The World of Computer Software/World_Of_Computer_Software-02-387-Vol-3of3.iso/s/sf018024.zip/SF018024.TXT

Text File | 1993-01-16 | 19KB | 465 lines

SF-LOVERS Digest           Tuesday, 12 Jan 1993        Volume 18 : Issue 24

Today's Topics:

              Books - Clarke & Lackey & McCaffrey & Meluch &
                      Robinson (4 msgs) & Simmons (3 msgs) &
                      Zelazny (3 msgs) & Death Gate Cycle (2 msgs)

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Date: 9 Jan 93 22:14:49 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Charles B. Owen)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Rama II questions

[e-mail] (Mike Rizzo) writes:
>I just finished RAMA II. It wasn't that good after all. I kept hoping it
>would come together; that the original awe-inspiring conception which
>peered through now and then would, in the end, win out over the PC and
>word count boosters. Almost to the end it could have. Sadly, it didn't.
>
>It would be easy to say that the good parts were obviously Clarke and the
>bad parts were done by Lee. But can anyone actually say or make an
>educated guess? For example, is there a consensus that the silly dream
>sequences and mystical episodes were done by Lee? And did Clarke lend
>little more that his name to this book?
>
>Based on RAMA II, I think I will pass on the Garden of Rama. Will I be
>missing anything?

Gardens of Rama is definately worth reading.  It will be nearly the end of
the book before you see it, but the "silly" dream sequences have a real
purpose that is explained and makes a lot of sense.  If I could comment on
a problem with these books it is that they appear to have been written
together as one huge novel, then broken up.  I would prefer that each novel
not leave dozens of questions for the next novel, though I imagine that is
a very good sales technique.

Has anyone ready Rama Revealed yet?  I have not been able to get a copy.
That is the last book in the "trilogy".

Charles B. Owen
Western Illinois University
1002 E. Murray
Macomb, IL  61455
[e-mail]

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Date: 11 Jan 93 23:07:08 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Dani Zweig)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Lackey and Lisle:  When the Bough Breaks

I suppose I keep trying, long past the point where I should know better,
because I so enjoy Lackey's solo efforts.  (Like the efforts of her latest
coauthor, Piers Anthony, they're a guilty pleasure.)  Past experience,
however, shows that Lackey+junior_coauthor = coauthor and, she doesn't
have very good taste in junior coauthors.

The first "Serrated Edge" novel wasn't bad, actually.  (I guess you have to
do a bit more when launching a series, particularly if you have to live
with the coauthor.)  The second was trash.  "When the Bough Breaks" is
third and not quite as good as the second.

"Serrated Edge" isn't really about Elves; it's about child abuse.  The mix
is approximately half a pot of plot to a quarter of a pot of
characterization to one pot of message.  The characters, Elf and Human
alike, are caricatures.  The reading list (of course there's a reading
list) includes the SE books.  It's not so much that the message gets in the
way of the story, as that the importance of the message seems to have made
the authors forget that they were also supposed to be writing a novel.

Someone please let me know if Holly Lisle's single-author books are any
good.  This book hasn't inspired me to find out the hard way.

Dani Zweig
[e-mail]

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Date: 12 Jan 93 15:26:21 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Chris Meadows)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Questions about Pern, _Rescue_Flight_

I have a few questions about Pern; since I have class in 10 minutes I'll
have to make this fast.

First, in the latest Science-Fiction Book Club catalog/pamphlet, I noticed
a new Pern novella, called _Rescue_Flight_, taking place 49 years after
_Dragonsdawn_.  Since it's only $7.00 and I'm a Pern fanatic, I'm ordering
it.  I really hope it explains how Pern could remain lost for thousands of
years after colonization.  I really do hope Anne McCaffrey doesn't resort
to a "quarantine."  That idea is so OLD...

