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Ok, just finished reading Ship of Ishtar.
Random thoughts,
I actually liked the supporting cast more than the hero, that's unusual.
The art is nice, but some of it is PG-13, guess my friends' kids won't be reading this one.
The prose is, advanced. Not quite Clark Ashton Smith, but still not 8th grade level.
He assumes you have some idea of Babylon and its mythology. Not a problem here.
The ending... not sure if you'd call it a happy ending or not, but it fit the story.
Still it makes you think.
I did like it, but not as much as I expected to. The punctuation drove me insane - too many dashes and exclamations! - which just jarred throughout the book. I hoped I would get used to it, but I did not.
If I ever see the phrase "Possess - Sharane!" again I will cry just a little. I can see what Merrit was doing with the tempo of the language at the time, but that does not mean I like it.
The Virgil Finlay illustrations are uniformly superb. Completely different in style to Aubrey Beardsley, but just as unique and striking.
The art is nice, but some of it is PG-13, guess my friends' kids won't be reading this one.
It's quite interesting that art considered perfectly acceptable 85 years ago would be considered inappropriate today. Not really convinced that's a sign of cultural progress, but YMMV. :)
I spent the day on vacation at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, spending a good amount of time in the sculpture gallery. Plenty of bare breasts and even some penis on display there. Perhaps there should be an age requirement at the gate?
Would have kept the school children I saw on a tour out, but I suppose it would be best for their impressionable young minds...
The art is nice, but some of it is PG-13, guess my friends' kids won't be reading this one.
It's quite interesting that art considered perfectly acceptable 85 years ago would be considered inappropriate today. Not really convinced that's a sign of cultural progress, but YMMV. :)
I spent the day on vacation at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, spending a good amount of time in the sculpture gallery. Plenty of bare breasts and even some penis on display there. Perhaps there should be an age requirement at the gate?
Would have kept the school children I saw on a tour out, but I suppose it would be best for their impressionable young minds...
I assume you're being sarcastic, Erik.
When it comes to my friends' kids, I just like making sure the parents are informed before they decide to let their kids have access to something. In my case, I'm likely more a prude than most.
(Edited by me)
I do find it interesting the level of (modern) education needed for this book. I mean you do have to have a decent vocabulary (which I have, spelling mistakes aside) and a good grasp of sides in the mythology of the word. (Set aside a moment that some folks who might be confused by dual aspected Ishtar wouldn't blink at the Holy Trinity)
And I pictured the priestes normally wearing as much as the illustration, and the men likely as well.
The art is nice, but some of it is PG-13, guess my friends' kids won't be reading this one.
It's quite interesting that art considered perfectly acceptable 85 years ago would be considered inappropriate today. Not really convinced that's a sign of cultural progress, but YMMV. :)
I spent the day on vacation at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, spending a good amount of time in the sculpture gallery. Plenty of bare breasts and even some penis on display there. Perhaps there should be an age requirement at the gate?
Would have kept the school children I saw on a tour out, but I suppose it would be best for their impressionable young minds...
I assume you're being sarcastic, Erik.
When it comes to my friends' kids, I just like making sure the parents are informed before they decide to let their kids have access to something. In my case, I'm likely more a prude than most.
To use your (flawed) museum example... it's in a museum, yes? And don't parents still have to sign permission slips/bring their kids?
Are you trying to say that if the book were in a museum, then the art in it would be okay? :)
I was indeed being sarcastic.
My museum analogy wasn't really flawed, it was totally awesome and very thoughtful.
I have no idea if kids sign permission slips for field trips in the UK. But now that you mention it, I suspect the main reason we have to do them in the US is because of prudish parents afraid of letting Little Johnny spot a marble boobie. :)
Of course, it's for the best that you run something by a parent before handing it to their child. Out of curiosity, have you lent previous Planet Stories volumes to the youngster in question? I'm curious what he thought of them!
Are you trying to say that if the book were in a museum, then the art in it would be okay? :)
No. I'm saying that the art IS ok in a book. Didn't even occur to me that some people would take issue with it, since it is just about the opposite of prurient.
You know, like classical art in a museum.
But, hey, if little kids end up snapping up copies of THE SHIP OF ISHTAR for this reason, I certainly won't complain. A similar tactic probably props up sales of the occasional issue of National Geographic, if I'm remembering my grade school days correctly. :)
I was indeed being sarcastic.
