Pandora's Gun - James Van Pelt

James Van Pelt's output mainly consists of short fiction. Since the early 1990's his short stories have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. To date, Van Pelt has released four collections of short fiction, which I suspect do not contain all his stories. I reviewed the third of these collections, The Radio Magician and Other Stories a couple of years ago. I do own the others but as with so much good short fiction, I can't seem to get around to reading them. He released Summer of the Apocalypse, a post apocalyptic story with one main character and two narrative strands set about sixty years apart, in 2006. Pandora's Gun, published almost a decade later, is the second.

While looking around the local dump, high school student Peter Van Meer finds a bag with a mysterious gun inside. It looks high-tech but he can't figure out the symbols indicating the different settings. Using the trial and error method, Peter soon realizes his find is dangerous. He can't help telling his best friend about it however and together they begin to figure out the gun's different settings. Given its capabilities, it is clearly valuable and it soon becomes apparent that the owner of the gun wants it back. Besides the owner, other parties appear to be interested in the gun as well. It draws Peter into a dangerous game of hide and seek. The gun is even more powerful than Peter suspects and having it fall into the wrong hands could endanger everything Peter holds dear.

Like Summer of the Apocalypse, Pandora's Gun is a relatively short novel. It just falls short of 200 pages and is probably right on the edge of the divide between novella and novel. Van Pelt resists making the plot too convoluted and keeps the story moving. He seems to have a clear idea of how long it should be and doesn't attempt to stretch it beyond that. The novel is not specifically marketed for teens but it will clearly appeal to that age group. It has teen protagonists and weaves the thoughts and interests of high school students into the tale deftly.

Pandora's Gun is one of those science fiction pieces that shows a lot more respect for literary fiction than it is likely to receive. Perhaps that is not entirely surprising.  Until last school year Van Pelt taught English at a high school in Colorado and this experience clearly shows up in the novel. The novel is full of references to literature. John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, one of the few English classics that I have actually read even if it was some twenty years ago, is particularly important to the story, as is the poetry of Robert Burns. Burns is apparently one of Steinbeck's inspirations, something I don't remember coming up when we discussed it in English literature class. Despite being retired, Van Pelt still managed to educate me. He also draws on Greek mythology, the title is a dead giveaway. Less obvious is Dante, which Van Pelt chose as the name of Peter's best friend. I'm not convinced it is intentional but there is a scene in the book that shows us a place every bit as terrible as anything in Dante's Inferno.

The gun is the obvious science fictional aspect of the novel. Van Pelt links it to parallel universes and allows Peter access to all kinds of nifty technologies that haven't been invented yet in our world. He uses it only on a few occasions though. The gun drives part of the plot but while it looms over the characters during the entire book, its capabilities or how it works are not what's important in the book. The threat it represents and the problem Peter has saddled himself with is what Van Pelt is interested in. It's is one of the instances where Van Pelt shows restraint. He could easily have written in a few more big explosions or add lots of background on the origin of the gun and how it ended up in the dump, instead the author sticks to what is vital to the plot. It's a very no nonsense way of storytelling.

Although the story is quite fast paced, there is still some space left to explore the theme of friendship. Peter is starting to realize that his friendship with Dante is changing and that they are drifting apart. At the same time he feels attracted to Christy, the girl next door whom he used to play with as a child. While dodging all the friendly folk who want to have a chat with him about the gun, Peter tries to figure out where these friendships are heading. Peter makes some very mature decisions in this book. He recognizes that he can't follow where Dante is leading and that he needs a friend more than a girlfriend. It is here where I think one of the few weaknesses in the book surfaces. Peter is not allowed to drive yet so that would make him 15? Maybe 16? The choices he makes are awfully mature. He may be a clever boy but you still expect him to screw up once in a while.

