THE MT VOID
03/17/23 -- Vol. 41, No. 38, Whole Number 2267

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Co-Editor: Evelyn Leeper, eleeper@optonline.net
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Topics:
Synchronicity (comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
Mini Reviews, Part 16 (THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN,
RAYMOND & RAY, VENGEANCE) (film reviews
by Mark R. Leeper and Evelyn C. Leeper)
THE SPARE MAN by Mary Robinette Kowal (audio book review
by Joe Karpierz)
Nebula Award Finalists
This Week's Reading (WHAT IS ART?, AN EXPERIMENT IN
CRITICISM, ON MORAL FICTION) (book comments
by Evelyn C. Leeper)

==================================================================
TOPIC: Synchronicity (comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)

I have talked about synchronicity before (e.g., issue 02/23/2018),
but what weird coincidence led me to read about Ivar the Boneless
in a book I am reading and then also hear about him in a totally
unrelated podcast within a 24-hour period? [-ecl]

==================================================================
TOPIC: Mini Reviews, Part 16 (film reviews by Mark R. Leeper and
Evelyn C. Leeper)

This is the sixteenth batch of mini-reviews, all character studies.
As an extra St. Patrick's Day bonus, one is set in Ireland:

THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN: THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN seems to be
fundamentally a story of how life on an isolated island can either
dull your brain or drive you insane. (It is so dull that even the
Irish Revolution going on at the time is perceived only at muted
explosions heard across a wide expanse of water.) In the film,
one of two close friends (played by Brendan Gleeson and Colin
Farrell, who were also both in IN BRUGES, which was also written
and directed by Martin McDonagh) suddenly decides that the other is
too dull and no longer desirable as a friend. But the cast-off
friend will not accept this. In some sense, each decides the other
is on a different intellectual level. And a third character, a
young boy (played by Barry Keoghan), seems to represent both
aspects--not quite sane, and somewhat intellectually challenged.
Their actions and reactions drive the plot, such as it is, but the
film on the whole seems just a look at a very bleak lifestyle.

Released theatrically 4 November 2022. Rating: +1 (-4 to +4) or
6/10

Film Credits:
<https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11813216/reference>

What others are saying:
<https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_banshees_of_inisherin>

RAYMOND & RAY: In RAYMOND & RAY, the title characters (played by
Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke) are two very different half-brothers
on a road trip to their father's funeral. For reasons never
entirely explained the father has left instructions that not only
should they attend the funeral, but that they must dig the grave
and bury him themselves. (He has also left other odd instructions,
also never explained other than by people saying he was strange.)
The brothers use the time to vent their anger at each other and at
their father, and of course family secrets are also discussed and
revealed, as is predictable in this sort of film.

Released on streaming 21 October 2022. Rating: high +1 (-4 to +4)
or 6/10

Film Credits:
<https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15334032/reference>

What others are saying:
<https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/raymond_and_ray>

VENGEANCE: VENGEANCE starts off with witty dialogue, and writer
B. J. Novak maintains this level throughout. Novak is also the
director (and star) and he and editors Andy Canny, Hilda Rasula,
and Plummy Tucker use short choppy takes to disorient the viewer.
The plot is familiar: a cosmopolitan goes to the country and finds
the unexpected and not the stereotypes--well, okay, some of the
stereotypes. In this case, an intellectual New York Jew goes to
rural West Texas and meets Texan weirdos. (Just to give one other
example, in LOCAL HERO, a Houston urbanite goes to rural Scotland
and finds the unexpected and not the stereotypes--well, okay, some
of the stereotypes.)

Anyway, there's a great joke based on "Chekhov's gun", and our main
character thinks himself superior, but doesn't know basic stuff; he
doesn't know who won the Alamo, doesn't recognize the tune to "Deep
in the Heart of Texas", and is constantly asking patronizing
questions which get surprising deep answers. The whole movie is a
murder mystery within this cultural experience.

Released theatrically 29 July 2022. Rating: low +2 (-4 to +4) or
7/10

Film Credits:
<https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11976532/reference>

What others are saying:
<https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/vengeance_2022>

[-mrl/ecl]

==================================================================
TOPIC: THE SPARE MAN by Mary Robinette Kowal (copyright 2022,
Audible Studios, 11 hours and 24 minutes, ASIN: B0B8K159G7,
narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal) (audio book review by Joe
Karpierz)

THE SPARE MAN is Mary Robinette Kowal's brilliant, witty, and fun
followup to her recent Lady Astronaut books. Not that those books
weren't terrific themselves; they certainly were. But THE SPARE
MAN, inspired by the 1934 movie THE THIN MAN, goes off in a
different direction entirely than those novels. I love it when an
author shows their ability to branch off and do different things.
And yes, I know she's written novels and short fiction, fantasy,
romance, and science fiction. She's won the Hugo, Nebula, and
Locus Awards. She won the Astounding Award for Best New Writer.
*and* she's a professional puppeteer. Other than all that, she
hasn't done much.

THE SPARE MAN can be described as a locked room murder mystery
science fiction romance with one of the most awesome dogs in
science fiction history as well as a lawyer that I would love to
have as MY lawyer if I had enough money to retain her services.
The setting is the cruise space ship I.S.S. Lindgren, traveling
between the moon and Mars. Artesia Zuraw and Mishal Husband (yes,
it's an inside joke; you'll just have to read the book to
understand it), along with their service dog, a Westie named
Gimlet, are taking a honeymoon cruise to Mars. They are your
stereotypical rich couple, used to living in luxury, with a
penchant for drinking a variety of cocktails. We'll get to that.

Everything goes sideways when a murder occurs outside their cabin,
and Mishal goes chasing after who he thinks is the perpetrator of
the crime after trying to help the victim. Thing is, the victim
wasn't dead when Mishal checked on her, and he has her blood on his
hands. This results in, you guessed it, Mishal getting accused of
the murder. This leaves it up to Artesia to begin tracking down
what actually happened and who the actual murderer is.

As you might expect, things and people are not what they seem.
Artesia and Mishal are actually Tesla Crane and Shal Steward.
Tesla is a brilliant scientist and inventor, and Shal is a famous
detective. They were traveling incognito in an effort to enjoy
their honeymoon without being hounded by their fans--especially
Tesla's--who are everywhere (none of this is a spoiler, as these
facts are revealed early in the novel). And yes, Gimlet truly *is*
a service dog, but that's because Tesla is suffering from PTSD due
to a work accident that happened several years ago. Tesla suffered
a debilitating injury in that accident, so not only has to deal
with the PTSD but the physical effects of that industrial accident.
Tesla's physical problems as well as the PTSD play a huge part in
the story, and Kowal does an awesome job of not only weaving them
into the story but showing what a person who is affected by these
things has to go through just to make it through everyday life.

I did say they were rich. In fact, they are very rich (Throughout
the novel, Kowal shows us that Tesla is very aware of her wealth
and privilege, and that she really has to rein in that privilege
every time she wants to wield it like a sledgehammer. That's not
to say that Tesla doesn't strategically wield it; she just doesn't
wield it as often as she could.). They are so rich that they can
have one of the Solar System's top lawyers, Fantine, on call for
them. Tesla can not only afford to have Fantine as her lawyer, but
can also afford to have several long interplanetary phone calla
with her (complete with increasing time lags as the ship gets
further and further from Earth) on the trip. Fantine is a joy to
listen to. Her insults are such that I would like to be
imaginative to come up with them on my own.