Okay.  The questions:

A dragon's tissue is different from ours.  For example, they have
copper-based blood while we have iron-based blood.  Fire lizards, wherries,
whers, and whersports presumably have the same blood types.  So, how can
dragons (with their copper-based blood) eat herdbeasts (with their
presumably iron-based blood), and how can humans eat whersports and
wherries?  'Twould seem to me to be a lot of incompatibility there.

Another thing: it should be possible, by taking it in steps, to go BETWEEN
time thousands of years back, to when the colonists first landed, etc.
After all, Jaxom went back several hundred years in _All_the_Weyrs_of_Pern_
... why couldn't some other dragonrider do it?  Be kind of interesting to
see...

And that's all I have time for...

Chris Meadows
CHM173S@SMSVMA
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

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Date: 12 Jan 93 00:07:08 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Ben Cohen)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: R.M. Meluch: Recommended Books?

[e-mail] (Kenneth J. Meltsner) writes:
>[e-mail] (Noel Ang) writes:
>>I've just finished reading _The_Queen's_Squadron_, by Rebecca Meluch, and
>>was wondering if anyone would recommend any of her previous works.  I've
>>read one previous work of hers, _War_Birds_, and I find both of these
>>books quite good.  I've heard mention of five other novels from her,
>>_Wind_Dancers_, _Wind_child_, _Jerusalem_Fire, _Sovereign_, and
>>_Chicago_Red_.  Are all of these Science Fiction?  Any recommendations
>>are appreciated.

[Just to add my $0.02, having read all of her books and feeling quite
strongly about them...]

>They're all SF.  Rebecca Meluch is a fine writer, but I felt _Chicago Red_
>was one of her weakest.  I particularly enjoyed the _Wind_ books.

Agreed. During _CR_, I kept getting the feeling that she really wanted to
write another book but just never got around to it.

>For those of you who haven't read _War Birds_, please give it a shot.
>It's the most intelligently written military SF book I've seen for a long
>time.  My wife, no fan at all of most military SF, was quite impressed
>with the depth of characterization and excellent storytelling.

Agreed, again. _WB_ is a _very_ thoughtful book about the military, space
warfare and the _people_ who wind up in such situations. [It's been a while
since I read it - probably ought to go back and re-read it...]

I have to say though, that her "2nd round" of books, being _Jerusalem Fire_
and _Sovereign_ are her (to date) best work, with _JF_ being the best of
them all.
   Her strongest point is that she has _excellent_ characters and really
gives you the feeling of being able to get into their heads. [I have yet to
meet anyone who reads JF and can't step into Alihad's (?sp) head and see
exactly what he's seeing and feeling.]
   I'd suggest running right out and finding JF and Sovereign. They may be
a bit hard to find (I know that I rarely see them on the shelves), but
they're worth the hardship to acquire them. They're a joy to read, being
both well- written and well-_crafted_.

>Meluch is another writer on my short list of "automatic must-reads."

Speaking of which, does anyone know when her next book is due out? It's
been a while so there should be another one due out shortly. [Shouldn't
there?  :-)]

Ben Cohen
St. Peter's College
Jersey City, NJ  USA
[e-mail]
...!rutgers!spcvxb!ben

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Date: 8 Jan 93 18:37:36 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Jeff Hildebrand)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: KSRobinson _Red Mars_...  When?

[e-mail] writes:
>Did I get the color right?  I knew it was either red, green, or blue.
>Anyway, if you know when it is due to be released or have seen a copy, let
>me know.  Mr. Tor executive?

   Well it's from Bantam, not Tor. Anyway, it's out. (This one is _Red
Mars_ btw.) I bought it from an independent bookstore on the East Coast on
Wednesday just after they had put it on the shelves. So it may take a week
or so to get to all the bookstores. (Chain stores are slower about getting
new books on the shelves.)

   Finished the book last night. It's a generally strong book, although I
had few minor quibbles with it which place it lower in my opinions than
_Pacific Edge_, but then again that's true of almost every book. :) Look
for a review soon. Short version is that it's good and worth buying but it
falls just short of being spectacular.

   Now the problem is that I'm going to have to wait a long time for _Green
Mars_. Oh well.

