Lincroft-Holmdel Science Fiction Club Club Notice - 1/7/87 -- Vol. 5, No. 26 MEETINGS UPCOMING: Unless otherwise stated, all meetings are on Wednesdays at noon. LZ meetings are in LZ 3A-206; MT meetings are in MT 4A-235. _D_A_T_E _T_O_P_I_C 01/21 MT: Movie: THE WAR GAME (Rm MT 4A-229) 01/28 LZ: 1984 by George Orwell {A Retrospective} 02/04 MT: CONTACT by Carl Sagan First Contact 02/18 LZ: RINGWORLD ENGINEERS by Larry Niven World Creation 03/11 LZ: THE DREAMING JEWELS by Ted Sturgeon Children (and Child-raising) 04/01 LZ: HELLLICONIA VINTNER by Brian Aldiss Oenology 04/22 LZ: MURMURS OF EARTH by Carl Sagan SF-related Non-Fiction 05/13 LZ: TO YOUR SCATTERED BODIES GO by Reincarnation Phillip Jose Farmer HO Chair: John Jetzt HO 1E-525 834-1563 LZ Chair: Rob Mitchell LZ 1B-306 576-6106 MT Chair: Mark Leeper MT 3E-433 957-5619 HO Librarian: Tim Schroeder HO 3M-420 949-5866 LZ Librarian: Lance Larsen LZ 1C-117 576-2068 MT Librarian: Bruce Szablak MT 4C-418 957-5868 Jill-of-all-trades: Evelyn Leeper MT 1F-329 957-2070 All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted. 1. I didn't mention it before, but the time for this week's film fest is 7 PM, January 8, at the Leeperhouse. Once again the films are: Innocent Bystanders ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MARVEL ch. 2 THE 39 STEPS (1978) dir. by Don Sharp NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) dir. by Alfred Hitchcock As you can see above the next video meeting (the week after next) at Middletown will be THE WAR GAME, Peter Watkins superb documentary view of nuclear war. If you haven't seen it, you really should. It has been darn hard to find up till now. Yet it is the yardstick by which to measure all films on the subject. See it. 2. Last week Evelyn put in a few insulting items that she wrote and did not sign. People assumed that I had written the insulting item about how Jo Paltin did not get the description about NEUROMANCER in for the notice. I want it clearly understood that I was not the one who was so insulting. I try never to be insulting in the - 2 - notice. I consider it our own fault that we depended on Jo and that she was foolish enough to expect that the article would be written for her by a notorious procrastinator like Dale Skran who hasn't done anything on time since 1963. (Catch me some time and ask about the time Dale asked us to pick him up on the way to work because he was going to the airport and he didn't even get out of bed until... But this is, of course, not the proper forum for that story.) The buck and the responsiblity stops here and not with a couple of poor dumb losers like Jo and Dale. Mark Leeper MT 3E-433 957-5619 ...mtgzz!leeper And to usher in the Sherlock Holmes Centenary... THREE MORE SHERLOCKIAN REVIEWS by Evelyn C. Leeper SHERLOCK HOLMES AT THE 1902 FIFTH TEST by Stanley Shaw Star, 1986, L1.95. Though possibly popular in England, this book will have difficulties in the United States, since it is basically a novel about a cricket match, with Sherlock Holmes and some minor detectiving thrown in. If you don't understand cricket--and I don't--much of the novel will be incomprehensible. Even the non-cricket part centers more around John Fairhurst: Australian, cricket player, and newly-arrived visitor to London. The maguffin is a missing cricket player--not unlike the "Missing Three-Quarter" in rugger and the denouement is even less interesting than in the Doyle version. COSMOPOLITAN CRIMES edited by Hugh Greene Penguin, 1971, L?. Subtitled "Foreign Rivals of Sherlock Holmes," this collection of thirteen stories features detectives of the Victorian era, but not in England. A good sampling of the mystery stories of the period and a reasonable way to decide which authors to read more of. THE FURTHER RIVALS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES edited by Hugh Greene Penguin, 1970, L?. Another anthology of thirteen mystery stories from Victorian England. This concludes the trilogy Greene started with _T_h_e _R_i_v_a_l_s _o_f _S_h_e_r_l_o_c_k _H_o_l_m_e_s and _C_o_s_m_o_p_o_l_i_t_a_n _C_r_i_m_e_s. The set would make an excellent gift to a mystery fan--if he or she doesn't have them already, and if they are still in print. My copies are old British editions found in a second-hand bookstore in Amherst, Massachusetts. They should not be confused with the two-volume set issued in 1978 by Castle Books _R_i_v_a_l_s _o_f _S_h_e_r_l_o_c_k _H_o_l_m_e_s and _R_i_v_a_l_s _o_f _S_h_e_r_l_o_c_k _H_o_l_m_e_s _2 edited by Alan K. Russell. (Note the absence of the definite article "The" in the title of the latter.) But I'm sure they will be at some point. THE MORNING AFTER A film review by Mark R. Leeper Capsule review: Off film for Sidney Lumet and a sort of departure for Jane Fonda tells story of an alcoholic actress who wakes up one morning with a headache, no memory of the night before, and a dead man in bed with her. It could have been an