Smashing Pumpkins - Wembley Arena

After waiting 20 years to see Smashing Pumpkins live I finally got the chance to last night. I wasn't too sure what to expect given that Billy Corgan is the only member of the band from the original line-up left. But their new album Oceania is very good and you just never know when any tour is the last tour. It was a blisteringly hot day so a rather uncomfortable car journey wasn't ideal preparation.

In no way was I disappointed. It was a great show, mixing old classics (Cherub Rock, Today, Disarm, Zero, Tonight Tonight) blended together with some strong material from their latest offering (Celestials, Pinwheels, Oceania). They even played a cover of Bowie's 'Space Oddity'.

He even states Philip K Dick as an influence on his work, another reason to love them!

The Cosmic Puppets by Philip K Dick

How would you feel if you went back to your home town 18 years after you left it, to find out you were dead? Imagine Ted Barton's surprise when he did just that.

That wasn't the only thing that was wrong, the whole town was different, street names were not the same, buildings disappeared and no-one could recall there ever having been certain shops and businesses that Ted remembered. Except one, the town drunk, who helps Ted along the way. What Ted has inadvertently stumbled upon is a battle of intergalactic proportions played out at a micro level.

This is a short novel - the paperback version has 140 pages - and is a very early work in Dick's career. It is perhaps a more straight up story and there is a distinct lack of drug taking which almost dominates a large portion of his later works.

Almost certainly the town drunk would have been off his head on some hallucinogenic drug had it been written ten years later. This may not be as good as his later works, but there is plenty to keep the story moving along, and ultimately its an entertaining read.

Again Dick illustrates his fascination with certain parts of the female anatomy, not least the symbolism of the closing line.

The Ganymede Takeover by Philip K Dick

They say a 'change is as good as a rest' and a change is exactly what I needed.

This might not be his best (it isn't) but the change of style has been more than welcome. I must confess that it takes quite a while usually to understand what on earth is going on with most of Dick's work. This was no exception, and for most of the book I was having to flick back to see what the characters were doing, and whose 'side' they were on.

 

Although the concept was unmistakably trademark Dick, it was obvious when one author started and the other stopped, and the blend didn't always work well.

There are some great ideas in this, and the usual Dick techno speak and some humour too, but overall a story that didn't really go anywhere. I have a number of reviews that mark this out as one of his best works, but it just doesn't feel as complete as Flow my Tears, or Dr Bloodmoney.

Not sure what I will read next - I have a TBR pile with more than 100 books in it - but received a nice second hand copy of Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg today in the post. I think I might try that.

Robots and Empire by Isaac Asimov

Finally the Asimov Robot series is at an end.

I stand by my original thoughts on Asimov after reading I, Robot - he was a very clever chap. His books are full of complex scenarios relating to the 3 Laws and at times it is difficult to follow the thread of how and when 1st and 2nd law applies. He obviously knew his subject inside out. There is humour here too, but (and its quite a big but) there is little else other than long scenes of almost entirely dialogue in which the plot plays out.

There is very little descriptive or scene setting paragraphs, so much so that in my head I have almost no idea of what Solaria, or Aurora actually looks like - despite both featuring in 4 books. I read some comments that were made by Asimov about his style in which he wanted to keep his works easy to follow and clear and simple and I agree that he does keep it simple and clear, at least in Caves of Steel and Naked Sun it was simple and clear and short. Robots of Dawn and Empire are long, and become tediously long given the style of writing.

Looking back to I, Robot and all in between the ideas carry the stories along and the short stories are best of all. There was a definite sense of relief after finishing - having set a target of reading all Robots - and I shall look back on Asimov again but for now I'll be reading a variety of authors work, going back to my personal favourite Philip K Dick.