Van Pelt may still be more comfortable with shorter lengths but Pandora's Gun clearly shows that he can handle a full novel as well. It is one of those books that grab you from the beginning and that can be read in a single session. The author carefully balances characterisation and plot to create a story that is a satisfying read on several levels. Van Pelt wraps up the main story nicely but does leave a few questions unanswered. Should he be inclined to write one, a sequel is possible although not necessary. Once again Van Pelt has shown that I leave his books on the to read stack for way too long. Pandora's Gun is a very good read. Maybe it will even remind me to pick up one of those unread collections some time soon.

Book Details
Title: Pandora's Gun
Author: James Van Pelt
Publisher: Fairwood Press
Pages: 194
Year: 2015
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-933846-53-8
First published: 2015

The Radio Magician and Other Stories - James Van Pelt

Reading short fiction is something I have to be in the mood for. For me, it is a very different kind of reading than novels. Potentially just as powerful and rewarding but more like running a sprint than a marathon. With expectation, immersion and surprise/relief/disappointment or whatever your reaction to the story is, packed into a much shorter time frame, short fiction takes more out of me than a novel. I can read about four short stories in one evening before I have to go do something else and process what I've just read. It frequently happens that I have several collections of short fiction waiting for the mood to seize me. The current to read stack contains a copy of Leviathan Wept and Other Stories by Daniel Abraham for instance. I also expect a copy of The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson to arrive sometime next week. Both of these collections may have to wait for quite a while.

The Radio Magician and Other Stories had to wait for a bit as well. After reading Van Pelt's novel Summer of the Apocalypse in December, I've been meaning to read one of the three collections of short fiction Van Pelt has published to date. The Radio Magician and Other Stories (2009) is the most recent, but the older collections Strangers and Beggars (2002) and The Last of the O-Forms & Other Stories (2005) are also still available from Fairwood Press (did my to read list just grow again?). The Radio Magician and Other Stories contains nineteen pieces of short fiction ranging from far future science fiction to horror and a very nice introduction by Carrie Vaughn. Nineteen stories is a bit much to discuss in one review so I am going to make a selection. It should be noted that the quality of the collection as a whole is very good. This selection reflects my taste it's not meant to single out the best stories.

The Radio Magician is the first story in the collection. It's an interesting choice to open the collection with. Van Pelt is generally considered to be a science fiction writer. This story reminds the reader that his oeuvre is broader than that. Set in (probably) late 1939, the story tells us about the Clarence, a ten year old boy struck by Polio. With his legs in braces, unable to move around much, the radio is the only thing that makes his days bearable. A show by the Radio Magician Professor Gilded is his favourite. Especially when the magician remarks magic is an illusion, fooling perception is the trick. If you perceive the coin has disappeared, it is gone. If you perceive you are ill, illness becomes you, the magician tells his audience. Now that is an interesting thought for Clarence.

Whether The Radio Magician is genre fiction is debatable, something that is the case with a number of stories in this collection. Seen through the eyes of a ten year-old boy the magic may very well be real, for the adult reader it is most likely an illusion. Although the stories are not that similar, reading about Clarence reminded me of a classic in the Dutch literary canon, Kees de jongen. It's a very convincing look into the world of a ten year-old and a very touching story. One of isolation, conviction and ultimately compassion.

The Light of a Thousand Suns is the third story in the collection. The rather cryptic title refers to a verse of the Hindu holy text Bhagavad Gita, that was linked to Trinity, one of the early nuclear tests the US carried out in the 1940s. Robert J. Oppenheimer later mentioned that he thought of the verse while watching this first nuclear explosion. All this is ancient history to the main character in the story however. Trellis is a security guard at the Lynwood Mall. One day he notices a trailer that has been parked in the mall parking lot for over a day. When he goes out to confront the owners they tell him they're suicide bombers. Just not quite the type we've come to associate with that term.

Van Pelt asks some uncomfortable questions in this story. What drives a suicide bomber? Trellis doesn't have a clue, the idea of giving up your life for a cause that doesn't seem to be helped by that sacrifice at all seems strange to him. And yet, what he witnesses in the trailer is not so very different. These people are convinced their sacrifice has meaning without a shred of evidence to support it. Maybe their goal is more sympathetic but isn't it the same sort of fanaticism? And then there is the assurance that when he is ready, Trellis' sacrifice will be accepted. Creepy.

