home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!dreaderd!not-for-mail
- Message-ID: <books/tom-holt-faq_1082200966@rtfm.mit.edu>
- Supersedes: <books/tom-holt-faq_1079601013@rtfm.mit.edu>
- Expires: 31 May 2004 11:22:46 GMT
- From: Nick Boalch <n.g.boalch@durham.ac.uk>
- Organization: University of Durham, Durham, UK
- Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU
- Newsgroups: alt.books.tom-holt,alt.answers,news.answers
- Followup-To: alt.books.tom-holt
- Summary: This post serves as an introduction to the alt.books.tom-holt
- newsgroup, and answers some common questions. It should be read
- before posting to the newsgroup.
- Subject: alt.books.tom-holt Frequently Asked Questions
- X-Disclaimer: Approval for *.answers is based on form, not content.
- X-Last-Updated: 2003/02/27
- Originator: faqserv@penguin-lust.MIT.EDU
- Date: 17 Apr 2004 11:28:27 GMT
- Lines: 1015
- NNTP-Posting-Host: penguin-lust.mit.edu
- X-Trace: 1082201307 senator-bedfellow.mit.edu 569 18.181.0.29
- Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu alt.books.tom-holt:4722 alt.answers:72519 news.answers:269985
-
- Archive-name: books/tom-holt-faq
- Posting-Frequency: Every 30 days
- Last-modified: 2003/03/27
- Version: 2.0.1
-
- alt.books.tom-holt Frequently Asked Questions
- Nick Boalch (n.g.boalch@durham.ac.uk)
- Version 2.0.1 (February 27, 2003)
-
- >> This ASCII text version of the alt.books.tom-holt FAQ is compiled from
- >> LaTeX source and loses a certain amount of formatting and emphasis in
- >> the translation. The FAQ is available in other formats which do not lose
- >> these features, including DVI and PostScript, or you can compile your own
- >> version from the LaTeX source into whichever format you require. See
- >> section 6.2.2 for details of where and how to obtain these files.
-
- >> This Usenet version of the FAQ has the quoting character ">" added before
- >> each section heading, so that they will be marked out, particularly in
- >> newsreaders which colour quoted sections of messages.
-
-
- > Contents
-
- 1 - What's new & to-do list
- 1.1 - What's new since the last update?
- 1.1.1 - New from version 2.0.0 to version 2.0.1
- 1.1.2 - New from version 1.3.0 to version 2.0.0
- 1.1.3 - New from version 1.2.9 to version 1.3.0
- 1.1.4 - New from version 1.2.8 to version 1.2.9
- 1.1.5 - New from version 1.2.7 to version 1.2.8
- 1.1.6 - New from version 1.2.6a to version 1.2.7
- 1.1.7 - New from version 1.2.6 to version 1.2.6a
- 1.1.8 - New from version 1.2.5 to version 1.2.6
- 1.1.9 - New from version 1.2.4 to version 1.2.5
- 1.1.10 - New from version 1.2.3 to version 1.2.4
- 1.1.11 - New from version 1.2.2 to version 1.2.3
- 1.1.12 - New from version 1.2.1 to version 1.2.2
- 1.1.13 - New from version 1.2.0 to version 1.2.1
- 1.1.14 - New from version 1.1.5 to version 1.2.0
- 1.2 - To-do list
-
- 2 - About Tom Holt
- 2.1 - Biographical information
- 2.2 - Bibliography
- 2.2.1 - Novels
- 2.2.2 - Verse
- 2.2.3 - Omnibus editions
- 2.2.4 - Short stories
- 2.2.5 - Collected short stories & amalgamated drivel
- 2.2.6 - Anthologies featuring Tom Holt
- 2.3 - Contacting Tom Holt
-
- 3 - About the newsgroup
- 3.1 - When was the newsgroup created?
- 3.2 - Are there any rules on the newsgroup?
- 3.3 - Does Tom Holt post here?
- 3.4 - What, /the/ Tom Holt?
-
- 4 - Frequently asked questions
- 4.1 - Who is Tom Holt's cover artist?
- 4.2 - Why are some books copyrighted to Kim Holt?
- 4.3 - How do we address Tom Holt?
- 4.4 - What are the future/forthcoming books?
- 4.5 - Why are so many characters called Jane?
- 4.6 - Are there any Tom Holt websites?
- 4.7 - What about other online Holt-related resources?
- 4.8 - What's all this about earwigs?
-
- 5 - Mistakes
- 5.1 - The Flying Dutchman
- 5.2 - Maria's Desk
-
- 6 - About this FAQ
- 6.1 - Who to blame
- 6.2 - Obtaining the FAQ
- 6.2.1 - Plain text
- 6.2.2 - LaTeX, DVI and PostScript
- 6.2.3 - HTML
- 6.3 - Copyright notice
-
-
- > 1 - What's new & to-do list
-
- > 1.1 - What's new since the last update?
-
- > 1.1.1 - New from version 2.0.0 to version 2.0.1
-
- Lots of lovely updates. Moved the details for "Little People" from section
- 4.4 to section 2.2.1, and added details for "A Song For Nero" and "The
- Portable Door". Added details for "Divine Comedies" (the third Tom Holt
- Omnibus) to section 2.2.3. Added details for "The Tom Holt Omnibus 4" to
- section 4.4, along with some new remarks from Tom. Added details of the
- short story "The Jerk who Fell to Earth" to section 2.2.4 (thanks to
- Simon Haynes).
-
- Updated the URL for Paul Bines's Tom Holt website (finally!). Added URL
- and details for TomHolt.com.
