FACT SF Reading Group

April 2008

April 7: The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde

Seven people attended this discussion at the North Village Library. Our topic was The Fourth Bear, second in Jasper Fforde’s Nursery Crime series featuring Detective Chief Inspector Jack Spratt and Detective Sergeant Mary Mary. In this book, our protagonists investigate the murder of Goldilocks and try to capture an escaped mass murderer, the Gingerbread Man. We had all read Jasper Fforde before, and all of us started and finished The Fourth Bear.

One reader commented that he simply loved this book. He had read several of Fforde’s other books, and this was his clear favorite. He liked Fforde’s smooth writing. Spratt’s numbered plot devices were amusing (e.g. #26: Looking for Dr. McGuffin). He felt the silliness was over-the-top but worked. He thought the book worked extraterrestrial aliens well into the story, and loved how the aliens kept dropping references to 2001, Blade Runner, Star Wars, and other classic sf films. He felt that Mary Mary’s date with an alien coworker was the highlight of the book. Spratt and his wife consulting Punch and Judy as marriage counselors was a treat.

Others enjoyed the book. Many commented that this book’s mystery was better constructed than that of Farthing, the previous book we read. One fan of orange marmalade was amused that it’s a controlled substance for bears in this book. Several of us enjoyed the jokes about bad British cars. We were amused by the damage-free cars sold by Dorian Gray, all of which contained portraits of badly damaged cars in their trunks. As one reader put it, “Jasper Fforde writes silly things that I like.”

Many of us felt that this book is superior to the earlier installment, The Big Over Easy, which was written years early. We felt Fforde’s writing had improved, and the story simply hangs together better.

We appreciate how Fforde works just as hard for plot points as he does for gags. And it was especially satisfying when continuing jokes (e.g. Is a gingerbread man a cookie or a cake?) have multilayered plot payoffs late in the story.

For a book filled with so many fantastic elements, the depth of characterization was nice. Spratt, Mary, and the rest of the characters all have well-developed personalities. We appreciated the sensitive yet postmodern way that Jack Spratt came out to his wife that he was a “person of dubious reality.”

We spent the hour recounting favorite bits from this book, other Fforde books, Fforde’s website, and encounters with the author at his delightful signings. It’s clear that Jasper Fforde has a great deal of affection for his readers, and we have similar affection for him and his work. After the meeting, we had a nice dinner at Threadgill’s.

April 22: The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril by Paul Malmont

This discussion at A. T.’s house drew twelve attendees. Our topic was The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril, an adventure story featuring famous writers of the Pulp Era. An obscure writer named H. P. Lovecraft dies under mysterious circumstances, and his friends Lester Dent, Walter Gibson, and L. Ron Hubbard look into it. They are drawn into a wild adventure reminiscent of the stuff they write. As this book is Malmont’s first published work, none of us had read him before. All of us started the book, and nine finished.

The group member who originally recommended this book said that he was initially intrigued by the title and main characters. He felt the story took off immediately. He thought the mystery had good twists and red herrings. He appreciated how it moves deftly between horror, mystery, and fantasy. And he was pleasantly surprised at the end when the true identity of the book’s narrator was revealed.

Several of us commented on how well the book evoked the atmosphere and culture of New York City at the time. While we doubted that the place was exactly like Malmont depicted, the world was so fully-realized that it was almost a character in itself.

Characterization was a strength of this novel. We appreciated that Dent, the creator of Doc Savage, was a multitalented man much like Doc himself. Dent’s wife Norma starts the novel as a person going through a personal crisis, but once she gets involved in the action she finds herself and quickly becomes one of the book’s strongest characters. We thought Gibson was well-presented as a top pulp writer constantly aware of his competitors nipping at his heels. Gibson’s large collection of helpful acquaintances was reminiscent of the Shadow’s network of agents.

Several people commented that they would not have read this book if not for the reading group. One reader had read little pulp writing, but still enjoyed this book enormously. We loved that so many supporting characters turned out to be significant writers and artists. There were appearances by E. E. “Doc” Smith, Robert A. Heinlein, Chester Himes, Louis L’Amour, Stan Lee, and Jack Kirby. We liked Doc Smith getting to use his “day job” (chemistry) to save the day at one point.

One person felt that this book was almost metafiction. He liked the conceit of a secret history where the real world is pulp. He thought the book was fabulously well done and clearly a labor of love, and speculated that the author must have had a father or uncle with a huge collection of pulps.

We felt this book was a good companion to The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Michael Chabon’s novel that features comic book creators involved in a similar adventure. It was noted that Joe Kavalier himself has a cameo appearances in The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril.

A couple of people felt that this book suffered from “first novel” problems. They felt the story took too long to get started, and the narrative jumped around too much. They said that the book contains exquisitely-written sections and purple prose. We weren’t sure whether the latter was intentional “good bad” or simply “bad bad” writing.

Several of us read the book slowly to catch all the references. We wished for a hypertext or heavily annotated version to make sure we got everything.

One person simply stated that this was not a book for him. He had read little pulp, and was not interested in that milieu. He thought the book’s conspiracies and secrets were obvious. He also had issue with the book’s science, including the velocity of sound and how the poison gas works. He would have preferred reading a good biography of any of the writers who appear in the book.

A fan of the Shadow radio show said this book was great stuff. She had not read pulp, but stated that “if this is pulp fiction, I want to read more.” She liked the secret history approach to the story, and she appreciated the discussions among the author characters on the nature of pulp vs. reality. She loved one’s writer’s plea during a near-death experience: “If you get me out of this, I’ll never abuse adverbs again!” She commented that she comes to the Reading Group primarily to discover fun new writers like Malmont.

Overall, we liked The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril. This book’s charms are so unique that it’s impossible to figure out what Malmont might write next. After the meeting, we had a nice dinner at California Pizza Kitchen.

--A. T. Campbell, III