame where it really belongs: First, to Channel 2 in Boston for showing it. Then to Tom Baker for being it. I’m talking, of course, about DR. WHO, which put me on the path that is science fiction. Sure, we all watched STAR TREK as kids, but DR. WHO pushed it further for me. You might think, “Hey, Bruce, you must have read all the classic stuff growing up,” but you’d be so wrong. There was no Heinlen, Dick or even Bradbury on my shelf; it was more about Philip José Farmer, Alan Dean Foster, Harry Harrison and, of course, Douglas Adams. So as I sit here waiting for the next episode of TORCHWOOD to download air, here are three little blasts of otherworldly fiction. (No Daleks or Cybermen were hurt in the writing of this column.)

A SCANNER DARKLY by Philip K. Dick – Being more familiar with Dick’s short stories – some of which have been made in to films both good (BLADE RUNNER) and bad (PAYCHECK), I felt it was time to tackle one of his most popular. Now, if it looks like a sci-fi book and feels like a sci-fi book, then it must be a sci-fi book, but it’s not. Yes, Dick’s 1977 novel has sci-fi elements in the plot, but this is more about Dick’s drug abuse in the early ’70s while he was living with a commune of youngsters.

The story is about a cop named Fred who works so deep undercover, he has to wear a “scramble suit” when he reports in. Fred is a narc reporting on drug activities while also setting up busts for the regular police. His other persona is a man called Robert Arctor, a known drug user and pusher. Since no one at HQ knows they are both the same, Fred is put on a case to bust Arctor. In other words, he has to set himself up.

Paranoia was one of Dick’s mainstays, be it in his writing or life. We slowly see Fred and Arctor merge into one person, as Fred sets up countless recording devices in Arctor’s home to record everything that goes on. So mainly the book is viewed through the eyes of Arctor and his drug-buddy roommates who constantly are on some weird trip.

Then it goes into his Fred’s persona as he has to view the tapes of the activities. Then there is his girlfriend, a dealer herself but one with a secret she keeps until the end. All in all, great stuff and no wonder that when they made this into a movie, it had to be animated.

FRANKENSTEIN UNBOUND by Brian Aldiss – In Aldiss’ 1973 novel, the Frankenstein myth is reinterpreted as a time-travel parable. Scientific genius Joseph Bodenland creates some sort of super weapon that causes what are deemed “time slips,” where at one moment, your home could end up in another time and place for a few hours or even days.

A slip happens to Joe and his family, plopping them in a field where they encounter two riders who come to the point of the home and then turn around. This lasts for a close to a day and a half. So when the next slip happens, producing mountains and a lake, Joe takes his car for a spin. Sadly, he gets stuck since the slip only lasts 20 minutes or so, leaving him in 1800s Geneva.

Having no clue what to do, Joe settles at a local inn and tires to get his bearings, meeting none other than Victor Frankenstein. Joe is totally shocked, thinking Dr. F was merely fiction. He tries to gain the confidence of Victor, but Victor just wants to be left alone. It seems there is something plaguing him, which Joe slowly determines is that the creature is not some made-up fantasy, either.

On occasion, Joe goes through minor time slips, making him lose two to three months at a time, so he figures he should search out Lord Byron and Percy Shelley, who at the time were living in Geneva. Joe meets up with the future Mary Shelley, who is only halfway through writing her book. Then let’s just say Joe breaks one of those rules you hear in every time-travel tale: Never tell anyone their future.

Aldiss creates an interesting story in which Joe becomes a central figure in Frankenstein’s life, in that he is there when Victor makes the bride for his creature, then witnesses the couple running off on its own. Joe is determined to clear up the mess he has caused, with the idea that said creatures might be running through time slips.

Having previously only watched the Roger Corman film adaptation, I had no real idea to expect. Well, for one thing, there is no fucking talking car in the book. Yes, Joe has one, but it sure as hell isn’t K.I.T.T. The story Aldiss gives us could be the alternate version of the classic tale of an inventor thinking he can create life, only to see it destroy life.

A PRINCESS OF MARS by Edgar Rice Burroughs – I don’t really re-read that much stuff unless something calls for it years later. Case in point: this 1912 book and its resulting series. Originally I had another book all set for this column, but after three chapters of ATTACK ON ATLANTIS, it put me to sleep. So I figured I would revisit the time spent on Barsoom – that’s Mars, for those of you who don’t know.

Burroughs is probably the pulp master, having created not one but two distinctive characters in the genre, one being Tarzan and one being PRINCESS’ hero, John Carter, a Civil War vet who is mysteriously transported to Mars, where he is met by alien creatures called Thraks. They are these giant, green, four-armed, lizard-like beasts. Carter soon finds out he has some sort of super strength on Mars. (Sound familiar, comic fans? An alien who comes to Earth and discovers the same?)

Carter rises to power and respect in the tribe because of his newfound abilities. The Thraks actually capture a beautiful red Martian princess named Dejah, for whom Carter has fallen, so he goes off to save the damsel in distress, leading to him having to sacrifice himself for the better of the planet.

I loved this type of stuff, from its aliens to its swordfights. How cool is that? If you’ve never read any Burroughs, shame on you. Carter comes back for two more books before the series switches to other characters in an 11-book franchise. Again, you can grab the first five in two nice collections at a certain book chain or dig around the used places for a musty version.

Next time: Happy Birthday to me. –Bruce Grossman

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OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THESE AUTHORS:
• TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR by Edgar Rice Burroughs