-
- The URLs for accessing the FAQ have changed: but versions other than plain
- text are not yet available. I'm not made of free time, you know! :)
-
- > 1.1.2 - New from version 1.3.0 to version 2.0.0
-
- The Great Version Renumbering. All previous versions of the FAQ are now
- prefixed with the version code "1", so the version previously referred to
- as "2.7" is now "1.2.7". The change has been made to avoid arbitrary
- changes in the initial version number.
-
- Updated the information for "Falling Sideways" and moved it to section
- 2.2.1, since it's now been published. Added the ISBN for the paperback of
- "Nothing But Blue Skies". Added the ISBN for "Little People".
-
- > 1.1.3 - New from version 1.2.9 to version 1.3.0
-
- New URLs for obtaining the FAQ -- the old ones should continue to work for
- a while thanks to the wonders of .htaccess, though. Added a new mistake as
- section 5.2 -- thanks to SHS, who actually sent me this in May 1999!
-
- > 1.1.4 - New from version 1.2.8 to version 1.2.9
-
- Finally put in a proper description for Paul Bines's Tom Holt page (thanks
- for your patience, Paul!).
-
- > 1.1.5 - New from version 1.2.7 to version 1.2.8
-
- Updated the information for "Nothing But Blue Skies" and moved it into
- section 2.2.1, since it's now been published. Updated section 4.4 with
- some more information about "Falling Sideways" and details of "Little
- People". Added ISBNs for the paperback versions of "Olympiad" and
- "Valhalla" to section 2.2.1.
-
- > 1.1.6 - New from version 1.2.6a to version 1.2.7
-
- Added the Copyright notice. Added the "X-Disclaimer" header (to the Usenet
- version). Altered the "Summary" header (in the Usenet version). Added some
- more information about the "The Flying Dutchman" error to section 5.1.
-
- > 1.1.7 - New from version 1.2.6 to version 1.2.6a
-
- Tidied up some formatting and fixed some errors in the source that caused
- problems when translating into text and HTML. More spelling and grammar
- errors came to light and were fixed.
-
- > 1.1.8 - New from version 1.2.5 to version 1.2.6
-
- The FAQ has now been entirely converted to LaTeX, so it can now be
- generated in all the necessary formats from just one source file. As you
- can imagine this makes my life immeasurably easier. I also took the
- opportunity to correct some spelling and grammar errors.
-
- > 1.1.9 - New from version 1.2.4 to version 1.2.5
-
- Replaced the bare URLs in section 4.6 with brief descriptions of the
- contents of each website. Fixed all the bugs I inadvertently introduced in
- version 2.4 while fixing all the previous bugs :)
-
- > 1.1.10 - New from version 1.2.3 to version 1.2.4
-
- Added several Tom Holt related web pages to section 4.6. Removed the
- parenthetical commentary from all of section 4, because it was beginning
- to really annoy me and because it made any of my comments that were over a
- paragraph long look really silly. Added URL for the newsgroup's control
- message & charter to section 3.2. Spaced the contents nicely. Did some
- tidying of grammatical, spelling and layout errors. Added information
- about the #holt IRC channel.
-
- > 1.1.11 - New from version 1.2.2 to version 1.2.3
-
- Things about earwigs. Don't ask. Also considered adding things about
- trifles but decided to wait, pending further investigation.
-
- > 1.1.12 - New from version 1.2.1 to version 1.2.2
-
- Updated section 4.4 with details of what Tom is /actually/ working on
- currently, as opposed to what he was working on a year ago. Also moved the
- "Tom Holt Omnibus 1" from section 4.4 to section 2.2.3 because it's now
- been published. Clarified section 3.2 so you don't have to go looking for
- the charter in the control message. I've now also verified all of the ISBNs
- in section 2.2 (at long last!).
-
- > 1.1.13 - New from version 1.2.0 to version 1.2.1
-
- Updated section 2.2, moving various books previously listed incorrectly
- under 'forthcoming' to the Bibliography, and updating their ISBNs. Added
- the "Tom Holt Omnibus 1" to section 4.4. Changed some URLs. Fixed the
- Posting-Frequency auxiliary header so it's actually correct.
-
- > 1.1.14 - New from version 1.1.5 to version 1.2.0
-
- The FAQ has just received a total update, resulting in the new version
- number 2.0. All the URLs have been checked and altered, and information
- about newly published and forthcoming books has been added to sections 2.2
- and 4.4. The FAQ is now being autoposted from MIT, so should be out every
- month on a regular basis, rather than when I remember it.
-
- > 1.2 - To-do list
-
- No outstanding issues.
-
-
- > 2 - About Tom Holt
-
- > 2.1 - Biographical Information
-
- Tom Holt (i.e. Thomas Charles Louis Holt) was born in London on the 13th
- of September 1961, and studied at Westminster School, Wadham College,
- Oxford, and the College of Law. He produced his first book, "Poems by Tom
- Holt", at the age of thirteen, and was immediately hailed as an infant
- prodigy, to his horror.
-
- At Oxford Holt discovered bar billiards:
-
- When I was at university there was a pool table in the room behind the
- bar. We found that if we stuffed newspaper in the pockets, we could play
- all day for free. So we did, when we should have been working. The result
- of all this indolence was that when we came to take our final exams, the
- boys & girls who'd avoided the bar and stayed in the library working like
- hell all passed with flying colours; while the rest of us, who'd done
- nothing but play pool and have a good time, also passed with flying
- colours. So let that be a lesson to you.