interesting mystery, but it really wasn't. Jane Fonda films over the last several years have been heavy in political content. It looks like she may be moving out of that phase and appearing in films with a less didactic impact. One such film is _T_h_e _M_o_r_n_i_n_g _A_f_t_e_r, a rather minor mystery film in which Fonda plays Alex Sternburger, an aging alcoholic actress who awakes one morning to find a dead man in bed with her, and it isn't even her bed. With absolutely no memory of the night before, but convinced that the police will assume that she is the killer, she tries to cover her connection to the crime and to run away. In doing so she runs into Turner Kendall (played by Jeff Bridges), an ex-cop who is a sort of anthropological redneck. He makes bigoted statements about minorities, then explains why the minorities are that way in sociological terms. In a marked contrast to previous Fonda films, Fonda's character finds that while she does not like Bridges's politics, she does like the man. The real problem with _T_h_e _M_o_r_n_i_n_g _A_f_t_e_r is the pacing. The plot advances far too slowly. There is insufficient plot to camouflage completely the solution to the mystery, so when the solution becomes known to the characters, it was already guessed by the viewer and the viewer feels no sense of accomplishment. The script shows signs of having been slapped together with insufficient care. There are major loose ends that the script never bothers to explain, including ones that the director intentionally calls the audience's attention to. Much of the action occurs, we are specifically told, on November 20, 1986. Fonda is having difficulty getting away on this date because, as she is startled to discover, it is Thanksgiving. Her bewilderment is, of course, understandable, since any calendar I have seen says that Thanksgiving fell on the 27th. To create a sort of Hitchcock feel to the film, the score by Paul Chihara occasionally lapses into Bernard Herrmann's style and the camera uses the heavy color filtering that Michael Mann would but the film still has very little style. As sort of a latter-day imitation of _K_l_u_t_e, we get none of the thrill, the look at the segment of society, or the character study of that thriller. The most disappointing aspect is that _T_h_e _M_o_r_n_i_n_g _A_f_t_e_r was directed by powerful film director Sidney Lumet and it certainly was one of his lesser attempts. Give it a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale. Index (Sorted) for the Lincroft-Holmdel Science Fiction Club Notice (1986) 86/07/30 ABOUT LAST NIGHT (Film review by E. C. Leeper) 86/07/30 ABOUT LAST NIGHT (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/10/08 ABOUT TIME (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/03/26 ADVENTURE OF THE ECTOPLASMIC MAN (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/01/29 ADVENTURES OF MARK TWAIN (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/02/19 AFTER LONDON (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/03/12 AFTER THE FLAMES (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/03/12 AFTERWAR (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/07/30 ALIENS (Film review by D. L. Skran) 86/07/23 ALIENS (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/08/06 ALIENS (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/07/30 ALIENS (Film review by N. Sauer) 86/01/15 Alternate History Stories (Listing by E. C. Leeper) 86/12/31 AMADEUS (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/10/01 AMAZING STORIES (TV review by E. C. Leeper) 86/06/25 AMBASSADOR (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/03/12 ANOTHER FINE MYTH (Book review by P. S. R. Chisholm) 86/01/15 ANTARCTICA (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/02/19 AUNT JULIA AND THE SCRIPTWRITER (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/04/24 AYES OF TEXAS (Book review by M. R. Leeper) 86/08/27 BAROQUE FABLE (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/07/30 BASIL IN MEXICO (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/09/24 BEYOND ENGINEERING (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/04/30 BLACK STAR RISING (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/10/01 BLOOD MUSIC (Book review by R. Mitchell) 86/08/27 BLUE ADEPT (Book review by P. S. R. Chisholm) 86/11/12 BLUE VELVET (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/03/05 BRAZIL (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/04/16 BRIDE (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/02/19 BRIDGE OF BIRDS (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/12/31 BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/31 CAINE MUTINY (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/17 CAPTAIN HORATIO HORNBLOWER (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/03/12 CASE OF THE BAKER STREET IRREGULARS (Book review by E. Leeper) 86/07/30 CASE OF