Jeff Hildebrand
[e-mail]

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Date: 9 Jan 93 23:37:44 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Peter Cash)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Simmons' Shrike (spoilers)

On a related topic (I think): I recently read Kim S. Robinson's _Icehenge_.
In this book, one of the characters has the nickname "Shrike". (It's the
archaeologist's politician friend/lover.) Is this a veiled reference to
Simmon's Shrike, or does this name have some other meanings that I'm
missing?

Peter Cash
[e-mail]

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Date: 11 Jan 93 14:15:51 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Louzon ronald g)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: KSRobinson _Red Mars_... When?

Now back to that RED MARS book, do I read it now or wait?  Some decisions
in life are so difficult!!

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Date: 12 Jan 93 15:41:36 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Evelyn C. Leeper)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: KSRobinson _Red Mars_... When?

[e-mail] (Louzon Ronald G) writes:
> Now back to that RED MARS book, do I read it now or wait?  Some decisions
> in life are so difficult!!

A full review will follow eventually, but I would say you could read it
now.  While there's clearly room for more after the end, I think RED MARS
stands sufficiently on its own.  (Of course, I think KSR's stuff is the
bee's knees, so this is only MHO.)

(BTW, I assume the novella GREEN MARS (from Tor Double #1) will be
incorporated into the series.)

Evelyn C. Leeper
[phone]
att!mtgzy!ecl
[e-mail]

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Date: 11 Jan 93 20:01:47 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Dayne Miller)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Acronyms in _Hyperion_

In Dan Simmons' books _Hyperion_ and _Fall of Hyperion_, what do the
acronyms FORCE and ARN stand for? I may have just missed the reference, or
Simmons may just not have ever said. If there aren't any definitive
answers, how about some reasonable speculation?

(For those of you unfamiliar with the books, FORCE is the military of
Hegemony space, and includes FORCE:space, FORCE:ground, FORCE:sea, and
FORCE:Marines.  ARN refers to a technique of genetic sculpting; ARNists
gave one character, Martin Silenus, the appearance of a satyr, and several
references were made to extinct species that have of have not been ARNied
back into existence.)

Just wondering...

[e-mail]

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Date: 11 Jan 93 21:46:38 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Jonathan Vessey)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Acronyms in _Hyperion_

On a somewhat related note (though one with an answer that's probably easy
to come up with), what exactly was the Hegira? I think I missed were they
explained it, but it seemed an important historical event. Forgive me if
it's really obvious, but I read the books at 2 am - 4 am and sort of fogged
out some of the lesser details at times. Thanks for any answers.

Jon Vessey
[e-mail]

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Date: 11 Jan 93 22:48:22 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Ramez Naam)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Acronyms in _Hyperion_

[e-mail] (Jonathan Vessey) writes:
>On a somewhat related note (though one with an answer that's probably easy
>to come up with), what exactly was the Hegira? I think I missed were they
>explained it, but it seemed an important historical event. Forgive me if
>it's really obvious, but I read the books at 2 am - 4 am and sort of
>fogged out some of the lesser details at times. Thanks for any answers.

The Hegira was the human departure from Earth and colonization of the
planets that became the WorldWeb.  This was triggered by the Kiev Team's
creation of a runaway black hole which fell to the Earth's core and began
slowly destroying the planet.

Note that the Hegira was accomplished _before_ farcasters were developed.

Ramez Naam
[e-mail]

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Date: 11 Jan 93 07:59:30 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Michael Qvortrup)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Dilvish: Zelazny's other Fantasy

[e-mail] (Dani Zweig) writes:
>[e-mail] (Michael Qvortrup):
>>I am getting curious. Could somebody please tell me where I can find
>>these stories? Are they novels or short stories?
>
>"Dilvish, the Damned" and "The Changing Land", two of Zelazny's lesser
>efforts, both books out of print (I think) but not hard to find.

Sometimes one just has to be lucky. This weekend I went around to the
bookstore again, and guess what? They had a copy of 'The Changing Land' on
the shelves! Fourth printing (1988), and the 15'th copy they have sold
since 1984.