-
- At once he changed from poetry to comic fiction, beginning with two sequels
- to E. F. Benson's "Lucia" series, and continuing with his own distinctive
- brand of comic fantasy in (so far) nineteen books. Among those he has
- written two historical novels set in the fifth century BC, the
- well-received "Goatsong" and "The Walled Orchard", and has collaborated
- with Steven Nallon on "I, Margaret", the (unauthorised) autobiography of
- Margaret Thatcher. Among his favourite authors are Damon Runyon, Ernest
- Bramah, and P.G. Wodehouse (in that particular order).
-
- Thinner and more cheerful than in his youth, Tom Holt is now married to
- Kim, and lives in Somerset together with their daughter. Since he is an
- amateur engineer, among those items that bring joy into his life are two
- major things: his Myford ML7 and Bridgeport universal mill, and with these
- fine lathes he produces (according to himself) huge piles of iron filings.
- His interest in music is filk music, medieval music, and classical jazz.
- B. de Ventadour, G. d'Ussel and B. Marti (all French) are his three
- favourite bards from the 12th century.
-
- And one last startling revelation: Before getting a real job as an author
- Tom used to be ... wait for it ... a tax lawyer. No comment by me on this,
- but see also section 4.2 ;)
-
- > 2.2 - Bibliography
-
- > 2.2.1 - Novels
-
- "Lucia in Wartime" (1985)
- ISBN 0-060-55003-1
- ISBN 0-333-40247-2
-
- "Lucia Triumphant" (1986)
- ISBN 0-060-96196-1
-
- Sequals to E.F. Benson's "Lucia" series. Both are now sadly out of print
- but occasionally become available at booksellers.
-
- "Expecting Someone Taller" (1987)
- ISBN 1-857-232181-3
-
- All he did was run over a badger - sad, but hardly catastrophic. But it
- wasn't Malcolm Fisher's day, for the badger turned out to be none other
- than Ingolf, last of the Giants. With his dying breath, he reluctantly
- handed to Malcolm two Gifts of Power, and made him ruler of the world.
-
- But can Malcolm cope with the responsibilty? Whilst averting wars,
- plagues and famines, he also has to protect himself against gods,
- dwarves, valkyries and other nefarious manifestations of the Dark Ages -
- none of whom think he is right for the job...
-
- "Who's Afraid of Beowulf?" (1988)
- ISBN 1-857-23196-1 (pb)
-
- Well, not Hrolf Earthstar, for a start. The last Norse king of Caithness,
- Hrolf and his twelwe champions are woken from a centuries-long sleep when
- Hildy Fredriksenn, archaeologist of the fairer sex, finds their grave.
- Not only that, Hrolf decides to carry on his ancient war against the
- Sorcerer-King.
-
- In a mixture of P.G. Wodehouse, Norse mythology and Laurel and Hardy,
- Hildy and her Viking companions face such perils as BBC film crews,
- second-rate fish and chips and the Bakerloo Line in their battle against
- the powers of darkness.
-
- "I, Margaret" (1989)
- ISBN 0-333-49776-7 (pub. Papermac)
-
- The unauthorised autobiography of Margaret Thatcher, as told to Steve
- Nallon with Tom Holt.
-
- "Goatsong" (1989)
- ISBN 0-312-03838-0
-
- "Goatsong" is out of print in a single edition, however the new edition
- of "The Walled Orchard" contains "Goatsong" as well.
-
- "The Walled Orchard" (1990/1997)
- ISBN 0-751-52138-8 (pub. Warner)
-
- This new edition of "The Walled Orchard" also contains "Goatsong".
-
- Athens is at the middle of her golden age; Pericles is busy building the
- Parthenon, Sophocles, Euripedes and Socrates are writing words which will
- live forever, and Eupolis is hearding goats on Parnes. Unfortunately,
- Athens is also embarking on the Peloponnesian War, which she will
- eventually lose...
-
- The hero is Eupolis, weary, cynical and believing only in comedy. The
- heroine is Athens, at the height of her schizophrenic glory. A startling
- mixture of comedy and tragedy, "The Walled Orchard" is the poignant,
- charming story of their turbulent relationship.
-
- "Flying Dutch" (1991)
- ISBN 0-356-20111-2 (pb)
- ISBN 1-857-23017-5 (hb) (out of print)
-
- It's amazing the problems drinking can get you into. One little swig from
- the wrong bottle and you go from being an ordinary Dutch sea-captain to
- an unhappy immortal, drifting around the world with your similarly
- immortal crew, suffering from peculiary whiffy side effects. Worst of
- all, Richard Wagner writes an opera about you.
-
- Little does Cornelius Vanderdecker, the Flying Dutchman, suspect that a
- chance encounter in an English pub might just lead to the end of his
- cursed life, one way or another...
-
- "Ye Gods!" (1992)
- ISBN 1-857-23016-7 (hb)
- ISBN 1-857-23080-9 (pb)
-
- Being a hero bothers Jason Derry.
-
- It's easy to get maladjusted when your mum's a suburban housewife and
- your dad's the Supreme Being. It can be a real drag slaying fabulous
- monsters and retrieving golden fleeces from fire-spitting dragons, and
- then having to tidy your room before your mum'll let you watch "Star
- Trek".
-
- But it's not the relentless tedium of imperishable glory that finally
- brings Jason to the end of his rope; it's something so funny that it's
- got to be taken seriously. Deadly seriously...
-
- "Overtime" (1993)
- ISBN 1-857-23039-6 (hb)
- ISBN 1-857-23126-0 (pb)
-
- Only in a Tom Holt novel can you discover the relationship between the
- Inland Revenue, the Second Crusade and God's great plan to build starter
- planets for first time life forms...
