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 Great book! Nov 05, 2009
I just finished reading "Extra Extra Terrestrial!" and "Extra Extra Terrestrial 2!" written by my friend, Ron Baxley. What wonderful books! The anthologies take the reader on a journey through space and time, following the antics of Tempus Fugit Greenmyn along with his alien and human counterparts. The satirical books do not slow down as the companions always seem to be finding more trouble to get into! I particularly appreciated Mr. Baxley's skill in mastering the English language. He does not just write the stories;he draws the reader in and allows them to get lost in the story. The pages are filled with satire and parody that every person who discovers the anthologies can relate to and understand. Anyone who admires great literature will be delighted to add these books to their collections.
Those admirers of great literature and, therefore, Baxley's works can be of any age too as Baxley's books appeal to a cross-over audience of young adults and adults. Baxley's books appealed to me as an adult, and I would consider reading some of them to my own kids. I believe that younger children would not understand the satire as well as young adults (over the age of 15), but younger children would appreciate the story and characters, even if they did not "get" the satire.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 A family read Mar 01, 2008
The publisher, Ace used to be famous for producing two - novel books - a front cover on each side. This is a revisitation of the same idea, but with a twist; the first portion of the book is a science fiction novel, the second a collection of mostly science fiction related poetry.
Mr. Baxley takes us on a frenetic series of adventures of the greenmyn (the aliens) with their human friends in tow. Unlike the majority of science fiction tales, there are no nearly-believable technological devices or gee-whiz wonders. This is a long and continuing romp through unbelievable occurrences and impossible technology that pokes gentle fun at the world of science fiction. The tales (there are more than one) are loosely connected by the same characters, and are written in a style to appeal to youngsters from seven to the mid teens, especially if those youngsters are well versed in the literature of science fiction and the science fiction channel: I believe that Mr. Baxley has expropriated virtually every hackneyed gadget and device to be found therein, and given each his personal twist. Consider just one example: the Wormhole Pocket. Wormhole pocket? a wormhole is basically a shortcut tunnel through space, and, as such has two ends, but a pocket, with one opening has to twist the mind a bit! The humor is intrinsic to the writing but does not interfere with the rapid progression of the action. Occasional riolindas and pithy Earth references are educational and spice up the storytelling. Some of the tales are blatantly scatological and are obviously aimed at the younger set.
This book would be a comfortable five-star read, except that it suffers from the plague of so many electronically published books: a lack of intense editing. Typos and mixed phonemes along with the occasional mangled sentence structure detract from the reading pleasure. That being said, the kids will LOVE this.
Now to poetry: Mr. Fraccalvieri's poems all have a science or science fiction theme, and some have a touch of the religious. Most of these, I believe, will appeal to a more mature audience than Mr. Baxley's tales: if deliberate, this is well done - the book becomes a family read.
The poems run from gentle humor to serious concerns, sociology to hard science, psychology to technology. The casual reader will find that some of the selections just don't scan well for either poetry or blank verse; when you encounter these, read them aloud - they are really tone poems, playing with beat and accent. The quality is spotty, as though the writer included every poem he ever wrote, each scribble, in an attempt to fill the pages - a triumph of quantity over quality. Now poetry is hardly my strong suite, but a fair number of these, both poems and tone poems are quite good, leaving me the feeling that I was mining gems out of a rather extensive clay bank.
Like Mr. Baxley's work, a sharp editing job that would pre-pluck the gems from the clay would have improved this effort immensely. Some of the gems still glitter in my memory.
John Cooley, authorDear Madman
EXTRA! EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL Jan 24, 2008
Where do you go when you need a dose of outer-spacesatire? Where do you get a shot of poetry themed toward science fiction and fantasy? How about highly allusive and sociological science fiction? You'll find these and more in Extra!Extra-terrestrial! Does it sound like an unusual combination? It's no more remarkable than the teaming of South Carolinian teacher/journalist/author Ron Baxley with New York City-born poet and artist Joe Fraccalvieri who created this unique anthology. Baxley rips on everything from the archetypal worm holesto literature to science fiction itself in Extra! Extra-terrestrial! The novellas "Cycling the Moon: Book I of Greenmyn Moons in the Wormhole Pocket," "Mantus 'Prey' for the Monarchy: Book II of GreenmynMoons in the Wormhole Pocket," and "Planet of the Boys" demonstrate his extraordinary command of satire. Soar into unknown worlds with Tempus Fugit Greenmyn, inventor and time-traveler. Readers who love both Southern fiction and science fiction will be impressed with the special blend of the two in Baxley's regional science fiction stories featuring southern characters. Fraccalvieri's poetry comprises the center section entitled "Arts-ificial Intelligence." While the poems are themed on science fiction and fantasy, many of them are spiritual and inspirational. Fraccalvieri's work is thought-provoking and at the same time, this is poetry meant to be read aloud for the sheer delicious taste of the words on the tongue and the quality of their resonance to the ear. Extra! Extra-terrestrial! is an interesting and entertaining read. Check it out!!
Satirical Sci-Fi A Delightful Read Jun 22, 2007
In Extra Extra-Terrestrial, Ron Baxley and Joe Fraccalvieri have produced a
delightful, satirical, and sincere collection of sci-fi prose and poetry...
Baxley's science fiction stories satirize a wide variety of human and alien
foibles, drawing upon literary, artistic, political, historical,
sociological, and even science fiction sources... Like Baxley's fiction,
Fraccalvieri's poems are wide-ranging, covering such subjects as time,
dreams, the universe, mystery, fear and comfort, peace and war, night and
day, and love. The poet draws upon personal experience and the traditions
that have enriched his mind and heart, including Greek mythology, folklore,
classic science fiction, and astrology... Ron Baxley and Joe Fraccalvieri
have put together a delightful anthology just waiting to be read. * Dr.
William Claxon, Associate Professor of English, USCA
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