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Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
Club Notice - 04/20/90 -- Vol. 8, No. 42
MEETINGS UPCOMING:
Unless otherwise stated, all meetings are on Wednesdays at noon.
LZ meetings are in LZ 2R-158. MT meetings are in the cafeteria.
_D_A_T_E _T_O_P_I_C
05/09 LZ: Incarnations of Immortality Series, by Piers Anthony
(Mythology as Science)
05/30 LZ: L. RON HUBBARD PRESENTS WRITERS OF THE FUTURE #5 (New authors)
_D_A_T_E _E_X_T_E_R_N_A_L _M_E_E_T_I_N_G_S/_C_O_N_V_E_N_T_I_O_N_S/_E_T_C.
04/21 NJSFS New Jersey Science Fiction Society: Josepha Sherman
(phone 201-432-5965 for details) (Saturday)
05/12 Science Fiction Association of Bergen County: Joe De Vito (artist
with a slide show of his work) (changed from previous guest)
(phone 201-933-2724 for details) (Saturday)
HO Chair: John Jetzt HO 1E-525 834-1563 hocpa!jetzt
LZ Chair: Rob Mitchell LZ 1B-306 576-6106 mtuxo!jrrt
MT Chair: Mark Leeper MT 3D-441 957-5619 mtgzx!leeper
HO Librarian: Tim Schroeder HO 3D-225A 949-5866 homxa!tps
LZ Librarian: Lance Larsen LZ 3L-312 576-3346 lzfme!lfl
MT Librarian: Evelyn Leeper MT 1F-329 957-2070 mtgzy!ecl
Factotum: Evelyn Leeper MT 1F-329 957-2070 mtgzy!ecl
All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted.
1. I, for one, like to see people get along and not hate each
other. Well, there may be a few of us like that around. But worse
than having everybody hate each other is having everybody love each
other as they do in the publishing industry. What's that? You
thought publishing is a cut-throat business? Not at all. You just
have to look at the covers of a few books to realize what warm,
loving people at least the authors are.
A case in point is the self-proclaimed "Explosive Nationwide
Bestseller" _F_l_i_g_h_t _o_f _t_h_e _O_l_d _D_o_g which Evelyn recently fished out
of a wastebasket for me. (Hey, can you beat the price?) It used
to be that there were only a couple of Explosive Nationwide
Bestsellers a year and everybody heard of them. Now you see sixty
THE MT VOID Page 2
or seventy of them a year. I guess people must be reading a whole
lot more these days than they used to, which comes as a great
relief to those of us who thought that reading skills had gone the
way of the quill pen.
This book comes just covered with dried coffee and loving reviews.
On the cover W. Griffin, _b_e_s_t-_s_e_l_l_i_n_g author of the "Brotherhood of
War" series, calls it "A SUPERBLY CRAFTED ADVENTURE." Clive
Cussler--who I have been told writes the kind of novels that
impress Sylvester Stallone--calls it "SUSPENSEFUL AND
SPELLBINDING."
On the first inside page it raves: "DALE BROWN KEPT ME GLUED TO THE
CHAIR, TURNING PAGES AS THE AERIAL BATTLE ROSE TO A SHATTERING
CLIMAX. A TERRIFIC FLYING YARN"--Stephen Coonts, author of _F_l_i_g_h_t
_o_f _t_h_e _I_n_t_r_u_d_e_r. Turn the page and it says: "DALE BROWN KEPT ME
GLUED TO THE CHAIR, TURNING PAGES AS THE AERIAL BATTLE ROSE TO A
SHATTERING CLIMAX. A TERRIFIC FLYING YARN"--Stephen Coonts, author
of _F_l_i_g_h_t _o_f _t_h_e _I_n_t_r_u_d_e_r. Do you ever get a feeling of _d_e_j_a _v_u?
Do you ever get a feeling of _d_e_j_a _v_u? On the back cover it
enthuses: "Terrific... A gripping thriller... A shattering
climax!"--Stephen Coonts, best-selling author of _F_l_i_g_h_t _o_f _t_h_e
_I_n_t_r_u_d_e_r. They may use his review four or five more places in the
book; I haven't checked.