THE SOMERVILLE SECRET (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/07/30 CASE OF THE VANISHING CORPSE (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/03/12 CAT WHO WALKS THROUGHT WALLS (Book review by P. Chisholm) 86/10/22 CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/08/27 CHOICE OF DESTINIES (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/11/05 CIRCUS OF DR. LAO (Comments by M. R. Leeper) 86/02/12 CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/11/26 CLOUDS OVER EUROPE (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/11/19 COLOR OF MONEY (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/01/29 COLOR PURPLE (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/31 COMEDY OF TERRORS (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/09/17 ConFederation (Comments by R. Fritz) 86/09/10 ConFederation (Con Report by E. C. Leeper) 86/10/29 CONTACT (Book review by D. L. Skran) 86/12/10 CONTACT (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/02/05 CONTACT (Book review by M. R. Leeper) 86/10/08 COSMIC BANDITOS (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/12/31 COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/10/08 CROCODILE DUNDEE (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/02/19 CROSS-TIME ENGINEER (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/06/25 CYBERNETIC SAMURAI (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/01/22 DARKWAR Trilogy (Book review by D. L. Skran) Index (Sorted) for the LHSFC Notice (1986) Page 2 86/12/31 DAY THE UNIVERSE CHANGED (TV review by M. R. Leeper) 86/11/05 DEADLY FRIEND (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/08/06 Diamond Signs (Article by M. R. Leeper) 86/02/12 DOWN AND OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/08/27 DRACULA MURDERS (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/03/05 Dramatic Presentation Eligibees (List) 86/07/23 DRASTIC DRAGON OF DRACO TEXAS (Book review by P. DeParto) 86/08/27 ELLEANDER MORNING (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/09/10 Elric Series (Book review by M. R. Leeper) 86/06/04 ENDER'S GAME (Book review by M. R. Leeper) 86/01/15 ENEMY MINE (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/04/09 EON (Book review by D. L. Skran) 86/04/09 EYES OF FIRE (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/03/12 F/X (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/31 FANTASY FILM WORLDS OF GEORGE PAL (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/10/01 FLESH AND BLOOD (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/07/30 FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/08/20 FLY (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/03/19 FRANKENSTEIN PAPERS (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/10/29 FROM BEYOND (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/05/14 FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (Book review by E. Leeper) 86/03/19 GALAPAGOS (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/12/31 GENERAL (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/10/08 GODBODY (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/12/17 GOLDEN CHILD (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/05/28 GOTCHA! (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/06/25 GRACE QUIGLEY (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/07/30 GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE (Film review by E. C. Leeper) 86/07/30 GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/08/06 GREAT WALL (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/31 GUNS OF NAVARONE (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/03/12 HANNAH AND HER SISTERS (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/07/30 HARLEQUIN/DARK FORCES (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/17 HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/10 HERCULES TEXT (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/03/12 HIGHLANDER (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/31 HOLIDAY (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/31 HORROR HOTEL (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/08/06 HOWARD THE DUCK (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/09/03 Hugo Awards 86/04/24 Hugo Nominations (1986) 86/01/15 HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER (Book review by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/31 IDOMENEO, KING OF CRETE (Opera review by M. R. Leeper) 86/06/25 INVADERS FROM MARS (Film review by E. Slade) 86/06/18 INVADERS FROM MARS (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/03/12 JOB (Book review by P. S. R. Chisholm) 86/10/29 JUMPING JACK FLASH (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/05/28 June on Cable (Film reviews by M. R. Leeper) 86/08/27 JUXTAPOSITION (Book review by P. S. R. Chisholm) 86/05/28 KAMIKAZE '89 (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/31 