Echoing is a story that takes an unusual shape. The story is built around three people being lost, three lives intersecting without the characters ever meeting. Laird is driving a truck down a snow-clogged highway, trying to get home to his family for Christmas morning. As the weather deteriorates he becomes increasingly unsure of where he is. Commander Tremaine wakes from long sleep finding his space ship off course. The stars seem to offer no clue as to where he ended up. Brianna is quite sure where she is but somehow she seems to be lost in her own home. With a Christmas party going on in the room next to her, she is feeling so estranged from her family that is time for drastic measures. Somehow these stories touch each other, feelings from one character bleeding into the consciousness of the next. Their thoughts echo in each others brain. They may be lost but they are not entirely alone. What if they can somehow help each other overcome this crisis? Perhaps it is not so much an echo but more resonance.

The Ice Cream Man is a post apocalyptic tale. It is not the only one is in this collection, Van Pelt seems to have developed a taste for them. One thing I noticed about this post apocalyptic tales is that he doesn't seem very interested in the mechanism of the apocalypse. Some story mention which of our follies caused our downfall but in the ones I've read, he never goes into detail. And so it is with this story. Whatever it was that caused the end of the world as we know it, it severely affected the human capacity to procreate. No healthy children have been born in years. Large parts of the world have been taken over by mutants, who may have humans among their ancestors. Scavenging has become a way of life for those still living in urban areas and a complex barter economy has been established. From his ice cream van the main character Keegan runs a brisk trade. One day he finds out about plans to push the horrific mutants out of the area. Keegan is not convinced that is a good idea. Unlike most of the other survivors he does not see them as animals and competition. Something needs to be done about this plan, it time for Keegan to come to a decision.

I guess The Ice Cream Man is one of those stories where mere survival is not enough. Keegan sees a step further ahead than his fellows. Possibilities that others can't seem to imagine. Thematically this story may not stand out, there is a lot of post apocalyptic fiction out there that explores this particular problem. I guess this is one of those stories where Van Pelt's craftsmanship is most clearly recognizable. Although I have seen variations on this theme a number of times, the story never feels cliché. Even though it was not entirely unexpected, the ending of this story moved me. Causes of the apocalypse is not what interests Van Pelt but the effect on the human mind is. An interest that resulted in a number of good stories of which The Ice Cream Man is certainly not the least.

The last story I'll mention in this review is The Boy Behind the Gate. This story has two main characters. Both fathers and both desperate but facing quite different problems. In today's Central City, Colorado Ron is looking for his son among the abandoned gold mines in the region. A serial killer took his boy and was found dead days later, taking the secret of the boy's whereabouts with him in his grave. The police may have given up on finding him in the maze of old tunnels, Ron is determined to find his son. In 1890, at the height of the mining activity in the area, Charles is having a different problem. People seem to die around his son, starting with the boy's mother right after he was born. Slowly but surely Charles becomes convinced his son is evil and that raises a terrible question. Should he not protect the people of the town from his son?

I guess this is the most uncut horror story in the collection. It's not so much the monsters and gore kind of horror but a story permeated by fear. A mixture of fear and hope of Ron finding his son, the dreadful decision Charles is faced with, they both give The Boy Behind the Gate a dark and desperate atmosphere. Van Pelt ties these stories together in a way that adds a new dimension to the story. The decision of one father will have consequences for the other. No need to show, the implication is terrifying enough.

There are a number of other stories after The Boy Behind the Gate, two of which will probably be considered highlights by many other reviewers. The final part of the collection is very strong indeed. I think I don't need to elaborate on it any more, the messages should be clear. The Radio Magician and Other Stories is a very strong and varied collection of short fiction. After finishing Summer of the Apocalypse I said I regretted not reading it sooner, a feeling that is even stronger about this collection. No need to repeat my mistakes. Go read it.