But does all this praise go to Dale Brown's head? No way. Let me
tell you what a nice guy he is. There is an ad for another book in
the back, _A_m_b_u_s_h _a_t _O_s_i_r_a_k by Herbert Crowder. And a quote:
"Excellent! Crowder skillfully blends a high-tech action story, a
frighteningly realistic plot, and a fast-paced espionage thriller
into a very enjoyable book. His technical know-how is right on
the mark!"--Dale Brown, author of _F_l_i_g_h_t _o_f _t_h_e _O_l_d _D_o_g.
Let's face it, these guys just love each other to death. They also
have raves from all the big papers, such as the "Richmond Times-
Dispatch," the "Winston-Salem Journal (NC)," and the "Macon
Telegraph and News (GA)." I guess readers tend to know what state
Richmond is in, but get confused when it comes to places such as
Winston-Salem and Macon. Most of these reviews also appear two
different places on the book. Does anybody know if these papers
publish news? Have you ever heard of them as publishing anything
but rave book reviews? I have often thought that the edging on
books is yellow because it is pollen. That is all it takes to get
a good review from the "Fresno Bee."
Now you notice that you almost never see Classic Coke coming out
with raves printed on the bottle like "Bracing... Crisp... The
flavor we've all tried to capture for years."--Falcun Schencterby,
Chairman of the Board of Pepsi-Cola. That would be more refreshing
than anything they put in a bottle. But there's a reason.
Somebody at the publisher figures that there is a major market out
THE MT VOID Page 3
there that will buy all books like _F_l_i_g_h_t _o_f _t_h_e _O_l_d _D_o_g. If these
guys felt they were competing with each other, then you'd really
find out what they think of each other. "Jeffrey Broong is a
piss-ant author who learned everything he knows reading my last
novel whose plot he shamelessly plagerized. If he were in the Air
Force I'd sell my savings bonds to take the Berlitz Russian
language course."
2. Regarding money and lawyers, Bruce Szablak has the following to
say: "I like your assessment but I can't believe you got it so
wrong (especially at this time of the year)! But you are close.
Money comes from the government (the treasury) and returns to the
government (thus the IRS). A closed system. However, what about
the conservation of energy? All our work can't leave the system,
so where does it go? The lawers suck it up! They are the economics
analog of the thermodynamic concept of entropy! (P.S.: The
inescapable conclusion is that at the end of the universe, everyone
will be lawyers (entropy always increases)."
Mark Leeper
MT 3D-441 957-5619
...mtgzx!leeper
In the war between falsehood and truth, falsehood
always wins the first battle and truth the last.
-- Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
BLACK SNOW DAYS by Claudia O'Keefe
Ace, 1990, ISBN 0-441-00689-5, $3.95.
A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
Copyright 1990 Evelyn C. Leeper
This latest in the "Ace Science Fiction Specials" series (now
billed as "Terry Carr's Ace Science Fiction Specials," which title it
never bore when he was alive) is proof, to me at least, that Terry Carr
will be sorely missed. There is, of course, a certain irony to the fact
that they have renamed the series "Terry Carr's Ace Science Fiction
Specials" and therefore have to label them as "Edited by Damon Knight."
The last Ace Science Fiction Special before this was Richard Kadrey's
_M_e_t_r_o_p_h_a_g_e two years ago, billed as one of the "New Ace Science Fiction
Specials" and "edited by Terry Carr--it was Carr's last.
History aside and back to the issue at hand, what about _B_l_a_c_k _S_n_o_w
_D_a_y_s? It's possible that a good book might be written about a post-
holocaust bionic man with a separate physical entity (?) holding his
_a_n_i_m_a (as opposed to his _a_n_i_m_u_s), but I don't think this is it.
Frankly, I prefer my books written in English and this is written in
cyberpunk: "He didn't even have the time to be frightened. Before his
soul decomposed from his body. Without time, nothing could keep him in
place. He busted through his cranium, torched through his fingertips."
Ptui.
This reminds me of some of the _o_t_h_e_r series of "Ace Science Fiction
Specials" that Terry Carr didn't edit, from 1975 and 1976. Remember
those? I didn't think so.
ENDANGERED SPECIES by Gene Wolfe
Tor, 1990 (1989c), ISBN 0-812-50718-5, $4.95.