KENNEL MURDER CASE (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/31 KING KONG LIVES (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/04/09 KOJIRO (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/08/06 LABYRINTH (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/02/26 LADY JANE 86/12/31 LADY JANE (Film review by M. R. Leeper) Index (Sorted) for the LHSFC Notice (1986) Page 3 86/10/15 Land of Opportunity (Editorial by M. R. Leeper) 86/01/22 Leather-bound Science Fiction (An article by M. R. Leeper) 86/03/05 Leeper for Hugo (Article by P. S. R. Chisholm) 86/12/10 LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS (Comments by C. Harris) 86/04/24 LEGEND (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/06/04 LETTERS TO SHERLOCK HOLMES (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/06/04 Library Acquisitions 86/03/05 Library Holdings 86/08/27 Library Holdings (Middletown) 86/12/24 LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/24 LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (Theater review by M. R. Leeper) 86/10/22 MALLWORLD (Book review by R. Mitchell) 86/08/27 MANHUNTER (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/06/25 MAROONED IN REAL TIME (Book review by D. L. Skran) 86/06/25 MAROONED IN REAL TIME (Book review by P. S. R. Chisholm) 86/06/18 MASTER OF SPACE AND TIME (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/11/05 METROPOLIS (Film commentary by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/31 MODERN TIMES (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/09/10 MONA LISA (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/04/02 Moonwalk (Article by M. R. Leeper) 86/04/09 Moonwalk (Article by M. R. Leeper) 86/08/06 MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDERETTE (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/03/12 MYTH CONCEPTIONS (Book review by P. S. R. Chisholm) 86/10/15 NAME OF THE ROSE (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/10/15 NAPOLEON (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/08/27 NATURE'S END (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/02/19 Nebula Nominees (Article) 86/05/07 Nebula Winners (1986) 86/03/26 9-1/2 WEEKS (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/06/04 19TH TOURNEE OF ANIMATION (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/08/27 NOON WINE (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/04/30 NORBY CHRONICLES (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/07/30 NOTHING IN COMMON (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/31 ONE NIGHT STAND (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/04/16 ORION SHALL RISE (Book non-review by E. C. Leeper) 86/06/18 OTHER TIME (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/04/09 OUT OF AFRICA (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/04/24 OUT OF AFRICA (Film review by P. G. Palmer) 86/09/24 PEE-WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/10/15 PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/08/20 PIED PIPER (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/06/04 POLTERGEIST II (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/02/19 PROTEUS OPERATION (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/07/30 PSYCHO III (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/10/01 QUALLSFORD INHERITANCE (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/04/23 QUIET EARTH (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/10/08 RACE AGAINST TIME (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/02/05 RAN (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/11/05 RED DRAGON (Book review by M. R. Leeper) 86/04/09 RED LION (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/08/27 RED STORM RISING (Book review by P. S. R. Chisholm) 86/03/26 REGIMENT OF WOMEN (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/02/19 RELATIVES (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/09/10 Renaissance Faire (Comments by E. C. Leeper) 86/02/19 RIO BRAVO (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/07/30 RIVALS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (Book review by E. C. Leeper) Index (Sorted) for the LHSFC Notice (1986) Page 4 86/06/04 ROOM WITH A VIEW (Film review by J. Paltin) 86/06/04 ROOM WITH A VIEW (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/07/23 RUTHLESS PEOPLE (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/03/26 SAGA OF THE VAGABONDS (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/31 SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/01/22 SAVAGES (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/05/07 Science, Good and Bad 86/04/30 SECRET AGENT X-9 (Book review by M. R. Leeper) 86/06/25 SHADRACH IN THE FURNACE (Book non-review by E. C. Leeper) 86/09/10 SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/08/27 SHIPKILLER (Book review by M. R. Leeper) 