-
- It all started for Guy Goodlet somewhere over Caen. One moment he was
- heading for the relative safety of the coast, aware that fuel was low and
- the Mosquito had more than a few bullet holes in it. The next, his
- co-pilot was asking to be dropped off. This would have been odd if Peter
- had still been alive. Since he was dead, it was downright worrying.
-
- But not quite as worrying as when Guy found himself somewhere in the High
- Middle Ages - rather than in 1943 - in the company of one John de Nesle.
- Unsurprisingly, Guy's first thought was to get out and home sharpish. But
- then he saw John's sister, Isoud, and somehow found himself agreeing to
- help John, also known as Blondel, in his quest to find Richard Coeur de
- Lion...
-
- "Here Comes The Sun" (1993)
- ISBN 1-857-23125-2 (hb)
- ISBN 1-857-23187-2 (pb)
-
- The sun rises late, dirty and so badly in need of a service it's a
- wonder it gets up at all. The moon's going to be scrapped soon and a new
- one commisioned - but then, they've been saying that for years...
-
- All is not well with the universe, and though there's a hell of a tidying
- up job to be organised after some carelessness with earthquakes and tidal
- waves, surely it's crazy to get mortals to run the show? Things may be
- bad, but isn't that going to extremes?
-
- The irrepressible Tom Holt hits the mark yet again with a dazzling foray
- into fantasy ... of the hilarious kind.
-
- "Grailblazers" (1994)
- ISBN 1-857-23192-9 (hb)
- ISBN 1-857-23191-0 (pb)
-
- 'The Holy Grail and the Wholly Inept'
-
- Fifteen hundred years have passed and the Grail is still missing,
- presumed ineffable; the Knights have dumped the Quest and now deliver
- pizzas; the sinister financial services industry of the lost kingdom of
- Atlantis threatens the universe with fiscal Armageddon; while in the
- background lurks the dark, brooding, red-caped presence of Father
- Christmas.
-
- In other words, Grailmate. Has Prince Boamund of Northgales (Snotty to
- friends) woken from his enchanted sleep in time to snatch back the Apron
- of Invincibility, overthrow the dark power of the Lord of the Reindeer
- and find out exactly what a Grail is? And just who did do the washing-up
- after the Last Supper?
-
- Take a thrilling Grailhound bus ride into the wildly improbable with Tom
- Holt.
-
- "Faust Among Equals" (1994)
- ISBN 1-857-23265-8 (pb)
-
- 'Well I'll be dammed...'
-
- The managment buy-out of Hell, wasn't going quite as well as planned. For
- a start, there had been that nasty business with the perjurors, and then
- came the news that the Most Wanted Man in History had escaped, and all
- just as the plans for the new theme park, Eurobosch, were under way.
-
- But Kurt 'Mad Dog' Lundqvist, the foremost bounty hunter of all time, is
- on the case, and he can usually be relied upon to get his man - even when
- that man is Lucky George Faustus...
-
- Exuberant, hell-raising comedy from Holt at his inventive best.
-
- "Odds & Gods" (1995)
- ISBN 1-857-23266-6 (hb)
- ISBN 1-857-23299-2 (pb)
- ISBN 0-001-04889-9 (audio casette)
-
- 'Odds and Gods - a simply divine comedy'
-
- It's a god's life ... at the Sunnyvoyde Residential Home for retired
- deities. Everlasting life can be a real drag when all you've got to look
- forward to is cauliflower cheese on Wednesdays.
-
- For a start, there's a major techincal problem with the thousand-year-old
- traction engine which has been lovingly restored by those almighty
- duffers Thor, Odin and Frey ... the damn thing actually goes.
-
- And then there's Osiris, pushed one tapioca too far by a power-crazy gods
- on with friends in very smelly places, and forced to set out on a quest
- which will test his wheelchair to the very limits.
-
- Only one thing might save the world from an eternity of chaos ...
- dentures. It's true. Honest to god.
-
- "Djinn Rummy" (1995)
- ISBN 1-857-23329-8 (hb)
- ISBN 1-857-23363-8 (pb)
-
- 'In an aspirin bottle, nobody can hear you scream.'
-
- Outside an aspirin bottle, however, things are somewhat different. And
- when Kayaguchiya Integrated Circuits III (Kiss, to his friends), a Force
- Twelve genie with an attitude, is released after fourteen years of living
- with two dozen white tablets, there's bound to be trouble.
-
- Take, for example, Jane. All she wanted was to end her miserable life in
- peace, with a minimum of fuss, in the privacy of a British Rail waiting
- room, but now she's got herself a genie for company. Lucky old Jane.
- Lucky, that is, until the apocalypse rears its ugly head.
-
- "My Hero" (1996)
- ISBN 1-857-23365-4 (hb)
- ISBN 1-857-23387-5 (pb)
-
- 'Sharp, sparkling and seriously funny'
-
- Writing novels? Piece of cake, surely ... or so Jane thinks. Until hers
- start writing back. At which point, she really should stop. Better still,
- change her name and flee the country. The one thing she should not do is
- go into the book herself. After all, that's what heroes are for.
- Unfortunatly, the world of fiction is a far more complicated place than
- she ever imagined. And she's about to land her hero right in it.
-
- "Paint Your Dragon" (1997)
- ISBN 1-857-23433-2 (hb)
- ISBN 1-857-23456-1 (pb)
-
- The cosmic battle between Good and Evil ... But suppose Evil threw the
- fight? And suppose Good cheated?
-
- Sculptress Bianca Wilson is a living legend. St George is also a legend,
- but not quite so living. However, when Bianca's sculpture of the patron
- saint and his scaly chum gets a bit too 'life-like', it opens up a whole
- new can of wyrms ... The Dragon knows that Evil got a raw deal and is
- looking to set the record straight. And George (who cheated) thinks the
- record's just fine as it is. Luckily for George, there's a coach-load of
- demons on an expenses-paid holiday from Hell who are only too happy to
- help him. Because a holiday from hell is exactly what they're about to
- get.