A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
Copyright 1990 Evelyn C. Leeper
This collection of thirty-four stories by one of the leading
literary science fiction authors of today is billed on the cover as "one
of the most important collections of the decade" (_F_a_n_t_a_s_y & _S_c_i_e_n_c_e
_F_i_c_t_i_o_n) and "the best single-author collection you will see this year"
(_A_n_a_l_o_g). For a change, the blurbs are not just hype.
First of all, this is a much larger collection than one usually
sees--almost twice the usual number of stories. The result is that we
can see a much wider range of Wolfe's talent than a normal-length
collection would show us. Secondly, though all the stories have been
previously published elsewhere, they are not what you would call readily
available. For example, "Our Friend by Charles Dickens" appeared in
_R_o_o_m_s _o_f _P_a_r_a_d_i_s_e edited by Lee Harding. Try finding that at your local
Waldenbooks--or even Forbidden Planet!
Notable stories include the aforementioned "Our Neighbor by David
Copperfield," an excellent story to give your friend who loves Dickens's
style. "In the House of Gingerbread" is a wonderful twist and re-twist
on the classic children's story; "The War Beneath the Tree" also takes
an interesting turn at the end.
Unfortunately, even such a literary work as this is not free of
typos; in "The God and His Man" the sword is named either "Maser" or
"Master," depending on what sentence you're in.
These stories cover the range of science fiction, horror, and
fantasy. My only quibble is the omission of "Slaves of Silver," Wolfe's
foray into Sherlockiana, but that's a minor objection. If you're
interested in seeing where science fiction concepts meet mainstream
literary values, buy this book.
FREEDOM BEACH by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel
Bluejay Books, 1985, ISBN 0-312-94168-4, $8.95.
A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
Copyright 1990 Evelyn C. Leeper
_F_r_e_e_d_o_m _B_e_a_c_h is a strange novel. But then, any novel that
contains the Faust legend done as a Marx Brothers movie
("Faustfeathers") would be a strange novel.
Shaun Reed finds himself somehow at Freedom Beach, a sort of
purgatorial Club Med at which he has apparently signed up for some sort
of therapy which involves amnesia. Through his dreams he sometimes
remembers his past as a writer, but is just as likely to find himself
the character in some other writers' works.
_F_r_e_e_d_o_m _B_e_a_c_h examines an author's psyche, and though I doubt this
author is typical, the audacity of the sections overcomes the not
entirely convincing characterizations. Recommended if you can find it.
[Note: Bluejay published a very high-quality line of books, but
their packaging was, well, abysmal. Classic typos they gave us included
the rendering of _R_o_g_u_e _Q_u_e_e_n as _R_o_u_g_e _Q_u_e_e_n on its spine, the
misspelling of Isaac Asimov's name on the title page of _S_h_e_r_l_o_c_k _H_o_l_m_e_s
_T_h_r_o_u_g_h _T_i_m_e _a_n_d _S_p_a_c_e, and this book, which in the back blurb misspells
the main character's name five times and confuses Jane Austen with Emily
Bronte! Tom Kidd's cover painting of the Sphinx and the Pyramids of
Giza is also totally inaccurate, both to the reality and to the
description in the book.]
NUNS ON THE RUN
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1990 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: After the negative reviews this
film has gotten it turns out to be an intelligent and
witty comedy with some solid characterization. In fact,
its virtues are many of the same virtues of the better
1950s English comedy films. Take out one scene and it
could easily have been a story you would have seen Alec
Guinness in in his heyday. Rating: high +1.
_S_t_a_r _W_a_r_s and _R_a_i_d_e_r_s _o_f _t_h_e _L_o_s_t _A_r_k shifted the market for
adventure films. Their slam-bang pacing spoiled audiences who
previously were happy with the pacing of adventures such as _S_h_e and _T_h_e
_M_a_n _W_h_o _W_o_u_l_d _B_e _K_i_n_g. Monty Python's various films and television show
similarly shifted the comedy audience. By pre-Python standards _N_u_n_s _o_n
_t_h_e _R_u_n would be a frenetic comedy with some interesting characters and
a few good laughs. It has been getting some bad press as being not
funny enough and lacking in the punch that a film such as _A _F_i_s_h _C_a_l_l_e_d
_W_a_n_d_a had. Well, it really does not have the steady laughs of _A _F_i_s_h
_C_a_l_l_e_d _W_a_n_d_a, but it is every bit as funny as the classic Alec Guinness
Ealing comedies. And if it is less substantial than classic Guinness
comedy, it is certainly more substantial than most of the modern
comedies being made. That means that it is roughly eight times as good
as empty comedies such as _T_h_r_o_w _M_o_m_m_a _f_r_o_m _t_h_e _T_r_a_i_n or _B_l_i_n_d _D_a_t_e.