86/02/19 SHIVA DESCENDING (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/06/04 SHORT CIRCUIT (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/05/14 SON OF HOLMES (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/03/26 SOUNDING (Book review by M. R. Leeper) 86/06/04 SPACE CAMP (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/07/16 Space Day 1986 Schedule 86/12/31 SPIES LIKE US (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/08/27 SPLIT INFINITY (Book review by P. S. R. Chisholm) 86/08/27 STAND BY ME (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/06/18 STAR GUARD (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/02/05 STAR TREK II (Comments by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/03 STAR TREK IV (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/01/22 STAR-SMASHERS OF THE GALAXY RANGERS (Book review by R. Mitchell) 86/09/10 STARQUAKE (Book review by M. R. Leeper) 86/03/19 STARS MY DESTINATION (Book review by R. Mitchell) 86/03/26 STARS MY DESTINATION (Book review by R. Mitchell) 86/06/11 (strike issue) 86/04/16 STUFF (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/03/12 SUPREME ADVENTURE OF INSP. LESTRADE (Book review by E. Leeper) 86/04/23 SURELY YOU'RE JOKING, MR. FEYNMAN (Book review by M. R. Leeper) 86/11/05 Survival Game (Article by G. B. Garst) 86/03/26 SURVIVAL ZONE (Film review by D. L. Skran) 86/11/19 Swings (Article by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/17 SWORD OF GIDEON (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/10/01 TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE (TV review by E. C. Leeper) 86/05/28 THIS PERFECT DAY (Book review by R. Mitchell) 86/05/14 THREE-PIPE PROBLEM (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/10/08 TIME AND AGAIN (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/09/24 TO ENGINEER IS HUMAN (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/09/24 TOM O'BEDLAM (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/07/30 TOP GUN (Film review by E. C. Leeper) 86/07/30 TOP GUN (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/10/29 TOUGH GUYS (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/03/12 TRAVELLER IN TIME (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/10/15 TROLL (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/11/26 TROUBLE IN BUGLAND (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/11/26 TRUE STORIES (Film review by J. Paltin) 86/03/12 TUF VOYAGING (Book review by P. S. R. Chisholm) 86/07/30 TUNNEL IN THE SKY (Book non-review by E. C. Leeper) 86/10/01 TWILIGHT ZONE (TV review by E. C. Leeper) 86/09/24 TWISTING THE ROPE (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/08/20 2001 (Book non-review by R. Mitchell) 86/06/04 VAMPIRE LESTAT (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/12/03 WALKING DEAD (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/31 WAR GAME (Film review by M. R. Leeper) Index (Sorted) for the LHSFC Notice (1986) Page 5 86/12/31 WAR OF THE WORLDS (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/12/17 WARRIOR AND THE SORCERESS (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/07/30 WATSON'S CHOICE (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/05/07 WEREWOLF PRINCIPLE (Book review by R. Mitchell) 86/12/31 WHITE NIGHTS (Film review by M. R. Leeper) 86/06/18 WOLF OF SHADOWS (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/03/19 WONDER'S CHILD (Book review by E. C. Leeper) 86/06/04 World Leadership Correspondence School (Article by M. R. Leeper) 86/02/12 WORLDS (Book review by R. Mitchell) THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT ALMOST BLANK _N_O_T_E_S _F_R_O_M _T_H_E _N_E_T --------------------------------------- Subject: Known Space bibliography Path: rutgers!mit-eddie!genrad!decvax!decwrl!akov68.dec.com!boyajian Date: 24 Dec 86 17:37:11 GMT With all this talk about Niven's "Known Space" stories, I'd like to go back and read the books and stories. Can someone list all the books and stories he's written about it (or tell me if such a list already exists somewhere)? Thanks. In chronological order: [Note: The stories in TALES OF KNOWN SPACE span the entire known Known Space history (ie, "The Coldest Place" is the chronologically earliest story and "Safe at *Any* Speed" is the chronologically latest).] TALES OF KNOWN SPACE (1975) "The Coldest Place" "Becalmed in Hell" "Wait It Out" "Eye of an Octopus" "How the Heroes Die" "The Jigsaw Man" "At the Bottom of a Hole" "Intent to Deceive" "Cloak of Anarchy" "The Warriors" "The Borderland of Sol" "There is a Tide" "Safe at *Any* Speed" WORLD OF PTAAVS (1966) THE LONG ARM OF GIL HAMILTON (1976) "Death by Ecstasy" "The Defenseless Dead" "ARM" THE PATCHWORK GIRL (1980) PROTECTOR (1973) A GIFT FROM EARTH (1968) NEUTRON STAR (1968) "Neutron Star" "A Relic of Empire" "At the Core" "The Soft Weapon" "Flatlander" "The Ethics of Madness" "The Handicapped" "Grendel" - 