-
- "Open Sesame" (1997)
- ISBN 1-857-23476-6 (hb)
- ISBN 1-857-23556-8 (pb)
-
- Just because he is a character in a book, Akram the Terrible doesn't see
- why boiling water must be poured over his head again. Meanwhile, Michelle
- gets a shock when she puts on her Aunt's ring and her computer and
- television start to criticize her for past misdemeanours.
-
- "Wish You Were Here" (1998)
- ISBN 1-857-23555-2 (hb)
- ISBN 1-857-23687-4 (pb)
-
- It was a busy day on Lake Chicopee. But it was an eclectic bunch of
- sightseers and tourists that had the strange, local residents rubbing
- their hands with delight. There was Calvin Dieb, the lawyer setting up
- the property deal, who'd lost his car keys; there was Linda Lachuk, the
- tabloid journalist who could smell that big, sensational story; there was
- dumpy Janice DeWeese, who was just on a walking holiday but who longed
- for love. But most promising of all, there was Wesley Higgins, the young
- man from Birmingham, England, who was there because he knew the legend of
- the ghost of Okeewana. All he had to do was immerse himself in the waters
- of the lake and he would find his heart's desire. Well, it seemed like a
- good idea at the time.
-
- "Only Human" (1999)
- ISBN 1-857-23693-9 (hb)
- ISBN 1-857-23949-0 (pb)
-
- A gag about God regarding the pursuit of happiness as something to be
- done with a fly-swatter resulted in this book.
-
- Something is about to go wrong. Very wrong. What do you expect if the
- Supreme Being decides to get away from it all for a few days, leaving his
- naturally inquisitive son to look after the cosmic balance of things? A
- minor hiccup with a human soul and before you know it you're on the road
- to chaos.
-
- "Alexander at the World's End" (1999)
- ISBN 0-316-85058-6 (hb)
- ISBN 0-349-11315-7 (pb)
-
- This is the sequal to "The Walled Orchard" and "Goatsong".
-
- The story of two men, one of whom conquered empires, one of whom tackled
- the drainage problems of a small village. Their paths crossed only
- briefly, but the encounter changed their lives forever. The first was
- Alexander the Great, the second, Euxenus, philosopher and tutor to the
- young Alexander.
-
- "Snow White and the Seven Samurai" (1999)
- ISBN 1-856-23898-2 (hb)
- ISBN 1-857-23988-1 (pb)
-
- Once upon a time (or last Thursday, as it's sometimes known) the wicked
- Queen had a fully functioning, if antiquated, Mirrors system, and all
- was well in the kingdom. Then the humans hacked in and the system failed.
- Fairytales may never be the same again...
-
- "Olympiad" (2000)
- ISBN 0-316-85390-9 (hb)
- ISBN 0-349-11316-5 (pb)
-
- Two thousand, seven hundred and seventy-six years ago, a group of men
- ran between too piles of stones, and invented history. The first ever
- Olympic Games in 776 B.C. were apparently so memorable that all Western
- chronology is based on them. But all we know about them is the name of
- the man who won the race. Over two and a half millenia later, it's about
- time somebody told the story.
-
- Tom writes:
-
- "Olympiad" is my two cents' worth for the Millennium; I got the idea
- when I realised that we only think it's going to be 2000 next year
- because the Christian church fixed the date of the birth of Christ in
- accordance with the Roman system of recording history by time elapsed
- since the (mythical) foundation of Rome by (two brothers who never
- actually existed, called) Romulus and Remus, which in turn was fixed by
- reference to the Greek system of recording history by time elapsed
- since the (legendary) foundation of the Olympic Games by (the entirely
- fictitious half-god half-human hero) Hercules in 776BC (except, of
- course, it wasn't 776BC then, it was the First Olympiad, only it
- wasn't, because there were no records at all in 776BC, since writing
- wasn't even invented till about fifty years later...); in other words,
- our entire concept of history is based on misunderstandings of some
- very old fairy-tales, which is what prompted me to make up some more
- untrue history, as if there wasn't enough already. Basically, it's a
- book about lies, legends and historical fact, and how there's really
- nothing to choose between them.
-
- "Valhalla" (2000)
- ISBN 1-857-23983-0 (hb)
- ISBN 1-841-49042-3 (pb)
-
- "Valhalla" is about a bunch of people who get what they deserve in the
- afterlife... more accurately, it's about the way we see ourselves, and
- the problems we create for ourselves by not facing up to who we really
- are. Actually, it's about 22 cm x 14 cm x 3cm, assuming you're buying
- the hardback.
-
- When great warriors die, their reward is eternal life in Odin's great
- hall, Valhalla. But Valhalla has changed and like any corporation has
- adapted to survive. Unfortunately nothing could have prepared it for the
- arrival of currently-dead cocktail waitress Carol Kortright, who is not
- at all happy.
-
- "Nothing But Blue Skies" (2001)
- ISBN 1-841-49040-7 (hb)
- ISBN 1-841-49058-X (pb)
-
- This was listed in previous versions of the FAQ as "The Portable Door",
- which was the working title.
-
- There are very many reasons why British summers are either non-existent
- or, alternatively, held on a Thursday. Many of these reasons are either
- scientific, dull, or both - but all of them are wrong. The real reason
- is, of course, irritable Chinese Water Dragons; of which estate agent
- Karen is one.