In _N_u_n_s _o_n _t_h_e _R_u_n, Brian Hope and Charlie McManus are two aging
hoods who want to get out of crime. Their boss cannot afford to have
them possibly double-cross the organization, so when the boss finds out
they want to leave they know their days are numbered. Their only chance
is now to double-cross the organization and steal enough money to escape
to Brazil. When their gang is going to rob a local triad gang, Hope and
McManus see their chance to make off with the boodle. [Note of
explanation: Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the
Triads are the same secret organization sometimes known as the Tongs.
The film makes fun of their love of cutlery. The real Tongs are as
professional and deadly as any of their European counterparts.] Things
do not go well for the two and they end up with both their own gang and
the Triads chasing them. Their only escape is to disguise themselves as
nuns and hide in a convent. But Hope is bewildered by the Catholic
religion he is now expected to know. McManus is Catholic and tries to
rescue him, but his explanations are little help. In the discussion of
religion, the comedy is at its richest. Hope's very life may depend on
his understanding McManus's muddled explanation of the Holy Trinity and
the basic doctrines of Catholicism.
For the most part this comedy could have been done in the 1950s.
It pokes a little fun at Catholicism, but never to the point that it is
Nuns on the Run April 19, 1990 Page 2
really disrespectful. The film's only scene that would have been out of
place in the 1950s is a delightfully vulgar shower room scene. In
general the film works like a well-oiled machine, with many diverse plot
elements coming together in unexpected combinations.
Eric Idle of Monty Python fame stars as Brian Hope. Idle's age is
starting to show on him and he looks surprisingly middle-aged here, but
that helps to give Hope character. For once his antics are outshone by
a non-Pythonite, Robbie Coltrane, who played Falstaff in _H_e_n_r_y _V and Bob
Hoskins's mystery-loving friend in _M_o_n_a _L_i_s_a. The film was written and
directed by Jonathan Lynn, who in this country is best known for writing
and directing the television shows "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime
Minister." While lacking those series' sophistication, _N_u_n_s _o_n _t_h_e _R_u_n
is still an intelligent, whimsical comedy. I give it a high +1 on the
-4 to +4 scale.
Readercon 3
Con report by Evelyn C. Leeper
Copyright 1990 Evelyn C. Leeper
To be honest, we were not planning on attending Readercon this
year. What with Confiction in Holland (two weeks vacation) and a
three-week trip to Southeast Asia planned, we were strapped for vacation
days, and it is hard for us to get to a convention in the Boston area
without taking an extra day. In addition, last year's program was in
parts a bit too academic and dry--well, let's be honest: in parts it was
unintelligible. Then again, why should anything about a convention on a
seventeen-month cycle be intelligible? But I digress, and anyway the
cycle has shifted again; the next Readercon is in only fifteen months.
However, after I was asked to be one of the judges for the Readercon
Small Press Awards (the others were Thomas M. Disch, John Shirley,
Kathryn Cramer, Paul Chadwick, Jerry Kaufman, and Greg Ketter), we
decided to sandwich it in, resulting in a truly ridiculous schedule for
the weekend (March 30 through April 1, 1990).
We left work about 4PM and drove to my parents' house in Chicopee,
arriving about 9PM (rain and fog in Connecticut slowed us down
somewhat). Having not seen them for at least four months, and having
been to Boskone in February and not seen them then, we really could not
be this close and not at least drop in. We spent an hour and a half
with them, which included telling them I was nominated for a Hugo (which
we have taken to describing as "like the Oscars for science fiction" for
non-sf types), then drove up to Kate's place in Amherst, arriving about
11PM. More fog on the way convinced me that the weather gods had it in
for us, but luckily none of this ever turned to snow.
