The Mad Goblin, or, What Was I thinking?

Three days ago I rated Philip Jose Farmer's The Mad Goblin a B.
I am now rectifying this Mistake. I am giving the Novel an A-.
It may have graded higher if I had not read it in an extremely loud environment. (one of my friends was watching a Vampire flick. So the last thirty or so pages was filled with noises and screaming.
Anyway, I have also learned never, under any cercumstances, or for any reason blog at one in the morning. nothing good will come of it.
Just like Moms old adage "Nothing good happens after midnight, just go to sleep."

Maxwell Smart Vs THRUSH!...?

I was watching old episodes of Get Smart on youtube a few day ago. I was just sitting there minding my business laughing at Don Adams and wondering why they don't make shows like that anymore. (Or for that matter shoes like that?)
So I'm there and then 99 mentions THRUSH, and that the KAOS agent of the week was traded from THRUSH for some KAOS men. I can see why KAOS men twould want to jump ship.
Check it out around 7:34
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-DDB1SUsy0


(Blogger will not allow me to embed the video, so follow the link.)
(EDIT: Nor will they allow me to post a link. SO copy and paste is the way to go)

The Mad Goblin--Review

Title: The Mad Goblin
Author: Philip Jose Farmer
Publisher: Ace Books
Copyright: 1970
This Doc Savage pastiche has a lot going for it. Its very well written. The characters are remarkably well drawn and jump off the page. (Although this is as much as Dent's responsibility as Farmer's) Enough action to make any red blooded teenage boy happy, and lastly a pretty good plot.
But it fumbles in the last thirty pages after Doc Caliban and his men get to England. Too bad it never really recovers.
A lot has been said about how to fit this into Wold Newton continually. While it is tempting to say "Chuck It" it has too much attachment to the rest for that. So, what to do?
I personally like the theory that Grandrith and Caliban are copys of Tarzan and Doc Savage raised by The Nine to A. Assist them in maintaining control of the world. and B. To kill the real Tarzan and Doc Savage (which failed)
How does this book stack up:
Prose:A-
Plot:B
Characterization:A+
Final Grade: B
Thats my one in the morning review of Philip Jose Farmer's The Mad Goblin

Whats in the Box? 03/21

A box from Ebay arrived today. Inside was

I've been sick for about a week do this made my day. I'll tell you what I think off them when I finish reading them. Though that may take awhile because of all the stuff in my life.

What I'm reading as of 03/14/2009

This morning I took my SATs after several weeks of oppressive prepping. Surprisingly not even a quarter of the prep stuff showed on the test. In fact only the simple stuff showed its malformed face. Go figure.
thanks to SAT, I have a huge back log of reading to do. In no particular order here's what I'm reading now:
The Mask of Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer
The House Subcommittee's findings at CTU (24) by Marc Cerasini (I'm a big 24 nut)
The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics by Various (I'm a bit strange. I read one chapter of a Encyclopedia a day)
To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
The Federalist Papers by Various
Invisible Death by Lin Carter
Ironcastle by Philip Jose Farmer
To your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer
Doc Savage: The devil Genghis by Lester Dent
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (one of my all time favorites)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
The Aeneid by Virgil (YAY!)
Five Weeks in a Balloon by Jules Verne
The Great Gatsby by F. Scot Fitzgerald
Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs (another of my all time favorites)
The Man from UNCLE, The Copenhagen Affair by John Oram
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
The Tombs of Anak by Frank Peretti

Give me a week or two tops and I should get through all that. I hope.

To end things here's an interesting link
http://www.tvtropes.org/
I don't really know how to describe it, but think of Wikipedia but only for fiction and its concepts. This site has vastly improved my writings, both fiction and non-fiction by helping me to avoid cliches and be original. What are you waiting for? Click!

Philip Jose Farmer, RIP