-
- Tom writes that this is about "love, authoritarian government and the
- British love/hate relationship with their bloody awful weather".
-
- "Falling Sideways" (2002)
- ISBN 1-841-49087-3 (hb)
- ISBN 1-841-49110-1 (pb)
-
- From the moment Homo Sapiens descended from the trees, possibly onto their
- heads, humanity has striven for civilization. Fire. The Wheel. Running away
- from furry things with big teeth. All would be testament to man's
- ascendancy; if one man didn't believe every civilization is actually run
- by frogs.
-
- Tom writes that this is "a simple love story about a boy, a girl, cloning
- and the true meaning of kissing frogs, a gentle, sentimental love story
- about a man and the frog (make that frogs) of his dreams".
-
- "Little People" (2002)
- ISBN 1-841-49116-0 (hb)
- ISBN 1-841-49185-3 (pb)
-
- "I was eight years old when I saw my first elf"... and for unlikely hero
- Michael it wasn't his last. Michael's unfortunately (but accurately) named
- girlfriend Cruella, doesn't approve of his obsession with the little
- people, but the problem is, they won't leave him alone.
-
- The working title of this novel was "Here be Dragons". Tom writes:
-
- With luck it'll be a grim battle between good and evil fought out
- against the stark backdrop of the British shoe industry. Most of the
- characters are six inches tall, if that makes it any clearer.
-
- "A Song For Nero" (2003)
- ISBN 0-316-86113-8 (hb)
-
- History tells us that in 69 AD, at the ripe old age of 32 and on hearing
- that General Glaba's forces were closing in, Nero fled his palace in Rome.
- He stabbed himself in the throat with a pen and was trampled to death by
- horses in a muddy ditch. His last words were, 'What an artist dies with
- me'. But there is another possibility: Nero did not die in that ditch, but
- somebody who looked very much like him did. This gives Nero the
- opportunity to start a new life in pursuit of his first love: music. But
- there's a problem - Nero is being pursued by two people who have reason
- to suspect he is still alive - one wants him dead, the other is a
- passionate fan of his dreadful music and wants his genius recognised .
-
- "The Portable Door" (2003)
- ISBN 1-841-49158-6 (hb)
-
- Starting a new job is always stressful (particularly when you don't
- particularly want one), but when Paul Carpenter arrives at the office of
- J.W. Wells he has no idea what trouble lies in store. Because he is about
- to discover that the apparently respectable establishment now paying his
- salary is in fact a front for a deeply sinister organisation that has a
- mighty peculiar agenda. It seems that half the time his bosses are away
- with the fairies. But they're not, of course. They're away with the
- goblins.
-
- > 2.2.2 - Verse
-
- "Poems By Tom Holt" (1973)
- ISBN 0-718-11181-8
-
- Tom's "Infant Progidy" poems, published when he was at the tender age of
- twelve. Now out of print.
-
- "Bitter Lemmings" (1997)
- ISBN 1-870-82438-5 (spiral) (pub. Beccon Publications)
-
- An anthology of Holt's filksongs. 39 songs including some wicked second
- and third level filks. All to well known folk/filk tunes, so no music
- provided.
-
- > 2.2.3 - Omnibus editions
-
- "Tom Holt Omnibus 1" (2000)
- ISBN 1-841-49025-3 (pb)
-
- "Flying Dutch" (q.v.) and "Faust among Equals" (q.v.) collected together
- in one volume.
-
- "Tom Holt Omnibus 2" (2002)
- ISBN 1-841-49133-0 (pb)
-
- "My Hero" (q.v.) and "Who's Afraid of Beowulf?" (q.v.) collected together
- in one volume.
-
- "Divine Comedies // Tom Holt Omnibus 3" (2002)
- ISBN 1-841-49145-4 (pb)
-
- "Here Comes The Sun" (q.v.) and "Ye Gods!" (q.v.) collected together in
- one volume.
-
- "Expecting Beowulf" (2002)
- ISBN 1-886-77836-1 (hb) (pub. New England Science Fiction Association)
-
- "Expecting Someone Taller" (q.v.) and "Who's afraid of Beowulf?" (q.v.)
- collected together in one volume.
-
- > 2.2.4 - Short stories
-
- "Igor" & "The God Who Came to Dinner"
-
- Two short stories, available absolutely free from Calle's Tom Holt
- website at <URL:http://hem.passagen.se/gumby/holt/>.
-
- "The Jerk Who Fell to Earth"
-
- This short story was published in issue 3 of the Andromeda Spaceways
- Inflight Magazine. Website at <URL:http://www.andromedaspaceways.com/>.
-
- > 2.2.5 - Collected short stories & amalgamated drivel
-
- "Holt, Who Goes There?" (1998)
- (no ISBN) (pub. British Fantasy Society)
-
- 'Be afraid ... be very afraid ... as you enter a Neverland of Tom Holt's
- own devising.'
-
- Tom Holt presents a selection of musings, writings and stories guaranteed
- to raise a smile. Discover for yourself Tom's views on writing,
- conventions, marmalade; and find out just how easy (!) it is to write
- fantasy, taken from his regular column in the British Fantasy Society's
- Newsletter. Including two rare short stories, "Holt, Who Goes There?" is
- the perfect antidote for the autumn blues.
-
- Limited edition, 300 copy, signed and numbered 48pp chapbook. Can be
- ordered by sending email to: syrinx.2112@btinternet.com.
-
- > 2.2.6 - Anthologies featuring Tom Holt
-
- "Heroic Adventure Stories" (Date unknown)
- ISBN: Unknown
-
- An anthology with tales from the rise of Ancient Greece to the fall of
- Ancient Rome. Tom appears with the story "No Place Like Home".