Saturday morning we left about 8 AM after ascertaining that, yes, I
did have a map of Massachusetts--in the hectic packing I had not
remembered to check the car. The trip to Lowell was easy, with little
traffic and clear(er) weather, and we arrived at the Lowell Hilton about
9:50 AM--not bad timing for a convention that opens at 10 AM.
Registration was fast for us since we were preregistered, though
the at-the-door memberships had a bit of a line. Freebies included a
Tor Double and James Patrick Kelly's latest novel, _L_o_o_k _i_n_t_o _t_h_e _S_u_n.
It is unusual to see as major a book as the latter as a convention
giveaway, but I suspect Tor figured that Readercon attendees would be
the most likely to read it and recommend it to others.
Hotel and Function Space
Unlike last year, the convention was spread out over several
floors. The main programming was on the first floor, the fan
programming, readings and other one-author items were on the second
floor, and the con suite was on the eighth floor (getting it away from
Readercon 3 April 13, 1990 Page 2
the Green Room--last year they were adjacent and people tended to drift
into the Green Room who did not belong there). The rooms all seemed the
right size for the groups in them (fairly unusual for conventions or any
meetings these days--I attribute this as much to luck as anything else).
This year the program guide included a map of the hotel (sorely missed
last year) and a restaurant guide.
There is not much point to describing the function space, or Lowell
for that matter, in any greater detail--next year Readercon is moving to
the Worcester Marriott. (And just when we found a great Southeast Asian
restaurant in Lowell!)
Dealers' Room
Of course the Dealers' Room was entirely books. There were about
the same number of dealers as last year (a dozen or so), and this year
there were a couple of dealers selling new paperbacks (a serious
deficiency last year). Several people commented on the relative paucity
of the Dealers' Room compared to, say, Boskone, but this was due to
several reasons. First, since the committee expected around 300 people
actually attending, they aimed for an appropriately sized Dealers' Room.
But 400 people attended, making the room seem small and crowded.
Second, dealers do not want to compete with a lot of other dealers, all
selling the same thing--in this case, books. It cuts down on everyone's
margin. And last, no Dealers' Room is ever large enough to satisfy the
true reader!
Though the Dealers' Room was scheduled to stay open until 7 PM on
Saturday, the dealers all left at 5 PM for dinner. Sunday the Dealers'
Room closed at 3 PM. In spite of its small size, I managed to buy ten
books in the first five minutes!
Programming
The programming was expanded from last year's, with two main tracks
of programming, a "mini-track," and a fan track. For years people have
been suggesting that conventions try variable-length items (some panels
an hour, some ninety minutes, etc.) and staggered starting times, so the
committee decided to give it a try. This did serve one useful purpose.
Before, it was just opinion to say that it would not work well. Now
when the topic comes up, one can state that there is experiential
evidence that it would not work well. By staggering the starting times,
the committee made it impossible for me to attend more than about 75% of
what I wanted to see. If there was an item from 2:30 to 3:30, for
example, it effectively ruled out any items at 2 or at 3. (I do not
like to arrive late to or leave early from a panel--the latter can
easily make the panelists think you did not like them rather than just
that there was something else you needed to get to.)
On the plus side, the panel discussion were held around a coffee
table (a la Dick Cavett's old show) rather than at the usual higher
Readercon 3 April 13, 1990 Page 3
table. This made the panelists seem less separated from the audience,
and it also resulted in there being no place for panelists to prop up
copies of all their books they were pushing. (Consider that a minor
benefit, but there was noticeably less pushing of one's own books this
year.)
Since we did not arrive until Saturday morning, we missed the
Friday night programming, which was not very heavily scheduled anyway.
(Many of the pros who would be on panels did not arrive until Saturday
either.) What to schedule for the first night's programming is
difficult. It cannot be anything truly major, since people are still
trickling in. Even the obvious "Meet the Pros" party has problems--not
all the pros are there yet. Eric says they have some ideas for next
year, but this has been a problem for every convention and I doubt it
can be solved by then.
_R_e_a_d_i_n_g
Kim Stanley Robinson
Saturday, 10:00 AM
Due to the later starts of the major tracks, the first item I
attended was the Kim Stanley Robinson reading. As usual, the reading
was an excerpt from a forthcoming work rather than a self-contained
item, but I cannot for the life of me remember what the title was. I do
remember that there were some fairly unpleasant characters and drugs in
it.