2 - RINGWORLD (1970) RINGWORLD ENGINEERS (1980) --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Acton-Nagog, MA) --------------------------------------- Subject: John Varley's BLUE CHAMPAGNE Path: mtuxo!houxm!ihnp4!cbatt!cbosgd!gatech!lll-lcc!ames!ucla-cs!cracraft Date: 26 Dec 86 18:24:44 GMT My initial contact with Varley's work came many years ago when members of sf-lovers strongly recommended his first short story collection THE PERSISTENCE OF VISION. To put it simply, I was awed by this collection and thought it perhaps the best collection of shorts I had ever read. However, apart from TPOV, Varley's other works (OPHIUCHI HOTLINE, BARBIE MURDERS, TITAN, WIZARD, DEMON, MILLENIUM) never made as much an impact on me. Even his other stories in the "Eight Worlds" universe as contained in OPHIUCHI HOTLINE and BARBIE MURDERS somehow seemed to lack the special magic of TPOV. So it was with considerable trepidation that I shelled out the money to buy BLUE CHAMPAGNE. Here again, either my tastes have changed over the years or Varley never really lived up to his initial promise. BLUE CHAMPAGNE is a strong collection, a worthwhile collection, but not a great collection. Varley seems to have overstepped his usual bounds into sentimentality. While he writes truly great erotic fiction, I find his increasing and over- powering sentimentality to become somewhat oppressive after awhile. My personal favorite in this collection is "The Unabridged Phone Book". It is strongly recommended for all those right who favor the stockpiling and manufacture of nuclear arms. So on a scale of one to ten, I would rate BLUE CHAMPAGNE as a 7. We may not yet have seen Varley's true blossoming as a writer, but as the tone of this review implies, this reader is somewhat disappointed. Stuart Cracraft --------------------------------------- Subject: Teckla Path: uw-beaver!cornell!rochester!pt.cs.cmu.edu!andrew.cmu.edu!postman Date: 29 Dec 86 20:35:15 GMT The life of an assassin possesses a certain glamor (if you happen to live), but when you come down to it, it's a rather callous and immature way to make a living. In Jhereg, Vlad had both his financial and emotional incentives to make a living this way reduced. In Teckla, - 3 - which takes place almost immediately after, it is time for him, belatedly, to grow up. This is made somewhat urgent by his discovery that his wife is active in the next revolt. (Medieval history, which I grant this is not, is replete with peasant revolts; it doesn't record many successful ones. Cities and towns tended to buy their freedoms.) The book was something of a disappointment. It reads a lot more like "Brokedown Castle", than it does like "Jhereg". I get the feeling that the former is what Brust wants to be writing, while the latter is what he excells at, which must be rough. There's nothing wrong with there being more to a book than 'merely' a story, but it's a mistake for that 'more' to come at the *expense* of the story. Dani Zweig --------------------------------------- Subject: Little Shop Of Horrors (slight spoiler) Path: mtuxo!houxm!ihnp4!cbatt!ukma!slg Date: 22 Dec 86 17:17:23 GMT Saw `Little Shop Of Horrors' last friday. It's the best movie musical to come out since `Fiddler On the Roof'. It's fun, funney, the special effects are well done, and overall a very enjoyable film. One of my biggest complaint about filmmakers recently is the things they do to broadway musicals when turning them into films. `Annie' was destroyed. `A Chorus Line', while not decimated to the extent `Annie' was, got changed enough to be extremely annoying to those of us who knew the show. But in LSOH, while there are changes, they didn't annoy me the way those in other films did. Now, I admit, I haven't seen the show on stage. But I do know the music pretty well, and have a basic idea of what must have happened between songs. So the changes may well be more irritating to someone who has seen LSOH on stage. I noticed three major changes. They left out the song `Mushnik and Son'. They left out the song the dentist does as he dies. (That frustrated me a bit...) They changed the ending, adding one song sung by Audrey II, and taking out the song the ended the play. That change may be the one yelled about. But the song added was extremely good, and had the same feeling as the rest of the songs, and the ending -- so hollywood wanted a happy ending. It's o.k. for this show, the change not only works, but is very good. All in all a very good movie. I loved it. Sean. --------------------------------------- - 4 - Subject: The Outer Limits Path: rutgers!seismo!rochester!rocksvax!rocksanne!sunybcs!ansley Date: 20 Dec 86 22:08:03 GMT The Outer Limits: The Official Companion The Outer Limits: The Official Companion by David J. Schow and Jeffrey Frentzen, 1986, Ace Science Fiction, ISBN 0-441-37081-0, 406 pp., large format paperback, $8.95. Contains index, appendices, photographs. If