Mike Shea on the month’s new releases
Andrés Reséndez
Basic Books
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History buffs will know sixteenth-century Spaniard Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca as one of the first Europeans to explore Texas, but even they will find surprises in A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca, by Mexico City native Andres Resendez. Cabeza de Vaca (yes, that would mean “cow’s head”) sets off as the royal treasurer on a 1527 voyage to settle the broad crescent of land stretching from Florida to Mexico; it is the Age of Exploration, and there’s the New World to exploit for slaves and gold. But bad weather and incompetence lead to disaster, and by the spring of 1529, fewer than twenty members of the expedition are still alive. Shipwrecked on Texas soil, they are taken in by natives around Galveston—and it’s here that Cabeza de Vaca’s story gets interesting. Made a slave, he wanders naked with his itinerant captors, often subsisting on spiders, lizards, and worms. Then, incredibly, he is reunited with three other castaways (two Spaniards and a Moroccan), and the four become revered as healers among Texas tribes before finally reconnecting with European explorers in 1536. Cabeza de Vaca’s writings, the basis for A Land So Strange, offer fascinating insight into the cultures he encountered, but it is Reséndez’s clever rewriting of his ordeal—as a survivor’s tale—that is most memorable. Edutainment trumps scholarship again. Basic Books, $26.95
Steve Martin
Scribner
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There is something irresistibly civilized about the Steve Martin who abandoned live comedy to ply his trade as a writer, first as a playwright (1993’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile), then as a novelist and screenwriter (Shopgirl), and now as an autobiographer, with Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life. The Waco native’s memoir is revealing (his father was distant and disapproving; imagine that backstory from a comedian) without being sensationalistic, and it’s beautifully tender about family and old friends. Dwelling sparingly on his successes, Martin devotes words to his formative years at the Knott’s Berry Farm Bird Cage Theatre, his salad days as a TV writer for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and his interminable stint as a road comic seemingly destined for nowhere. So it is a shock to be reminded as the book rolls toward its conclusion that Martin in the late seventies was arguably the most popular entertainer in America: What other comedian ever headlined stadium shows for 45,000 people or spawned so many instant catchphrases (“I’m a wiiiild and craaaazy guy”)? Not to mention the million-selling albums and hit movies. Martin acknowledges that short stretch of his life as an aberration (“At first, I was not famous enough, then I was too famous, now I am famous just right”), and what shines through in this little gem is a real sense that he is finally comfortable in his own skin. Scribner, $23
Aaron Allston
Photograph by Mark Richmond
The Round Rock author and former video game designer has just penned his ninth Star Wars serialization, Legacy of the Force: Fury.
What cachet does your role in the Star Wars franchise afford you in the realm of SF fandom?
Reader reactions fall into three categories: eyebrows go up, eyebrows go down, or eyes get big. The people who are definitely Star Wars fans, their eyes tend to get big, and there’s an “Ooh . . .” reaction. Which is pretty cool.
How daunting is it to be an architect—or at least a builder—of one of pop culture’s best-known epics?
There’s never been a time when I’ve said to myself, “This is too scary; I don’t want to do it.” But being a contributor to the Star Wars universe does come with a big sense of responsibility. The fans are very protective of the characters and the universe, and they’re vocal about it.
Is there any sign of interest waning?
Oh, hell no. There are two new Star Wars TV series coming out, one computer-animated and one live-action. Sherlock Holmes just turned 120 years old, and he’s as well-known as ever. I wouldn’t be surprised if Star Wars has those kind of legs. Del Rey, $7.99 (Read the full interview.)
Legacy of the Force: Fury: Aaron Allston, published by Del Rey.