_O_K _f_o_r _Y_o_u, _B_l_a_s_p_h_e_m_y: _C_r_i_t_i_q_u_i_n_g _R_e_l_i_g_i_o_n _i_n _I_m_a_g_i_n_a_t_i_v_e _L_i_t_e_r_a_t_u_r_e
John Kessel (moderator), Thomas M. Disch, M. J. Engh,
James Morrow, Paul Park
Saturday, 11:30 AM
This began with Kessel asking the panelists to introduce themselves
and give their religious backgrounds. If they had all gone into the
detail that Engh did, they never would have gotten to the main meat of
the panel. Engh described herself as Methodist turned atheist, Morrow
as Presbyterian (actually generic Protestant) turned secular humanist,
Kessel as ethnic Catholic "in recovery now." Park said he was an
Anglican (High Church) who currently is "a mix of strict Roman
Catholicism and jeering atheism" and is currently writing theological
thrillers.
Disch talked about growing up German in the 1940s (when being
German meant trying as hard as possible to have _n_o ethnic
characteristics) and Catholic in a sort of "S&M" Catholicism with much
emphasis on Hell and its torments. As a result(?), he says he loves
seeing religious hypocrites "get theirs": Father Ritter, Jim and Tammy
Bakker, etc. His religion is currently "ex-Catholic, one of the largest
and most passionate religions" today.
Readercon 3 April 13, 1990 Page 4
I found it interesting that, given the high proportion of Jews
writing science fiction, there were no Jews (or ex-Jews) on the panel.
But more on that later.
Morrow flung down the gauntlet, more or less, saying that Bible
morality is second-rate and crude, and that this was what led him to
write his series of "Bible Stories for Adults," examining more closely
this morality. This raised the question of whether authors argue more
with God or with the presentation of God by religions. Someone
described Christianity as "fascinating stuff, a rich field, and pretty
appalling" to which Park responded that one rarely sees the good and
pure degenerate into the bad and evil as quickly as in (organized)
religion. Kessel claimed that organized religion had stolen Jesus the
same way the Republicans have stolen the flag.
In response to a comment from the audience, the panelists agreed
that most of their works dealt with Western monotheism (Christianity,
Judaism, and Islam), avoiding such religions as Hinduism or Buddhism.
Engh tried to put forth an argument that neo-paganism was really
monotheism, but I was not convinced and I do not think the audience was
either. Morrow claimed that blasphemers are often accused of striking
first when they are in fact only striking back.
Disch quoted Thomas Carlyle as saying that writers have taken on
the role of prophecy, and Disch concluded that this was one reason why
writers, especially science fiction writers, want to dictate or preach
to their audiences. Disch asked "why Cardinal O'Conner should set the
agenda" in telling people how to misbehave. And, yes, he did say
"misbehave"--after all (as I interpret his statement) the Church issues
a list of sins which many people seem to treat as checklists.
Of course, science fiction is just a thought experiment, which is
what makes all this possible. For that matter, _i_s Morrow's _O_n_l_y
_B_e_g_o_t_t_e_n _D_a_u_g_h_t_e_r science fiction? Is any religious science fiction,
science fiction or is it fantasy? (For that matter, is Hugh
Schonfield's _P_a_s_s_o_v_e_r _P_l_o_t fantasy?) And as fantasy, does it try to be
predictive in the way that science fiction occasionally does?
As for the lack of Jews on the panel, this ties in with my
observation that most "attacks" on organized religion attack
Christianity rather than Judaism or Islam. Is this due to the fact that
an attack on a Christian preacher is somehow more acceptable than an
attack on a Jewish rabbi? (Yeah, I know that is redundant.) I cannot
help but feel that if someone like Morrow or Parke Godwin took aim at
the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem they would be accused of anti-Semitism
faster than a speeding bullet. Morrow may also have hit upon part of
the answer when he said (in response to a question about whether the
panelists were being "dismissive" of religion), "Religion is riding high
in the saddle now and by God somebody has to be dismissive!" In the
United States it is only Christianity, and a small subset of
Christianity at that, which could be termed "riding high in the saddle."
Readercon 3 April 13, 1990 Page 5
Disch observed that stories of early Christianity and such
religious leaders as Joseph Smith would be intriguing, in that the
author would presumably have to reconcile the idea that the characters
believed they were religiously inspired, while the author believed they
were not.
