Amityville House of Pancakes 3, edited by Pete S. Allen
Book Review by Don Muchow
Have you read this book?
Amityville House of Pancakes 3 does justice to its lineage, and editor Pete S. Allen serves up a great short stack of hot buttered weirdness. In addition to clearly tongue-in-cheek paeans to old-school pulp, the third volume in the series brings into the light of day some genuine new talents in the long-neglected field, hosted by commentaries from a Restaurant-at-the-End-of-the-Universe-style zombie. Exemplary of the style 'resurrected' in AHOP3 are "Paragon," by K. M. Praschak. In "Paragon," a genuinely gripping story in its own right, the universe is saved from destruction at the hands of the machine-building Noalyin, who have infiltrated the ranks of the seemingly incompetent Captain Meriwether's ship, the Paragon, by Lieutenant Betsy Delancey and the ship's cook, Chicken Bone. Praschak's talent is making the story both humorous and believable.
Also included in the anthology is "The UnHardy Boys in Outer Space," by Gary K. Wolf ("Who Censored Roger Rabbit?") and Jehane Baptiste, which can only be described as a true-to-heart treatment of how even the most dysfunctional team can function given half a chance. As in "Paragon", the least likely heroes are believably thrust into the spotlight, this time to save the Tricksterish Spec Four Wheeler, an EVA specialist whose job routinely puts him in danger of life and limb.
Michael, a Really Bad Writer, and Father Jack, an equally disengaged priest with no real role on the ship, I. S. S. Alpha VI, find themselves the only hope for Wheeler's survival when a trip outside the ship turns deadly, and even though nothing bad *would* have happened to Wheeler, Michael and Father Jack's heroism and creativity in-the-moment redeem them both as metaphorical Lost Boys as well as wasted creative talents.
The book includes other stories as well. In most of them, as always, things turn out in the end, and we get a truly delicious slice of what SF and Horror used to be, once a long time ago.
Also included in the anthology is "The UnHardy Boys in Outer Space," by Gary K. Wolf ("Who Censored Roger Rabbit?") and Jehane Baptiste, which can only be described as a true-to-heart treatment of how even the most dysfunctional team can function given half a chance. As in "Paragon", the least likely heroes are believably thrust into the spotlight, this time to save the Tricksterish Spec Four Wheeler, an EVA specialist whose job routinely puts him in danger of life and limb.
Michael, a Really Bad Writer, and Father Jack, an equally disengaged priest with no real role on the ship, I. S. S. Alpha VI, find themselves the only hope for Wheeler's survival when a trip outside the ship turns deadly, and even though nothing bad *would* have happened to Wheeler, Michael and Father Jack's heroism and creativity in-the-moment redeem them both as metaphorical Lost Boys as well as wasted creative talents.
The book includes other stories as well. In most of them, as always, things turn out in the end, and we get a truly delicious slice of what SF and Horror used to be, once a long time ago.
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