Now I just have to find 'Dilvish, the Damned'.  'The Changing Land' does
seem to be of a more humouristic bent than the Elric books.

Michael Christian Heide Qvortrup
Inst. of Scientific Computation
ETH, Zuerich Switzerland
[e-mail]

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Date: 11 Jan 93 11:55:21 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Ross Smith)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re:  Dilvish: Zelazny's other Fantasy

[e-mail] (Kieron Drake) writes:
>how about some real questions? Did anyone notice the dedication to William
>Hope Hodgson (among others) and the fact that one of the characters had
>that name as well? What did he steal from Hodgson?  Where did the Hounds
>of Thundalos come from? Has anyone else slogged *all* of the way through
>"House on the Borderland"?

Yes; actually I quite liked it. Zelazny borrowed quite a bit from it in
"The Changing Land" - the House itself, the pig-things, the trip through
time, the empty world of the distant future, the gods around the Arena...

The "Hounds of Thandalos" in TCL are based on Frank Belknap Long's story
"The Hounds of Tindalos" (note spelling) (it's in Volume 1 of "Tales of the
Cthulhu Mythos", edited by August Derleth, which I suspect is long since
out of print, alas).

Ross Smith
Wanganui, NZ
[e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 12 Jan 93 13:34:09 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Zelazny

I must agree that MHO agrees with Charles Roten, except that I believe that
Zelazny's sellout dates to CREATURES OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS, which was the
succeeding book to LORD OF LIGHT (which was the Hugo winner in its year and
a great book).

I met him at the '73 Worldcon, and was sort of examining him to determine
what had turned a major talent into an okay writer. It appeared to me that
his falloff occurred about the time his first child was born. Some other
creative force had been satisfied, I guess.

Alex H.

------------------------------

Date: 11 Jan 93 08:52:25 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Mech Eng Student)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: The "Death Gate" Cycle

   I was wondering if there was anyone else out there who is reading the
Death Gate cycle by the most variable of authors Weis and Hickman.  If so
could you add your opinions to these questions.  Thanks in advance.

1) What is the dog?  The only person who doesn't know seems to be Haplo.
   My guess is that it is a representation of Haplo's "soft" emotions.

2) Who is Zifnab (Fizban, Paladine, whatever) REALLY and what's he doing
   here?

3) Where did the dragons come from?

4) Is Alfred really the Serpent Mage?

I hope this stirs up some interest as, whilst it is only just over half
complete the books so far show many interesting ideas.  I hope these are
followed up in the last three books (Boy is Samah in for a surprise!)

Rod

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Date: 11 Jan 93 09:54:05 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Mr J J Trevor)
Reply-to: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: The "Death Gate" Cycle

[e-mail] (Mech Eng Student) writes:
>   I was wondering if there was anyone else out there who is reading the
>Death Gate cycle by the most variable of authors Weis and Hickman.  If so
>could you add your opinions to these questions.  Thanks in advance.
>
>1) What is the dog?  The only person who doesn't know seems to be Haplo.
>   My guess is that it is a representation of Haplo's "soft" emotions.

Don't know yet. Maybe.

>2) Who is Zifnab (Fizban, Paladine, whatever) REALLY and what's he doing
>   here?
>
>3) Where did the dragons come from?
>
>4) Is Alfred really the Serpent Mage?

I think that questions two and four are related. Please bear in mind Ive
only read up to and including Firesea and not Serpent Mage. However, at the
end of the second book it turns out that Zifnab (Fizban as stated above
hahaha) was the FAMILIAR to the dragon and not the other way around as you
may have expected. Im which case surely the Serpent mage is the dragon (a
kind of "serpent") who performs magic through Zifnab.

Anyway, this may be completely turned on its head by Serpent Mage!!!

Jonathan
Department of Computing
Lancaster University
Lancaster, Lancs., U.K.
[e-mail]

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End of SF-LOVERS Digest
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