The panel closed with Disch observing (in some context) that no one
would ever accuse Isaac Asimov of subtle characters and Park responding,
"This is blasphemy!"
After this, we went to lunch with someone from AT&T in Lowell. We
ate at the Southeast Asian Restaurant, which serves Thai, Laotian, and
Cambodian food--very good and recommended, though the service was a bit
slow. Then again, we were under some serious time constraints, since I
had to get back for my 2 PM discussion.
_T_h_e _B_o_o_k_s _I _G_i_v_e _M_a_i_n_s_t_r_e_a_m _R_e_a_d_e_r_s
Greg Cox, Daniel P. Dern, Scott E. Green,
Theresa Nielsen-Hayden, Marjorie Bradley Kellogg,
Robert Killheffer, Eleanor Lang, Evelyn Leeper, Susan Palwick
Saturday, 2:00 PM
This was a round-table discussion rather than a panel, so there was
no moderator. Some of the books suggested (and the people suggesting
them) were:
- Burgess, Anthony, anything
- Dann, Jack, _W_a_n_d_e_r_i_n_g _S_t_a_r_s (Leeper)
- Davies, L. P., anything (Green)
- Dickinson, Peter, anything
- Finney, Jack, _T_i_m_e _a_n_d _A_g_a_i_n (someone gave this to his grandmother
and she really enjoyed it, having gone through the same "time-
travel" experience, albeit in real time)
- Harris, Thomas, _T_h_e _S_i_l_e_n_c_e _o_f _t_h_e _L_a_m_b_s (Palwick)
- Koontz, Dean R., _L_i_g_h_t_n_i_n_g (this seems a bit like recommending
Stephen King these days--working with a net) (Green)
- Kushner, Ellen, _S_w_o_r_d_s_p_o_i_n_t (Killheffer)
- LeGuin, Ursula K., _T_h_e _L_e_f_t _H_a_n_d _o_f _D_a_r_k_n_e_s_s (Kellogg)
- Manguel, Alberto, _B_l_a_c_k _W_a_t_e_r (Leeper)
- Silverberg, Robert, _D_y_i_n_g _I_n_s_i_d_e (Killheffer)
Readercon 3 April 13, 1990 Page 6
- Sturgeon, Theodore, _M_o_r_e _T_h_a_n _H_u_m_a_n (Palwick)
- Wilson, Colin, anything
Green suggested "John Wyndham's _E_x_i_l_e" set in post-holocaust
Labrador--I do not know of any such novel.
Someone suggested leading people into science fiction without their
knowing what it is. The danger in this is that, as Mark observed, "If
you lead someone into science fiction without their knowing what it is,
they may leave without knowing they've been there." The example I gave
was that Mark's sister had seen and liked _C_o_c_o_o_n, but did not realize it
was science fiction. My response to her was that if a film about aliens
coming to Earth and giving people immortality was not science fiction,
I'd like to know what was.
I observed that one really has to tailor one's suggestions to the
recipient, so that (for example) I give my Jewish relatives _W_a_n_d_e_r_i_n_g
_S_t_a_r_s and my Hispanic relatives _B_l_a_c_k _W_a_t_e_r. Other people thought
near-future stories worked better than far-future, and cyberpunk should
be recommended sparingly, if at all. (One person said that a friend to
whom she gave _N_e_u_r_o_m_a_n_c_e_r kept waiting for the terms to be defined--and
they never were.)
Other people thought recommending shorter works was a better idea,
since the recipient did not feel they were making as large a time
investment. This will only work if the recipient does not have a
prejudice against shorter fiction--apparently these days many people
will not read anything shorter than a novel. Still, an anthology should
make them feel they are getting enough without having only one story on
which science fiction will stand or fall. (You had better tell them it
_i_s an anthology--I have heard stories of people getting anthologies and
complaining that the various parts of the "novel" did not seem to fit
together!)
After the discussion we sat and talked to Jerry Boyajian for a
while (having finally delivered to him a tape we had brought to three
conventions for him!) about movies (gasp!) and Usenet. I dropped into
the Lucius Shepard reading to get his autograph on _G_r_e_e_n _E_y_e_s, but did
not stay because I wanted to go to the next panel.
(to be continued)