My museum analogy wasn't really flawed, it was totally awesome and very thoughtful.
I have no idea if kids sign permission slips for field trips in the UK. But now that you mention it, I suspect the main reason we have to do them in the US is because of prudish parents afraid of letting Little Johnny spot a marble boobie. :)
Of course, it's for the best that you run something by a parent before handing it to their child. Out of curiosity, have you lent previous Planet Stories volumes to the youngster in question? I'm curious what he thought of them!
I've lent them the Anubis Murders, but I don't think they've read it. I did buy them all the Pendragon ficition for Christmas, but that's not really planet stories.
I think it's to make sure the parents can't complain 'I didn't know!' (ok they can, but it's stupid).
Have you ever heard of the play "Doing Poetry with Helen, Veronica, Sonny, and Poor Dead Charlie" by Peter Dee? It's a play about a poetry club and one of the members is there as a ghost. There's an obscenity laced poem read by one of the characters, that has to be read without any alterations for production. When we did it in High School (20+ years ago! ugh!) we had permission slips sent out for the students to watch it. I'm just an old fashioned midwesterner. I don't want stuff banned, but I do want the information available to educate people to make informed choices for their children.
On the other side of the literary spectrum, I've not been able to get my roommate to read any of them, she's hooked on Harry Potter stories (or as I call 'em 'Potter Porn')
The art is nice, but some of it is PG-13, guess my friends' kids won't be reading this one.
It's quite interesting that art considered perfectly acceptable 85 years ago would be considered inappropriate today. Not really convinced that's a sign of cultural progress, but YMMV. :)
I spent the day on vacation at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, spending a good amount of time in the sculpture gallery. Plenty of bare breasts and even some penis on display there. Perhaps there should be an age requirement at the gate?
Would have kept the school children I saw on a tour out, but I suppose it would be best for their impressionable young minds...
Well we have more of a problem with violence this side of the pond than nudity. This post made me laugh out laud Eric, I hope you're enjoying our fine Capitol.
I do find it interesting the level of (modern) education needed for this book. I mean you do have to have a decent vocabulary (which I have, spelling mistakes aside) and a good grasp of sides in the mythology of the word. (Set aside a moment that some folks who might be confused by dual aspected Ishtar wouldn't blink at the Holy Trinity)
I'm learning a lot! I know (well, knew) Nothing about Babylon.
This book wins the award for the "best description of many worlds theory", I've ever seen (Disregarding that said theory was postulated in 1957 :) ) the first chapter should be required reading for all Physics students.....
Are you trying to say that if the book were in a museum, then the art in it would be okay? :)No. I'm saying that the art IS ok in a book. Didn't even occur to me that some people would take issue with it, since it is just about the opposite of prurient.
You know, like classical art in a museum.
But, hey, if little kids end up snapping up copies of THE SHIP OF ISHTAR for this reason, I certainly won't complain. A similar tactic probably props up sales of the occasional issue of National Geographic, if I'm remembering my grade school days correctly. :)
I was actually trying to tease Mr. Morris about his response to your museum analogy, I agree with your point completely. But, it seems he edited his post so mine doesn't make sense now, and mine wasn't too clear in the first place. That's what I get for posting during work and being too rushed to be more clear.
My opinion on the other Merrits I've read thus far:
Top shelf -
Ship of Ishtar
Seven Footprints to Satan
Dwellers in the the Mirage
Decent -
Moon Pool
Not so much -
The Metal Monster
Really enjoyed Seven Footprints. If you liked Ship of Ishtar, go out and find this one. And I'm going to see if I can get my hands on the movie....
Sadly, at this point I'm out of Merritt. I'll have to consider hitting up Abebooks for the remaining few.
I _STILL_ have not been able to find an affordable copy of CREEP SHADOW, and I've never even seen BURN, WITCH, BURN in the wild. Sure, I could just go to the web, but that's a bit like canned hunting. :)
Just picked up The Face in the Abyss and The Black Wheel (with Hannes Bok), which I think means I have all of Merritt's novels other than the two you list above and his other Bok collaboration (The Fox Woman and the Blue Pagoda). I have never seen those two either.