Book Details
Title: The Radio Magician and Other Stories
Author: James Van Pelt
Publisher: Fairwood Press
Pages: 290
Year: 2009
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-9820730-2-5
First published: 2009

Summer of the Apocalypse - James Van Pelt

Summer of the Apocalypse is to date the only novel by James Van Pelt (I promise to stick with the US spelling of his name but why on earth do people feel the need to change the V in van into a capital once they leave the Netherlands?). Van Pelt is a prolific short story writer, his website lists almost a hundred of them and it looks like that list hasn't been updated in a while. I read only two of his short stories, The Last of the O-Forms, which can be read here, and A Flock of Birds, which used to be available online but isn't any more. Both of them impressed me in different ways. I am going to have to check out one of this collections sometime next year. Right now I have several collections of short fiction on the to read pile so I settled for the novel instead. It turned out to be a good choice, the novel does not disappoint.

Eric is fifteen years old when a disease wipes out ninety-nine percent of the human population. He may not have seen it coming but his father surely did. It turns out a hideaway near their home in Colorado has been prepared in the last few weeks and when everyday life breaks down as a result of the spread of the disease, Eric and his parents go into hiding. Eric's mother catches the disease anyway and quickly follows countless other people into the grave. To make matters worse for Eric, his dad undertakes an expedition to town and never returns. Eric decides to go out and look for him.

A second story line is set sixty years later. Eric is an old man and one of the few survivors of the Gone Times still alive. He sees the community he lives in slip further into illiteracy and primitiveness and attempts to at least teach the town's children to read. Their parents, the first generation to grow up and not remember the Gone Times, do not see the importance of it. To Eric reading is key to relearn lost knowledge and technology. The world may have fallen an long way, it is not beyond rebuilding. At seventy-five, Eric is not as tough as he used to be but he thinks he still has one long hike left in him. A trip to Boulder Colorado, where he hopes to find the university library still in tact. A repository of knowledge that just might set his community on it's way to rebuilding rather than living on the leavings of a dead society.

Van Pelt does not spend a lot of time detailing the causes of the apocalypse and the collapse of society. Other than some basic descriptions of the symptoms of the the disease we don't learn much about it's origin. His story is focussed on the people who live though it. In this relatively short novel Van Pelt manages to create a very convincing main character in Eric. Separated by sixty years there is a great sense of connection between the young, insecure and traumatized Eric trying to survive the end of the world and the old but spirited Eric, refusing to give up is fight against ignorance.

One particular thing that struck me about Eric is the way he questions whether or not the apocalypse was actually such a bad thing. Sure, a lot of people died but with them most of the evils of modern society died as well. Are people better off now? Should he really be trying to regain lost technology? It's a question that upsets the seventy-five year old Eric severely. One thing he doesn't consider but would have been interesting to explore is whether or not Eric can actually answer it. After all, he lived through the apocalypse before being and adult. His exposure to the big bad world has been limited and his memories are far from fresh. Perhaps the decision he makes is not altogether surprising in this light.

As I mentioned before Van Pelt does not really go into the mechanics of modern technology failing. One things he does mention is how plenty of technology is still available but almost none of it works. Partially though lack of power and fuel but also because not all of its components have the same life expectancy. Shelf life, as one of the characters puts it, is a major problem sixty years after the apocalypse. With no goods being manufactured and old stocks running low or decaying the world is rapidly loosing its technology. This is not a concept I have found in other post-apocalyptic writing (I will admit to not being all that well read in this particular sub genre) but it makes a lot of sense. It does make one wonder how other parts of the world are doing though, a questions that weighs on Eric's mind at one point in the book.

I very much enjoyed reading this book. Eric is a wonderful character and showing him as a boy and an old man really makes this book work for me. Do not expect a great epic story a world collapsing, that is not what the book aims for. Van Pelt describes the apocalypse on a personal level if you will. It's one of the better books I have read this year. Summer of the Apocalypse has been on my wishlist for a while. After having read it, I regret not getting it sooner.

Book Details
Title: Summer of the Apocalypse
Author: James Van Pelt
Publisher: Fairwood Press
Pages: 255
Year: 2006
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0-9746573-8-7
First published: 2006