-
- "The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy" (1998)
- ISBN: 1-85487-530-2 (pb)(UK)
- ISBN: 0-78670-533-7 (pb)(US)
-
- A compendium of comic fantasy writing. Most of the stories are modern,
- with many especially written for this collection. The book also includes
- classic reprints and rare gems from comic fantasy's roots in past years.
- Tom appears with the story "Pizza to Go".
-
- "Shakespearean Whodunnits" (1997)
- ISBN: 1-85487-945-6 (pb)(UK)
- ISBN: 0-78670-482-9 (pb)(US)
-
- Crimes-a-plenty tumble out of Shakespeare's plays. Suppose, for instance,
- that Friar Lawrence isn't available to explain the tragedy of Romeo and
- Juliet, and that Capulet or Montague engages someone to investigate their
- deaths? How about King Lear: he is convinced that Cordelia is alive at
- the end of the play. Is the corpse Cordelia or someone else? What has
- happened? How did Falstaff really die in "Henry V" and who was behind his
- humiliation in "The Merry Wives of Windsor"? Did Cleopatra really commit
- suicide, or was it a set-up? Who, exactly, is the sinister visitor
- conjured up by Caliban in "The Tempest"? In their ingenious tales, the
- likes of Falstaff and Hamlet, as well as the Bard himself, are set in hot
- pursuit of fresh clues and new solutions to some of the bloodiest plots
- and nastiest deeds hidden in Shakepeare's plays. Tom Holt appears with
- the story "Cinna the Poet".
-
- > 2.3 - Contacting Tom Holt
-
- You can contact Tom through his publishers, Orbit, via their web site at
- <URL:http://www.orbitbooks.co.uk/>. Or read the newsgroup!
-
-
- > 3 - About the newsgroup
-
- > 3.1 - When was the newsgroup created?
-
- The proposal for alt.books.tom-holt was discussed in alt.config in June
- 1998 and again in August 1998, prior to the control message being issued
- on 28th August 1998.
-
- > 3.2 - Are there any rules on the newsgroup?
-
- All that is asked is that posters maintain sensible netiquette. The
- charter sets out guidelines for on-topic posts: basically anything to do
- with Tom Holt, Tom Holt's works (novels, short stories, filks and so on)
- and Holt-related fan activity.
-
- The charter for alt.books.tom-holt is contained in the control message
- that created the newsgroup, and can be found in a number of online charter
- repositories (for example in ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/control/alt/), if you
- want to read it in its entirety.
-
- > 3.3 - Does Tom Holt post here?
-
- Yes. Tom Holt has supported the newsgroup from its inception and is a
- regular poster. So is his Mum, in fact ;)
-
- > 3.4 - What, /the/ Tom Holt?
-
- Yes, the Tom Holt. Honest :)
-
-
- > 4 - Frequently asked questions
-
- > 4.1 - Who is Tom Holt's cover artist?
-
- Tom writes:
-
- When I changed publishers from Macmillan to Orbit, they commissioned
- Kirby covers for the hardback of "Flying Dutch" and the paperbacks of the
- first two. They stayed with Kirby for "Ye Gods" and the hardback of
- "Overtime", then commissioned a brilliant artist called Steve Lee to do
- the paperback of "Overtime". Steve's designs went down well with the book
- trade, so they reissued the backlist titles with Lee covers (this means "
- Expecting Someone Taller" has had 3 different paperback covers; the
- ghastly one put on it by Macdonald when it first came out, the Kirby
- effort and the Steve Lee version) Steve did all my jackets down to "Open
- Sesame"; at that point there was some sort of falling-out between him and
- the Orbit people, and he isn't going to do any more (a pity, if you ask
- me) For the "Wish You Were Here" hardback, they've taken an entirely
- different approach; I'm slightly underwhelmed by the WYWH cover, but
- from what I've seen of the roughs for the next one, "Only Human", I think
- they may well be on to something.
-
- > 4.2 - Why are some books copyrighted to Kim Holt?
-
- Tom writes:
-
- Shan't tell, so there.
-
- It is in fact a tax dodge.
-
- > 4.3 - How do we address Tom Holt?
-
- Tom writes:
-
- 'Tom' will do just fine. Compared to some of the things I've been called
- over the years, it's almost a compliment.
-
- > 4.4 - What are the future/forthcoming books?
-
- Tom writes:
-
- The next book is due out some time in March; it's called 'The Portable
- Door' and is about 75% autobiographical. I've just submitted the
- manuscript of a sequel (no, *mustn't* call it that; a completely separate
- book which, by a strange coincidence, just happens to be about the same
- bunch of characters working in the same office. But it's not a sequel. No,
- preciouss).
-
- Details of forthcoming books:
-
- "Tom Holt Omnibus 4"
- ISBN 1-841-49267-1 (pb)
-
- Will be published 4th December 2003.
-
- > 4.5 - Why are so many characters called Jane?
-
- Tom writes:
-
- The female lead in "Flying Dutch" was called Jane (a) after a friend of
- my wife's, an accountant, who's called Jane (and is nothing at all like
- the character in the book) (b) because it seemed to suit her -
- straightforward, quite strong, dysbimboesque, but with subliminal
- associations of (i) plain Jane (ii) the dashing & adventurous heroine of
- the old comic strip (iii) me Tarzan, you...
-
- By the time I finished FD, I was using the name Jane as mental shorthand
- for that kind of female character; and since it's a character type I find
- useful, I stuck with the name. Female leads who don't follow that pattern
- get called something else; Michelle in "Open Sesame" was a bit too mimsy
- to be a Jane, Bianca in "Paint Your Dragon" needed to be rather more
- glamorous, & so on. I called the female #2 lead in "Wish You Were Here"
- Janice, because she's almost a Jane - by learning and suffering she
- moves towards acquiring Janity.