anyone out there has as fond memories as I do of this show, especially if their memories are as vague as mine are (I haven't had an opportunity to see the show in well over 5 years - it may be over 10), this is the book to get. This book is an wonderful source of information about the show and the people behind it. It contains capsule descriptions of every show with a complete cast (the rest of the credits for each season are given in one of the appendices), and the original air date, etc. One of the features of the book which makes it less handy as a reference, although perhaps easier to read straight through, is that it presents the history of the show in strictly chronological order. The episode descriptions occur in the text in the order in which they were filmed (which is quite differentfrom the order in which they were broadcast). There are only two areas where I can find fault with this book. One is that although it is well indexed, it is not quite well indexed enough. For example, although the book contains all three forms of the Control Voice (now I actually know the name of the man behind the Control Voice!) opening narration, it is hard to find them all. Considering what this book is about, you'd think there would be an index entry for this (I would, anyway). The second is that a few irritating references are made to the effect that some optical effect on the show was actually simple to accomplish, but no explanation is given as to how it was done. I'd rather it wasn't brought up at all in that case. (There is plenty of material for SFX fans here, especially in the area of make-up and costumes.) However I am just nit-picking. This is a wonderful book, and I would rate it 8 on a scale from 0 to 9. --------------------------------------- Subject: The Mosquito Coast Path: mtuxo!houxm!ihnp4!cbatt!ucbvax!ucsfcgl!pixar!good Date: 27 Dec 86 22:53:43 GMT I guess that Peter Weir is simply incapable of making a bad movie. For - 5 - "The Mosquito Coast" he teamed again with Harrison Ford. The quality of the results is the same as their last effort, "Witness". Weir is truly a master at keeping the image in front of the camera *interesting* all the time, and Ford proves again that he is one of the finest actors in the business. Ford plays a slightly eccentric inventor who is appalled at the decay of the American way of life. Crime, sloth and the threat of war have tarnished the dream, and he sees a way out. With a spirit of adventure he and his family pack up and move to the jungles of The Mosquito Coast. He rebuilds a small "town" and starts to bring civilization to the area. As the film traces his trials in the jungle we also witness his gradual descent into insanity. At the start of the film he is nothing if not likeable, but by the end he is frightening. Along the way he is also inspiring, tireless, visionary, stubborn and loving. We watch as his family -- slowly at first, and unwillingly -- realizes that they are risking their lives to follow this man's wild dreams. The two boys, the eldest played by River Phoenix, have to come to grips with the fact that not everything their father says is the truth. This film is well scripted, well produced, well edited, acted and directed. Imagine a gripping, emotion-packed movie with no chases, car wrecks, gunfights, demons or space ships. Imagine an entire cast of real, believable characters in a beautiful, exotic setting. Unless Sylvester Stallone is your idea of a great film maker you should consider this a must-see. --Craig --------------------------------------- Subject: Review of THE GOLDEN CHILD Path: seismo!husc6!panda!genrad!decvax!tektronix!uw-beaver!fluke!moriarty Date: 29 Dec 86 20:58:51 GMT First, let me emphasize that I went into this movie with no great expectations. I thought this would be mediocre Murphy with some funny gags but something missing. Wrong. EVERYTHING is missing from this movie. Funny dialogue. Interesting characters. Some effort by Murphy to really make us laugh. He kindof runs through this film in a state varying from sleepwalking delivery ("Patented Eddie Murphy Laugh #234") to some kind of diluted standup comic act, as in the final scene. There were some blantently stupid scenes (the Tibetian girl getting hit with a bucket of water so that her breasts are highlighted, etc.), and if you can't predict what's going to happen a half-hour before it does, God help you. So, perhaps, you think, well, the movie stinks, but at least it's EDDIE MURPHY. Nope. This is an AI project that sounds and grins and mugs and - 6 - laughs like Eddie Murphy -- but isn't. Avoid at all costs. PS They showed previews of BEVERLY HILLS COP II, and he didn't seem to be in top form there, either. PPS Have you figured out that I was very disappointed with this film? PPPS Go see Star Trek IV a second time. I found that I liked it even more the second time around. Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer