Unreasonable Fun

by Dylan Jeninga
(Chicago, Illinois, USA)

Zendexor, just wanted to say that I've enjoyed your unreasonable comparisons, and I find no fault in comparing pulp adventures to classic literature. I've enjoyed the classics, but gotten more joy out of pulp, so why not make the comparisons? What matters, in the end, is how the literature affects the reader, no?

Now, one could argue that the classics are regarded as such because they have a strong point of view that is masterfully communicated, where even the best pulp novel might be lacking something to say. I say nonsense - perspective is always there, one simply has to look for it. Even if the perspective is merely "fun", there is nothing lesser in that!

So I say carry on with the unreasonableness, and to Pluto with the objections!

{Z: Hear, hear! Besides, in good old Merrie England at festivals they used to appoint a Lord of Misrule, didn't they - so round about this time I fool around to a cosmically comic or comically cosmic degree.

Also, a writer who is good enough can embody the virtues both of the classics and of the pulps - which is why I go on about C S Lewis so much.

Now, for any Hardy experts who may be reading this, let me set an undergraduate essay topic:

"Compare and contrast 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' by Thomas Hardy with 'At the Mountains of Madness' by H P Lovecraft. Evaluate the pressures of Wessex society in juxtaposition with the experience of being chased by a Shoggoth..."}

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Dec 31, 2016
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starstarstarstarstar 		New Years Miscellany
by: Dylan Jeninga

My girlfriend is giving me an odd look, as I suddenly burst into laughter in the midst of our quiet evening! That is an essay I should like to read indeed!

Another interesting comparison might be "The Horrors of War as Portrayed in 'The War of the Worlds' and 'All Quiet on the Western Front'".

In regards to our custom Mercury Anthology, might it not be easier simply to combine "The Challenge of Heat" and "The Challenge of Cold" into "The Challenge of Temperature"?

It is too bad that Tama of the Light Country has been such a let down. Another Mercury novel would have been welcome. Ray Cummings plows through world development like a comet, barely giving us time to contemplate the sparse details he lays down about Mercurian life. I admire his efforts to write a sci-fi novel with a feminist message, I only wish it were better handled. (Not that I can judge too harshly, I often find my own writing to be odious and appreciate how difficult it is to write well).

A Happy New Year to all in the System! From an Earthly perspective, that is. I'm a bit off for the rest of the planets, and I expect Pluto is rather tired of hearing this with its own new year so far away. Nonetheless, a merry one to them all!

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