-
- The other reason is because it annoys the hell out of my mother.
-
- > 4.6 - Are there any Tom Holt websites?
-
- "The Tom Holt Webpage" (Calle Aasman)
- <URL:http://hem.passagen.se/gumby/holt/>
-
- Calle's webpage is the definitive source for all things Holt-related.
- Includes a biography, complete bibliography (probably the best anywhere),
- plus many extras such as a random Holt quotation generator and some of
- Tom's short stories to download. Well worth a visit.
-
- "Tom Holt" (Orbit Books)
- <URL:http://www.orbitbooks.co.uk/orbit/orbit_author_th_index.asp>
-
- The generic page about Tom created by his publishers. Contains a brief
- bibliography but is generally not particularly interesting.
-
- "Tom Holt Bibliography" (Uwe Milde)
- <URL:http://www.rumil.de/holt/>
-
- Complete Tom Holt bibliography. There's not a great deal more I can say.
- It does exactly what it says on the tin...
-
- "Tom Holt page" (Paul Bines)
- <URL:http://www.users.waitrose.com/~paulbines/TomHolt.htm>
-
- A general Tom Holt page, containing an illustrated bibliography, an
- interview with Tom and links to other resources.
-
- "Alt.Books.Tom-Holt page" (Dragonprince)
- <URL:http://my.genie.co.uk/dragonprince/>
-
- Rather than a site about Tom, these pages are dedicated to the abth
- newsgroup, and especially to any alt.books.tom-holt meets going on around
- the world. Read the reports! See the photos!
-
- TomHolt.com (Dragonprince and others)
- <URL:http://www.tomholt.com/>
-
- General information about Tom Holt and useful notes on the "Village of
- Abthite" -- essential reading to make sense of this newsgroup!
-
- > 4.7 - What about other online Holt-related resources?
-
- There is an IRC channel where you can chat to like-minded Tom Holt fans and
- alt.books.tom-holt regulars, the #holt channel on Espernet. Espernet
- servers are listed at http://www.esper.net/, or you can connect to
- irc.esper.net on port 5555 to be assigned to a random server.
-
- For those new to IRC, http://www.irchelp.org/ can provide some helpful
- information and hints, and also lists IRC clients for various platforms.
-
- > 4.8 - What's all this about earwigs?
-
- God only knows. It's a craze or something. You should be aware that
- earwigs are potentially harmful Class-A drugs, which you should avoid at
- all costs. If someone offers you earwigs, JUST SAY NO!
-
-
- > 5 - Mistakes
-
- > 5.1 - The Flying Dutchman
-
- Belsambar has pointed out that the Flying Dutchman appears in "Flying
- Dutch" as Julius Albert Vanderdecker, but cameos in "Faust among Equals" as
- Cornelius Vanderdecker. Apparently Tom didn't notice this one either.
-
- Additionally, as you can see from section 2.2.1, the back cover blurb from
- the book also has the poor man down as Cornelius Vanderdecker. Rereading,
- I notice that his name even changes about inside the book; cf. "You really
- ought to write to your uncle, Cornelius" in chapter nine.
-
- > 5.2 - Maria's Desk
-
- Steven H. Silver has noticed that in Only Human, in the scene where Maria
- is cleaning out her office (p.261 in the UK hardback edition) she walks in
- to find removal men taking away her desk. Later on the same page, she has
- to climb over the same desk to retrieve the painting on the wall.
-
-
- > 6 - About this FAQ
-
- > 6.1 - Who to blame
-
- This Frequently Asked Questions List was written and is maintained by Nick
- Boalch (n.g.boalch@durham.ac.uk), although credit for large parts must go
- to Calle Aasman (gumby@hem.passagen.se), who supplied (and continues to
- supply) most of the information for the biography and bibliography, meaning
- that all I have to do is format it and add a few comments, saving me huge
- amounts of time.
-
- If you have a query about the contents of the FAQ, or would like to see
- something added, please email me.
-
- > 6.2 - Obtaining the FAQ
-
- > 6.2.1 - Plain text
-
- The FAQ is posted automatically to Usenet by the MIT FAQ server every 30
- days, appearing in the newsgroups alt.books.tom-holt, alt.answers and
- news.answers.
-
- It is also available in plain text from FAQ repositories all over the
- world under the archive name books/tom-holt-faq. Try:
-
- * http://nick.frejol.org/writings/abth-faq.txt
- * ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/faqs/books/tom-holt-faq
-
- > 6.2.2 - LaTeX, DVI and PostScript
-
- These are the preferred formats for the FAQ, since it loses certain
- formatting in the conversion to text and HTML. They are available from:
-
- * http://nick.frejol.org/writings/abth-faq.tex
- * http://nick.frejol.org/writings/abth-faq.dvi
- * http://nick.frejol.org/writings/abth-faq.ps
-
- > 6.2.3 - HTML
-
- The FAQ is available in HTML format from:
-
- * http://nick.frejol.org/writings/abth-faq.html
-
- It is also available in various other online FAQ repositories and on
- Holt-related websites, but to ensure you fetch the latest version you
- are advised to use one of the URLs above.
-
- > 6.3 - Copyright Notice
-
- (c) Copyright 1998-2003 by Nick Boalch. All rights reserved.
-
- The right to redistribute this document by electronic means is freely
- granted so long as the document is redistributed unedited and in its
- entirety. No part of this publication may be transmitted in any other
- form without the prior permission of the author.
-